Tonyrefail village came into existence
during the second half of the eighteenth century. Thomas
Morgan, an old inhabitant of the village, supports this
claim when he wrote and published his memories in a book
entitled Hanes Tonyrefail in 1899.
He recounted conversations with many who recalled Tonyrefail
village being one house. The village began to develop as
a result of the enterprise of Evan Pritchard. He lived
in Collena House situated on the brow of the hill overlooking
the village where built a woollen factory and a corn mill.
To drive these ventures' machinery, he constructed an extensive
system of waterpower consisting of a weir across the River
Ely, a 400 yard leat, a culvert and three ponds.
Right: Collena House
His death in 1795 saw Tonyrefail's growth slow markedly
and the first decades of the nineteenth century witnessed
little development. The one exception was the establishment
of a shoemaker's workshop. According to the 1841 census
thirteen shoemakers or cordwainers lived at Tonyrefail
and it was by far the village's largest employer.
Left: Mill Street circa 1900
Seven colliers and other tradesmen and craftsmen were
also shown to inhabit it. Twenty years later however, the
1861 census showed that the number of colliers had more
than doubled as limited exploitation of the coal near the
surface through bell pits and shallow levels increased.
The village's population showed a similar pattern as the
number of inhabitants rose from 85 in 1841 to 160 in 1861.
Right: The Blacksmiths - Tonyrefail
The beginning of the 1860s marked an increase
in the rate of Tonyrefail's growth. The catalyst for this
expansion was the construction of a broad gauge railway line
from Llantrisant through the Ely Valley to Tonyrefail and
Penygraig. Built by the Ely Valley Railway Company, the line
reached Tonyrefail in 1860 and was extended to Penygraig
two years later. The Railway Company was also responsible
for building the houses of Station Row. The 1871 census showed
that they housed some ten railway employees and their families
By this time houses had also been built on both sides
of Chapel Street and three short terraces were built at right
angles to Collena Road in 1862. The 1871 census also showed
that the village's population, including the Redgate area,
had increased to over 300. Tonyrefail's commercial centre
had developed and religious and educational buildings had
emerged to meet the needs of the growing population. The
Post Office opened in 1870 on Chapel Street later to be known
as High Street. Capel y Ton Methodist Chapel, Tonyrefail's
earliest chapel and first built in 1791, was rebuilt in 1863,
whilst the previous year had seen the opening of the Ainon
Baptist Chapel. The building of a new vestry at Capel Y Ton
in 1857 marked the establishment of a new British School.
A purpose built British School was opened in 1868.
Capel y Ton
The pace of Tonyrefail's growth and development accelerated
quickly from the mid 1870s onwards as deep mines were sunk
close to the village. Ty Du Colliery, Collena Colliery, Cil
Ely Colliery, Ely Merthyr Colliery and Glyn Colliery were
all located within a mile and a half of the village centre
according to the 25 inches to 1 mile first edition ordnance
survey map surveyed in 1874. Houses sprang up around Tonyrefail
to accommodate the miners of these collieries and their families.
The village's expansion was most rapid along Chapel Street
and by 1891 the previously separate community of Redgate
had joined up with Tonyrefail. Over 300 people now lived
in the street, sixty of them were working in collieries.
Ten years later, the 1901 census showed that
Tonyrefail's population had increased to over 2,200 and that
the number employed in the coalmines was around 500. Despite
some of the village's deep mines closing during the first
decade of the twentieth century, the number of miners continued
to grow as a result of the expansion of Coed-Ely Colliery
sunk in 1901.
The colliery was located some two miles to the south of the village and by 1919
employed a total of 1700 miners making the complex by far the biggest colliery
of the area. The colliery was also equipped with both coke ovens and a complete
by-product plant. Naturally Tonyrefail village continued to expand during the
first decade as Pretoria Road, The Avenue and Prichard Street were built. The
first decade also witnessed a period of modernisation and commercial expansion.
Kelly's Trade Directory 1906 lists both the Tonyrefail & Gilfach Goch Electric
Light Co. Lim., the company responsible for laying electric mains, and Richard
Lewis, manager of the Lloyd Bank Branch. An exciting leisure attraction that
opened above the Square in 1914 and shown on the 25 inches to 1 mile third edition
Ordnance Survey map surveyed in same year was the Picture Theatre.
The post First World War years saw council housing spring
up in the area for the first time. The largest of these developments
was built to the west of the Ely Valley line at Tynybryn
between 1919-1922. However it wasn't until after the Second
World War that any further development occurred. Council
housing estates at the northern end of Tonyrefail were built
in the 60s and 70s and private housing behind Penygareg and
Heol Isaf were built in the 70s and 80s. Today the number
of houses continues to rise despite the closure of Coed Ely
Colliery in 1985. Developers are attracted to the village
following recently completed road links. The track of the
railway line became the route of the new road bypass from
Coed Ely to Clydach allowing Tonyrefail's residents to commute
to Cardiff and beyond
