History and Amenities
This former coal mining community is distinguished by two large 19th-century bridges that span the valley: a railway viaduct (the red bridge) and a former aqueduct, known in the Welsh language as Y Bont Fawr ("The Big Bridge"). The latter, built by John Reynolds and completed in 1825, is 459 feet (140 m) long and over 75 feet (23 m) high. It supplied the water which powered the giant waterwheels of the nearby Cwmavon blast furnaces. It remains in use today as a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists, the canal which it once carried having been filled in.
Read more about this topic: Pontrhydyfen
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (1735–1826)