There is an excellent recent book on the history of Pant by Ann Lewis, ‘Pantyscallog Village, Pant’; and this book will give a comprehensive history of this area.

Pant means a ‘hollow’.  Pant Cadifor therefore means Cadifor’s hollow, but, since Cad is the name for battle, some people claim that this could be the place where the Welsh hero Ivor Bach had a battle. The famous Ivor Bach, who rebelled against English rule is reputed to be buried in this area near to the old Pant Cad Ivor Inn. Early maps show the area now known as Pant to be very thinly populated and under developed, although there were originally nine farms here. The Castle farm area contains the ruins of Morlais Castle built around 1265. The Garth Farm behind the Pant Cad Ifor Inn was known in early maps as Madoc’s Castle. All the farms here, Caeracca, Pantyscallog, Rhyd-y-Bedd, Hafod yr Ynys, Bon-y-Maen, Blaen Morlais and Blaen -y-Garth, are all mentioned in the book by Ann Lewis. The Tai- Yr- Efail Cottages are some of the oldest properties in the Borough and there are early photographs of them showing that they had a thatched roof.

The Pant Cemetery was opened in 1849 originally for the victims of cholera as the existing parish cemetery around St John’s Church, Dowlais no longer had room for all the burials. Pant Cemetery gates have impressive ironwork, but it is advisable to find a grave number and location before venturing through them to find an ancestor.  In the nineteenth century there was a ‘fever’ hospital in Pant for the treatment of Typhus. Christ Church was built in the 1870s and was a part of the Parish of St. John’s, Dowlais. Its records are with those of St. John’s. Separately recorded marriages did not take place until the 1960s. Other religious buildings here included the Beulah Chapel Schoolroom, Caersalem Chapel and the Apostolic Church (Godden Memorial Hall).

This district developed to house workers of the great Dowlais Works and such residential street areas as Caeracca, were built for the skilled steel workers. Gwladys Street and Edward Street were both built around the same time in the early 1900s. Heol-Rhyd-Y-Bedd is an estate of modern houses in Pant. The Pant Baths were opened in 1938 because of the national ‘fresh air campaign’ to get the nation fit and healthy. These open-air baths were built throughout the country, but few in so exposed areas such as Pant. The I.C.I. Works in Pant was built in 1939 as part of the war-effort and at the present time it is the site of the new Pant Industrial Enterprise Centre. To the right of the Pant War Memorial, was the old Caeracca railway bridge. The railway lines were once of great importance here and there was a busy Pant railway station and a Pantyscallog halt. The Brecon and Merthyr Railway finally closed the Pant to Dowlais Line on May 2^nd 1960. The building of the ‘Heads of The Valley Road’, in 1963, has made an impact on the area.  There was a small school in Pant in pre-industrial times and in 1738 it had 45 pupils. The old Pant school building was demolished in the 1980s and a new school finally opened in 1989. Public houses in this area included;-  The Castle Inn, The Pantyscallog Inn, The Quarrymen's Arms, The Royal Arms Inn, The Ifor Castle Inn and the Prince Llewellyn (known as the ‘Silver Slipper’). The Co-operative was the main shop in this area, but there has always been a good variety of shops.

There has always been a public right of way through Garth Lane to the hillside around Pant and this route has been long established and well used by the local community. In recent years Miss. Clayton has tried to close the right of way but the result of the legal battle in the courts was to keep the right of way open.

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Mayor Peter Saunders at Pant Cenotaph with John Phelps.

Pant Cenotaph World War II Plaque

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