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Trelewis

 

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TRELEWIS means  Lewis’s Town. This place name commemorated William Lewis of Bontnewydd, the farm on which TreLewis was built.
There is a tablet in the parish church at Gelligaer in memory of William Lewis, founder of Trelewis. Today Trelewis is a small village in the Taff Bargoed Valley and is now part of  the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council area; although, together with nearby Bedlinog, it was until 1974 part of the Gelligaer Urban District Council area of the county of Glamorgan.

The Bontnewydd Hotel dates from 1886 and took its name from the original name of the district, Bontnewydd, meaning 'new bridge'. Maen Gilfach, meaning ‘the Stoney Retreat’. This district is popularly known as ‘Stormtown’ owing to its location on an exposed hillside. It was planned and built in the 1930s as a ‘Garden Village’ development. The Ffaldcaiach Inn, Trelewis is named after  an ancient Animal Pound in the direction of the river Caiach. The  river Caiach formed part of a boundary within the Lordship of Senghenydd in Norman times

Like Treharris, Trelewis developed in the late 19th century as a small community of mining families who depended on the winning of coal. The most important communication link was always to the source of employment, at the neighbouring Deep Navigation Colliery from the 1870s. Improved transport links, in terms of the roads and bridges, were encouraged by the opening of the new collieries at Taff Merthyr in 1926 and Trelewis Drift in 1954. Taff Merthyr was the largest and deepest coal mines in this Borough and is noted for the ‘Company Union’ and the ‘stay down ‘strikes of the 1930s. In the 1930s Taff Merthyr coal miners sang the ‘ Red Flag’ before going underground. The conflict between the ‘Company Union’ and the ‘Fed’, reached its height in the Taff Merthyr Colliery when stay-down miners ( SWMF ) took over this citadel of the SWMIU. When the Taff Merthyr protestors were released from prison they were welcomed home with banners which said ‘you have suffered for a cause and we are proud of you’. Taff Merthyr and the Trelewis Drift both broke many records and achieved outstanding success in the South Wales Coalfield but this did not save them from closure in the early 1990s.

The Trelewis War Memorial was dedicated in May 1925 and had the names of the 45 men who the village who died in the Great War and also 13 names from the Second World War. In February 2002 thanks to the efforts of local people, Shirley Bufton and others, it was restored and moved to a safer location to avoid vandalism. Today this impressive statue of a soldier stands on the Ffald by the B4255 Nelson to Bedlinog Road.  The moving of the statue reflects the fact that there is a thriving community spirit here. The population of Trelewis is 2,029 with 792 households; it has just 2 grocery shops, 2 pubs and 1 post office.  Parc Taf Bargoed a beautiful 54 hectare community park is situated on the site of the former collieries and within its grounds sits the Welsh International Climbing Centre. The Trelewis Junior and Primary School celebrated its centenary in 1978 and was replaced by a new school building in 1984. There is a modern active community centre. There are a number of religious buildings here, St Mary’s Church, Church in Wales founded in 1886,  Ebenezer Chapel, 1889, Welsh Independent, Trinity 1908, English Baptist and Taff Merthyr Garden Village, 1936, Methodist.  The Trelewis Welfare FC play in the village, and as of 2007-08 season, they compete in the South Wales Amateur League (Second Division). Trelewis also has a park and an outdoor bowls club, Trelewis Welfare Outdoor Bowls which was founded in 1932. Trelewis is a ‘classic’ coal mining community which has a history and traditions to be proud of.

 

 
 
General View of Trelewis (Bottom)

Taff Merthyr Colliery.

Trelewis_TaffMerthyrColliery.JPG (168359 bytes)

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TAFF MERTHYR COLLIERY

 

At the top end of Trelewis, looking across to Treharris (Deep Navigation) Colliery

 

Stormtown -  Laying the foundation stone for the Trelewis Methodist Chapel.

(Photograph Courtesy of Sally James)

 

Trelewis Methodist Chapel - Whitsun Parade - Circa 1951

(Photograph Courtesy of Sally James)

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Photographs of

Trelewis Methodist Chapel

 
 

Trelewis Sunday School Classes - c1950

(Photograph Courtesy of Sally James)

 

Garden Village Methodist - Trip to Barry Island - c1960

(Photograph Courtesy of Sally James)

 

Trelewis - Ladies' Bus Trip - 1950s

(Photographs Courtesy of Dick Edwards)

 
Trelewis From Garden City.

 

High Street, Trelewis.

(Postcard courtesy of Ann Jones)

High Street, Trelewis.

Trelewis_HighStreet.JPG (124409 bytes)

 
Taff Merthyr Cash Stores - Merthyr Tydfil

 

Trelewis High Street, 

(Photograph courtesy of Mrs Gill Thomas, West Grove)

Trelewis High Street, 

(Photograph courtesy of Mr Peter Milsom)

Trelewis_HighStreet_PeterMilsom.JPG (102077 bytes)

 

Trelewis, Upper End 

(Photograph courtesy of Mrs Gill Thomas, West Grove)

Trelewis from Treharris.

TrelewisFromTreharris_MrsThomas.JPG (134637 bytes)

 

The Ffaldcaich Inn - June 1994.

(Photograph courtesy of Mr Peter Milsom)

 
Richards Terrace.

 
 

Mackintosh Terrace, Trelewis

 

Trelewis Infant School - Group 3 - 1904c

(Photograph Courtesy of Edward Tate)

 

Trelewis School, 1911-12 - Standard 5

(courtesy of Christine Trevett)

 

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