PONTYCLUN

'Pontyclun' (or 'Pont-y-clun') is a village in the principal area of Rhondda Cynon Taff, south Wales. It is served by the South Wales Main Line and has its own local rugby club. Like other surrounding towns, it has seen a sharp increase in its population in the last 10 years as people migrate south from the valleys, and west from the capital Cardiff
Pontyclun translates from Welsh as : Bridge over the River, The Clun being a river running through Pontyclun
The village falls into the remit of Pontyclun Community Council.

Contents

History

Religion

Crown Brewery

Social Life

Trivia

References

External links

History

It was the influx of workers for the iron ore and coal industry, together with the coming of the South Wales Railway (in 1851) that changed Pontyclun from a 20 acre farm with 4 to 5 households into a burgeoning industrial town. The Coedcae Colliery (first listed in 1856) and the Bute iron ore mine (which opened in October 1852) were the catalyst for the population growth. By 1871, the census returns record an influx of Cornish miners who had suffered from the collapse of the copper mining industry in Cornwall. By 1870 the industries of the area had been expanded by the coming of the Ely Tin Plate Works, The Pipe Works and The Steam Joinery Company.

Religion

Bethel Baptist Chapel was built circa 1876. St. Paul's church, Pontyclun was erected in 1895 as a district church within the parish of Llantrisant. In 1924, the new parish of Pontyclun and Talygarn was constituted from the parish of Llantrisant. Both Bethel Baptist Church and St Paul's Church are still active places of worship to this day.

Crown Brewery

The South Wales & Monmouth United Clubs Brewery Co. Ltd. purchased the small family brewery owned by D & T Davies in 1919. This Company had been formed to supply the expanding number of Workingmen's Clubs, which were having difficulties with supply of beer from the many local breweries throughout the area. The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act of 1881 had fuelled the expanding number of clubs that did not have to close on Sunday, as was the case with public houses.
By 1936 the brewery was producing 500 barrels per week, which continued to increase to 900 in 1938. This growth was halted by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 but when the war ended in 1945 the growth took off again. By 1954 the old brewery had been replaced by a completely new building that was big enough to produce the 1200 barrels per week that the clubs demanded at that time. In 1984 Bob Smith was head brewer for the company and was only the fifth in the 65 years the company had been trading. In 1988 Crown merged with Wales's oldest brewery, Buckley's of Llanelly to form the Crown Buckley Brewery but then after 80 years of trading, the brewery closed in the Spring of 1999.

Social Life

Rugby has been played in Pontyclun since the early 1880's; but it was in 1887 that Pontyclun Rugby Football Club gained WRU (Welsh Rugby League) membership at a meeting held at the Queens Hotel in Cardiff. Pontyclun RFC continue to this day and they are presently playing in the WRU Division 5 South East League.

Trivia

The village's most famous resident is BBC Weather presenter Derek Brockway.

References

1. Pont-y-clun (ward)2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: National Statistics. UK government. Retrieved 10 August 2007.

External links

★ Pontyclun RFC

★ Bethel Baptist Church

★ Heritage Trail: Pontyclun