Cwmdare

Coordinates: 51°43′00″N 3°28′00″W / 51.716667°N 3.466667°W / 51.716667; -3.466667

Cwmdare (Welsh: Cwmdâr) is a village near Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's history is intertwined with coal-mining, and since the decline of the industry in the 1980s, it has become primarily a commuter base for the larger surrounding towns of Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, as well as the cities of Cardiff and Swansea.

Name

The village's name literally translates as "Dare Valley". The Dare (Welsh: Dâr) is tributary that flows down from the Darren mountain, down through the village and on to Aberdare (literally "Mouth Of The Dare"), where it joins the larger River Cynon, one of the largest tributaries of the River Taff.

History

Before the exploitation of the South Wales Coalfield, Cwmdare was a scattering of a few houses and farms. However, in the 1850s with the Industrial Revolution fuelling the demand for coal, several deep coal mines were constructed in the area, and workers began to migrate there from other parts of Wales, as well as the South West of England.