Gwaelod-y-Garth
Encyclopedia
Gwaelod-y-garth is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Pentyrch
Pentyrch
Pentyrch is a suburban community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, which covers the village and surrounding area.-Geography:...

, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

Location

It is situated approx 6 miles north of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 and 7 miles from Pontypridd
Pontypridd
Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...

. Castell Coch
Castell Coch
Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.Designed by William...

, the Fairytale castle of South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

, is within easy reach of the village, by car or by foot.

History

In Elizabethan times, Gwaelod-y-Garth was noted for its iron-ore mines. The ironworks were first opened between 1565 and 1625, and then re-opened in the 19th century by the Blackmoor Booker company. In the early 1990s, a campaign was held to save the works.

Amenities

Amenities include a small Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...

 collection point, Garth Tyres' yard and a police car park, where South Wales Police Roads Unit is run from. At the top end of the village, is the village pub, The Gwaelod Y Garth Inn. The village also has a flourishing Welsh medium chapel. Notable past ministers of Bethlehem include the playwright R.G. Berry and Dr T.J. Davies. The current minister is the Rev. Dr R. Alun Evans.

Notable Residents

Famous residents of Gwaelod-y-garth include:
  • Jane Davidson
    Jane Davidson
    Jane Davidson, AM was the Labour Assembly Member for Pontypridd and the Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in the Welsh Assembly Government. She lives in Gwaelod-y-Garth with her husband and three children...

    , Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government
    Welsh Assembly Government
    The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...

    ;
  • Harpist Catrin Finch
    Catrin Finch
    Catrin Anna Finch is a Welsh harpist born in Llanon, Ceredigion, Wales. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is Visiting Professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music...

     and her husband Hywel Wigley;
  • Dr. Mary Gillham
    Mary Gillham
    Dr Mary Eleanor Gillham is an English naturalist, university lecturer, and writer, currently resident in Radyr, in Cardiff, Wales....

    , one of the first women to visit Antarctica in 1959.
  • Norma Procter, MBE for Environmental and Community Service 2011

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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