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Treorchy
Treorchy (Welsh: Treorci; ⓘ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 communities of the Rhondda. It includes the villages of Cwmparc and Ynyswen.
Prior to industrialisation, most of the land was owned by one of the great families of Glamorgan with Treorchy coming under the domain of the Marquess of Bute Estate. The discovery of coal transformed the area. The period following 1851 saw Treorchy becoming an industrial town. The town grew around the coal mining industry during the late 19th and early 20th century, but by the end of the 20th century all the local pits had closed, creating an economic downturn in the community.
Treorchy had been established when the Abergorki Colliery, situated in Cwm Orci to the north, was opened as a level in 1859 by a Mr Huxham, a former manager of the Bute Merthyr Colliery. This was sold to J. H. Insole of Cymmer in 1862. The first deep mine in Treorchy was sunk in the 1860s by David Davies of Llandinam who would later own the Ocean Coal Company. The initial development of the town was linear, based on the main road through the valley, but by 1875 a grid pattern of streets was emerging.
The pre-industrial Rhondda community was Welsh-speaking, and the Welsh language continued to be widely spoken in the valley and in the upper villages of the Rhondda until the mid-twentieth century. The original migrants to the Rhondda were from rural Wales but later a higher proportion came from England. In 1901 64.4% of the population of the Rhondda Urban District were recorded as Welsh-speaking but this proportion fell to 56.6% by 1911.
Ysgol Gymraeg Ynyswen, a Welsh-medium primary school, is situated in the nearby village of Ynyswen. Established in 1950, it was the first Welsh-medium school in the Rhondda. It serves Treorchy and the surrounding villages, including Treherbert, Cwmparc, Penyrenglyn and Blaencwm.
The Treorchy electoral ward is coterminous with the borders of the Treorchy community and elects three county councillors to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Since 1995 representation has been by either the Labour Party or Plaid Cymru. Since 2008 the ward has had three Plaid Cymru representatives.
A 2018 review of electoral arrangements by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales would see Treorchy's representation reduced from three to two councillors. The proposals would take effect from the 2022 council elections.
After being a town whose employment relied almost entirely on coal mining in the Abergorki, Tylecoch, Parc and Dare collieries, by the end of the 1970s all of these collieries had closed. Treorchy became a commuter village, with the working population seeking employment in the larger towns and cities nearby, such as Cardiff and Bridgend. Employment in Treorchy is now mostly in retail.
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Treorchy
Treorchy (Welsh: Treorci; ⓘ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 communities of the Rhondda. It includes the villages of Cwmparc and Ynyswen.
Prior to industrialisation, most of the land was owned by one of the great families of Glamorgan with Treorchy coming under the domain of the Marquess of Bute Estate. The discovery of coal transformed the area. The period following 1851 saw Treorchy becoming an industrial town. The town grew around the coal mining industry during the late 19th and early 20th century, but by the end of the 20th century all the local pits had closed, creating an economic downturn in the community.
Treorchy had been established when the Abergorki Colliery, situated in Cwm Orci to the north, was opened as a level in 1859 by a Mr Huxham, a former manager of the Bute Merthyr Colliery. This was sold to J. H. Insole of Cymmer in 1862. The first deep mine in Treorchy was sunk in the 1860s by David Davies of Llandinam who would later own the Ocean Coal Company. The initial development of the town was linear, based on the main road through the valley, but by 1875 a grid pattern of streets was emerging.
The pre-industrial Rhondda community was Welsh-speaking, and the Welsh language continued to be widely spoken in the valley and in the upper villages of the Rhondda until the mid-twentieth century. The original migrants to the Rhondda were from rural Wales but later a higher proportion came from England. In 1901 64.4% of the population of the Rhondda Urban District were recorded as Welsh-speaking but this proportion fell to 56.6% by 1911.
Ysgol Gymraeg Ynyswen, a Welsh-medium primary school, is situated in the nearby village of Ynyswen. Established in 1950, it was the first Welsh-medium school in the Rhondda. It serves Treorchy and the surrounding villages, including Treherbert, Cwmparc, Penyrenglyn and Blaencwm.
The Treorchy electoral ward is coterminous with the borders of the Treorchy community and elects three county councillors to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Since 1995 representation has been by either the Labour Party or Plaid Cymru. Since 2008 the ward has had three Plaid Cymru representatives.
A 2018 review of electoral arrangements by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales would see Treorchy's representation reduced from three to two councillors. The proposals would take effect from the 2022 council elections.
After being a town whose employment relied almost entirely on coal mining in the Abergorki, Tylecoch, Parc and Dare collieries, by the end of the 1970s all of these collieries had closed. Treorchy became a commuter village, with the working population seeking employment in the larger towns and cities nearby, such as Cardiff and Bridgend. Employment in Treorchy is now mostly in retail.