Ogmore Vale
Encyclopedia
Ogmore Vale is a village
in the county borough
of Bridgend
, Wales
on the River Ogmore
.
The village's main source of income came from coal mining
. Up until the year 1865, the Ogmore valley was a quiet, isolated, rural
hill farming
community of less than ten farms and a few cottages. In 1851 the total population
of the valley was probably less than one hundred people.
On the 1st August 1865 the Ogmore Valley Railway was opened by John Brogden and Sons
for mineral, goods and passenger traffic from Porthcawl
to Nantymoel
. The completion of the railway connections with Bridgend through Tondu
and Porthcawl Dock, enabled the development to begin of the vast reserves of high quality house coal
s and dry steam coals of the valley.
The No. 2 and No. 3 Rhondda house and bituminous coal
s which outcrop along the valley were quickly proved and the Aber, Caedu and Tynewydd collieries were opened by drift mining
driven into the seams from the mountain sides. In the latter part of 1865, John Brogden and Sons
commenced the sinking of the two shafts at the Wyndham Colliery to prove and work the high quality smokeless dry steam coals of the Lower Coal Measures.
Brogdens lost control, first through an unavoidable merger in 1872 with the Llynvi Coal and Iron Company Ltd to make the Llynvi, Tondu and Ogmore Coal and Iron Company, then by the 1878 liquidation of the merged company after a large debenture-holder demanded his money back. After some abortive attempts to revive the business, stability was restored by the establishment of North’s Navigation Collieries (1889) Ltd.
From 1865 to 1983, when the last colliery (Wyndham/Western Mine) closed, the coal industry provided employment for the communities of the valley and much wealth was produced for the nation.
The village's Gwalia Stores, built in 1880 was moved, brick by brick, and rebuilt in St Fagans National History Museum
.
The village has a rugby union
club, prize winning brass band
, very active Local History Society, community centre, Wyndham Boys & Girls Club, Ladies Choir and a Male Voice Choir.
There is one Primary School, opened in September 2003, taking pupils from four original schools which were closed in July 2003. They were, with opening dates in brackets; Tynewydd Junior (1875), (Tynewydd was first opened in 1865 as a Company School for the Aber Colliery Company), Aber Infants (1873), (Aber was originally known as Craigrhiwglyn School and built privately by Mrs Ann Blandy-Jenkins in 1873 and later purchased by the Llandyfodwg School Board), Fronwen Primary (1914), Ogmore Vale Nursery (1947).
Of the former School sites, the original Craigrhwiglyn (Aber Boys), Fronwen and Tynewydd sites have all been developed for local housing. The former Nursery in Park Avenue has been demolished but as yet the site is undeveloped.
The village lies in the parliamentary constituency of Ogmore
.
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 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 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...
, 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...
on the River Ogmore
River Ogmore
The River Ogmore is a river in South Wales popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Pentre, past Bridgend and Ogmore...
.
The village's main source of income came from 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,...
. Up until the year 1865, the Ogmore valley was a quiet, isolated, rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
hill farming
Hill farming
Hill farming is extensive farming in upland areas, primarily rearing sheep, although historically cattle was often reared more intensively.Cattle farming is usually restricted by a scarcity of winter fodder, and sheep stocks, grazing at about 2 hectares per head, are often taken to lowland areas...
community of less than ten farms and a few cottages. In 1851 the total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of the valley was probably less than one hundred people.
On the 1st August 1865 the Ogmore Valley Railway was opened by John Brogden and Sons
John Brogden and Sons
John Brogden and Sons was a firm of Railway Contractors, Iron and Coal Miners and Iron Smelters operating from roughly 1837 to the bankruptcy in 1883. However the business essentially started when John Brogden moved from his father's farm near Clitheroe to set up in business in the rapidly...
for mineral, goods and passenger traffic from Porthcawl
Porthcawl
Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles southeast of Swansea...
to Nantymoel
Nantymoel
Nantymoel is a village and includes the formerly separate village of Pricetown in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales on the River Ogmore, and is one of the constituent villages of the Ogmore Valley...
. The completion of the railway connections with Bridgend through Tondu
Tondu
Tondu is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about north of the town of Bridgend.Tondu lies on the A4063 from Bridgend to Maesteg, and was established in the late 18th century as a coal mining village servicing the Parc Slip Colliery...
and Porthcawl Dock, enabled the development to begin of the vast reserves of high quality house coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
s and dry steam coals of the valley.
The No. 2 and No. 3 Rhondda house and bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
s which outcrop along the valley were quickly proved and the Aber, Caedu and Tynewydd collieries were opened by drift mining
Drift mining
Drift mining is either the mining of a placer deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. Drift is a more general mining term, meaning a near-horizontal passageway in a mine, following the bed or vein of ore. A...
driven into the seams from the mountain sides. In the latter part of 1865, John Brogden and Sons
John Brogden and Sons
John Brogden and Sons was a firm of Railway Contractors, Iron and Coal Miners and Iron Smelters operating from roughly 1837 to the bankruptcy in 1883. However the business essentially started when John Brogden moved from his father's farm near Clitheroe to set up in business in the rapidly...
commenced the sinking of the two shafts at the Wyndham Colliery to prove and work the high quality smokeless dry steam coals of the Lower Coal Measures.
Brogdens lost control, first through an unavoidable merger in 1872 with the Llynvi Coal and Iron Company Ltd to make the Llynvi, Tondu and Ogmore Coal and Iron Company, then by the 1878 liquidation of the merged company after a large debenture-holder demanded his money back. After some abortive attempts to revive the business, stability was restored by the establishment of North’s Navigation Collieries (1889) Ltd.
From 1865 to 1983, when the last colliery (Wyndham/Western Mine) closed, the coal industry provided employment for the communities of the valley and much wealth was produced for the nation.
The village's Gwalia Stores, built in 1880 was moved, brick by brick, and rebuilt in St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...
.
The village has 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...
club, prize winning brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
, very active Local History Society, community centre, Wyndham Boys & Girls Club, Ladies Choir and a Male Voice Choir.
There is one Primary School, opened in September 2003, taking pupils from four original schools which were closed in July 2003. They were, with opening dates in brackets; Tynewydd Junior (1875), (Tynewydd was first opened in 1865 as a Company School for the Aber Colliery Company), Aber Infants (1873), (Aber was originally known as Craigrhiwglyn School and built privately by Mrs Ann Blandy-Jenkins in 1873 and later purchased by the Llandyfodwg School Board), Fronwen Primary (1914), Ogmore Vale Nursery (1947).
Of the former School sites, the original Craigrhwiglyn (Aber Boys), Fronwen and Tynewydd sites have all been developed for local housing. The former Nursery in Park Avenue has been demolished but as yet the site is undeveloped.
The village lies in the parliamentary constituency of Ogmore
Ogmore (UK Parliament constituency)
Ogmore is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Boundaries :Taking its name from the River Ogmore, the constituency is situated close to the source of the river in the Ogwr valley and excludes the village of Ogmore-by-Sea, which is the...
.
Famous people
Notable famous people include Micheal "Moose" Thomas, Micheal Paget and Jason James from the Metal band, Bullet for my Valentine.- Windsor DaviesWindsor DaviesWindsor Davies is a British actor, well known for playing the part of Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the 1970s/1980s British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum.-Early life and career:...
, Actor
Famous Sportsmen and Women
- Lynn DaviesLynn DaviesLynn Davies CBE was a member of the Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club and captain of the British Olympic long jump team in 1964....
, Long Jump Gold Medal, 1964 Tokyo Olympics. - Graham Hodgson, Wales Rugby Union, played 15 times between 1961 and 1967
Films, TV and Books
- William Ingram who wrote the book 'The District Nurse' which was filmed between 1984 an 1987 starring Nerys HughesNerys HughesNerys Hughes , is a Welsh actress, known primarily for her television roles.Nerys Hughes was born in Rhyl, . She studied drama at Rose Bruford College. She is best known for the role of Sandra Hutchinson in the enormously successful BBC TV series The Liver Birds which ran from 1969 to 1978 with a...
lives in Gorwyl Road in Ogmore Vale. Several Scenes from the programme were filmed in the village. - A Run for Your MoneyA Run for Your MoneyA Run for Your Money is a 1949 Ealing Studios comedy film starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards as two Welshmen visiting London for the first time...
(filmed at Nantymoel Railway Station) c.1948. - Very Annie MaryVery Annie MaryVery Annie Mary is a 2001 comedy film and musical from the United Kingdom, written and directed by Sara Sugarman and starring Rachel Griffiths and Jonathan Pryce. It is a coming-of-age tale, set in south Wales, about a woman in her 30s who lives with her verbally abusive father...
a 2001 comedy film filmed in Ogmore. - "Framed" (BBC Drama) filmed in Ogmore Vale as well as SnowdoniaSnowdoniaSnowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
, 2008. - Gaffers' RowGaffers' RowGaffers' Row is the debut novel by R T Hunt. The story centres around a coal-mining community in a fictional South Wales valley. Though the story, setting and characters are fictional the story derives its themes from real life events of Hunt and the Ogmore Valley.The book was first published by...
, a 2008 period-drama novel by R T Hunt is inspired by Ogmore and it's people. The author also lives in the valley.