"BLOODY / FERNS?!"
- A BRIEF HISTORY OF GLYNCOCH

Glyncoch or ‘Red Valley’ – the place where a fierce bloody battle once took place that resulted with the river that flows between the valley flowing red with blood – or was it?

Having spent my early years in Glyncoch and having both my mother, aunties, uncles, cousins and grandparents having been residents of Glyncoch, this is the myth I was led to believe until recently and I find that if I still ask local residents where they think the name ‘Glyncoch’ came from, I’m sure its more or less the same response.

It was only when I had a chat with the Pontypridd Historian Brian Davies that I found out that the history behind ‘Glyncoch’, ‘Red Valley’, or ‘Red Glen’ is actually unknown. Its could be due to the colour of the rock of Craig Yr Hesg, the colour of the ferns on the hillside or could there have been a battle? The only mentioning of a battle in Glyncoch was by a reputable journalist for the Western Mail called Owen Morgan (Also known as ‘Morien’) who, in the early 1900’s, wrote a number of books about the history of his lifetime and also wrote a book on the history of Pontypridd. In this book he wrote of a historic battle between the Welsh of Glyncoch and the Romans, however slightly flawed by the fact there is no evidence what-so-ever of a battle. We’re all familiar with the press’s spin on things today and so was it that Morien, stuck for an exciting story thought “Red = bloody battle and warfare??” Who knows? For one thing, I think you’ll agree that it makes for much better reading than the colour of rocks or ferns so is it that this is the (Possible) ‘story’ people were led to believe that has been passed down from generation to generation and why this myth is still around today?

From a further meeting with Brian Davies, I discovered that Glyncoch DOES have a history. As I was surprised in what I’ve learnt, I think it would only be appropriate for me to share with you, today’s residents of Glyncoch, the history of your fantastic village, based on factual evidence supplied by Pontypridd Museum and personal accounts/photographs from local residents.

Let’s start at the beginning…

The earliest evidence we have of people in this village goes all the way back to the AD100! Approximately 25 years ago, 5 Roman Coins were discovered at Glyncoch. Two coins are dated to the Emperor Trajan who was emperor from AD98 to AD117, one is from the Empress Faustino, the wife of Emperor Pious who was emperor from AD138 to AD161 and the other two coins are from the time of an emperor that I think you may have heard of, Emperor Hadrian (Yes, a guy who didn’t like the Scottish so much that he built a wall to keep them out), who ruled AD138 to AD161.

So we know that the Romans have been here, how those coins got dropped here in Glyncoch is anyone’s guess. A likely reason is that there used to be two Roman fortresses in the area, one at Pencoedcae and one at the top of the mountain above Llanwynno, between Aberamon and Ferndale. Glyncoch is about half way between the two so we think that Glyncoch could have possibly been a pathway that linked the them. As coins at the time were in circulation for approximately 60 years, we therefore we believe that a Roman soldier may have dropped these coins on route to one of these fortresses sometime around anytime from 138-200AD.

Going forward in time, Britain ceased to be part of the Roman empire in roughly AD410 and the first person we know about who lived in the area was a man named Gwynno, but before the name Pontypridd was given during the 19th Century, this whole area, all the way down to the park where the River Rhonnda joins the River Taff was within the parish of Llanwynno.

What do we know about Gwynno? Very little, Celtic priests were allowed to marry and have children, so we know who Gwynno’s father was. His father was a man named Gildas, who died in 570 AD. So lets assume Gwynno was setting up his church in Llanwynno around the time of his father’s death perhaps. Gwynno’s father wrote the first attempt at a little history of Britain, written around AD545. The first chapter is a history of what Britain was like when the Romans were here and a first hand account of the towns and villages of Southern Britain that were laid waste by the arrival of the English about half a century after the Romans had left. The third chapter is about the churches because Britain had become mainly Christian while the Romans were here but Gildas didn’t like the bishops, saying that they were concerned too much to with becoming wealthy and preying off their parishioners for money. He said that we should turn our backs on these people, set up our own communities, work the lands, share the produce and elect our leaders if we were to be true Christians. That was the tradition of the Celtic church for hundreds of years and its founder was the father of a man who the church in Llanwynno is named after. Anyone who lived at the time would have seen Gwynno as a sort of missionary, a man who had set up a church in Llanwynno and was trying to convert people to his father’s ideas.

The next piece of evidence we get is from the most ancient book from Llandaff called, in Latin, ‘Liber Landavensis’ (Circa AD1750). In the Middle Ages the churches had to have land; The idea was that the church would own land and the farmers who worked there would pay a certain amount of produce each year to keep the priests and the monks and bishops. They paid a certain proportion of four commodities (Bread, meat, honey and beer). It was around that time that the Welsh got a reputation for being reasonably good brewers of beer (Nowadays, we’re more knows for drinking it!). The earliest reference in this book from Llandaff is a document that records a piece of land that we believe now is the area of Daerwynno. That’s the piece of land that was used to generate the income to sustain the clergy.

Going onto the Middle Ages, Christians had to go on pilgrimages and the shrine at Penrhys was a major point for pilgrimage in South Wales. These were, at the time, a whole family affair and more like a family holiday.

Pilgrims would take a path that would bring them close to Glyncoch, making it a possible a detour to obtain supplies and refreshments, and maybe rest at a local inn to stay the night (Thought to possibly be what are now Berwerdy Cottages – The lane next to the very first Bus Stop as you come into Glyncoch from Pontypridd), before going back on the route to Penrhys. There must have been tens of thousands of people that walked that old pilgrimage route to Penrhys.

Onto the 19th Century, the Griffiths’, a wealthy farming family from Coed Y Cwm owned a substantial amount of land in the area, including the land that is now Glyncoch. Seeing that the other local farmers were selling their land to industries for iron and coal for pittance in regards to their worth, they decided to lease their land instead of selling it and therefore became extremely wealthy in the process. Richard Griffiths was a doctor with a practice in Cardiff and was also a keen gambler. One particular story that demonstrates his wealth at the time is that he once bet 500 guineas on a snail race, beating his opponent by pretending to prick the snail to make it go faster. His opponent (An equally wealthy Lord), followed suit but actually did prick the snail, making it crawl into a ball and come to a complete standstill.

Quite a character, even when Richard Griffiths died, he maintained his need to be centre of attention by leaving specific instructions to be carried out at his funeral; Starting at The White Horse Pub (Now The Maltsters), he was to be carried by 6 people to Llanwynno, the 6 people were named in the will and for one reason or another they were all lame. So as you can imagine, along the way, people would stumble and fall but someone from the crowd would come forward to take their place, and so he was carried by a communal effort from Pontypridd, passing Glyncoch and Ynysybwl up to where he is buried now, within the grounds of the church at Llanwynno.

So, that’s what I’ve found out so far! Accurate it may/may not be – and that’s how you can help me; I’m looking for local volunteers to help me fill the gaps, authenticate findings and find new information. I don’t think you’ll need to be Indian Jones (Although wearing a cowboy hat and being chased by boulders around Craig Yr Hesg Quarry is optional), but Pontypridd Museum has kindly offered its assistance and so have a number of experts such as the heritage groups Herian and Heritage Matters, plus a number of local historians and an archaeologist. Also, what about the modern day?! - The Glyncoch as we know now began construction in around 1954-55 in response to cater for the influx of people coming to the area from all over to work in the local mines of the area but what’s happened since?!? YOU’RE the best people to fill this gap. Any stories about miners from Glyncoch? What about the World Champion Glyncoch Swingers? The old Boys Club? The old Glyncoch festivals? If you have anything to add, evidence, photographs, video footage or if you would like to meet so I or a volunteer can write your experiences down, then I’d really like to hear from you! What I really would like to do is to form a small group of local residents to help research all of the above. You’ll be given as much support as possible and relevant trips can easily be arranged. I’m hoping that as a result of this research, a DVD can be made for the schools to ensure that every Glyncoch resident is fully aware of its history from here-on and that we can also begin to place art features around the area that represent Glyncoch’s identity.

If interested, please call in to see me (Paul) at the Glyncoch Communities First Office (56 Garth Avenue), email paul@glyncochcp.co.uk or call 01443 486496.

By Paul Stepczak

I would like to personally thank Brian Davies of Pontypridd Museum for all his assistance with providing the above information and a fantastic insight into Glyncoch’s heritage.

Below are some photographs/documents already kindly donated by members of the community.

A Map of Glyncoch dated 1900

Extract from Pontypridd Library records stating the first signs of housing development at Glyncoch.

Photo taken where Glyncoch Terrace now lies (Behind you can see the road to Ynysybwl and the junction where Craig Yr Hesg Primary now lies).

First deeds for house at Glyncoch Terrace in 1955.

A dugout made in the old quarry under Craig Yr Hesg Mountain as an air-raid shelter.

A photograph from inside the dugout.

A nativity play in Glyncoch (Sorry, no date given).

If you have any more photo’s / information please send them to me (Paul) and I’ll add them to the site – they will be scanned and returned immediately.