The effect of human activity on the natural vegetation of the area is clear from pollen analysis carried out in the locality; this is at its height at the end of the Bronze Age, and it is perhaps no surprise that the first major impact of human settlement on the physical environment of the area dates to this and the following period, the Iron Age. The site is situated, like other examples of its kind, on high open moorland; its location suggests occupation on a seasonal basis, when animals were moved to the higher pastures during the summer.
The remains cover an extensive area of gently southeast sloping ground and comprise a range of round houses and enclosures and stretches of walling, which form an interlinked village of amorphous plan. The site, when excavated in , revealed little apart from a small amount of iron and evidence of leather.
This might suggest material poverty, but might equally reflect the seasonal nature of the site's occupation. The site, excavated in , comprises a small horseshoe-shaped central enclosure surrounded by widely-spaced low outer banks, while located between the inner and the outer ramparts is a Bronze Age cairn.
Like many other examples, the fortified settlement of Maendy, with its hill-spur location, small central enclosure and widely spaced outer banks, appears to have been primarily pastoral.
The layout of the site lends itself more easily with the function of stock raising and protection, than defence of a territory. The only definite indication of early medieval occupation, beyond the system of cross-dykes see above , comes from the place-name evidence, e.
Dinas and Bodrhyngallt and the dedication of the area's churches to early Celtic Saints. For example, the historic landscape area contains the site of a church dedicated to the 6th century St Tyfodwg at Ton Pentre the parish church of Ystradyfodwg , while that dedicated to St Gwynno, Llanwynno lies just beyond the eastern border. The area appears to have been under the sphere of influence of the great monastic site founded by St Illtud, Llanilltud Fawr Llantwit Major.
It is probably significant that Llanilltud Faerdre Llantwit Vardre , another site connected to St Illtud, lies nearby to the south; the Faerdre element of the name suggests that the church was closely associated with a maerdref , a secular Royal administrative settlement. The area surrounding the church of Ystradyfodwg is characterised by a widening of the river terraces, offering flatter good quality agricultural land, which would be ideal for settlement.
The existence of a settlement of early medieval date, if not earlier, at this site is also implied by the high density of both earlier settlement, e. The industrialised and urbanised nature of the valley floor throughout the area of special historic landscape has resulted in the significant loss of earlier settlement features. The cartographic record and place-name evidence affords some indication of the location of medieval settlement along the valley floor, as on the higher ground, i.
The surviving settlement features of the period are exclusively known from the higher upland areas. The settlement features are predominantly platform houses, longhuts, typically in set out pairs; these upland dwellings or hafodau appear to have been occupied on a seasonal basis and were associated with pastoral agriculture, chiefly based on the rearing of cattle. The platform house sites are typically situated at the upper break of slope of the valley side along the periphery of the extensive upland pasture, the location frequently reflects the upper extent of the post-medieval enclosure and encroachment.
Further study of the cartographic evidence may allow a correlation to be made between the distribution of known upland settlement with that of valley bottom settlement. A well-preserved example of medieval upland settlement is to be found at Carn-y-wiwer, comprising two groups of typically paired house platforms SAM Gm To the north and east of the platform houses is a group of c.
Related features, belonging to the medieval or immediate post-medieval period include enclosures or pounds associated with the management of stock, examples remain at Ffald Lluest and Tarren Saerbren.
Platform houses, such as those at Carn-y-wiwer, and the remains of hafodau throughout the area recall exploitation of the uplands, often on a seasonal basis, for cattle, and later sheep, farming during the medieval and post-medieval periods. During the early post-medieval period it is thought that the hendre-hafod system was gradually superseded through a change in pastoral practice.
The main aspect is a transition away from the seasonal movement of kinship groups with the cattle to communally organised individual shepherds. It is considered that lluest sites belong to the latter system Locock, The Welsh clan system with its particular customs, legal system, land tenure and inheritance survived longer in Penychan, than the areas further south, which had been subject to early Norman domination; the effect this had on the development of post-medieval agriculture and the agricultural holdings themselves is of interest.
Most of the freehold farms within the Rhondda had been established by the sixteenth century; though the processes behind their development and the date at which this occurred are as yet not fully understood, and require further detailed study.
The farms are mostly 17th century in date, and predominantly of the longhouse regional type, such as Nant Dyrys-uchaf now substantially altered and Gelli farm hearth-passage group: long-houses, RCAHMW. These structures were usually arranged at right angles to the slope of the hillside, with a byre at the lower level, and living accommodation at the upper level often with a central hearth between and sharing a common entrance, usually via the byre.
The best surviving example of the longhouse or ty-hir in the Rhondda, is Ty'n-tyle; probably early 17th century, it is of two and a half storeys, retaining a central hearth and original doorway to raised passage between hall and cowhouse, though a new entrance with porch has been made directly into the hall. This farmhouse, set in an excavated hollow at right angles to the slope of the hillside, is typical of the design of longhouses: an entrance, to the side of the central chimney, is provided directly between the byre, at a lower level, and the living accommodation; the original external entrance being via the byre three-unit longhouse with hall between narrow inner room and cowhouse; hearth-passage group: longhouses with raised passage, RCAHMW.
A similar example is that of Blaenllechau, an early 17th century, altered in , comprising a three-unit longhouse with hall, heated inner room and cowhouse with raised passage hearth-passage group: with raised passage, RCAHMW.
A variation of the longhouse type can be seen at Bodringallt Bodrhyngallt , another 17th century building, characterised by a direct entry at the centre of the house and no central chimney Direct-entry group: end-chimney house, RCAHMW. Another interesting variation of the longhouse theme is the farmstead of Troed-y-rhiw, with central and gable fireplaces with entrance to the side of the central chimney, though without the direct entrance between the byre and living quarters.
This is a three-unit, two-half storey lobby-entry-house, of c. Other less-typical post-medieval house types include Ty-newydd Farm, a 17th century three-unit, chimney-backing-on-entry house with storeyed porch and hall between outer and inner rooms, both heated hearth-passage group: houses with hall outer and inner rooms, or type B porch-entry house , with a sundial dated Contemporary agricultural buildings include a 4-bay 18th century barn at Blaenllechau; and a 4-bay barn with extra bay forming a cart shed, and a cattle shed at Hafod Fawr.
Agricultural Landscapes Piecemeal remnants of the agricultural landscape survive in areas away from the valley bottom, primarily on the steeper slopes and the upland ridges, where later industrial incursion has been less intense.
While the traditional agriculture of the Rhondda area was based on a system of mixed farming, it is the pastoral element, the rearing of livestock, which has always been predominant and the archaeological record reflects this; for example the Iron Age hillfort of Maendy Camp, is characterised as being a 'pastoral' type, its layout more suited to corralling cattle than the defence of an area.
As outlined in the settlement section above, this seasonal use is continued into the medieval period; the remains of medieval platform houses, associated relict field systems e. The stock would have been predominantly cattle, but sheep are also evident during the medieval period, especially on the land of the former monastic grange of Mynachdy Penrhys, where the Cistercians carried out sheep farming until the early 14th century.
Interestingly the division of the monastic holding of Penrhys, into leaseholds, which occurred at the time, is considered to have resulted in the construction of boundaries. It is unclear, however, whether these boundaries remain as features in the landscape.
It may be significant that a more regular pattern of larger fields is seen in the area of the grange. Generally, however, the surviving enclosure of the Rhondda, is predominantly characterised by a patchwork of small and medium sized irregular fields, as depicted on the Tithe and 1st edition OS maps, with the steeper slopes, especially in the Rhondda Fach for the most part densely covered by woodland.
Boundaries, marking the extent of late medieval and early post-medieval encroachment and enclosure on the slopes, are mainly of dry stone construction, though cloddiau and hedged banks are also evident. Physical reminders of post-medieval agriculture include sheepfolds, sheep shelters, beast-houses and lluest sites. The latter were upland shelters probably used by individual shepherds on a seasonal basis; and indeed a tradition exists which supports this.
Although cattle production continued during the post-medieval period, sheep farming became the mainstay of agriculture, in the Rhondda as elsewhere in the Blaenau region. The farmers of the region frequented the markets or fairs at Neath, Merthyr, Llantrisant, Ynysybwl and Llandaff, using Porthmyn or drovers, whenever it was necessary to convey stock to markets further a field; the main routes used by the drovers out of the Rhondda were to the north, via Blaenrhondda and Hirwaun Common to Hereford and to the south via Llantrisant.
Although predominantly pastoral, a limited, though sufficient, amount of arable production was maintained, chiefly oats, barley and wheat and also the traditional root crops. Corn was grown in the more fertile fields on the alluvial flats and meadows of the Rhondda Fawr at Penyrenglyn, Gelli and Llwynypia and in the lateral valleys of Cwmparc and Fforch. Within the Rhondda Fach the lowland meadowlands were restricted to the area of Ynys-hir; elsewhere the cereal production was carried out on valley side terraces, where the farms were generally located.
Oats were frequently cultivated in the valleys, and the Glynrhondda area was frequently referred to colloquially as Gwlad y Gyrchen the Land of the Oat in tradition. The high plateau itself was seldom cultivated, only during times of extreme hardship; as a result of shortages of cereals brought on by the long wars against France and the restrictions of the Corn Laws, rye and oats were both cultivated at altitudes of m, at Penrhys, and above Glynfach Farm, Porth.
Farming as practised in the Rhondda continued along traditional lines during first half of the 19th century; the old Welsh plough drawn by a pair of oxen remained in use, while car llusg sleds and traditional flails also continued to be used.
The state of agriculture in the Rhondda improved only after , with increasing industrial markets and the end of the agricultural depression. Likewise the Rhondda retained a predominantly rural character with its extensive mixed woodland and barren upland landscape until the mid-nineteenth century and the development of the coal industry. At the start of the 19th century the only exceptions to the rural scene were a few small mining villages, such as Hafod, Cymmer and Dinas in the Lower Rhondda and the even smaller mining settlements in the Clydach Valley and at Ynys-hir in the Rhondda Fach.
Benjamin Heath Malkin , writing in , remarked upon the absence of settlement of any consequence in the area beyond occasional groups of labourers' cottages as at Penyrenglyn, Ystrad and Pontygwaith.
Agriculture fostered a variety of crafts, trades and small-scale industries, characteristic of a self-contained and secluded rural community, these including blacksmiths, masons, sawyers, hoopers, woollen manufacturer, weaver, tailor, thatcher and shoemaker. During the first half of the 19th century water grind mills were used to process wheat, barley and oats; with mills located at Cwmsaerbren and Glyncoli in the upper Rhondda Fawr, Melin-yr-Om the medieval mill associated with the monastic grange of Penrhys in the mid Rhondda, while the lower Rhondda was served by mills at Pandy, Dinas and Ty'n-y-cymer.
The shearing of sheep was carried out in a communal fashion, and while black wool was set aside for knitting stockings, the remainder was either spun into yarn on domestic spinning wheels or woven into cloth or flannel; the finished product then taken to the pandy or fulling mill, in this case to the woollen 'manufacturi' and pandy at Tonypandy, which had been established in by Harri David. The forests of the area also played an important role in the local rural economy.
The cartographic evidence, such as the OS maps of , or Colby's map of , reveals both main valleys were 'luxuriously wooded'; this fact was supported by descriptions of travellers to the area from Thomas Leland to Thomas Roscoe and attested to by place-name evidence, such as the numerous coed , coedcae and gelli names. Forestry in the area was flourishing during the early 19th century; Rhondda timber was supplied to the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Other timber based industries included charcoal production, several platforms or aelwyd gols associated with charcoal burning survive in the area, e.
Though the uplands have been extensively planted with conifers during the latter part of the 20th century, what remains today of the Rhondda's formerly extensive mixed-woodland today is a mere remnant, regenerated following the demise of the area's coal industry and once exploitation, primarily for pit-props, had ceased. Maendy Camp is rare example of an Iron Age hillfort in the Glamorgan uplands; the site excavated in , is characterised as being of a 'pastoral' type, its layout comprising a small horseshoe-shaped central enclosure enclosed by widely spaced low outer banks.
The nature of the site is more in keeping with a function of corralling livestock, rather than defence of territory. An Iron Age or early medieval defensive encampment or settlement is also suggested by the place-name of Dinas, although none is known from either the area of the post-medieval farm or current settlement of the same name within the lower Rhondda. There are only two other defensive structures in the area, these are both medieval in date, specifically the remains of the motte at Ynysygrug, and the medieval castle site of Castell Nos SAM Gm , Maerdy; the former probably associated with the earliest Norman incursions into the area has been largely destroyed by the construction of the Taff Vale Railway during the 19th century, while the latter site, probably a native Welsh stronghold of Maredudd ap Caradog ab Iestyn, the Welsh ruler of Meisgyn during the late 12th century, is better preserved and retains defences including a man-made escarpment and a ditch on the north and west sides.
The designation of the area as a Park has been preserved in the names of the farms of Parc-uchaf and Parc-isaf and of the valley itself, Cwm Parc. The separate nature of the park area and its boundaries are to an extent reinforced by its geographical situation and setting, being located within a side valley, delineated by steep glacial escarpments. The natural aspect of the Rhondda's landscape has been remarked on elsewhere; the area's wild and then densely wooded landscape attracted the attention of early 19th century traveller's and compilers of topographical works, perhaps the most famous being Benjamin Heath Malkin Writing in , Malkin remarked upon the absence of settlement of any consequence in the area and was also impressed by the 'union of wildness and luxuriance' and of the lower Rhondda Fawr Valley he describes the 'contrast of the meadows, rich and verdant, with mountains the most wild and romantic surrounding them on every side, is in the highest degree picturesque.
The area made an impression on early nineteenth authors of major topographical works such as the Rev. T Rees and S Lewis, while in Thomas Roscoe in his Wanderings through South Wales described the area as 'a wild and mountainous region where nature seemed to reign in stern and unbroken silence'. Even as late as , the traveller Charles Frederick Cliffe could describe the area as 'the gem of South Wales and hardly surpassed throughout the Alpine North'. Despite the effects of over one hundred and fifty years of coal mining, and more recent widespread Forestry Commission plantation, the magnificent wilderness of the upper valley sides and mountain tops remains; however the landscapes of the lower valley sides and bottom has been largely altered beyond all recognition.
Transport and Communication The earliest communication networks known in the area are the ridge way routes, cefn-ffyrdd e. Heol Adam , which run the length of the three south-east-aligned ridges of Cefn-gwyngul, Cefn-Rhondda and Mynydd Meyrick and east-west routes across the north of the area above Llyn Fawr and via Maendy over Bwlch-y-clawdd into the Garw Valley. Site search. Download the free GetOutside app for family-friendly things to do outside.
Use OS Maps to see more detail including footpaths, bridleways, cycle tracks and rights of way. Launch OS Maps. View more routes. OS GetOutside in Wales. The collection contains books, newspapers, periodicals, maps, plans, directories, illustrations and ephemera. Census returns and Electoral Registers are amongst the many records available for people researching their family history.
More information on our local and family history services can be found here. For reference inquiries, e-mail: Library. Reference rctcbc. The larger of the two valleys, the Rhondda Fawr, extends from Porth and climbs up through the valley to Blaenrhondda , near Treherbert. The villages of the Rhondda Fawr are:. In the early Middle Ages, Glynrhondda was a commote of the cantref of Penychen in the kingdom of Morgannwg, a sparsely populated agricultural area.
The spelling of the commote varied widely, and the Cardiff Records shows the various spellings: [1] Rhoddeni , Rotheni , Glyn Rhoddni , Glenrotheney , Glynroddne , Glynroddney , Glynrotheney , Glynrothnei , Glynrhoddeney , Glynronthey Many sources state the meaning of Rhondda as 'noisy', though this is a simplified translation without research.
Sir Ifor Williams, in his work Enwau Lleoedd , suggests that the first syllable rhwadd is a form of the Welsh adrawdd or adrodd , as in 'recite, relate, recount'; [1] [2] the suggestion is that the river is speaking aloud, a comparison to the English expression 'a babbling brook'. Residents of either valley rarely use the terms 'Rhondda Fach' or 'Rhondda Fawr', referring instead to 'The Rhondda', or their specific village when relevant. Locals tend to refer to "The Rhondda" with the definite article, despite its non-usage on sign posts and maps.
A famous hymn tune is named "Cwm Rhondda" from this valley. The words of Arglwydd, arwain trwy'r anialwch were written by William Williams, but the hymn tune was written by John Hughes — who at age 12 began work in Glynn Colliery in Llantwit Fardre and later became a clerk at the Great Western Colliery in Pontypridd where he worked for over 40 years. He served as a deacon and leader of the congregational singing in Salem Baptist Chapel in Llantwit Fardre.
The first version of the tune, called "Rhondda" was written in for the hymn festival in Pontypridd, during the enthusiasm of the — Welsh Revival.
The present form was developed for the inauguration of the organ at Capel Rhondda, in Hopkinstown in the Rhondda Valley, in Hughes himself played the organ at this performance, using the English translation of Williams's words. The earliest evidence of the presence of man in these upper areas of Glamorgan was discovered in at Craig y Llyn ; a small chipped stone tool found from the early Mesolithic period.
Many other Mesolithic items have been discovered in the Rhondda, predominantly in the upper areas around Blaenrhondda , Blaencwm and Maerdy , items relating to hunting, fishing and foraging. The earliest structural relic is at Cefn Glas near the watershed of the Rhondda Fach river where are found the remains of a rectangular hut with traces of drystone wall foundations and postholes, carbon dated as late Neolithic.
Several Bronze Age cairns and cists have been discovered throughout the length of both valleys. The best example of a round-cairn was found at Crug yr Afan, near the summit of Graig Fawr, west of Cwmparc , known tongue-oin-cheek as the 'Rhondda Stonehenge' consisting of 10 upright stones no more than 2 feet in height encircling a central cist.
The most definite example of a Roman site in the area is found above Blaenllechau in Ferndale. It was thought to be a military site or marching camp. At the coming of the Normans, the Rhondda was the commote of Glynrhondda in the Penychen Cantref, a narrow strip running between modern day Glyn Neath and the coast between Cardiff and Aberthaw.
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