Tonypandy
Coordinates: 51°37′20″N 3°27′04″W / 51.622325°N 3.451203°W
| Tonypandy | |
 Tonypandy Square |
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 Tonypandy
Tonypandy shown within Rhondda Cynon Taf |
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| Population | 3,495 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | SS995925 |
| Principal area | Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Ceremonial county | Mid Glamorgan |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TONYPANDY |
| Postcode district | CF40 |
| Dialling code | 01443 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Rhondda |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Rhondda Cynon Taf | |
Tonypandy (
/tɒnəˈpændi/) is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots.
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[edit] History
[edit] Pre-industrial history
The Tonypandy area contains several prehistoric sites, the main one being Mynydd y Gelli. Located to the north-west of the town, the remains of an Iron Age settlement Hen Dre'r Gelli lies on the slopes of Mynydd Y Gelli hill between Tonypandy and Gelli. Near the same location are several Bronze Age cairns.[2]
Tonypandy is also the site of one of the only two permanent Middle Ages fortifications found within the Rhondda Valley. Named Ynysygrug, it was a lesser motte and bailey earthwork defence. The fortification appears to have consisted of a wooden tower surrounded by a small fortified courtyard.[3] Placed around the 12th or early 13th century, the remains of the fortification were mostly destroyed when the town's railway was constructed in the 19th century. Over the past two hundred years, the fortification had been wrongly thought to be the burial place of Rhys ap Tewdwr or a druidic worship site.[3]
The regional library service recounts that the name 'Tonypandy' means the meadow of the fulling mill which was established there in 1838. "E. D. Lewis in his work The Rhondda Valleys provides us with an outline history of the mill that once stood in Tonypandy, and from which the town took its name".[4]
[edit] Industrial era
In the mid-19th century, the Rhondda began its industrial transformation after the successful excavation of coal. With the extension of the Taff Vale Railway to Treherbert and Maerdy in 1856, the Rhondda grew as absentee landlords switched their interests from farming to mining. Tonypandy, unlike the surrounding villages, grew as a financial and social hub, providing services and amenities for the neighbouring communities.
[edit] Amenities
It is one of the principal shopping areas in the Rhondda. A 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) Asda has recently opened on the site of the old Scotch Colliery, creating 300 jobs.
The town is served by Tonypandy railway station.
[edit] Sports and recreation
In the early part of the 20th century, Tonypandy was home to Mid-Rhondda RLFC, one of the first Welsh rugby league teams.[5] Although surviving only one season, the club transformed into Mid-Rhondda AFC, one of the most notable association football teams the Rhondda has produced. Both Mid-Rhondda teams played at the Athletic Ground, now named King George's Field, after King George V. The pitch is notable as having hosted the very first international match between the Wales and England rugby league teams on 20 April 1908.[6] It was also used as the opening venue for the 1908/09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, when the visiting Australian rugby league team began its campaign with a match against Mid-Rhondda.[7]
With the collapse of Mid-Rhondda RLFC in 1909, the committee refocused on creating an association football team. In 1912 Mid Rhondda F.C. was formed, winning the South League Second Division in 1919/20.
[edit] Notable people
- Boxer Tommy Farr, the "Tonypandy Terror", trained there, living in adjoining Clydach Vale
- Brothers Donald Houston and Glyn Houston - both were actors
- Willie Llewellyn, Welsh national rugby captain and three times Triple Crown winner
- George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy, former secretary of state for Wales and speaker of the House of Commons, was educated at Tonypandy Secondary Grammar School.[8]
- Rhys Davies (9 November 1901 – 21 August 1978) (born Vivian Rees Davies) was a Welsh novelist and short story writer, who wrote in the English language.
- Sophie Evans (performer) Runner up on BBC programme 'Over the Rainbow' and alternate Dorothy in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Wizard of Oz' at the London Palladium.
[edit] Bibliography
- Davis, Paul R. (1989). Historic Rhondda. Ynyshir: Hackman. ISBN 0950856634.
[edit] References
- ^ Register of National Statistics (2001)
- ^ Davis (1989), pg 14.
- ^ a b Davis (1989), pg 26.
- ^ Heritage trail (Tonypandy) Rhondda Cynon Taf Library Service
- ^ Lush, Peter; Farrar, Dave (1998). Tries in the Valley: A History of Rugby League in Wales. London: London League Publications. pp. 31–32. ISBN 0952606437.
- ^ Gate, Robert (1986). Gone North: Volume 1. Ripponden: R.E. Gate. p. 141. ISBN 0951119001.
- ^ Sean Fagan Kangaroo Tour: 1908-1909 (2006) at website RL1908.com
- ^ Mention in Parliament noted in Winston Churchill (grandson) at Telegraph (UK), 2 March 2010
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