Pontygwaith

This article is about the village and well known bridge of Pontygwaith between Edwardsville nr. Treharris and Merthyr Vale on the A4054. For the Pontygwaith in the Rhondda Valley see Pontygwaith, Rhondda.

The bridge at Pontygwaith

Pontygwaith (Welsh,"Bridge to work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a village situated in the Merthyr Valley, (now referred to as the Taff Valley), South Wales.

A Sussex Ironmaster named Anthony Morley set up a small ironworks here in 1583.

There is little of the original village remaining today, which was inhabited and existed until approx 1977 as a terrace of ten houses and a farm. The site of the original village is accessible from the Taff Trail National cycle route 8. This leads down a heavily tree lined slope to the area that was the original village site.

The bridge at Pontygwaith over the River Taff was featured in an episode of the BBC's Merlin called Beauty and the Beast, where a girl has a picnic with a Troll beneath the bridge. (eps 205) http://merlinlocations.com/?p=cqwspiqj&paged=8

Though today's Pontygwaith lacks many dwellings one to watch out for is Pontygwaith Farm located very close on the hill near to the bridge. The farm has tea room facilities. The owners have also opened their gardens for charity days in the past.

The National cycle route 477 Taith Trevithick Trail heads up the east side of the valley from Pontygwaith to Trevithick's Tunnel - just south of Merthyr Tydfil, old stone sleepers can still be seen all around these trails on the east side of the valley where the famous tramroad ran. Both cycle route 477 and 8 (Taff Trail) at Pontygwaith can be found on sustrans map here http://www.sustrans.org.uk/assets/files/leaflets/Sustrans_Taff%20Trail_Nov08.pdf

Richard Trevithick is the main reason the tramroad is so famous as he ran the first ever steam locomotive on 21 February 1804 along these tracks carrying both iron ore and passengers from Penydarren Merthyr Tydfil via Pontygwaith heading south to Abercynon.

External links

• Old Merthyr Tydfil: Pontygwaith - Historical Photographs of Pontygwaith.
• Pontygwaith