Place:Rhondda, Glamorgan, Wales

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Rhondda, or the Rhondda Valley (Welsh: Cwm Rhondda), is a former coal mining valley in Wales. It was formerly (pre-1974) a local government district known as an "urban district", consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. Rhondda Urban District was similar to a "rural district" in other parts of England and Wales, but most urban districts were made up of one large village or town with possibly one or two suburban settlements.

The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (mawr=large) and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley (bach=small). Both the singular term 'Rhondda Valley' and the plural 'Rhondda Valleys' are commonly used. Since 1996 Rhondda has been part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough (or principal area) and is part of the South Wales Valleys. In 2001 the National Office of Statistics described the Rhondda urban area as having a population of 59,602. In 2011 the whole of Rhondda Cynon Taf had a population of 234,410. This is broken down into 31 areas for more precise detail.

The Rhondda Valley is most notable for its historical link to the coal mining industry which was at its peak between 1840-1925. The Rhondda Valleys were home to a strong early Nonconformist Christian movement which manifested itself in the Baptist chapels which moulded Rhondda values in the 19th and early 20th century. Rhondda is also famous for strong masculine cultural ties within a social community which expressed itself outside industry in the form of male voice choirs, sport and politics.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Rhondda. Includes a list of all the communities in both valleys (reproduced in tabular form below) and a map. The section, Industrial Rhondda 1850—1945, provides an outline of the coal mining era in this huge coalfield (75 collieries by 1893), and a link to the principal landowner and industrialist John Crichton Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute (1847-1900).

Communities and villages

In the two following tables the italicised places have been redirected to the communities (or civil parishes) of which they are a part.

Rhondda Fawr

The larger of the two valleys, the Rhondda Fawr, extends from Porth and rises through the valley until it reaches Blaenrhondda, near Treherbert. The settlements that make up the Rhondda Fawr are as follows:

Rhondda Fach

The Rhondda Fach is celebrated in the 1971 David Alexander song 'If I could see the Rhondda'; the valley includes Wattstown, Ynyshir, Pontygwaith, Ferndale, Tylorstown and Maerdy (in order up the valley).

Research Tips

• GENUKI on Glamorgan Lots of leads to other sources and descriptions of former parishes.
• The FamilySearch Wiki on Glamorgan has recently been updated (early 2016) and looks remarkably like Wikipedia. Their map "Glamorgan Parish Map.jpg" enlarges to show all the original parishes. The sub-section "Parishes of Historic Glamorgan" lists all the parishes of Glamorgan and the newer preserved counties and principal areas in both English and Welsh. (Currently this website is still under construction.)
• Rhondda Cynon Taf Library Service provides an historical description of a number of towns and villages in its principal area.

The first three maps are provided by A Vision of Britain through Time

• A map of 1832 showing larger towns and some villages (not as good as the England county maps in this series).
• Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1899.
• A 1930s Ordnance Survey map of Glamorgan illustrating the parishes, rural districts, urban districts and boroughs as revised to 1944.

These maps were found on Wikimedia Commons

• Glamorgan Administrative Map 1947 separating the various types of administrations with colour coding. These division were most likely in place until 1974.
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan
• A map of Wales outlining the prinicipal areas of West Glamorgan
• A map of the Vale of Glamorgan principal area with the western part of Cardiff included

These maps of Glamorgan post-1974 were found on another site and are very useful for sorting out the up-to-date geography of the area

• A map of West Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of South Glamorgan showing the two principal areas and the towns located in them.
• A map of Bridgend, Merthyr and Rhondda showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them. The description states that this is "formerly part of Mid Glamorgan".
• A map of Caerphilly, Blaenau and Torfean showing the three principal areas and the towns located in them.