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Merthyr Tydfil

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Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh: Merthyr Tudful) is a town and county borough in the traditional county of Glamorgan, south Wales, with a population of about 55,000.

Merthyr was situated close to reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone and water, making it an ideal site for ironworks. Small-scale iron working and coal mining had been carried out at some places in South Wales since the Tudor period, but in the wake of the Industrial revolution the demand for iron led to the rapid expansion of Merthyr's iron operations. The Dowlais Ironworks was founded by what would become the Dowlais Iron Company in 1759, making it the first major works in the area. It was followed in 1765 by the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. As other works were established, along with associated iron ore and coal mining, Merthyr grew from a hamlet of some 700 inhabitants to an industrial city of 80,000 people.

The demand for iron was fuelled by the railways and by the Royal Navy, who needed cannons for their ships. In 1802, Admiral Lord Nelson visited Merthyr to witness cannon being made.

Several railway companies established routes that linked Merthyr with coastal ports or other parts of Britain. They included the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, Vale of Neath Railway, Taff Vale Railway and Great Western Railway. They often shared routes to enable access to coal mines and ironworks through rugged country, which presented great engineering challenges. In 1804, the world�s first railway locomotive - "The Iron Horse", developed by the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick, pulled 10 tons of iron from Merthyr on the newly constructed tramway from Penydarren to Abercynon. A replica of this now resides in the National Maritime Museum, Swansea.

During the first few decades of the 1800's, the ironworks at Dowlais and Cyfarthfa continued to expand and at their peak were the most productive ironworks in the world. 50,000 tons of rails left just one ironworks in 1844, to enable expansion of railways across Russia to Siberia. At its peak, the Dowlais Iron Company operated 18 blast furnaces and employed 7,300 people, and by 1857 had constructed the world's most powerful rolling mill. The companies were mainly owned by two dynasties, the Guest and Crawshay families. One of the famous members of the Guest family was Lady Charlotte Guest who translated the Mabinogion into English from its original Welsh. The families also supported the establishment of schools for their workers.

The riots of 1831 were probably precipitated by the ruthless collection of debts, which caused great poverty and hardship amongst workers affected by lower wages when the iron trade was depressed.

There is still controversy over what actually happened and who was to blame. It was probably more of an armed rebellion than an isolated riot. The initiators of the unrest were most probably the skilled workers; men who were much prized by the owners and often on friendly social terms with them. They also valued their loyalty to the owners and looked aghast at the idea of forming trade unions to demand higher wages. But events overtook them, and the community was tipped into rebellion.

The owners took fright at the challenge to their authority, and called on the military for assistance. Soldiers were sent from the garrison at Brecon. They clashed with the rioters, and several on both sides were killed. Despite the hope that they could negotiate with the owners, the skilled workers lost control of the movement.

Some 7,000 to 10,000 workers marched under a red flag, which was later adopted internationally as the symbol of the working classes. For four days, they effectively controlled Merthyr.

Even with their numbers and captured weapons, they were unable to effectively oppose disciplined soldiers for very long, and several of the supposed leaders of the riots were arrested. Some were transported as convicts to the penal colonies of Australia. One of them, Richard Lewis, popularly known as Dic Penderyn, was hanged, creating the first local working-class martyr. Alexander Cordell's novel The Fire People is set in this period. A serious political history of these events, The Merthyr Rising was written by the Merthyr-born Marxist and writer Professor Gwyn 'Alf' Williams in 1978.

The first trade unions, which were illegal and savagely suppressed, were formed shortly after the riots. The rising also helped create the momentum that led to the Reform Act. The Chartism movement, which did not consider these reforms extensive enough, was subsequently active in Merthyr.

Many families had had enough of the strife, and they left Wales to utilise their skills elsewhere. Numerous people set out by ship to America, where the steelworks of Pittsburgh were booming. It only cost about five pounds to travel steerage.

The steel and coal industries began to decline after World War One, and by the 1930�s, they had all closed. In 1987, the iron foundry, all that remained of the former Dowlais ironworks, closed, marking the end of 228 years continuous production on one site.

The fortunes of Merthyr revived during World War Two, as war-related industry was established in the area. Many refugees from Europe settled in the town.

Immediately following World War Two, several large companies set up in Merthyr. In October 1948, the American-owned Hoover company opened a large washing machine factory and depot in the village of Pentrebach, a few miles south of Merthyr Tydfil. The factory was purpose-built to manufacture the Hoover Electric Washing Machine, and at one point, Hoover was the largest employer in the borough. At the Hoover factory the Sinclair C5 was built.

Several other companies built factories, including an aviation components company, Teddington Aircraft Controls, which opened in 1946. The Teddington factory closed in the early 1970's.

The Gurnos housing estate was, at the time of its construction, the largest housing project in the world.

Cyfarthfa, the former home of the ironmaster Richard Crawshay, an opulent mock-castle, is now a museum. It houses a number of paintings of the town, a large collection of artefacts from the town's Industrial Revolution period, and a notable collection of Egyptian tomb artefacts, including several sarcophagi.

Famous sons and daughters of Merthyr include Richard Davies (actor), rugby international Robert Sidoli, boxers Howard Winstone and Johnny Owen, fashion designers Julien Macdonald and Laura Ashley and composer Joseph Parry. Esther Isaacs, mother of "Chariots of Fire" athlete Harold Abrahams was from Merthyr, as was the grandfather of Rolf Harris. Film director and writer Craig Handley also hails from the town. One of the first two Labour MPs to be elected to parliament, the Scot Keir Hardie, was elected by the Merthyr Tydfil constituency.

The newspaper proprietor William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose and his brothers Seymour Berry (Lord Buckland) and James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley also hailed from Merthyr Tydfil. The Australian politican, Sir Samuel Griffith, was also born in Merthyr Tydfil.

The current borough boundaries date back to 1974, when the former county borough of Merthyr Tydfil expanded slightly to cover Vaynor in Breconshire and Bedlinog in Glamorgan, it becoming a local government district in the administrative county of Mid Glamorgan at the time. The district became a county borough again on April 1, 1996.

 Trains: Merthyr Tydfil is on the Merthyr Line

 Farmers Markets:
 Merthyr Tydfil Farmers Market
       High Street
       Town Centre
       Merthyr Tydfil
       CF47 8AN
       10am-2pm 1st Friday each month
       01685 725106

 Football:
 Merthyr Saints FC
 Merthyr Tydfil FC

 Golf:
 Merthyr Tydfil (Cilsanws) Golf Club
       Cloth Hall Lane
       Cefn Coed
       Merthyr Tydfil
       CF48 2NU
       01685 723308

 Morlais Castle Golf Club
       Pant
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       CF48 2UY
       01685 722822

 Rugby: Merthyr RFC

 Libraries:
 Central Library
       High Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       CF47 8AF
       01685 723057
       Mon 9.00am-6.00pm
       Tue 9.00am�7.00pm
       Wed 9.00am�6.00pm
       Thur 9.00am�6.00pm
       Fri 9.00am�6.00pm
       Sat 9.00am�2.00pm

 Church Street Library
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       CF48 3HS
       01685 723051
       Mon 9.30am�7.00pm
       Wed 9.30am�6.00pm
       Thur 9.30am�6.00pm
       Fri 9.30am�6.00pm
       Sat 9.30am�2.00pm

 Vets:
 Ash Veterinary Surgery
       Aberdare Rd
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1AT
       01685 722895

 Tourist Information Centre

 Telephone:

01685 379884

 Fax:

01685 350043

 Email:

[email protected]

 Address:

14a Glebeland Street
Merthyr Tydfil
CF47 8AU

 Hours:

Winter Monday - Saturday  9:00 - 17:00
Summer
Monday - Saturday  9:30 - 17:30

 Pubs/Bars:
 The Anchor Inn
       Pontmorlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8UH

 Baili Glas Inn
       Twynyrodyn Road
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0SD

 Belle Vue
       Glebeland Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8AU

 The Bessemer
       Hermon Close
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3DP

 Brewers Arms
       Brewery Road
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3BU

 The Bruce
       Victoria Street
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3RW

 The Brunswick Inn
       5 Church Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0BW

 Cardigan Arms
       Victoria Street
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3RW

 Castle Hotel
       Castle Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8BG

 Colliers Arms
       Nightingale Street
       Abercanaid
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1EJ

 Cyfarthfa Arms
       82 The Grawen
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8NR

 Drovers Arms
       High Street
       Cefn Coed
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2PN

 Eagle Inn
       Quarry Row
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8PS

 Farmers Arms
       Mountain Hare
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0LH

 Glove & Shears
       Court Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8DU

 Grawen Arms
       The Grawen
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8NR

 The Great Escape
       Nantygwenith Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1DE

 The Great Western Hotel
       High Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8DE

 Gurnos Tavern
       Cypress Close
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 9BP

 The Hawthorns
       Courtland Terrace
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0DT

 The Hollybush
       Market Street
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3HL

 Horse & Groom Inn
       High Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 9HH

 Imperial Hotel
       Pontmorlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8UH

 Iron Horse Hotel
       Galon Uchaf Road
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 9TP

 The Lantern
       Cambrian House
       Bethesda Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8LN
       01685 383683

 Taxis:
 1st Choice Cars
       13 Mansfield Terrace
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0LB
       01685 388787

 1st Class Cars
       Unit 2
       Dowlais Enterprise Centre
       Pant Ind Est
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2SR
       01685 373737

 A&P Cars
       79 High St Dowlais Top
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3PW
       01685 374326

 A2B Taxis
       7 Garth St Morgantown
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8LT
       01685 374444

 ABC Cars
       48 Trevethick St
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0HX
       01685 374374

 Atlanta Cars
       26 Garden City
       Penydarren
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 9YT
       01685 388088

 Castle Cars
       15 Blackthorne Avenue
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 9BB
       01685 350111

 Cefn Taxis
       8 The Triangle
       Cefn-Coed
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2PT
       01685 388388

 The Log Cabin
       Swan Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8EU

 The Morlais Castle Inn
       75A Pontmorlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8UH

 The Morlais Tavern
       Mount Pleasant Street
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3AF

 Mount Pleasant Hotel
       Mount Pleasant
       Merthyr Vale
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 4TD

 Narrow Gauge
       Glebeland Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8AU

 Pant Cad Ivor Inn
       Pant
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2DD

 Pantysgallog Inn
       Pantyscallog Terrace
       Pant
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2BT

 The Park View
       4 Brecon Road
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8LS
       01685 375255

 The Plymouth Hotel
       Duffryn Road
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 4BJ

 Quarrymans Arms
       18 Francis Terrace
       Pant
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2DA

 The Railway Inn
       High Street
       Cefn Coed
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2PN

 Richards Arms
       Chapel Street
       Abercanaid
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1RX

 Rose and Crown
       Morgan Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8TP
       01685 723743

 Six Bells
       Heolgerrig Road
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1RP

 Station Hotel
       Station Road
       Cefn Coed
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2NB

 Three Horseshoes Inn
       9 Dynevor Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1AY

 The Tre Ivor Arms
       Lower Row
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3ND

 Tregenna Hotel
       Park Terrace
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8RF

 Twyn Carmel Inn
       Twyn Carmel
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1PG

 Vulcan Inn
       High Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8UD

 The Wellington Inn
       Bethesda Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8LL

 The White Horse Inn
       Windsor Terrace
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0DN

 The Wyndham Arms
       Glebeland St
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8AT
       01685 723917

 Y Dic Penderyn
       102-103 High Street
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8AP
       01685 385786

 Chris Cars
       Dan Y Castell Farm
       Pontsarn Rd
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 2TP
       01685 722373

 Eighty Eighty
       6 Pant Rd
       Dowlais
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 3SH
       01685 388080

 Keiron Goggin Taxi's
       30 Holly Way
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 9SL
       01685 373744

 Phil's Cars
       48 Trevethick St
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0HX
       01685 389789

 Rees Cabs Taxis
       Old Court House
       Court St
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 8DU
       01685 386007

 Sam's Taxis
       22 Heol Bryn Padell
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF48 1NG
       01685 383636

 Skyliner Taxis
       26 Fourth Avenue
       Galonuchaf
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 9TU
       01685 388883

 Victoria Cabs
       32 Aneurin Crescent
       Twynyrodyn
       Merthyr Tydfil
       Mid Glamorgan
       CF47 0TB
       01685 382265


 

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