Gilfach is the small district that lies between 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,...

 and Pengam

Pengam

Pengam is a former coal community in the Rhymney Valley, Caerphilly county borough, in Wales. As of 2001, it has a population of 3,842.-Location and population:...

, situated in the Caerphilly county borough

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...

, seven miles north of Caerphilly

Caerphilly

Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...

, within the historic boundaries of Glamorgan

Glamorgan

Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...

, 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...

.

The name Gilfach is derived from the Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 words cil (nook) and bach (small).

Gilfach is the smallest of the three Electoral wards that make up Greater Bargoed (along with Bargoed and Aberbargoed

Aberbargoed

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.- Mining :Coal mining...

).

Gilfach has many institutions, such as an OAP Welfare Hall, Workingmen's Club, Scout

The Scout Association

The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...

 Hall, and a YMCA

YMCA

The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

 building. There is also a bowling green

Bowling green

A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...

 and tennis court

Tennis court

A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...

s.

As with many villages and towns through Britain, Gilfach has a War Memorial to the fallen of both world wars situated in the Garden of Peace.

There are two primary schools in Gilfach: Gilfach Fargoed Primary School, which teaches through the medium of English; and Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach Fargod

Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach Fargod

Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach Fargod is a Welsh medium primary school located in the village of Gilfach, Bargoed in the County Borough of Caerphilly.Established in 1963, Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach Fargod was one of the first Welsh medium schools in the Rhymney Valley...

, which teaches through the medium of the Welsh language

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

.

Gilfach has two places of worship in St. Margaret

Margaret the Virgin

Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...

's parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

, and Ainon Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 church.

In addition to the Workman's Club, Gilfach has two public house

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

s in the Gwerthonor and The Capel Hotel.

The village is served by Gilfach Fargoed railway station

Gilfach Fargoed railway station

Gilfach Fargoed railway station is a railway station serving the village of Gilfach, in Caerphilly county borough, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network....

.

External links

• 'Our Community' - Old and new photographs of Gilfach and Bargoed.
• The Capel Hotel Cricket Club
• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Gilfach and surrounding area