Aberbargoed
Encyclopedia
Aberbargoed is a small town
in the Welsh
county borough
of Caerphilly
, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire
, south
Wales
. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park
.
operations in Bargoed Colliery started in 1897 when the Powell Duffryn
Steam Coal Company started to sink the shaft. In 1901, the "Ras Las" nine-foot seam was discovered at a depth of 625 yards. The north and south shafts were completed. In November 1903, Sir Alfred Thomas, M.P. for East Glamorgan, started the engines to raise the first four trams of coal.
By 1910, the pit was employing 1,943 miners and was the largest coal mine in the Rhymney Valley
. On 10 December 1908, it broke the world record for production when a ten-hour shift produced 3,562 ton
s of coal
. It further broke its own record on 23 April 1909 when 4,020 tons were raised in a ten-hour shift.
Bargoed Colliery closed on 4 June 1977. By this time, only 360 men were employed there.
of 1851. Aberbargoed reached a peak in 1961 of 5,157, and had dropped to 3,882 according to the 1991 Census. Bargoed in 1921 had a population of 17,901, dropping to 9,184 by 1991.
campaign in an attempt to make it more pleasurable on the eye. The tip has now been levelled and the area has been reclaimed with walkways. The colliery has gone and is now home to an Ambulance Station and other small industries.
There are also developments with a new retail outlet in the area where the tip once stood.
The large tip at Bedwellty
is still there, but has been grassed over and now looks much like the surrounding countryside.
Aberbargoed now has an extensive area of grasslands that are protected due to the finding of a rare butterfly
: the Marsh fritillary
Euphydryas aurinia has been found in the marsh
y area north of where Bedwellty School once stood. Recently a bypass has been built through the park allowing road users to bypass the town of Bargoed
.
It is mentioned on the War Memorial in the middle of the village that "The Man Who Never Was
" (from World War II) was from Aberbargoed, and gets a mention every year at the Remembrance Day service.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
of Caerphilly
Caerphilly (county borough)
Caerphilly is a county borough in southern Wales, straddling the ancient county boundary between Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.Its main town is Caerphilly, and also the largest...
, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
, south
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park
Country park
A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
.
Mining
Coal miningCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
operations in Bargoed Colliery started in 1897 when the Powell Duffryn
Powell Duffryn
PD Ports is a Middlesbrough-headquartered British ports operator.Formerly known as Powell Duffryn, it dug its first coal mine in South Wales in 1840, and later expanded into various sorts of manufacturing...
Steam Coal Company started to sink the shaft. In 1901, the "Ras Las" nine-foot seam was discovered at a depth of 625 yards. The north and south shafts were completed. In November 1903, Sir Alfred Thomas, M.P. for East Glamorgan, started the engines to raise the first four trams of coal.
By 1910, the pit was employing 1,943 miners and was the largest coal mine in the Rhymney Valley
Rhymney Valley
The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...
. On 10 December 1908, it broke the world record for production when a ten-hour shift produced 3,562 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. It further broke its own record on 23 April 1909 when 4,020 tons were raised in a ten-hour shift.
Bargoed Colliery closed on 4 June 1977. By this time, only 360 men were employed there.
Population
The population of Pont Aberbargoed was 351 in the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 1851. Aberbargoed reached a peak in 1961 of 5,157, and had dropped to 3,882 according to the 1991 Census. Bargoed in 1921 had a population of 17,901, dropping to 9,184 by 1991.
Modern Day
The coal-mining waste tip that lay between Bargoed and Aberbargoed once towered to a height of 400 feet in the 1970s. The local school had a Plant a tree in '73Plant A Tree In '73
Plant A Tree In '73 was a Government-sponsored national campaign in the United Kingdom, aimed at encouraging the population to participate by planting trees during the 1973 'National Tree Planting Year'...
campaign in an attempt to make it more pleasurable on the eye. The tip has now been levelled and the area has been reclaimed with walkways. The colliery has gone and is now home to an Ambulance Station and other small industries.
There are also developments with a new retail outlet in the area where the tip once stood.
The large tip at Bedwellty
Bedwellty
Bedwellty was a parish and urban district in Monmouthshire, South Wales, until 1974.The original ancient parish was very large, including most of the upper Ebbw and Sirhowy valleys...
is still there, but has been grassed over and now looks much like the surrounding countryside.
Aberbargoed now has an extensive area of grasslands that are protected due to the finding of a rare butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
: the Marsh fritillary
Marsh Fritillary
The Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia, is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.It is widespread in the Palaearctic region from Ireland in the West to Yakutia in the East, and to North-west China and Mongolia in the South.E. aurinia is represented by many subspecies.The most widely accepted...
Euphydryas aurinia has been found in the marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
y area north of where Bedwellty School once stood. Recently a bypass has been built through the park allowing road users to bypass the town of Bargoed
Bargoed
Bargoed is a town in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly and straddles ancient boundary of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. 'Greater Bargoed', as defined by the local authority Caerphilly County Borough Council,...
.
Notable people
- Sir Harold Josiah FinchHarold FinchSir Harold Josiah Finch was a Welsh Labour Party politician born in Barry, Glamorgan.A miners' agent in Blackwood after the First World War, Finch was a contemporary of Aneurin Bevan and accompanied him as a miners' delegate to the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in 1925...
(politician) - The jazz pianist and composer Geoff EalesGeoff EalesGeoff Eales is regarded as one of the UK's most inspirational jazz pianists and composers.-Musical education:Born in Aberbargoed in the south Wales valleys, his musical education began at the age of eight, in the late 1950s. His father Horace, pianist in a well-known local dance band, taught him...
was born in Aberbargoed. - Luke EvansLuke Evans (actor)Luke Evans is a Welsh theatre and film actor. He is known to theatregoers for his stage roles in Rent, Miss Saigon Small Change and Piaf, and to filmgoers for his roles in The Three Musketeers, Clash of the Titans, and Tamara Drewe.-Early life:Luke Evans was born and raised in Aberbargoed, a small...
(actor)
It is mentioned on the War Memorial in the middle of the village that "The Man Who Never Was
The Man Who Never Was
The Man Who Never Was is a nonfiction 1953 book by Ewen Montagu and a 1956 Second World War war film, based on the book and dramatising actual events...
" (from World War II) was from Aberbargoed, and gets a mention every year at the Remembrance Day service.