Gelli, Rhondda
Encyclopedia
Gelli is a village
in the Rhondda
Fawr valley, in the county borough
of Rhondda Cynon Taff
, Wales
, situated on the southern bank of the Rhondda Fawr River
. Gelli is a former coal mining
village which is a district of the community
of Ystrad
.
roughly as 'small wood or copse'. Before the industrialisation of the area there were few settlements in the area, mainly small agricultural and farm buildings. Archeological finds in the area have provided proof of earlier populations, mainly Bronze Age
, though Gelli does house one of only two definite Romano-British
finds in the Rhondda Valleys. Roman
finds in the uplands of Glamorgan are scarce, but the settlement at Hen Dre'r Gelli, excavated in 1903, is the only undefended settlement of its type in the Rhondda. A lengthy archealogical report was published in 1906, but little remains of the site, with much destroyed during the construction of the Nant y Gwyddon refuse tip.
The farmlands of 19th century Gelli were owned by absentee landlords, like Crawshay Bailey
and the Earl of Dunraven, who would gain from selling the areas when coal exploration began. The first pit sunk in Gelli was in the 1870s, undertaken by the firm owned by Edmund Thomas and George Griffiths. The Gelli Colliery was then purchased by brothers, John and Richard Cory who deepened the pit further. The colliery suffered a mining accident
when a gas explosion in 1893 took the lives of five miners. Subsequently the pit was sold to the Powell Duffryn Company, who owned the mine until the nationalisation of the mining industry in 1947. A second pit was opened by David Davies
in 1877, the Eastern Colliery, though this closed in 1937.
As with all villages in the Rhondda Valley, since the end of the coal mining industry, the area has suffered an economic depression with a history of unemployment
higher than the national average. With little employment in the area apart from retail services many people commute to work outside the valley.
Gelli is neighboured by the towns of Ton Pentre
and Ystrad and because the B4223 link road, that services Llwynypia
to Cwmparc
, goes through Gelli it experiences fairly heavy levels of traffic. It has also suffered in the past from flooding, due to its low level in comparison to the River Rhondda, and after two serious floods in 1960 and 1970, the council responded by improving flood defenses to the Rhondda Wall.
Gelli (Nantgwyddon) was also home to a landfill
site which has been at the centre of controversial reports connecting it with birth defects in children born in the nearby vicinity. The reports resulted in a full scale environmental report, and the decision by the local authorities to cease the dumping of domestic waste at the site.
Pupils from the village also attend Ton Infants School (School Street, Ton Pentre) and Ton Juniors (Bailey Street, Ton Pentre)
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 Rhondda
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
Fawr valley, 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 Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...
, 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 on the southern bank of the Rhondda Fawr River
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 :...
. Gelli is a former coal mining
Coal 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,...
village which is a district of the community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
of Ystrad
Ystrad Rhondda
Ystrad is a community and village in the Rhondda Fawr valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. As a community and ward Ystrad contains the neighbouring district of Gelli...
.
Early and industrial history
The village of Gelli takes its name from a farm that was once found in the area, which translates from the Welsh languageWelsh 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...
roughly as 'small wood or copse'. Before the industrialisation of the area there were few settlements in the area, mainly small agricultural and farm buildings. Archeological finds in the area have provided proof of earlier populations, mainly Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, though Gelli does house one of only two definite Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
finds in the Rhondda Valleys. Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
finds in the uplands of Glamorgan are scarce, but the settlement at Hen Dre'r Gelli, excavated in 1903, is the only undefended settlement of its type in the Rhondda. A lengthy archealogical report was published in 1906, but little remains of the site, with much destroyed during the construction of the Nant y Gwyddon refuse tip.
The farmlands of 19th century Gelli were owned by absentee landlords, like Crawshay Bailey
Crawshay Bailey
Crawshay Bailey was an English industrialist who became one of the great iron-masters of Wales.-Early life:Bailey was born in 1789 in Great Wenham, Suffolk, the son of John Bailey, of Wakefield and his wife Susannah...
and the Earl of Dunraven, who would gain from selling the areas when coal exploration began. The first pit sunk in Gelli was in the 1870s, undertaken by the firm owned by Edmund Thomas and George Griffiths. The Gelli Colliery was then purchased by brothers, John and Richard Cory who deepened the pit further. The colliery suffered a mining accident
Mining accident
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the processes of coal mining and hard rock mining...
when a gas explosion in 1893 took the lives of five miners. Subsequently the pit was sold to the Powell Duffryn Company, who owned the mine until the nationalisation of the mining industry in 1947. A second pit was opened by David Davies
David Davies (industrialist)
David Davies was a Welsh industrialist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1874 and 1886. Davies was often known as David Davies Llandinam , in order to differentiate him from others of the same name.Davies was the son of David Davies and his wife Elizabeth...
in 1877, the Eastern Colliery, though this closed in 1937.
Modern Gelli
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
higher than the national average. With little employment in the area apart from retail services many people commute to work outside the valley.
Gelli is neighboured by the towns of Ton Pentre
Ton Pentre
Ton Pentre is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district of Ystradyfodwg was named after the church at Ton Pentre...
and Ystrad and because the B4223 link road, that services Llwynypia
Llwynypia
Llwynypia , is a village in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a population boom between 1860 and 1920 with the sinking of several coal mines after the discovery of large coal deposits...
to Cwmparc
Cwmparc
Cwmparc is a village and a district of the community of Treorchy, in the Rhondda Valley, Wales.- History :Early legends tell of a medieval park, or hunting preserve, in the area called Parc Cwm Brychiniog, which was subsequently made into four farms in Tudor times, one of which was called Parc...
, goes through Gelli it experiences fairly heavy levels of traffic. It has also suffered in the past from flooding, due to its low level in comparison to the River Rhondda, and after two serious floods in 1960 and 1970, the council responded by improving flood defenses to the Rhondda Wall.
Gelli (Nantgwyddon) was also home to a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
site which has been at the centre of controversial reports connecting it with birth defects in children born in the nearby vicinity. The reports resulted in a full scale environmental report, and the decision by the local authorities to cease the dumping of domestic waste at the site.
Education
Gelli Primary School, located on Ystrad Road, is the primary school that serves the village.Pupils from the village also attend Ton Infants School (School Street, Ton Pentre) and Ton Juniors (Bailey Street, Ton Pentre)
External links
- Rhondda Cynon Taff Library Service - Heritage Trail, Gelli