Hopkinstown
Encyclopedia
Hopkinstown is a small village
to the west of Pontypridd
town centre in the county borough
of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales
situated alongside the banks of the River Rhondda
. Hopkinstown is a former coal mining industrial community and is a district in the town of Pontypridd
within the Rhondda electoral ward. It is neighboured by the settlements of Pwllgwaun
, Trehafod
and Pantygraigwen
, and also comprises the subdistricts of Troed-Rhiw-Trwyn and Gyfeillion.
The original village was a single row of houses along the Rhondda Road which followed the River Rhondda, but it wasn't until the 1871 census that the name Hopkin's Town was used to describe the area. By 1891 the village had a population of over 1,500 and several streets of terraced houses had been built.
Hopkinstown would see eight shafts sunk during the industrial period. John Calvert, an engineer from Yorkshire, who had already sunk the Newbridge Colliery (later to become part of the Maritime Collieries, near Graig, Pontypridd), and in 1848 his money allowed the construction of the Gyfeillon Colliery, it would change hands to the Great Western Railway company, before reverting back to Calvert before he sold into to the Great Western Colliery Company. The company would sink six shafts in total and the pits would collectively be known as the Great Western Collieries.
Two other mines in the area, not owned by the Great Western, were the Typica Pit at Troed-rhiw-trwyn, which was only open for five years between 1875 and 1879, and the Lan Colliery, the only pit in Hopkinstown south of the River Rhondda. In 1889 it was owned by William Davies of Pontypridd, employing only seven miners; the mine closed in September 1907.
Although no major mining disasters appear to have occurred in the town, on 23 January 1911 eleven people died in the Hopkinstown rail disaster, when a carriage carrying passengers collided into a stationary coal train on the Taff Vale Railway
line.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
to the west of Pontypridd
Pontypridd
Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
town centre in the 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 Rhondda Cynon Taf, 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...
situated alongside the banks of the River Rhondda
River Rhondda
The River Rhondda is a river in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales which has two major tributaries; the Rhondda Fawr and the Rhondda Fach .- Description :...
. Hopkinstown is a former coal mining industrial community and is a district in the town of Pontypridd
Pontypridd
Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
within the Rhondda electoral ward. It is neighboured by the settlements of Pwllgwaun
Pwllgwaun
Pwllgwaun is a village and small suburb of Pontypridd within the 'Rhondda' electroal ward, bordered by Hopkinstown and Graigwen hill to the north and east, the hillsides of Maesycoed above, and is located along the banks of the river River Rhondda...
, Trehafod
Trehafod
Trehafod is a village in the Rhondda Valley between Porth and Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, although in administrative terms is split between the electoral division of Cymmer to the West and Rhondda to the East...
and Pantygraigwen
Graigwen
Graigwen is the name of the large hill and the village or district located thereon, sited to the north of Pontypridd town centre and south of Glyncoch and Ynysybwl in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, and within the ancient parish of Llanwonno...
, and also comprises the subdistricts of Troed-Rhiw-Trwyn and Gyfeillion.
Early and industrial history
The area where Hopkinstown is located was, as late as 1842, an undeveloped woodland known as the Ty Mawr Estate. Owned by Evan Hopkin, the area developed quickly soon after, until around 1950 it was beginning to develop into an urbanised development following the sinking of two collieries, Ty Mawr and Gyfeillion pits. Along with buildings to house the miners, Hopkinstown quickly acquired a chemical works, iron foundry and coke ovens.The original village was a single row of houses along the Rhondda Road which followed the River Rhondda, but it wasn't until the 1871 census that the name Hopkin's Town was used to describe the area. By 1891 the village had a population of over 1,500 and several streets of terraced houses had been built.
Hopkinstown would see eight shafts sunk during the industrial period. John Calvert, an engineer from Yorkshire, who had already sunk the Newbridge Colliery (later to become part of the Maritime Collieries, near Graig, Pontypridd), and in 1848 his money allowed the construction of the Gyfeillon Colliery, it would change hands to the Great Western Railway company, before reverting back to Calvert before he sold into to the Great Western Colliery Company. The company would sink six shafts in total and the pits would collectively be known as the Great Western Collieries.
Two other mines in the area, not owned by the Great Western, were the Typica Pit at Troed-rhiw-trwyn, which was only open for five years between 1875 and 1879, and the Lan Colliery, the only pit in Hopkinstown south of the River Rhondda. In 1889 it was owned by William Davies of Pontypridd, employing only seven miners; the mine closed in September 1907.
Although no major mining disasters appear to have occurred in the town, on 23 January 1911 eleven people died in the Hopkinstown rail disaster, when a carriage carrying passengers collided into a stationary coal train on the Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
line.
Notable residents
- Elaine MorganElaine Morgan (writer)Elaine Morgan OBE is a Welsh writer for television and also the author of several books on evolutionary anthropology, especially the aquatic ape hypothesis: The Descent of Woman, The Aquatic Ape, The Scars of Evolution, The Descent of the Child, The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, and The Naked Darwinist...
(b. 1920), script-writer, populariser of science and feminist writer
External links
- Rhondda Cynon Taff Library Service Heritage Trail, Hopkinstown