The Heritage Hiker’s Guide to Merthyr

History of Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil (Merthyr Tudful) is as a typical Welsh Valley mining town and is situated on the A470 between Cardiff and Brecon. There is evidence for prehistoric settlement and land use (mainly to the north of the current town), a Roman fort at Penydarren and a later 13^th century castle up on the hillside above in Pant. The town below grew rapidly out of the industrial age and it has forged links to Iron Working under the ownership of the Crawshay family, who built the impressive Cyfarthfa Castle. There is a great section of the Taff trail skirts across its northern boundary from Cefn Coed Viaduct and east to Ponsticill  reservoir and the 4.3 mile stretch makes for a pleasant walk taking in most of the landscape.

Merthyr Tydfil has strong historical links to the Chartist movement and is known for the elected MP in 1900 (James) Keir Hardie. The town similarly has links to the engineer Richard Trevithick, and it is the birthplace of the famous composer Joseph Parry, fashion designers Laura Ashley and Julien MacDonald and the boxers Howard Winston and Jonny Owen. It was also home to the ancestors of Donny Osmond, who has often returned to the town in further research of his genealogy.

Sources of Further Informationon Merthyr Tydfil

Local societies such as the Merthyr Tyfil Historical Society  and places such as the museum housed in Cyfarthfa Castle Museum are great places to look for more information. For those looking for challenging walks and mountain bike rides I can recommend the Loops and Links Trail Guide 18 for Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taff which may be available through the library system via book requests.

Merthyr Tydfil – Roman Fort and Morlais Castle

It was first discovered that Romans had occupied the auxillary miltary site at Penydarren Park in 1786 during construction of Penydarren House (now demolished) for the Iron Master Samuel Homfrey. In his 1867 book History of Merthyr Charles Wilkins writes that when Penydarren House was being built, the workmen found a great many Roman bricks and tessellated pavement in digging the foundations.

It was not confirmed as being a Fort until excavations in 1902-1904 whilst preparing for the building of a football ground which now overlays part of the site. A Bath House was uncovered along with several other features such as a granary.

Penydarren is just one of the Roman military sites found along the Roman road between Cardiff and Brecon.

Morlais Castle  is believed to overlay an earlier Iron Age hillfort. It would have been an impressive site covering the hilltop. The castle was built around 1288 by Gilbert de Clare and brought with it tension with neighbouring Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Lord of Brecknock which led to the Battle of Maes Vaynor in 1291. It never really recovered after peace was made and was abandoned to become a ruin in 1295 following Gilbert de Clare’s death.

Stone ruins are nearly all that remain, the stone vault of the south great tower still stands and offers a glimpse of just how impressive this castle once was. The site is accessible from a small single track road nearby from which a footpath can be accessed to take you up to the castle remains.

Merthyr Tydfil’s Industrial Landscape

The Industrial Age meant that by 1801 Merthyr had rapidly changed from an area of farmsteads into Wales’s largest town. Built on the mining of Iron ore it gained a reputation for being an extremely large producer. Merthyr became the home of several Ironworks (Dowlais , Plymouth , Cyfarthfa and Penydarren) and smaller site such as Ynysfach.

Woven into the urban landscape are the usual associated features such as tramroads , Glamorganshire Canal , workers houses, chapels and of course the Ironmaster’s House – Cyfarthfa Castle.

The Glamorganshire Canal  was built during the 1790s to reduce the cost of transport of iron ore, coal and limestone by road. It covered 25 miles from Merthyr to the docks in Cardiff. Most of the canal disappeared with the building of the A470 although short sections of the Glamorganshire canal still remain. The Taff Trail – Merthyr to Abercynon takes you along one of the remaining sections. There is also a very small section located near the former Nantgarw China works (now a small museum with a small admission charge) just off the A470 to the north of Cardiff.

Merthyr Cyfarthfa Castle and Park

Ironworking was under the control of Ironmasters who owned and ran the Ironworks and in Merthyr it was much the same. Cyfarthfa Castle and Park  were built by the Crawshay family. Locally the Crawshay family owned and ran the Cyfarthfa Ironworks . Their wealth was vast, and the house commissioned by William Crawshay II (grandson of Richard Crawshay) at an estimated cost of £30,000 is a visible reminder of such wealth.

Cyfartha Castle (although a type of folly) was built in 1825 by William Crawshay II and remined the family home until 1889. In 1909 it was sold to Merthyr Council to be used as a school and museum. The school finally closed in 2014 but the museum still occupies part of the building (small admission charge applies).

The park and garden that surround the house make for a lovely day out. There is a small playpark and plenty of places to have a picnic, a café, toilets as well as plenty of free parking. It is a lovely place to spend the day even if you don’t venture into the house. It is also the home a miniature railway that isn’t contemporary to the house but does add extra fun.

Merthyr Tydfil – Joseph Parry

Son of Daniel and Elisabeth Parry, Joseph Parry was born in 1841 in a house along Chapel Row, a row of early 19^th century Iron Workers cottages in Merthyr. His father was a Puddler in the local foundry. Joseph started his working life in the mines at age nine but by the age of 12 was working alongside his father in the puddling furnace at Cyfathfa Ironworks. Music was part of his everyday life growing up, his mother was well known locally for a ‘fine voice’ and his whole family sang in the chapel choir.

Joseph moved with his family to America when he was age 13, settling in Pennsylvania but in 1868 he returned to the United Kingdom as part of his study of music. He even played for Queen Victoria on 3 occasions at her request.

Joseph married Jane Thomas in 1861 whist still in America. They went on to have 5 children, the youngest being the only child to have been born in Wales. After Joseph finished his studies, he took up a post at Aberystwyth University and followed this by setting up his own school of music in Swansea. In 1888 he moved to Penarth after taking up a position with Cardiff University. He died from blood poisoning following a medical procedure in 1903 and was buried in St Augustine’s Church in Penarth (Penarth Blog).

Visiting Joseph Parry’s Cottage

The house he was born in still stands and a small museum with an upstairs exhibition dedicated to his life is contained within. The cottage is dressed to the period and gives a wonderful insight into a typical Iron workers home during the turn of the 20^th century. It has been restored along with the other cottages in the row and the shell of the chapel at the end of the row still stands. It has very limited opening hours so always check ahead  – Joseph Parry’s cottage.

There is small section of reconstructed canal out in from of the row which represents the Glamorganshire canal  which once ran past, it has a small iron bridge relocated from nearby Rhydycar.