MAERDY

'Maerdy' () is a small town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, traditional county of Glamorgan, south Wales, lying at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley. The town grew around the coal mining industry, but its last pit (Mardy Main) shut in 1990. "Maerdy" is a Welsh word meaning "house of the mayor", and may indicate a medieval origin. The "mayor" was the official also known as the reeve, usually the most affluent farmer in the area.
Maerdy was known in the mid-twentieth century for its people's support for the Communist Party of Great Britain and was sometimes called ''Little Moscow''. The town may have inspired Lewis Jones' novel ''Cwmardy''.