Llwynypia

infobox UK place
latitude =51.635141
longitude =-3.448564
country = Wales
static_

static_image_caption= Llwynypia Road from Tonypandy
welsh_name= Llwyn-y-pia
population = 2253 [ [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=6077224&c=CF40+2JJ&d=14&e=16&g=419308&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1219388749346&enc=1 Register of National Statistics (2001)] ]
constituency_welsh_assembly=
|official_name= Llwynypia
unitary_wales= Rhondda Cynon Taff
lieutenancy_wales= Mid Glamorgan
constituency_westminster= Rhondda
post_town= TONYPANDY
postcode_district = CF40
postcode_area= CF
dial_code= 01443
os_grid_reference= SS998939
OldMapsYear= 1885
OldMapsEasting= 299845
OldMapsNorthing= 193920
OldMapsCounty= 10glamo481

Llwynypia (also spelled Llwyn-y-pia or Llwyn y pia), is a village in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a population boom between 1860 and 1920 with the sinking of several coal mines after the discovery of large coal deposits throughout the Rhondda Valleys.

The Welsh name means "the grove of the Magpie" or "Magpie's Bush" and was taken from the name of a farm that once existed in the area.

Early History

Situated on the River Rhonnda Fawr where the river changes direction from south-east to southerly, Llwynypia holds evidence of human habitation from the Bronze Age through to modern times. On Mynydd y Gelli a hill overlooking the area to the west, lies the Iron Age settlement of Hen Dre'r Gelli, a site which also has several Bronze Age cairns. In 1850 the first mine was sunk in the Upper Rhondda in Treherbert but it was not until 1859 that Isaac Smith, manager of the Church Colliery, first attempted to prospect the area for coal when he opened a small level beneath Llwynypia Farm. After encountering numerous problems Smith abandoned the level but in 1862 another entrepreneur, the Scottish mining engineer Archibald Hood, leased land at Llwynypia and by 1863 sunk the Llwynypia No. 1 pit in 1863. Although facing many difficulties at the No. 1 pit, Hood continued in his endeavors and by 1873 had sunk 4 more pits, now under the name the Glamorgan Coal Company. In 1908 the company would became part of the Cambrian Combine. Hood was a popular figure in the area and his mines became known as the 'Scotch Mines', not only after Hood himself, but also due to the number of Scottish miners that followed him to work and live in Llwynypia. After Hood's death in 1902, he received many tributes from his workforce, and in 1906 a staute of him was unveiled by Rhondda MP William Abraham outside the Llwynypia Miners' institute. Much of the costs of the statue was met by donations from the miners of his pits.

The quality of the coal from the Rhondda was of a very high standard and by the late 19th century was the sole supplier of coal to the British Admiralty for the large battleships of the Royal Navy. The Llwynypia pits were extracting excellent coking coals and by the time of World War I the village housed around 140 coke ovens. The waste products from the coking processes were then used to not only light the mines, but also the street lighting for the miners' houses.

The area is well known for its narrow streets of miners cottages known as "the terraces". The streets are so narrow that a single car can barely pass through them. Some of the terraces were widened in recent years but some are still in their original incredibly narrow state.

Notable buildings

Built in the early 1900s on the site of the Glyncornel farm, owned by the DeWinton family, Hen Glyncornel is one of the most imposing houses in the village. Built by Archibald Hood for his son William, this building was then surpassed by nearby Glyncornel House which was built by the Cambrian Coal Combine for senior management, but was turned into a maternity hospital in 1939 by Rhondda Borough Council. [ [http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk/heritagetrail/rhondda/llwynypia/llwynypia.htm Llwynypia page, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council] ]

Llwynypia is also home to the largest hospital in the Rhondda. Llwynypia hospital was built in the early 1900s, originally as a workhouse, later becoming a general hospital. As the only village with maternity facilities in the Rhondda, most residents from the area over the last century have Llwynypia as their place of birth on their birth certificates. Llwynypia's accident and emergency unit was closed in the 1980s and the closest A&E unit is now at Llantrisant's Royal Glamorgan Hospital.

Transport

The Llwynypia railway station is served by Arriva trains on the Rhondda Line from Cardiff.

port and leisure

Llwynypia was once home to Llwynypia Rugby Football club. The club played in the Glamorgan leagues and was affiliated to the Welsh Rugby Union providing many trialists and Welsh international rugby union players. The club disbanded in the 1930s during the depression like many Rhondda clubs, but unlike teams such as Treherbert, did not recover.

Welsh international footballer Robert Page was born in the village.

Links

* [http://www.llwynypiacommunity.org.uk Llwynypia Community Website]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2894352 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llwynypia and surrounding area]
* [http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/heritagetrail/rhondda/llwynypia/llwynypia.htm Rhondda Cynon Taff Library Services] Heritage Trail Llwynypia

References