Aberdare - History

History

From being a mere village in an agricultural district at the beginning of the 19th century, the place grew rapidly in population owing to the abundance of coal and iron ore, and the population of the whole parish, 1,486 in 1801, increased tenfold during the first half of the 19th century. It has since declined owing to the loss of most of the heavy industry.

Ironworks were established at Llwydcoed and Abernant in 1799 and 1800 respectively, followed by others at Gadlys and Aberaman in 1827 and 1847. These have not been worked since about 1875. After this, the iron industry was represented only by a small tinplate works, but by this stage the economy of the town was dominated by the coal mining industry. There were also several brickworks and breweries. During the latter half of the 19th century, considerable public improvements were made to the town, which became, despite its neighbouring collieries, a pleasant place to live. Its institutions included a post-graduate theological college (opened in connection with the Church of England in 1892, until 1907, when it was removed to Llandaff).

With the ecclesiastical parishes of St Fagan's (Trecynon) and Aberaman carved out of the ancient parish, Aberdare had 12 Anglican churches and one Roman Catholic church, built in 1866 in Monk Street near the site of a cell attached to Penrhys monastery, and at one time had over 50 Nonconformist chapels. The services in the majority of the chapels were in Welsh. The urban district includes what were once the separate villages of Aberaman, Abernant, Cwmaman, Cwmbach, Cwmdare, Llwydcoed, Penywaun and Trecynon. There are several cairns and the remains of a circular British encampment on the mountain between Aberdare and Merthyr. Hirwaun moor, 4 miles to the north west of Aberdare, was according to tradition the scene of a battle at which Rhys ap Tewdwr, prince of Dyfed, was defeated by the allied forces of the Norman Robert Fitzhamon and Iestyn ap Gwrgant, the last Welsh prince of Glamorgan.