What made Merthyr Tydfil famous?
In 1804 Richard Trevithick built the world’s first steam locomotive in Merthyr Tydfil.
Who owned the largest iron works in Merthyr?
But it was to be when Josiah Guest, the only surviving son of Thomas Guest, took control over his father’s ironworks in 1807 that even bigger changes were to be seen. Josiah was a shrewd businessman and by the 1830s the Dowlais Ironworks was the largest in the world, employing more than 5,000 people.
Why was Merthyr an important part of the industrial revolution?
By 1820, Merthyr was producing 40 per cent of Britain iron exports, while in the second half of the nineteenth century, many of the works converted to the production of steel. As a result of the rapid expansion of industrial production and mining activities, the population of Merthyr Tydfil increased dramatically.
Who owns Merthyr Castle?
Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust
Adjoining the building were also stable blocks and coach houses. The castle stands in 158-acre (64 ha) of parkland, now called Cyfarthfa Park and maintained by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council….Cyfarthfa Castle.
| Castell Cyfarthfa | |
|---|---|
| Front view of Cyfarthfa Castle | |
| Owner | Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust |
| Website | Cyfarthfa Castle |
When was Merthyr founded?
The Merthyr Hebrew Congregation As the Jewish population had increased, Merthyr Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1848 and a cemetery consecrated a few years later at Cefn-Coed.
What does Merthyr mean in Welsh?
martyr
Merthyr generally means “martyr” in modern Welsh, but here closer to the Latin martyrium: a place of worship built over a martyr’s relics. Similar place names in south Wales are Merthyr Cynog, Merthyr Dyfan and Merthyr Mawr. Merthyr Tydfil.
Who is the richest person in Merthyr Tydfil?
Jayne Lewis (54) and family. Jayne Lewis owns the mining and development company Merthyr (South Wales) which runs the enormous Ffos-y-fran opencast mine just outside Merthyr Tydfil. The family’s company Gwent Holdings made £13.4m profit on £56.1m sales in 2017.
When was Morlais castle built?
Discover Morlais Castle It was originally built around 1270 by the Earl of Gloucester and Lord of Glamorgan, Gilbert de Clare, on land claimed by Humphrey de Bohun – This dispute culminated in the Battle of Maesvaynor, in 1291.
Is Merthyr Tydfil worth visiting?
The two spectacular stone-built viaducts of Cefn Coed and Pontsticill are certainly worth a visit. Also, immediately north of Merthyr lies the Brecon Beacons National Park, an Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), containing lakes, forests and mountains.
What does Morlais mean?
The meaning of Morlais has been reported to be ‘song of the sea’ (m^or meaning sea and llais meaning voice).
How did Merthyr Tydfil iron get to the ports?
Unlike the their competitors in Ironbridge however, Merthyr Tydfil and the other iron producers of the south Wales coalfield were poorly placed with regard to the transport of their products to the ports. As crazy as it now sounds, pig iron was initially carried to the coast by packhorses.
Where did Merthyr Dowlais get its iron?
By the 1830s, the town’s Dowlais and Cyfarthfa works were the largest in the world and lay at the centre of the global iron trade. Iron from Merthyr was being exported throughout the British Empire and beyond: from the canons of the East India Company to Russian railways.
What was Merthyr Tydfil famous for in 1870?
More info In 1870 the chimney-stacks and blastfurnaces of the Dowlais ironworks would have been a ubiquitous feature of Merthyr Tydfil’s townscape. A constant reminder to Merthyr’s inhabitants that this was a town with a single purpose: to make iron and steel.
What is the Merthyr iron process?
The process became so widely adopted that it become known as the Welsh method. By the 1820s, Merthyr was the source of 40% of Britain’s iron exports.