Earliest Find
A Celtic cross was un-earthed above Aberffrwd Mountain Ash indicating Christian worship/burial in the 6th century which is now in the Museum in Cardiff.
Dyffryn House & Estate
A Welsh poet (1640-80) Ieuan Dafydd Ddu and Ieuan Dafydd ab Owain, resided at this estate not much of him is known except the first line of his poems are given in Moses William’s “Repertorium Poeticum”, London 1726.
John Jones was High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1717and had two poems quoted in “Gardd Aberdar”.
The Jones family then sold Dyffryn Estate to William Bruce Pryse in 1749. His relatives Mr H.A. Bruce took over the estate and in 1873 later he became Baron of Aberdare. On his recommendations a Welsh Education Act was introduced for Wales in1899 and this law led to the first university being established in Wales. H.A. Bruce was the first chancellor of the University of Wales in Aberystwyth. Mountain Ash Comprehensive School now stands on the site of Dyffryn House.
St Margaret’s Church
The church was completed in 1862; it was partly financed by John Bruce Pryse of Dyffryn House Mountain Ash. In 1895 after the death of the Henry Austin Bruce the 1st Lord of Aberdare who had a distinguished career as a politician at one time he was Gladstone’s Home Secretary and he was a pioneer in the education for the Welsh People, which included secondary schools. They decided in extending the church with a chancel, sanctuary, vestry and a tower with a peal of bells all this was completed by 1898 at a cost of £3500.
The Font
The original font of the church was rumoured to have been moved to St John’s Church Miskin Mountain Ash.
Plaque to Guto Nyth Bran
The Pavilion
The pavilion was renowned in its heyday of holding many major boxing torments. Here is a list of the many great fighters who fought at the Pavilion, which held 15000 people more than The Albert Hall in London.
Fred Hall Thomas (Freddie Welsh) from Pontypridd fought Henri Young Piet for the first European Lightweight Contest; Freddie Welsh won the contest in 9 rounds in 1909.
Jim Driscoll fought Francis Rossi in 1919, which ended in a draw.
Tommy Farr lost on points to Eddie Phillips for the British light heavy weight title in 1935.
Boyo Rees (Born in Abercwmboi in 1912) Welsh lightweight champion fought against George Daly (London)
Other famous people who were also appeared at the Pavilion were Paul Robeson the singer from America also Arthur Horner and Gracie Fields. Sir Malcolm Sargent the famous conductor played concerts here plus other famous singers of the day sang at this magnificent place.
Duffryn Pit Owners
David Williams (Alaw Goch) was the first man to sink a pit in a village in 1855.David Williams had been warned that Deep Duffryn Pit was unsafe due to poor ventilation he sold it to John Nixon for £42,000 and started to buy new machinery such as winding machinery and due to new patented draught ventilation output of coal increased from 150 tons in 1862 to 1000 tons a day in 1864. ( This a picture of him)
John Nixon
His success was due not only to his business acumen (he was associated with John Cory in opening up foreign markets) but also to his personal inventive genius as a mine engineer.
1. Patent ventilation system for deep coalmines.
2. Introduced “Long Wall” system instead of previous wasteful pillar and stall system.
Unlike his great contemporaries in Aberdare John Nixon never aspired to Political honours nor was he active in social and cultural life of the town.
In 1874 he left the valley to live in London and Brighton kept control of collieries until 1894 when he was succeed by his nephew H.E. Gray as he had no son.
Welsh Harp/ Mountain Ash Thomas Dafydd Llewelyn (Llewelyn Alaw)
Thomas Dafydd Llewelyn was born in The Mount Pleasant Public House in Trecynon; Thomas was a great poet, harpist and writer. In the National Eisteddfod of 1858 he won ten pounds for a collection of unpublished melodies, one of them was “Maes Hen Wlad Fy Nhadiau” the Welsh National Anthem. Thomas with Thomas Lewis (Welsh Harp Inn Trecynon) they were harpists to the Williams of Aberpergwm (Jane Williams) and the Bruce family of the Dyffryn.
In later years he became landlord of the Welsh Harp in Mountain Ash where he died in 1851. He was also a member of the congregation of Yr Hen Dy Cwrdd Chapel in Trecynon where he his buried.