Pontypridd Urban District Council

Pontypridd Urban District Council was a local authority in Glamorgan, Wales. It was created in 1894 as a result of the 1894 Local Government of England and Wales Act. The Council existed until 1973 and replaced the Pontypridd Local Board of Health which had functioned for some years. Its boundaries were set in 1894. Initially, the Council had eighteen members but this number was increased in the 1930s, as a result of the increase in population. There were initially six wards, namely Cilfynydd, Graig, Pontypridd Town, Rhondda, Trallwn and Treforest; a seventh ward, Rhydyfelin, was added in the 1930s.

The first councillors were elected at the December 1894 elections. Most of the first members of the authority had served on the Local Board.

In the years leading up to the First World War, representatives of the Labour Party began to gain ground.

In 1974 the authority was abolished, and together with the former rural district of Llantrisant and some outlying areas, formed the Taff Ely Borough Council which, in turn, was subsumed into the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taff in 1996.

Pontypridd Urban District Council, Chairpersons

 * James F. Roberts, 1895-1898
 * Patrick Gowan, 1898-1899
 * R. T. Richards, 1899-1900
 * Hugh Bramwell, 1900-1901
 * Hopkin Morgan, 1901-1902
 * Frederick George Edwards, 1902-1903
 * William Lewis, 1903-1904
 * William Howell Gronow, 1904-1905
 * Edward Williams, 1906-1907
 * David Evans, 1908-1909
 * Moses Jones, 1909-1910
 * David Williams, 1910-1911
 * D. R. Evans, 1912-1913
 * Hopkin Morgan, 1914-1915
 * David Jenkins, 1915-1916
 * William Phillips, 1917-1918
 * David Lewis Davies, 1918-1919
 * Arthur Seaton, 1920-1921
 * David Williams, 1921-1922
 * Moses Jones, 1922-1923
 * Thomas Taylor, 1923-1924
 * W. J. Davies, 1924-1925
 * David Lewis Davies, 1925-1926
 * (Rev) D. G. Hughes, 1927-1928
 * Dan Evans, 1928-1929
 * Evan Morgan, 1929-1930
 * Robert Roper, 1931-1932
 * Artemus Seymour, 1933-1934
 * George Paget, 1934-1935
 * William Jones, 1935-1936
 * Jack Jones, 1936-1937
 * Arthur Pearson, 1937-1938
 * Walter Collier, 1938-1939
 * F. Morgan Phillips, 1939-1940
 * Jesse Powderhill, 1940-1941
 * Evan Morgan, 1941-1942
 * Edwin Rowbotham, 1942-1943
 * C. H. James, 1943-1945
 * Hopkin Smith, 1945-1946
 * H. Gardner, 1946-1947
 * George Paget, 1947-1948
 * David J. Richards, 1948-1949
 * H. G. Joshua, 1949-1950
 * Blodwen Randall, 1950-1951
 * Arthur R. Watkins, 1951-1952
 * H. G. A. Darke, 1952-1953
 * Arthur Brown, 1953-1954
 * John Stallard, 1954-1955
 * J. R. Clayton, 1955-1956
 * D. G. Ball, 1956-1957
 * S. Jones, 1957-1958
 * Llewellyn Hopkin, 1958-1959
 * J. Howell Davies, 1959-1960
 * F. J. C. Warner, 1960-1961
 * Emrys W. Peck. 1961-1962
 * A. W. B. Higgins, 1962-1963
 * Gwladys May Williams, 1963-1964
 * J. Ll. Williams, 1964-1965
 * Richard Evans, 1965-1966
 * Norman J. Randell, 1966-1967
 * John Davies, 1967-1968
 * William John Cheesman, 1968-1969
 * J. C. Anzani, 1969-1970
 * Reginald Price, 1970-1971
 * Mary G. Murphy, 1971-1972
 * G. H. Paget, 1972-1973

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1894
The first election to Pontypridd Urban District Council was held in December 1894. Three councillors were elected in each ward.

(**) indicates previous membership of the Local Board of Health.

After the election, the initial composition of the council was as follows.

Pontypridd Urban District council by-election, 1895
Although no elections to Pontypridd Urban District council were scheduled for 1895, the first full year of the council's existence, the death of William Williams created a vacancy in the Town Ward. There was no change to the overall composition of the council, following the by-election held on 13 May 1895.

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1896
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1896 there were contests in three of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Town Ward
William Seaton, elected the previous year, stood down after the council resolved that he, rather than another member elected in a by-election during the year, should seek re-election.

Pontypridd Urban District council by-election, 1896
A by-election was held in Cilfynydd at the end of April 1896 to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Thomas Williams.

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1897
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1897 there were contests in three of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1898
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1898 there were contests in three of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1899
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1899 there were contests in two of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1900
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1900 there were contests in four of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1901
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1901 there were contests in four of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1902
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1902 there were contests in two of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1903
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1903 there were contests in three of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council by-election, 1903
A by-election was held in the Town ward in May 1903 to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Arthur Seaton.

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1904
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1904 there were contests in three of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1905
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1905 there was a contest in only one of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Town Ward
Note: Jones's potential opponent, H. E. Crane, dropped out of the race before election day.

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1906
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1906 there were contests in three of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1907
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1907 there were contests in four of the six wards.

(*) denotes sitting member

Pontypridd Urban District council election, 1908
In the Pontypridd Urban District Council election of 1908 there were contests in three of the six wards, most notably in Cilfynydd - the first contested election there since the by-election in 1896.

(*) denotes sitting member

Notable members of the Council

 * Walter Morgan, solicitor
 * Arthur Pearson, Member of Parliament.
 * David Lewis Davies, Member of Parliament