Ynyshir
Ynyshir
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Location withinRhondda Cynon Taf | |
Population | 3,320 (2011 census)[1] |
OS grid reference | ST025925 |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PORTH |
Postcode district | CF39 |
Dialling code | 01443 |
Police | South Wales |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Ynyshir[2](Welsh:[ənɪshiːr];English pronunciation 'Un-is-heer') is a village andcommunitylocated in theRhonddaValley, within Rhondda Cynon Taf,South Wales.The name of the village means "long island"[3][4]inWelshand takes its name from a farm in the area, falling within the historic parishes ofYstradyfodwgandLlanwynno(Llanwonno).[5]The community of Ynyshir lies between the small adjoining village ofWattstownand the larger town of neighbouringPorth.
Ynyshir has its own post office,doctor's surgeryand a number of shops and other significant amenities, although these represent a fraction of the businesses that once fronted the main road – Ynyshir Road during the village's heyday.[6]It is also home to local football teamsYnyshir Albionsand Ynyshir and Wattstown Boys Club.
History
[edit]Until the mid-19th century Ynyshir was a sparsely populated agricultural area. Then in the 1840s the first deep coal mine was sunk in the village,[7]representing the first colliery to be opened in the Rhondda Fach valley, and consequently Ynyshir also represents the earliest colliery settlement of the valley.[8]
The initial development of the village began along the west bank of the Rhondda Fach river within the parish of Ystradyfodwg on the land occupied by Ynyshir farm, later followed by the development east of the river within the parish of Llanwonno on land owned by Maendy and Penrhiw farms. By 1900 much of the village which is evident today was in place.
In 1841 theTaff Vale Railwayreached neighbouring Dinas and with the train came far greater commercial opportunities for prospective colliery owners, with the first section of the Rhondda Fach Branch of the Taff Vale railway being marked by the extension of the railway from Porth and Dinas to Ynyshir in 1849.[9]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/St_Anne%27s_Church%2C_Ynyshir_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3584917.jpg/220px-St_Anne%27s_Church%2C_Ynyshir_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3584917.jpg)
Ynyshir was home to several chapels/churches, namely Ainon Chapel (Welsh Baptist), Bethany Chapel (English Baptist),[10]Moriah Chapel (Calvinistic Methodist),St Anne's(Church in Wales), Saron Chapel (Welsh Independent), Ynyshir Welsh Wesleyan Methodist Chapel,[11]Bethel Chapel (Welsh Baptist), Penuel Chapel (English Independent), Tabernacle Chapel (Congregational Methodist) and Ynyshir English Wesleyan Methodist Chapel.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Ynyshirband.jpg/220px-Ynyshirband.jpg)
In 2009 the new modern £5.5 million Ynyshir Community Primary School located on Llanwonno Road was opened;[12]this was to replace the previous Ynyshir Junior School and later in 2010 also replaced the old Ynyshir Infants School off Gynor Place.
Industrialisation
[edit]Shepherd and Evans sank the first deep mine in Ynyshir[13]in 1845. The mine was subsequently bought by Francis Crawshay to supply the Crawshay Ironworks inTreforest.The Ynyshir colliery would be followed by the Ynyshir Steam Colliery, Standard 1 pit in 1875 and Standard 2 pit in 1876[14][15]and then in 1904 the Lady Lewis opened, which was later connected underground to the Lewis Merthyr Consolidated Collieries (today theRhondda Heritage Park) at Hafod (Trehafod).[7]
In 1896, local twins the Lewis brothers invented carbonated soft-drinkLurvills Delight,the profits from which allowed 150 local mining families to emigrate to the United States. Production ceased in 1910, due a local shortage ofdock leaves.
Governance
[edit]An Ynyshirelectoral wardexisted and was coterminous with the borders of the Ynyshir community. It elected one county councillor toRhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.Since 1995 representation had flipped between theLabour PartyandPlaid Cymru.[16]At theMay 2017 electionPlaid Cymru won the contest.[17]
A 2018 review of electoral arrangements by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales would see Ynyshir merged with neighbouringTylorstownto create a new 'Tylorstown and Ynyshir' ward. The proposals would take effect from the 2022 council elections.[18]
Transport
[edit]Between 1849 and 1856, theTaff Vale Railwayopened theMaerdy BranchfromPorth,including a station atYnyshir.Passenger services were withdrawn in 1964, and the line closed completely and was lifted from June 1986 after coal fromMardy Collierywas raised throughTower Colliery.
In 2005, RCT council constructed the A4223 Porth and Lower Rhondda Fach Relief Road (Porth Bypass), which follows the old Rhondda Fach branch railway line through Ynyshir, past Wattstown and on toPontygwaith.Its construction has meant a significant decrease in traffic flows through the village.[19]
References
[edit]- ^UK Census(2011)."Local Area Report – Ynyshir Parish (W04000710)".Nomis.Office for National Statistics.Retrieved4 January2021.
- ^& Wattstown Communities FirstArchived2010-02-20 at theWayback Machinecommunitiesfirst.co.uk
- ^Y Geiriadur Mawr/The Complete Welsh English, English Welsh Dictionary, Gwasg Gomer 1958 et seq
- ^Morgan, Thomas (1887).The Place Names of Wales(2nd ed.). Newport: John E. Southall. p. 211.
- ^Ynyshir in the Parish of Ystradyfodwggenuki.org.uk
- ^Ynyshir in the Rhondda Valleys, GlamorganArchived2010-08-07 at theWayback Machineanglesey.info
- ^ab"Rhondda Cynon Taf".Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2011.Retrieved21 July2008.
- ^"The Rhondda Main".Ggat.org.uk.Retrieved23 February2017.
- ^"MyBrunel.co.uk:: Taff Valley Railway:: © 2009".Archived fromthe originalon 15 April 2009.Retrieved23 January2010.
- ^"About Bethany Baptist Ynyshir".Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2008.Retrieved23 January2010.
- ^"The Churches of Britain and Ireland – Rhondda Cynon Taff".Churches-uk-ireland.org.Retrieved12 February2017.
- ^[1][dead link]
- ^John, Arthur H.Glamorgan County History, Volume V, Industrial Glamorgan from 1700 to 1970,University of Wales Press; Cardiff (1980) pg. 182
- ^Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008).The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales.Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 751.ISBN978-0-7083-1953-6.
- ^"Photo".Welshcoalmines.Retrieved12 February2017.
- ^Rhondda Cyon Taff County Borough Council Election Results 1995-2012,The Election Centre. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^County Borough Council Elections 2017,Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^Anthony Lewis (30 August 2018)."The number of electoral council wards in Rhondda Cynon Taf could be cut for 2022 election".Wales Online.Retrieved27 October2018.
- ^"BRE GroupBuilding a better world together"(PDF).Demos.constructingexcellence.org.uk.Retrieved12 February2017.
External links
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