Merthyr Tydfil facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Merthyr Tydfil Welsh: Merthyr Tudful
Town
From the top, The old Town Hall, Richard Trevithick monument, High street
Merthyr Tydfil
Population	43,820 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SO 0506
Principal area	Merthyr Tydfil
Ceremonial county	Mid Glamorgan
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Merthyr Tydfil
Postcode district	CF47/CF48
Dialling code	01685
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare
Welsh Assembly	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
List of places UK Wales 51°44′35″N 3°22′41″W / 51.743°N 3.378°W / 51.743; -3.378

Merthyr Tydfil (pronounced MUR-thər TID-vil) is a major town in Wales. It is located about 23 miles (37 km) north of Cardiff. People often just call it Merthyr.

The town's name comes from a legend about a girl named Tydfil. She was the daughter of King Brychan and was believed to have been killed by pagans around 480 CE. The Welsh word Merthyr means "martyr". It refers to a holy place built over a martyr's remains. Other places in South Wales like Merthyr Cynog and Merthyr Mawr have similar names.

Merthyr Tydfil was once famous for its industrial past. In the early 1800s, it was known as the 'Iron Capital of the World'. This was because it produced so much iron. The world's first journey by a steam-powered railway happened here in 1804. It traveled 9 miles (14 km) from the Penydarren ironworks to the Glamorganshire Canal.

In 1851, Wales became the world's first industrial nation. More people worked in factories than on farms. Merthyr was the biggest town in Wales at that time. A man from Merthyr, John Hughes, even founded the city of Donetsk in Ukraine in 1870. He took iron working skills there.

Iron production in Merthyr slowed down after 1860. However, the town's population kept growing because of coal mining. It reached its highest point with about 81,000 people in 1911.

Today, Merthyr is known for its industrial history and exciting adventure tourism. You can find the amazing Cyfarthfa Castle here. It also has the world’s fastest seated zip line and the UK's largest mountain bike park. Wales's biggest indoor climbing wall is also in Merthyr. There are national cycle routes and plans for the UK's longest indoor ski slope.

History of Merthyr Tydfil

Early Times

People from Europe have lived in this area for thousands of years. We know this from old tools and remains found by archaeologists. Around 1000 BCE, the Celts arrived. Their language later became the Welsh language. During the Iron Age, people built strongholds on hills. A Roman historian named Tacitus said the tribe living in South Wales was called the Silures.

Roman Arrival

The Romans came to Wales around 47–53 CE. They built many forts and roads to connect them. They had to fight hard against the local tribes. In 74 CE, the Romans built a large fort at Penydarren. It was about three hectares big and overlooked the River Taff. Remains of this fort were found under the Merthyr Town F.C. football ground.

A Roman road ran through the area, connecting the coast to Mid Wales. You can still see parts of these old roads today. The Silures fought bravely from their mountain homes, but the Roman army eventually won. Peace came, and the Penydarren fort was left empty around 120 CE. This was tough for the local people, who had relied on the fort for trade.

The Roman army started to leave Britain around 380 CE. By 402 CE, most of the best Roman soldiers had gone to Europe. Around this time, Irish and Pictish raiders attacked. Irish settlers also came to the coasts of Wales.

Christianity Comes to Wales

The Latin language and some Roman ways became common before the Romans left. The Christian religion was brought to Wales by the Romans. Later, monks from Ireland and France also helped spread Christianity in the area.

Local Legends and the Town's Name

Local stories say that around 480 CE, a girl named Tydfil became a Christian. She was the daughter of a local leader named Brychan. She was killed by either Welsh or Saxon pagans and buried in the town. After her death, she was seen as a martyr. The word Merthyr means "martyr" in English. So, when the town was founded, it was named in her honor. A church was later built where she was believed to be buried.

The Normans and Early Merthyr

For many hundreds of years, the River Taff valley was mostly thick forest. Only a few farms were on the mountain slopes. Norman lords arrived after they conquered England. But by 1093, they only controlled the lower lands. The Welsh rulers kept the uplands. There were many fights between the Normans and Welsh leaders. Control of the land often changed hands. During this time, Morlais Castle was built a few miles north of the town.

Merthyr was just a small village for a long time. People lived by farming and trading. An ironworks existed in the area in the 1500s, but it closed by the 1640s. In 1754, it was said that shepherds mostly lived in the valley. Farmers traded their goods at markets and fairs.

The Industrial Revolution in Merthyr Tydfil

Iron Industry Growth

Merthyr was a perfect place for ironworks. It had lots of iron ore, coal, limestone, wood, and water nearby. Small-scale iron working had been done in South Wales for a while. But with the Industrial Revolution, the need for iron grew fast. Merthyr's iron businesses quickly expanded.

At its peak, Merthyr had four of the biggest ironworks in the world: Dowlais Ironworks, Plymouth Ironworks, Cyfarthfa Ironworks, and Penydarren. Two powerful families, the Guests and Crawshays, owned most of these companies.

Iron smelting began in the Merthyr area in the late 1740s. In 1759, the Dowlais Ironworks was founded by John Guest. It became the first major ironworks here. Later, Anthony Bacon started the Cyfarthfa Ironworks and bought the Plymouth Works. After Bacon died, Richard Crawshay took over Cyfarthfa. The fourth ironworks, Penydarren, was built by Francis Homfray and his son Samuel Homfray in 1784.

To move goods from Cyfarthfa, the Glamorganshire Canal was built. It ran all the way down the valley to Cardiff Bay. This helped other businesses grow along the way.

In the early 1800s, the ironworks at Cyfarthfa and Dowlais grew even larger. They became the most productive ironworks in the world. For example, 50,000 tons of rails left just one ironworks in 1844 for railways in Russia.

Many railway companies built lines to connect Merthyr's ironworks to ports and other parts of Britain. These included the Brecon and Merthyr Railway and the Taff Vale Railway. They often shared tracks to reach coal mines and ironworks in the tough landscape.

In 1804, the world's first steam locomotive, "The Iron Horse," was developed by Richard Trevithick. It pulled 10 tons of iron and passengers on the new Merthyr Tramroad. This was from Penydarren to Quakers Yard. A copy of this locomotive is in the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea. The tramway also went through what might be the oldest railway tunnel in the world.

The demand for iron was also high because the Royal Navy needed cannons for its ships. Later, railways needed a lot of iron too. In 1802, Admiral Lord Nelson visited Merthyr to see cannons being made.

Life in the China District

China was the name of a poor area in Merthyr Tydfil in the 1800s. It was not a "Chinatown" with Chinese people. Most residents were English, Irish, and Welsh. People saw the residents of China as a separate group, different from the more respected parts of Merthyr.

At least 1,500 people lived in this area. They were the poorest in society and had a bad reputation. Their living conditions were very bad. The area had narrow, poorly aired streets and crowded houses. This led to many diseases. China was known as "Little Hell" because it had no proper toilets, only open sewers. This caused illnesses like cholera and typhoid.

The Merthyr Rising

The Industrial Revolution brought changes. Many young men left farming for higher-paying jobs in ironworks. But in 1829, a difficult economic time hit Merthyr hard. Ironmasters fired workers, cut wages, and offered less work. Any sudden drop in the market caused great hardship for workers. This made the differences between social classes even bigger.

The Merthyr Rising of 1831 happened because of harsh debt collection, frequent wage cuts, and the use of "truck shops." Some workers were paid with special coins or credit notes called "truck." These could only be spent at shops owned by their employers. Many workers did not like the prices or quality of goods in these shops.

In May 1831, coal miners and other workers for William Crawshay I protested in the streets of Merthyr Tydfil. They wanted changes and protested against lower wages and job losses.

Between 7,000 and 10,000 workers marched. For four days, town officials and ironmasters were surrounded in the Castle Hotel. The protesters controlled the town. Soldiers from Brecon came and fought with the rioters. Several people on both sides were killed.

Some supposed leaders of the riots were arrested. One of them, Richard Lewis, also known as Dic Penderyn, was hanged. He was accused of stabbing a soldier. He became known as the first working-class martyr in the area. Later, in 1876, it was claimed that another man, Ianto Parker, had done the stabbing and then fled to America. Many people in Merthyr believe Lewis was innocent.

Decline of Coal and Iron

Merthyr's population reached 51,949 in 1861. But then it started to drop. As the 1800s went on, Merthyr's location away from the coast became a problem for iron production. Penydarren closed in 1859, and Plymouth in 1880. Some ironworkers moved to the United States or even Ukraine. There, Merthyr engineer John Hughes started an ironworks in 1869, creating the new city of Donetsk.

In the 1870s, coal mining began south of the town. This boosted the local economy and population again. New mining towns like Merthyr Vale and Treharris grew. Merthyr's population reached its highest point of 80,990 in 1911. The town grew so much that it became a county borough in 1908.

The Cyfarthfa Ironworks is a good example of this decline. The owner, Robert Crawshay, refused to update the works to make steel using the new Bessemer process. This led to the works closing in 1874. This caused many job losses and economic problems in Merthyr.

After Robert died in 1879, his son William Thompson Crawshay took over. William finally updated the works to make steel. But it took until 1882 to get them running again. The works never fully caught up with other steel-making areas. It closed again in 1910 and finally in 1919 after a brief return during the First World War.

The local steel and coal industries continued to decline after the war. By 1932, over 80 percent of men in Dowlais were unemployed. Many people left Merthyr in the 1920s and 1930s. The town's luck improved a little during World War II as war industries came to the area.

After World War II

After World War II, several large companies came to Merthyr. In 1948, the American-owned Hoover Company opened a big factory in Pentrebach, south of the town. This factory made washing machines. At one point, Hoover was the biggest employer in the area. The Sinclair C5 electric vehicle was also built there later.

Hoover and other companies chose Merthyr because its coal and iron industries were shrinking. This left space and many unemployed workers. This included women after World War II. Hoover started with 350 employees and grew to nearly 5,000 by the mid-1970s. This helped make up for the loss of coal and iron jobs.

More women found jobs in Merthyr after the war. This was because new light manufacturing and consumer goods businesses opened. This was different from the heavy industries like coal and iron, which mostly employed men.

Other companies also built factories. Teddington Aircraft Controls, which made aviation parts, opened in 1946 but closed in the early 1970s. The Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind, started in 1923, is the oldest active manufacturer in town.

Cyfarthfa Castle, once the home of ironmaster William Crawshay II, is now a museum. It has paintings of the town, items from the Industrial Revolution, and a collection of Egyptian artifacts.

In 2006, inventor Howard Stapleton from Merthyr Tydfil created the technology for the "Teen Buzz" sound. In 2021, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council announced plans to apply for city status.

The Welsh Language

The use of the Welsh language in Merthyr Tydfil decreased a lot in the late 1800s and 1900s. In 1891, 68.4 percent of people spoke Welsh. By 1911, this dropped to 50.9 percent. In the 2011 census, 8.9 percent of people mainly spoke Welsh.

Merthyr Tydfil hosted the National Eisteddfod (a Welsh festival) in 1881 and 1901. It also hosted the national Urdd Gobaith Cymru Eisteddfod in 1987. Merthyr has three Welsh-speaking primary schools. There are also calls for a Welsh-speaking secondary school to be built.

Industrial Legacy

Merthyr was built on heavy industry. It became the 'Iron Capital of the World' and Wales's largest town in the early 1800s. But as heavy industry declined and mines closed, Merthyr could not offer as many jobs as before. This led to big economic challenges, especially in the 1900s.

In 2006, a TV series ranked Merthyr Tydfil as the UK's third-worst place to live. In 2007, it improved to fifth-worst. However, there were complaints about the show, and an investigation found it had some factual errors.

More recently, Merthyr has become more popular. This is due to many renovation projects and growing tourism. In 2021, house prices in Merthyr Tydfil increased by 27.9% in one year. This was the highest increase in Wales.

Cyfarthfa Castle, a large mansion built for the ironmasters, is now a museum and art shop. It attracts almost 7 million visitors a year. There are plans for a £50 million renovation of the Castle and its area. This includes saving the 200-year-old Cyfarthfa furnaces, which are very important historical sites.

Cefn Coed viaduct is the third largest in Wales. It is now a Grade II listed building, meaning it is protected. It is a beautiful part of the Taff Trail cycle path, which connects Cardiff to Brecon.

Merthyr Tydfil Town Hall has been given a new purpose as an arts and creative industries center. This beautiful building, made of terracotta, opened in 1896. It had an £8 million renovation that finished in 2014.

The four-story YMCA building, also made of terracotta, is getting an £8.6 million renovation. Built in 1911, it is planned to become a center for economic and social activities.

Open-Cast Mining

In 2006, a large open-cast coal mine was approved east of Merthyr. This mine, called Ffos-y-fran, plans to dig up 10 million tonnes of coal over 15 years.

Religion

Churches

In the 1800s, Merthyr was a strong center for nonconformist churches (Protestant churches not part of the Church of England). But these chapels quickly declined after the 1920s, and most are now closed.

The Church of England (now the Church in Wales) tried to increase its influence in the 1800s. Merthyr had several important priests. One was John Griffith, who was rector from 1858 to 1885. He supported the idea of separating the Church from the State. His funeral was attended by 12,000–15,000 people.

Another important person was Sir John Josiah Guest. He helped a lot with building St John's Church, Dowlais. Even though Anglican churches usually had small groups, St John's did well. It held services in both English and Welsh. In 2019, the church was turned into apartments, but its original structure was kept.

Nonconformist Chapels

In the 1800s and early 1900s, Merthyr was known for having many nonconformist places of worship. Most of them held services in Welsh.

One of the oldest was Ynysgau Chapel, built in 1749. It was torn down in 1967 as part of a town improvement plan. Other early chapels included Zion and Ebenezer (Baptists), Zoar and Bethesda (Independents), and Pontmorlais (Calvinistic Methodists).

The Merthyr Hebrew Congregation

Merthyr Tydfil had the largest Jewish community in Wales in the 1800s, with about 400 people at its peak. As the Jewish population grew, the Merthyr Hebrew Congregation was started in 1848. A cemetery was opened a few years later. Merthyr Synagogue was built in 1875. Religious services stopped when there were fewer than ten Jewish men, which is the minimum number (minyan) needed for services.

In 1978, the building was given a special historical listing. In the 1980s, the synagogue was sold and became a Christian Centre, then a gym. In 2009, permission was given to turn it into apartments. In 2019, the Foundation for Jewish Heritage bought it. They plan to open it as a Jewish Heritage Centre in 2025.

Culture

Merthyr Tydfil hosts many cultural events. Local poets and writers hold poetry evenings. Music festivals are organized at Cyfarthfa Castle and Park. Menter Iaith Merthyr Tudful (the Merthyr Tydfil Welsh Language Initiative) has turned the Zoar Chapel into Canolfan Soar and Theatr Soar. This is a community arts venue with performances in both Welsh and English, a cafe, and a bookshop.

Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association and Canolfan Soar are working to make the Pontmorlais area a cultural hub. A new arts center called Redhouse Cymru opened in Merthyr Tydfil Town Hall in 2014. It refers to the 1831 Merthyr Rising with its red brick front.

The town has several choirs, including Dowlais Male Voice Choir and Merthyr Tydfil Ladies Choir. They perform locally and internationally.

Merthyr has several groups focused on history and heritage:

• Merthyr Tydfil Heritage Regeneration Trust works to protect historical buildings and items in the area.
• Merthyr Tydfil Historical Society aims to teach the public about the local history and buildings.
• Merthyr Tydfil Museum and Heritage Groups work to support and improve Merthyr Tydfil's heritage and museums.

Merthyr's Central Library is a well-known building in the town center. It is a Carnegie library, built with money from Andrew Carnegie. Merthyr hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1881 and 1901, and the national Urdd Gobaith Cymru Eisteddfod in 1987.

The town is known for its music scene. Bands like The Blackout and Midasuno have become nationally successful. From 2011 to 2014, Merthyr held a Merthyr Rock Festival. The town also hosts the Merthyr Rising each year. This is a three-day event celebrating the town's history with local music.

Tourism

Merthyr Tydfil is on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is also a good base for visiting the South Wales Valleys. The remains of Morlais Castle, a Norman castle, are on the northern edge of Merthyr Tydfil. The castle was reportedly never finished.

The Brecon Mountain Railway is a narrow-gauge tourist railway. It runs up the Taf Fechan valley from Pant, just outside Merthyr Tydfil. It uses five miles of the old Brecon & Merthyr Railway track.

Transport

Railway

Transport for Wales (TfW) runs regular train services. You can travel from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central on the Merthyr Line.

A new railway station is planned to be built by 2024. This is part of the South Wales Metro upgrades. The new station will be a key part of the town's new plan. It will help connect Merthyr better to the wider region. New overhead lines have been put in place for the Merthyr tracks. These will power new tram-trains. They will make journeys between Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff city center faster. They will also allow more frequent services, with four trains every hour.

Buses

Merthyr Tydfil bus station is on Swan Street, south of the town center. It opened in June 2021. It replaced an older station and is closer to the railway station. This makes it easier to switch between trains and buses as part of the South Wales Metro network.

Stagecoach South Wales operates bus services in the area. Routes connect Merthyr to places like Aberdare, Brecon, Cardiff, and Newport.

Roads

Improvements to the roads mean that Merthyr is becoming a popular place for people who travel to work in other towns. This has led to some of the highest house price increases in the UK.

Employment

Merthyr's jobs come from a mix of public sector (government jobs), manufacturing, and service sector companies. The Welsh Government recently opened a large office in the town. There is also a big telecommunications call centre (T-Mobile and EE, now part of BT Group).

Hoover (now part of Candy Group) has its main office in Merthyr. It was a major employer until it moved its production overseas in March 2009. This led to 337 job losses when the factory closed.

Sports and Leisure

Boxing

Merthyr is well known for its boxers, both amateur and professional. Famous boxers from Merthyr include Johnny Owen, Howard Winstone, and Eddie Thomas. There are bronze sculptures in the town to celebrate their achievements.

The sculpture of Eddie Thomas is located where the Bethesda Community Arts Centre used to be in the 1980s.

Football

Merthyr has a football team called Merthyr Town or The Martyrs. They currently play in the Southern Football League Premier South division. The team plays its home games at Penydarren Park.

The town used to have a professional team called Merthyr Town F.C. (1909), which stopped playing in the 1930s. Merthyr Tydfil AFC was started in 1945. In 1987, it won the Welsh Cup and played in the European Cup Winners' Cup. In 2008, football at Penydarren Park celebrated 100 years. After facing financial problems in 2010, the club changed its name back to Merthyr Town. It moved to a new home ground called Rhiw Dda'r. After getting promoted, the club moved back to Penydarren Park in July 2011.

Rugby

Rugby Union

Merthyr RFC, known as the Ironmen, was one of the 12 clubs that started the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881. They play in the Principality Premiership and their home games are at The Wern.

Rugby League

Since 2017, the semi-professional League 1 club South Wales Ironmen (formerly the South Wales Scorpions) plays in Merthyr. Their games are at Merthyr RFC's ground, The Wern. Merthyr is also home to the Tydfil Wildcats Rugby League team. Merthyr Tydfil was one of the first rugby league teams in Wales in 1907. They even beat the first Australian touring team in 1908.

Mountain Biking

Bikepark Wales is the UK's first specially built mountain biking center. It is located at Gethin Woods in Merthyr Tydfil. It covers 1200 acres and has a wide range of mountain bike trails for all weather.

Outdoor Activities

Parkwood Outdoors Dolygaer is an outdoor activity center. It opened in 2015 on the site of an older center. You can do activities like canoeing and stand-up paddleboarding on the Pontsticill Reservoir.

Education

The main secondary schools in Merthyr Tydfil are Afon Taf High School, Cyfarthfa High School, and Pen-Y-Dre High School.

Notable People

See Category:People from Merthyr Tydfil

Many famous people were born in Merthyr, including:

Other notable people who lived in Merthyr include poet Mike Jenkins and his children, journalist Harri Webb, and trade union leader Mark Serwotka. The musician Sam Hughes started his career in the Cyfarthfa Brass Band. Keir Hardie, one of the first two Labour MPs elected to parliament, represented Merthyr Tydfil.

Famous people with family roots in Merthyr include singer-songwriter Katell Keineg, athlete Harold Abrahams, and the grandfather of Rolf Harris. The 1970s music group The Osmonds also traced their family history to Merthyr.

Lady Charlotte Guest, a publisher and translator, married ironmaster John Josiah Guest in 1833. She lived in Dowlais and translated the famous Welsh stories of the Mabinogion between 1838 and 1845.

Twin Towns

• Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, since 1980

See also

In Spanish: Merthyr Tydfil para niños