Rhigos
Rhigos is a village in the north of the Cynon Valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. For postal purposes it comes under the town of Aberdare, although it is some 7 miles (11 km) from Aberdare town centre.
The village lies just off the old Aberdare road that was the main link between Aberdare and Glyn Neath before the A465 road was extended.
The town centre of Glyn Neath is 2 miles (3.2 km) away. Rhigos lies at the apex of the Cynon Valley and the Vale of Neath.
The hamlets of Cefn Rhigos and Cwm-Hwnt lie to the west of the main village.
There is one shop located in the village, which is a newsagent. There are also two pubs located within Rhigos: "The Plough" and "The New Inn". There is a small school, Rhigos Primary, built in the Victorian style in 1876. Prior to the building of the school classes were held in rooms provided by R Crawshay esq, first mentioned in the journals of William Roberts (Nefyed) in 1856. He states how the school was funded by the colliers and miners of Rhigos who each contributed 1d of each pound of their wages to support a master whose salary was £40.
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[edit] Industry
The Rhigos Colliery closed in 1965. It was a drift mine[1] known locally as "The Pandy" and previously as "British Rhondda".
The Tower Colliery, located on the Rhigos Mountain, Craig-y-llyn, which was famously the subject of a worker's buy-out closed in 2008. The closure of "Tower Colliery" saw the last of the deep mines in Wales come to an end.
In the 1960s opencast mining took over the surrounding countryside. Firms such as Wimpey, Taylor Woodrow and Parkinsons, bought up the farmland in the area providing a lot of work but at the cost of environmental damage to the landscape. The surrounding area has now returned to green fields.
[edit] Sport and leisure
One of the village's social hubs is the Rhigos Rugby Club House. The rugby union team play in Division Five, South Central of the Welsh Rugby pyramid.
The Vale of Neath Gliding Club operates from a grass airfield close to the village.[2]
[edit] Notable people
Academic Kevin Morgan was born and raised in the village. He chaired the Yes for Wales Group which campaigned successfully in the Welsh devolution referendum, 1997. He is currently Professor of European Regional Planning[3] at Cardiff University.
Rhigos has had a wealth of rugby talent throughout the years, most notably Dai Morris who played for Wales as a flanker during the "Second Golden Era" of Welsh rugby in the 1970s.
[edit] References
- ^ Thomas, Michael: "The Death of an Industry", page 93. Colben system PTE. Ltd, 2004
- ^ http://valeofneathglidingclub.bravehost.com/index.html Vale of Neath Gliding Club
- ^ Professor Kevin Morgan
[edit] External links
- Rhigos RFC
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Rhigos and surrounding area
- Rhigos Memories
- Images and transcripts of the Rhigos Municipal Cemetery
Coordinates: 51°44′N 3°34′W / 51.733°N 3.567°W
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