Pontneddfechan

Pontneddfechan (Welsh language meaning : bridge over the lesser River Neath) is a village in the Vale of Neath in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.

Its name is conventionally mispronounced as "Pontneathvaughan" in the local area to the despair of Welsh speakers. It stands at the confluence of the Mellte and the Nedd Fechan rivers and provides one of the convenient access points to the superb series of waterfalls that characterise the upper Neath valley. Dinas Rock, a steeply pitched anticline in the limestone rocks at Craig-y-Dinas, is a favourite spot for rock-climbers.

History

Industrial activities in the region start with a 21-year lease of an area of land from the Marquess of Bute by the Quaker entrepreneur William Weston Young, for the sinking of silica mines around Craig-y-Dinas from 1822 onwards. The silica was extracted for the manufacture of firebricks at the "Dinas Firebrick Co." in Pont Walby. In 1843, Young's lease ran out and the then "Riddles, Young & Co." firebrick manufacturers moved to a new premises on The Green, Neath. The stone sleepers for the silica mine tramway were never removed and can still be seen set into the path of the waterfall walk.

The next phase of industry in the region was that of "The Vale of Neath Powder Co."; which in 1862, under Curtis & Harvey, was merged with Nobel's Explosives Co.Pritchard, Tom, Evans, Jack and Johnson, Sidney (1985). "The Old Gunpowder Factory at Glynneath". Merthyr Tydfil: Merthyr Tydfil & District Naturalists' Society [1998 reprint] .] It became incorporated into "Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd." in 1926. Within living memory, the site was known locally as "the Gunpowder works".

Celebrities include the notorious Rhys Thomas (Bloody) Evans, affectionately but resentfully called 'Ray' by his peers. Motorbiking icon from the late sixties with a unique 'fluid hips' dancing style. Lived for 20 years on a diet of only baked beans, cheese, and condiments.

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2732064 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pontneddfechan and surrounding area]

References

Map sources

*oscoor gbx|SN901076