Rhondda Cynon Taff

I

Introduction

Rhondda Cynon Taff (Welsh, Rhondda Cynon Taf), county borough and unitary authority, South Wales, bounded on the north by the county of Powys, on the east by the county boroughs of Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly, on the south by the county of Cardiff and by the county borough of the Vale of Glamorgan, and on the west by the county boroughs of Bridgend, and Neath Port Talbot. The county borough came into existence as a unitary authority on April 1, 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1994, which changed the structure of local administration in Wales from a two-tier system of country and district councils to a single-tier system of unitary authorities. It comprises the central area of the former county of Mid Glamorgan: all the districts of Rhondda and Cynon Valley in the north, and the majority of the district of Taff-Ely in the south. Before 1974, when Mid Glamorgan was created under the local government reorganization implemented in that year, the territory covered by the county borough was part of the county of Glamorgan. Rhondda Cynon Taff has an area of 424 sq km (164 sq mi).

II

Land and Resources

Rhondda Cynon Taff consists in the north of high, barren moorlands, rising to a maximum height of 601 m (1,969 ft). These uplands are cut by deep, incised valleys that run parallel north-west to south-east on the South Wales coalfield. These are the valleys of the Cynon, and the two Rhondda rivers, the Rhondda Fawr and the Rhondda Fach, both of which are tributaries of the Taff. The other main river is the Ely. The Taff and the Ely both eventually reach the Severn estuary at Cardiff. Towards the south the area is less elevated. Some 54 sq km (21 sq mi) in the north of the county borough lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The climate of the county borough is comparatively mild, with an average temperature in January of 3° C (38° F) and in July of 20° C (68° F). The average annual rainfall is in the region of 1,000 to 1,520 mm (40 to 60 in). The northern part of the county borough is colder and less sunny than the south.

III

Population and Administration

The population of the county borough is 231,952 (2001). According to the 2001 census, Welsh is spoken by around 21 per cent of the population (see Celtic Languages). The main towns are Aberdare (1991, 29,040), and Mountain Ash (14,300), Pontypridd (population, 1991, 28,487), Porth (16,300), and Tonypandy (19,500). The administrative centre of the unitary authority is in Clydach-Vale.

Glamorgan University, founded in 1992, is in Pontypridd. The police authority is the South Wales Constabulary, which has its headquarters in the town of Bridgend in Bridgend county borough.

IV

Places of Interest

Aberdare stands at the head of the Cynon Valley, at the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, with Graig Mountain forming a scenic backdrop. In the centre of the town is a statue to Griffith Rhys Jones, who led the South Wales Choral Union to victory in the first choir contest, held at London's Crystal Palace in 1872. Jones's choir was an exemplar in the famed choral tradition of the Welsh mining valleys, which had at its roots the need to provide music in the chapels. The Treorchy Male Voice Choir is one of the well-known contemporary choirs. Pontypridd is where Evan James and his son James wrote the Welsh National Anthem, Mae Hen Wlad fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers). Llantrisant is the home of the Royal Mint.

Just to the west of Pontypridd is the Rhondda Heritage Park, which offers an insight into the history, heritage, and culture of the local area. Visitors can descend into the mine shaft and take a guided tour through the underground roadways of the colliery, experiencing what it would have been like to work on a coalface in the 1950s. There are forests and woodland parks within the county. With 200 hectares (495 acres) of varied landscape, Dare Valley Country Park was once the site of 19 coal mines. The park’s woodland and lakes are an important habitat for bird life, including peregrine falcons, kestrels, buzzards, and sparrowhawks.