Llantwit Fardre
Encyclopedia
Llantwit Fardre is a large village
situated on the A473, Pontypridd to Bridgend
, road near the Welsh
towns of Pontypridd
and Llantrisant
. Confusingly, Llantwit Fardre is also the name of the old parish
and the community
area that takes in the villages of Llantwit Fardre, Tonteg
and Church Village
.
The Welsh Assembly Government has constructed a bypass
to reduce traffic congestion on the A473 road at Tonteg
, Church Village
and Llantwit Fardre. The Church Village bypass, as it is known, has been built as a single carriageway, with crawler and overtaking lanes around roundabouts, and was opened for traffic in September 2010.
name meaning The Church of St Illtud
on the Home Farm of the Prince and relates to the land surrendered to the prince of the District by his subject to provide him with an income. Saint
Illtud was a 5th century Celtic priest who built his second church roughly in the area where the present church stands. He was late famed as the Saint of the Five Keys of youth, learning, chivalry, priesthood and knighthood.
castle
with an intact moat
called Tomen-Y-Clawdd. Which is located in the parish village of Tonteg
. Coach company Edwards Coaches
is based in the town, and was established in 1925.
A station called Llantwit Fardre
(and formerly Llantwit Dyffryn Red Ash Colliery) served the village on the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway
.
. With the decline of coal mining the local populace tend to commute
to work.
Between 1959 and 1973 Gilbern cars
were manufactured in the village.
and football (soccer)
team. Llantwit Fardre RFC
are a rugby union
team who play in the WRU
Division Three South East league; Llantwit Fardre AFC
are a local football club that have a team playing in the South Wales Amateur Football League.
On May 2, 2008, Joel James, a British Conservative Party
politician became the first Tory councillor to be elected to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
for the Llantwit Fardre seat.
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...
situated on the A473, Pontypridd to Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
, road near 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...
towns 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...
and Llantrisant
Llantrisant
Llantrisant is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The town's name translates as The Parish of the Three Saints. The three saints in question are St Illtyd, St Gwynno and St...
. Confusingly, Llantwit Fardre is also the name of the old parish
Parish
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...
and 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....
area that takes in the villages of Llantwit Fardre, Tonteg
Tonteg
Tonteg is a village around three and a half miles from Pontypridd, south Wales. It is north west of Cardiff and four miles north east of Llantrisant. The village is within the community of Llantwit Fardre...
and Church Village
Church Village
Church Village is a large village in the historic parish and community of Llantwit Fardre, located within the Taff Ely district of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales...
.
The Welsh Assembly Government has constructed a bypass
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
to reduce traffic congestion on the A473 road at Tonteg
Tonteg
Tonteg is a village around three and a half miles from Pontypridd, south Wales. It is north west of Cardiff and four miles north east of Llantrisant. The village is within the community of Llantwit Fardre...
, Church Village
Church Village
Church Village is a large village in the historic parish and community of Llantwit Fardre, located within the Taff Ely district of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales...
and Llantwit Fardre. The Church Village bypass, as it is known, has been built as a single carriageway, with crawler and overtaking lanes around roundabouts, and was opened for traffic in September 2010.
Etymology
It is believed the name Llantwit Fardre is derived from an old 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...
name meaning The Church of St Illtud
Illtud
Illtyd , was a Welsh saint, founder and abbot of Llanilltud Fawr in the Welsh county of Glamorgan...
on the Home Farm of the Prince and relates to the land surrendered to the prince of the District by his subject to provide him with an income. Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Illtud was a 5th century Celtic priest who built his second church roughly in the area where the present church stands. He was late famed as the Saint of the Five Keys of youth, learning, chivalry, priesthood and knighthood.
History & Amenities
The parish has a fairly well preserved 12th century motteMotte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
with an intact moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
called Tomen-Y-Clawdd. Which is located in the parish village of Tonteg
Tonteg
Tonteg is a village around three and a half miles from Pontypridd, south Wales. It is north west of Cardiff and four miles north east of Llantrisant. The village is within the community of Llantwit Fardre...
. Coach company Edwards Coaches
Edwards Coaches
Edwards Coaches is a family-owned coach company based in Llantwit Fardre, near Pontypridd in South Wales.Since 1925, the Edwards family has operated buses and coaches in South Wales. It was founded by George Edwards. Over recent years, the company has expanded by acquiring several smaller local firms...
is based in the town, and was established in 1925.
A station called Llantwit Fardre
Llantwit Fardre railway station
Llantwit Fardre was a station on the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway.The station consisted of a single platform and station buildings. A small bridge crossed over Crown Hill to the west of the station followed by the Dyffryn Red Ash Colliery sidings and a spur to Cwm Colliery. There were...
(and formerly Llantwit Dyffryn Red Ash Colliery) served the village on the Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway
Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway
The Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway was a railway located in south Wales which broadly ran between Pontypridd and Llantrisant. It opened to freight traffic in 1863 and to passenger traffic in 1875...
.
Employment
Industrialisation began in Llantwit Fardre in the late 17th century with the introduction of stone quarrying and coal miningCoal 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,...
. With the decline of coal mining the local populace tend to commute
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
to work.
Between 1959 and 1973 Gilbern cars
Gilbern
Gilbern cars were made in Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd, Glamorgan, Wales between 1959 and 1973.Gilbern Sports Cars Ltd was founded by Giles Smith, a butcher, and Bernard Friese, a German engineer with experience in glass fibre mouldings, and was one of the few cars to be made in Wales...
were manufactured in the village.
Sport
Llantwit Fardre has both a 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...
and football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team. Llantwit Fardre RFC
Llantwit Fardre RFC
Llantwit Fardre Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Llantwit Fardre, South Wales. The club was formed in its present state in 1946 and obtained membership of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1949...
are a rugby union
Rugby 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...
team who play in the WRU
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...
Division Three South East league; Llantwit Fardre AFC
Llantwit Fardre F.C.
Llantwit Fardre Football Club are an association football club based in the village of Llantwit Fardre near Pontypridd, Wales. The club currently plays in the South Wales Amateur League First Division which is the fifth tier of the Welsh football league system in South Wales.-Players...
are a local football club that have a team playing in the South Wales Amateur Football League.
Local government
Llantwit Fardre Parish Council was formed under the 1894 Local Government Act and the first meeting was held on 1 January 1895. It continued in this form until 1974 when, on local government re-organisation, Welsh parish councils were re-titled community councils in deference to the disestablishment of the Church in Wales some 60 years earlier. The council have adopted the motto, carved over the entrance to the Carnegie Hall, “Goreu arf arf ddysg” being translated from the old Welsh to mean “The best tools are the tools for learning”.On May 2, 2008, Joel James, a British Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician became the first Tory councillor to be elected to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council is the governing body for Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council headquarters are located in the town of Tonypandy.- Current composition :- Historic results :...
for the Llantwit Fardre seat.