Treorchy

infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name= Treorci
static_

constituency_welsh_assembly= Rhondda
map_type=
official_name= Treorchy
latitude= 51.6594
longitude= -3.5055
population= 8105 (2001) [ [http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=5939123&c=treorchy&d=14&e=16&g=419639&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=75 , 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: National Statistics. UK government. Retrieved 10 August 2007. Includes the village of Cwmparc in its figures.] ]
unitary_wales= Rhondda Cynon Taff
lieutenancy_wales= Mid Glamorgan
constituency_westminster= Rhondda
post_town= TREORCHY
postcode_district = CF42
postcode_area= CF
dial_code= 01443 77
os_grid_reference= SS955965
OldMapsYear= 1884
OldMapsEasting= 295503
OldMapsNorthing= 196500
OldMapsCounty= 10glamo481

Treorchy ( _cy. Treorci) is a village, although it used to be and still has characteristics of a town, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr valley.

Treorchy was originally an agricultural area but with the discovery of coal in the Rhondda Valley it became a densely populated industrial town. The first deep mine in Treorchy was sunk in the 1860s by David Davies of Llandinam who would later own the Ocean Coal Company. ["The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales". John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines and Peredur Lynch (2008) pg750 ISBN 9780708319536] The town grew around the coal mining industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but by the end of the twentieth century all the local pits had closed creating an economic downtown in the community.

Employment

Treorchy was, for many years, a town that relied on the coal mines such as Abergorki, Tylecoch and Dare collieries. All of the collieries had closed by the end of the 1970s, leaving many to find new work. Treorchy became a commuter village, with the working population seeking employment in the larger towns and cities that surround it, such as Cardiff and Bridgend.The work in Treorchy now is mostly retail.

Education

Treorchy has two main schools: Treorchy Primary School and Treorchy Comprehensive. Treorchy Primary school is not on the original site of Treorchy Boys and Treorchy Girls schools, but is built 100 m further along Glyncoli Road. It is built to the original plans used on many of the older schools in the upper Rhondda.

Treorchy Comprehensive school was built on the old site of the Tylecoch colliery, with its western athletics track being named the "Red Ash", after it being the remnants of the mine shaft. This was removed in 2006 to build an astroturf sportsfield. The school is officially 500 m from the main gate to the rear gate,and runs from Chepstow Road, Cwmparc, to the Tylecoch Bridge, Treorchy.

Transportation

There are several roads linking Treorchy to other towns and villages. The A4061 leads over the Bwlch y Clawdd Pass, and by this road it is possible to travel to Bridgend via the Ogmore Vale, Maesteg and Port Talbot. Within the Rhondda Fawr Valley taking the A4061 northwards leads to the end of the valley, at Treherbert, and ultimately to Hirwaun, which is at the junction of the Head of the Valleys Road, and just south of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Following the valley's course southward on the A4058, one reaches Llwynypia, Tonypandy, Porth and Pontypridd, where one can use the A470 to reach Cardiff.

Treorchy also has its own railway station, which is located on the Rhondda Line, which has regular services up the line to Treherbert railway station and also to Cardiff Central run by Arriva Trains Wales.

Treorchy is served by buses operated by Stagecoach in South Wales to Blaenrhondda, Blaencwm, Treherbert, Tonypandy, Porth, Pontypridd and Caerphilly. On summer Sundays, Veolia provides a route to Bridgend (via the Ogmore Valley) and Brecon under the Shamrock Travel branding.

Entertainment and social history

Treorchy is home to the Treorchy Male Choir, while attractions in the town include the Parc and Dare Hall. The Parc and Dare hall provides entertainment from new films as a cinema, to pantomime and theatre. The Parc and Dare work closely with Treorchy Comprehensive on many shows such as "Back To Broadway", the annual school Eisteddfod and regular school musicals. The Parc and Dare also hosts the Eisteddfod for Ysgol Gyfun Y Cymmer.

Treorchy hosted the Welsh National Eisteddfod in 1928, the only time the national event has been held in the Rhondda.

Max Boyce recorded the album, "Live at Treorchy" in the Treorchy Rugby Club. [cite web|title=Golden Ages with Max Boyce|work=Rhondda Cynon Taff Online|url=http://www.rhonddacynontaffonline.co.uk/2006/11/25/golden-ages-with-max-boyce/|accessdate=1 December|accessyear=2008]

Treorchy is the home of the [http://www.brassbands.co.uk Parc and Dare band]

port

Treorchy is home to Treorchy RFC a rugby union club who are nicknamed the Zebras.

Notable people

*Euros Bowen (1904-88) - Welsh poet and bard
*Billy Cleaver (1921-2003) - Wales international rugby player
*Donald Davies (1924-2000) - Computer scientist
*John Davies (1938) - Welsh historian
*Peter George (1924-26) - author and Oscar nominated screenwriter
*Noel Kinsey (1925) - Welsh international footballer
*Clive Thomas (1936) - World Cup football referee
*Frank Vickery (1951) - Playwright
*Geraint Williams (1962) - Welsh International footballer

External links

* [http://www.treorchy.net Treorchy.net main site]
* [http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/heritagetrail/rhondda/treorchy/Treorchy.htm Heritage Trail:Treorchy]

References