Pengarnddu
Pengarnddu was a village near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.
It was built to house the colliers working for the Dowlais Iron Company.[1] By 1851 its construction was mostly complete and it had a population of 280 in 48 houses.[2] The village had its own church, school, and pubs.[1]
For at least 40 years starting in the 1860s, the village had an unusually high proportion (23% in the 1860s) of Mormons. A pond to the north-east of the village was known as Pond Saint due to its use to baptise the new converts.[2]
By the 1880s many of the families had emigrated to Beaver County, Utah. From the 1960s the village was gradually abandoned and locals were rehoused at the newly built Dowlais flats. Today only two houses remain and the area is used by light industry.[2]
The place name is more correctly spelt as Pen-y-garn-ddu and it was this form appeared on maps, however it was rarely ever pronounced this way.[1] It means "top of the black heap" as it is said that it was originally a forest, and then after the trees were burnt it left a heap of black ash.[3]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/pengarnddu.htm
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://www.peoplescollection.wales/sites/default/files/Pengarnddu_Jones%20and%20Davies_pub%20in%20Ninnau%20for%20PCW.pdf
- ↑ https://www.peoplescollection.wales/sites/default/files/Tales%20of%20Pengarnddu_Life%20in%20a%20So%20Wales%20Mining%20Village_Corwyn%20Rogers_for%20PCW.pdf