Cwmparc
| Cwmparc | |
|---|---|
 Cwmparc from Bwlch y Clawdd |
|
 Cwmparc
|
|
| Cwmparc shown within Rhondda Cynon Taf | |
| OS grid reference | SS956967 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Treorchy |
| Postcode district | CF42 |
| Dialling code | 01443 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
Cwmparc is a village and a district of the community of Treorchy, in the Rhondda Valley, Wales.
There is evidence of, and logic for, a medieval park, or hunting preserve, in the enclosed area called Parc Cwm Brychiniog. It lies in the cwmwd (in English 'commote') of Glyn Rhondda, a Welsh lordship centred on a motte and bailey castle at the confluence of the Rhondda Fawr and Nant y Clydach (below the town of Tonypandy) and now known as Ynys y Crug. Little of this structure remains, the motte having been largely destroyed by the building of Taff Vale Railway in the 19th century and the Tonypandy by-pass in the 20th century. The land below Cwmparc was subsequently divided into four farms in Tudor times, one of which was called Parc Uchaf (Upper Pank) and another Parc Isaf (Lower Park). The area became known as Cwmparc and its stream Nant Cwmparc ("" being the Welsh for valley). With the development of the coal mining in this part of the South Wales Valleys in the 19th century, the village also became known as Cwmparc. Above the present village is the mountain pass Bwlch y Clawdd leading to the Ogwr and Afan valleys.
Details of the early history and development of Cwmparc are contained within the booklet, "History of Cwmparc. King Coal Invades a Sylvan Valley" by Mr Gwyn Prosser which was awarded the prize at Treorchy Semi-National Eisteddfod in 1923. The author describes Cwmparc in 1923 as "a mining village of considerable pretensions, aspiring almost to the more dignified name of township" with a population of about 5,000. He describes the Parc [colliery] and, further down the valley, the Dare colliery, and the constant processions of [coal]-laden trucks running down the railway that flanked the Parc River.
The pioneer of Cwmparc’s development was David Davies of Llandinam described as, ‘foremost of Welsh industrial kings and founder of the renowned Ocean Coal Company’, who had in 1862 negotiated with Crawshay Bailey to commence coal mining on the Tremains Estate. Sinking operations were begun in August 1866 and by the end of that year Parc Pit had produced its first output of coal.
...
Wikipedia