Llanbradach
Encyclopedia
Llanbradach is a village
in the Welsh
county borough
of Caerphilly
, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire
, south
Wales
less than 3 miles north of the town
of Caerphilly
.
It is mostly residential, and contains two pubs
, a primary school, a small local shopping area, a recreation ground, a library
, two doctor's surgeries, and a youth centre. Being a traditional long and narrow South Wales Valleys
village, its potential for expansion is restricted by the river on its eastern side and the hillside to the west.
The village is served by Llanbradach railway station
on the former Rhymney Railway
line.
The Village is twinned with the village of Ploubezre
in Brittany
, but in this case the origin of the name may come from "Nant Bradach", which means "the banks of river Bradach" ("Bradach" is an Irish word meaning robbing or pilfering). Alternatively, the Welsh word "brad" (treachery or deceit) could have been coupled with the Irish "-ach" suffix (stream or river), creating "a treacherous stream" - possibly one that is prone to sudden, destructive floods. The name is thought to have come into being from around 1597.
by means of the Llanbradach viaduct. The construction of this viaduct, near Pwllypant, was crucial to the establishment of the busy coal port at Barry, which dealt with nearly 4000 ships a year at its peak.
The Llanbradach viaduct was de-commissioned in the early 1930s, and was removed to be sold for scrap in 1937, as was the Penyrheol
viaduct. All that remains is a single brick arch toward the western end of where the viaduct had been. A short part of the trackbed can still be seen near Energlyn
. The rest of the trackbed was incorporated into the A468 Caerphilly bypass road. The line carried on through Ty Rhiw, and on to the Walnut Tree Viaduct, which itself was largely dismantled in 1969. It was originally built, along with the Garth tunnel, for the Barry Railway's Cadoxton
to Llanbradach line, and the viaduct eased the incline between the Taff Valley and Caerphilly for heavy goods trains. There were no formal passenger stations along this stretch.
When the route closed in 1958 as part of the national re-organisation of the railways, the subsequent destruction of the Ty'n y Caeau signal box meant the loss of the viaduct in 1965. All that remain are an abutment, an angled pillar and the Taff Bank pier. The latter structure was used in 1977 for the display of messages of goodwill for the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth
. Most of the remaining trackbed is now incorporated into the Taff Trail
.
built in the 1900s, was constructed of timber and corrugated iron, and previously fulfilled the functions of village hall
, school and a place for religious gatherings. A committee was set up in 1910 to organise the replacement of the old structure with a modern stone building. The new building opened in 1913, and among the amenities available to the workmen were a snooker room, a small cinema, and a reading room and library.
The hall remained in use certainly until the early 1980s (albeit in a declining state). It housed the village library, a billiards room and possibly as a boxing gym and for theatrical productions by the local Coed-Y-Brain school. It was demolished at some point around the turn of the 21st Century and is now a car park.
clubs in the county borough
, catering for various ages from Under 7s to Under 16s. These clubs either play in the Rhymney Taff Ely League (affiliated to the South Wales F.A.) or the Islwyn League (affiliated to the Gwent F.A.).
, Netball
, Bowls
and Hockey
are other popular sports in the Llanbradach locality.
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...
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...
less than 3 miles north of the town
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...
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...
.
It is mostly residential, and contains two pubs
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...
, a primary school, a small local shopping area, a recreation ground, a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, two doctor's surgeries, and a youth centre. Being a traditional long and narrow South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
village, its potential for expansion is restricted by the river on its eastern side and the hillside to the west.
The village is served by Llanbradach railway station
Llanbradach railway station
Llanbradach railway station is a railway station serving the village of Llanbradach, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network.-External links:...
on the former Rhymney Railway
Rhymney Railway
The Rhymney Railway was virtually a single stretch of main line, some fifty miles in length, by which the Rhymney Valley was connected to the docks at Cardiff in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales.-History:...
line.
The Village is twinned with the village of Ploubezre
Ploubezre
Ploubezre is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-See also:*Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department*The Five Crosses, a Crucifix monument nearby-External links:* **...
in Brittany
Naming
Ordinarily, "Llan" means church or parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, but in this case the origin of the name may come from "Nant Bradach", which means "the banks of river Bradach" ("Bradach" is an Irish word meaning robbing or pilfering). Alternatively, the Welsh word "brad" (treachery or deceit) could have been coupled with the Irish "-ach" suffix (stream or river), creating "a treacherous stream" - possibly one that is prone to sudden, destructive floods. The name is thought to have come into being from around 1597.
Coal industry
Llanbradach Colliery was opened in the 1890s, and reached peak production in the 1930s, but was shut down in 1961. A number of old mine buildings are still visible to the rear of the village.Llanbradach Viaduct
The Barry Railway circumvented the town of Caerphilly, and crossed the Rhymney ValleyRhymney 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...
by means of the Llanbradach viaduct. The construction of this viaduct, near Pwllypant, was crucial to the establishment of the busy coal port at Barry, which dealt with nearly 4000 ships a year at its peak.
The Llanbradach viaduct was de-commissioned in the early 1930s, and was removed to be sold for scrap in 1937, as was the Penyrheol
Penyrheol
Penyrheol is a residential area of the town of Caerphilly, south Wales.It is often spelt as Pen-Yr-Heol by the local community. Penyrheol has one school, named Cwm-Ifor.-External links:*...
viaduct. All that remains is a single brick arch toward the western end of where the viaduct had been. A short part of the trackbed can still be seen near Energlyn
Energlyn
Energlyn is a residential area of the town of Caerphilly, south Wales. It has been proposed that a new railway station be built to serve the area, which has experienced growth in recent years....
. The rest of the trackbed was incorporated into the A468 Caerphilly bypass road. The line carried on through Ty Rhiw, and on to the Walnut Tree Viaduct, which itself was largely dismantled in 1969. It was originally built, along with the Garth tunnel, for the Barry Railway's Cadoxton
Cadoxton
Cadoxton may refer to:*Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, Wales*Cadoxton, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales...
to Llanbradach line, and the viaduct eased the incline between the Taff Valley and Caerphilly for heavy goods trains. There were no formal passenger stations along this stretch.
Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Commonwealth realms...
. Most of the remaining trackbed is now incorporated into the Taff Trail
Taff Trail
The Taff Trail is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is named so because it follows the course of the River Taff...
.
Workmen's Welfare Hall and Institute
The original Llanbradach Workmen's Institute, was a Miners' instituteMiners' institute
Miners' institutes, sometimes known as Workingmen's institute, Mine Workers' institute, or Miners' Welfare Hall are large institutional buildings that were typically built during the height of the industrial period as a meeting and educational venue...
built in the 1900s, was constructed of timber and corrugated iron, and previously fulfilled the functions of village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
, school and a place for religious gatherings. A committee was set up in 1910 to organise the replacement of the old structure with a modern stone building. The new building opened in 1913, and among the amenities available to the workmen were a snooker room, a small cinema, and a reading room and library.
The hall remained in use certainly until the early 1980s (albeit in a declining state). It housed the village library, a billiards room and possibly as a boxing gym and for theatrical productions by the local Coed-Y-Brain school. It was demolished at some point around the turn of the 21st Century and is now a car park.
Football
The highest-ranked club in the village is Llanbradach Social F.C., who have 2 senior sides, with the first team playing in the first division of the South Wales FA Senior League (having won promotion from the South Wales Senior League Division 2 and Taff-Ely League the last 2 seasons) and the second team playing in the Taff-Ely Rhymney Valley League. There are also more than 35 junior footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
clubs 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...
, catering for various ages from Under 7s to Under 16s. These clubs either play in the Rhymney Taff Ely League (affiliated to the South Wales F.A.) or the Islwyn League (affiliated to the Gwent F.A.).
Other
Rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, Netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, Bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
and Hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
are other popular sports in the Llanbradach locality.
Notable residents
- Rodger GiffordRodger GiffordRodger Gifford is a Welsh former football referee in the English Football League, Premier League, and member of the Welsh FIFA List. During his time on the List he was based in Llanbradach in Mid Glamorgan. He currently works for the Football Association of Wales.-Career:Gifford became a Football...
, former FA Premier League and FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
referee.