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The background of the town of Pontypridd is quite difficult to unravel, but it appears
that prior to the building of the bridge by William Edwards in 1756 the area was
very sparsely populated consisting of just scattered farms.
It wasn't until some 50 years later that the population started to expand with the
establishment of Treforest Tin Works circa 1800 and the canal
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transportation system that carried the raw materials from the Cynon and Merthyr
Valleys.
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Silver jubilee celebrations 1935, Central Square, Trallwn, Pontypridd |
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The real population explosion however, didn't occur until the exploitation of the
rich coal seams that started to be extracted in the mid 1800's.
This steam coal produced more power than any other steam coal known at the time
and was the only coal used by the Royal Navy and many other steam driven marine/industrial
enterprises.
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Towns like Pontypridd grew because of the coal industry and were, therefore, completely
dependent on it.
The decline of the coalfields started in the first decade of the 20th century when
the rich seams that were easier to mine had been more or less depleted.
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This decline led to unemployment and poverty which in turn led to some huge public
demonstrations, such as the one in January 1935 against the 'Means Test'. |
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Treforest Trading Estate circa 1950 |
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Money was eventually found by the government to fund projects such as Treforest
Trading Estate to provide alternative employment in the area. This continues today
with the help of the Welsh Development Agency and Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.
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Ynysangharad Park, Bandstand |
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This information was supplied by Rhondda Cynon Taf Libraries.
Click here for Rhondda Cynon Taf Libraries Heritage Trail.
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