Talk:Pontypridd

Infobox image
Who on Earth included that new image? It's hideous! Can't we get something beautiful? --Monkeynuts2008 (talk) 17:58, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

River Taff / Afon Taf
In Welsh, the river is the Taf (pronounced Tarv). However, in English, it is the river Taff. This is how it is pronounced by the vast majority of the people of the town, and using this avoids confusion with the River Taf (English spelling) or a river in West Wales.. which is where you currently link to if you press on the Taf link in this page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.56.246 (talk) 21:23, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

Tom Jones
Where was Tom Jones born? Was it Trefforest, or Pontypridd? --Rebroad 23:18, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

Treforest gives a street address of 57, Kingsland Terrace -- RupertB 22:00, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Can any one tell me whether there was a theatre (called the Star) in Pontypridd in the 1860's? Any information about it would be useful. Also Does Gelliwasted maean anything? Also In the 1860's what churches were there in Pontypridd in the mid-Victorian era?


 * Gelliwastad would translate as "level wood", where "gelli" means "small wood" and "(g)wastad" means level. Varitek 01:14, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

I have removed David Halloway, I have never heard of him (either as a local DJ or as an adult entertainer - is this a joke? Can anyone provide any more details. AND 'the best live location in Wales' is REALLY biased.Count Of The Saxon Shore 22:11, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

University of Glamorgan
When was it relocated from Trefforest? Countersubject 10:52, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

It wasn't. UoG website still cites Trefforest as the address. 137.222.37.12 14:22, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

I have removed J Bishop as a famous Ponty person this is due to the fact he is not and well I guess we could all just add ourselves in vanity, I added John Evans writter and poet who is famous and is listed as a Welsh hero in the recent national poll.

Again deleted J Bishop. I thought this was a serious website that contained proper facts and should not be abused. Please refer to guidlines or post at http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Pontypridd

Trefforest
There seems to be some confusion about the status of Trefforest. At one point the article says that Pontypridd incorporates the village of Trefforest; at another, it refers to neighbouring Trefforest, and this page has a question as to whether Tom Jones was born in one or the other. The Trefforest article simply states that it is a small village to the south-east of Pontypridd. Countersubject 16:51, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

... so I removed the reference to Trefforest as part of Pontypridd Countersubject 13:02, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Trefforest is definately within Pontypridd, but lot of people think of it as a place in it's own right. I think most addresses list Trefforest as in Pontypridd - but this should be checked out. Also remember there's a place called Trefforest Estate nearby in Nantgarw, which could add to the confusion. Trefforest Estate is definately not in Pontypridd.

Indeed Treforest estate is in Pontypridd, Pontypridd ends at Nant Garw, Taffs Well in local culture denotes the start of Cardiff. Pontypridd starts South of Trehafod and ends at Nant Garw.

I'd like to second the last bit. Trefforest is definitely within Pontypridd, and most of the estate is, with the exception of Parc Nantgarw, which has a Cardiff postal address. Nantgarw is in Cardiff postal town. People there will often think of themselves as part of Pontypridd though due to school children attending Pontypridd schools (mainly Hawthorn, but also the Welsh school, or Cardinal Newman). Taffs Well is a funny one - they normally attend Ponty schools but its a part of Cardiff in many other ways. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.44.56.246 (talk) 21:20, 13 January 2008 (UTC)


 * There is also a problem with the population stats. It states a population of 33,000. But the article starts with the town of Pontypridd. The town of Pontypridd has 3000 inhabitants. The community and ward of Ponty may contain 33,000, but that includes a multitude of towns in the area. What is this page about?FruitMonkey (talk) 22:21, 14 June 2008 (UTC)


 * This page should reflect both Pontypridd the town and the greater Pontypridd area. I dont think you could have seperate pages for both.  Some things will be repeated such as Tom Jones listed in Trefforest and Pontypridd but I think this is fine as Tom Jones is from both Trefforest and Pontypridd. harris 578 (talk) 21:08, 23 June 2008 (UTC)


 * That's a fair call, but maybe we should start the page with 'Pontypridd is a town and a community in Glamorgan...' and then go and differentiate in the opening statement. Ponty is not alone in this issue, most larger towns are either communities, like Llantrisant or Caerphilly, or are just towns that swallow their smaller neighbours, like Treorchy. Actually just looked it up in the 'cyclopedia of Wales and Ponty is the second largest community in Wales behind Barry. The settlements within the community are stated as Cilfynydd, Glyntaff, Glyncoed, Hawthorn, Rhydyfelin. Treforest and Upper Boat. I'm happy to update as such if anyone thinks this is a good start (and agree with the information).FruitMonkey (talk) 21:39, 23 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes I have no objections if you put that. I'll leave it up to you or maybe you want some more feedback and want to leave it a while.  I suppose it is a bit of a tricky one. harris 578 (talk) 06:57, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Pronunciation
I think the article should say that "reath" is pronounced as in "Breathe" not "Breath".

Ynysangharad park
I am going to start an article on Ynysangharad park but just need some advice on the naming. I have always known it as Ynysangharad park but I think its official name is Ynysangharad War Memorial Park. Which name do you think should be used? Kosack (talk) 11:53, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Boundaries of Pontypridd, or What is Ponty?
This is always going to be a contentious issue because of the extent of development of the Rhondda and Taff valleys there is so much overlap, just what is 'Rhondda', what is 'Pontypridd', what is 'Llantwit Fardre'/'Llantrisant'? I guess at the crudest level given that Ponty is at the junction of the Rhondda and Taff (uper/lower) valleys, then Ponty is both at the bottom of the Rhondda valley, or at the top of the Taff-Ely Valley depending on your persepctive.

It is difficuilt to seperate Pontypridd from the 'Rhondda' as a destinct identity because while Ponty is generally more affluent today than the 'Rhondda', Ponty was a heavily industrialised region as per the 'Rhondda' with its north western communities (e.g. Graig, Gyfeillion, Hopkinstown, Pantygraigwen, Pwllgwaun, Troedrhiwtrwyn etc) being more akin to those of what is typically considered the 'Rhondda' than those communities further south.

I would consider everything north of Treforest to be the bottom of the Rhondda valley, since 1.) the River Rhondda Fawr terminates in Ynysangharad Park, 2.) This area is defined by the Rhondda electoral ward which is officially defined as being part of Pontypridd Town 3.) North of Treforest, Pontypridd was atleast if not more industrialised than much of what is typically thought of as being the 'Rhondda', and some of the richest Rhondda coal seams ran through there, these were exploited before many of the pits were sunk in the 'Rhondda' 4.) While south of this (with the exception of Trefforest Iron & Steal Works and the Dynea coal levels above Rhydyfelin, there was comparatively little industry as per the area to the west of Trefforest Estate (Church Village, Llantwit Fardre etc).

With regard to Trehafod this is another difficuilt one. If you weren't to accept Hopkinstown etc as part of the Rhondda then neither can you accept Trehafod, since the Rhondda Fawr pass both and it isn't until Porth (the 'gateway' to the Rhondda as you know) that the Rhondda Valley is thought to begin in earnest, in some respects this would be the logical cut-off between Pontypridd and the Rhondda. Trehafod has always been debated as to whether it is within Pontypridd or the Rhondda or simply between the two, it all depends on your standpoint.

People actually living along the Rhondda Fawr will classify themselves according to whether they want to be considered associated with Ponty or a resident of Rhondda I suppose, but the fact that these communities are alongside the banks/overlooking the Rhonnda Fawr means that they must be within the Rhondda Valley, and yet these are within walking distance of the town centre and their existence dependant of the town and I would therefore also consider them part of Pontypridd.

Like I say, the easiest thing would be to either seperate at Porth or north/west of the park. Another contentious one is where does Ponty town end and Treforest begin, also is Treforest Industrial Estate part of Ponty given that prior to construction of the estate this was rural land which formed a break between 'Pontypridd' and the lower Taff Vale (Nantgarw/Gwaelod-y-Garth/Taffs Well/Creigiau/Pentyrch etc). If you manage to resolve all these then you've done better than countless people before you, good luck, I think you'll need it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.168.45.250 (talk) 13:16, 22 July 2008 (UTC)


 * The conversation above began on my user page but it deserves to be here for everyone to comment on.FruitMonkey (talk) 14:07, 22 July 2008 (UTC)


 * As I'm not a Ponty resident I'm looking at this issue from a Rhondda aspect. So this is the one boundary I think I can argue over. From the Trehafod/Hopkinstown issue I'm going from the old boundary maps. The Welsh Academy in their Encyclopedia of Wales puts the cut off line for the Rhondda at Trehafod. So does the library service service, here and the fact that Trehafod owns the Rhondda Heritage Park. Hopkinstown I've always considered as Ponty, which is a shame as it's the home of the National Anthem.FruitMonkey (talk) 14:07, 22 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Although largely an issue of semantics I'll give my input as someone who has spent most of their life in both Ponty and up the Rhondda and with a strong interest in local history. The communities along the River Rhondda south beyond Trehafod are not part of the Rhondda in administrative terms, currently or in recent history. This area is classed as part of Pontypridd and thereby part of the former Taff Ely district, which is consistent with RCT's library and others' website's classification of this area.


 * However this having said, as per Trehafod which strictly speaking does not follow the Rhondda Fawr or Rhondda Fach rivers but instead falls along the River Rhondda south of Porth the gateway and unoficial capital to the Rhondda, this area while every bit part of Ponty is at the same time within the Rhondda Valleys even if not from an administrative perspective. This isn't mutually exclusive as with Trehafod which is split between Ponty and Cymmer (Trehfod West community) from administrative terms, this area can be considered part of the Rhondda and within Ponty at the same time, in recognition that


 * Ponty falls at the junction of the Rhondda and the Taff valleys. The north west of Ponty (e.g. Hopkinstown, Pantygraigwen, Pwllgwaun etc) falls within the ancient parishes of Llantrisant and Llanwonno as per the lower Rhondda (e.g. Porth, Cymmer, Trehafod, Trebanog, Dinas etc) rather than the south and east of Ponty which fall largely within Eglwysilan and Llantwit Fardre historical parishes.  It is probably in recognition of this mixed lineage that this area falls within a ward called 'Rhondda' within Pontypridd.


 * We can also say that the north west of Ponty has always had a strong association with the Rhondda, the Great Western Colliery for example was linked with the Dinas and Ynyshir collieries and later with the Lewis Merthyr, there's also the famous Capel Rhondda in Hopkinstown where Cwm Rhondda was composed, there were numerous building and businesses during the victoria era with Rhondda in their title within this area such Rhondda House, Rhondda Flour Mill etc. Also this area is undeniably along the banks of the River Rhondda and part of the same system of hills (with their respective coal seems) as per Glynfach, Trehafod, Porth and Llwyncelyn, which strictly speaking end at the foot of Graigwen Hill to the east and Maesycoed to the west, south of which is where the Taff Vale Railway split between the Merthyr/Cynon branch and the Rhondda branch lines, and further south is were the River Rhondda flows into the Taff at Ynysangharad opposite the Graig.


 * What we must remember is that it's not until around 1900 when Ponty began to expand south beyond the Graig to the west and Trallwn to the east to subsume the previously distinct community of Treforest and expand further south with new communities established at Rhydyfelin and Hawthorn (formerly rural areas called Dynea and White Hawthorn respectively) and as far south as Upper Boat (a small community which grew alongside the Glamorganshire Canal). Up until then Ponty shared many of its administrative functions with the Rhondda, e.g. the Pontypridd and Rhondda Water Board.  It's only in relatively recent times that Ponty has become associated with representing the whole southern region (former Taff Ely district) north of Cardiff and south of the Rhondda, although in some respects Llantrisant given its central location between Tonyrefail, Beddau, Talbot Green, Pontyclun, Church Village, Llantwit Fardre etc, would make a more logical centre and name for this district, particularly as this belt is in rapid expansion, but that's another story.


 * Today the town of Pontypridd (comprising the wards of Town, Rhondda, Graig, Cilfynydd, Trallwng, Hawthorn and Treforest) follows similar fortunes to the Rhondda, with continued declining population, and future projected population decreases as people move further south and west to the affluent rapid growth areas of Llantrisant, Church Village, Llantwit Fardre and Vale of Glamorgan. So in conclusion - NO Ponty isn't part of the Rhondda from an administrative perspective, but YES part of Ponty falls within the Rhondda Valleys and should be considered within the historical perspective of the Rhondda.  To my mind it would be both historically inacurate and unfair to exclude this part of Ponty from the story of the Rhondda for what are largely arbitrary definition of boundaries.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.105.135.129 (talk) 09:08, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Pontypridd
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Pontypridd's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "RCT1": From Ynysybwl: http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk/heritagetrail/taff/ynysybwl/ynysybwl.htm From Albion Colliery:  

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 03:00, 22 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Neither links above mention the trams, removing the reference. FruitMonkey (talk) 08:14, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

Far more work needed
Pontypridd is a town with incredible swathes of history. Surely we can find someone who can further expand on this wonderful place?--Monkeynuts2008 (talk) 16:05, 24 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Hi Monkeynuts, I originally added the bits about Ponty's collieries and wrote the latest discussion above about Ponty vs Rhondda boundaries above.  As a long time Ponty boy I've spent years researching its history, and rest assured I'll eventually be adding some historical context to the article.  Like you say, Ponty's steeped in history, it's a pitty it's often overlooked in favour of betteer documented history of neighbouring areas such as the Rhondda, Llantrisant, Caerphilly and Cardiff.  Maybe together we can rectify this.


 * All I can suggest is, get writing. You both have knowledge and passion for the area, so you would be the perfect people to expand this page. You state that other areas are better documented, but don't believe it, no one cared about the Rhondda page, and it took me from July last year to March to drag the article from a 1000 byte stub to Good article status, including adding almost all the photos and spending much time in local libraries. Be brave and start editing, otherwise you or someone else will be having the same discussions about why no one is expanding this article next year. Good luck. FruitMonkey (talk) 10:01, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Ext lk rem'd; rem'l should be reviewed
The 2nd edit of an IP whose other two were both pretty clearly in bad faith removed from Pontypridd the following:
 * * Pontypridd: Official Pontypridd website

The site's sarcastic & IMO anti-social tone raise questions in my mind about its value, the ad for the site-builder who created it, and the prominent "Visit Our Sponsors" appeal do suggest to me that the remover's description of the lk as "spam" may be justified. Others in a better position (than i who 30 minutes ago knew not of Ponty's existence) to put it in perspective may want to consider whether reversion of the removal is in order. --Jerzy•t 06:24, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Pontypridd. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080226224626/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_ua_ew_part1.pdf to http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_ua_ew_part1.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20061113032502/http://www.tomjones.com/news/index.aspx?newsid=32 to http://www.tomjones.com/news/index.aspx?newsid=32

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 09:59, 17 October 2015 (UTC)

Museum
Cultural section should probably mention the museum:

https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/20022020-museum-community-rallies-round-flood-hit-pontypridd

©Geni (talk) 03:48, 10 March 2020 (UTC)

Guys/Gals, stop it. This is not a playground
, you're inserting ridiculous stuff about records for eating peaches and time spent seat-warming, in the Sports section. WP is hard enough to maintain without it being used as a playground for a good laugh. This sort of editing is disruptive and likely to get you banned. But it is quite funny. But please stop. Elemimele (talk) 21:18, 29 June 2021 (UTC)