Penydarren
Penydarren
| |
|---|---|
| Population | 5,253 (2001) |
| OS grid reference | SO055075 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Merthyr Tydfil |
| Postcode district | CF47 |
| Dialling code | 01685 38 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
- For Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive, see Richard Trevithick
Penydarren (Template:Lang-cy) is a community in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales.
The area is most notable as being the site of a 1st century Roman fort, and during the Industrial Revolution it housed Penydarren Ironworks the third largest of the great Merthyr works. Penydarren was also used by Richard Trevithick as the location for his experiments into steam locomotion. The community and ward has a population of 5,253.[1]
Penydarren Park, the site of the Roman fort and the football ground, is today outside the community boundary.
Roman fort
Being located on a spur of land 700 feet (210 m) above sea level,[2] just southwest of the River Taff, made Pen-y-Darren an ideal location to build an occupation outpost fort for the Romans in AD75, during the governorship of Sextus Julius Frontinus. It was during this period that he subdued the Silures and other hostile tribes of Wales by establishing a new base at Caerleon or Isca Augusta for Legio II Augusta, and this was one of a network of smaller forts fifteen to twenty kilometres apart for his auxiliary units.
The only information known about the fort is from the later excavations undertaken during the construction of the football stadium in 1905 by Frank Treharne-James,[3] and in 1957 during the demolition of Penydarren House.
From the combination of these works, it is presently estimated that the fort had a turf and clay rampart 8.2 metres (27 ft) wide, set on a cobble foundation and separated by a narrow berm of 0.6 metres (2 ft 0 in) wide from its double ditch. The inner ditch was 0.4 metres (1 ft 4 in) wide, the outer 0.3 metres (1 ft 0 in) wide, separated by a berm of 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in). If a well recorded by Treharne-James in 1905 was centrally placed within the principia, and a square outline is assumed, then the fort had dimensions of 152 metres (499 ft) across the rampart crests, covering an area of 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres).[4]
Flavian pottery confirms the origin of the fort as a wooden structure, replaced in stone around AD 100, with the bath house located outside the fort's southern defences contemporary with the rebuilding. The latest pottery recovered is Trajanic, confirming that the site was abandoned in the Hadrianic period, with its garrison moved to a new build fort at Gelligaer.[2][4]
Penydarren House
After Samuel Homfray came to South Wales, and establishing the Penydarren Ironworks, he won a bet with Richard Crawshay, and with the proceeds built Penydarren House in 1786 on the site of the Roman fort.[5] It was during the construction that workmen first found Roman bricks and the remains of a tessalated pavement.[2] Homfray was waited on by servants who were dressed in a scarlet and buff livery, while he was driven everywhere in a coach and four horses.[2]
In 1800, Homfray married Jane Morgan, daughter of Sir Charles Gould Morgan, 1st Baronet, Baron Tredegar, of Tredegar House, and thus obtained a favorable lease of mineral land at Tredegar, where he established the Tredegar Ironworks. In 1813 he was appointed High Sheriff of Monmouthshire and in 1818, returned as Member of Parliament for Stafford borough. [6]
The "Pen-y-Darren" locomotive
| "Pen-y-Darren Locomotive" | |||||||||
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 Line drawing of the locomotive | |||||||||
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In 1802, Homfray commissioned engineer Richard Trevithick to build built one of his high pressure steam engines to drive a hammer at the Penydarren Ironworks. With the assistance of works engineer Rees Jones, Trevithick mounted the engine on wheels and turned it into a locomotive. In 1803 Trevithick sold the patents for his locomotives to Homfray.
Homfray was so impressed with Trevithick's locomotive that he made another bet with Crawshay, this time for 500 guineas that Trevithick's steam locomotive could haul 10 tons of iron along the Merthyr Tydfil Tramroad from Penydarren (51°45′03″N 3°22′33″W / 51.750825°N 3.375761°W) to Abercynon (51°38′44″N 3°19′27″W / 51.645567°N 3.324233°W), a distance of 9.75 miles (15.69 km). Amid great interest from the public, on 21 February 1804 it successfully carried 10 tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 men the full distance in 4 hours and 5 minutes, an average speed of 2.4 mph (3.9 km/h).[7] As well as Homfray, Crawshay and the passengers, other witnesses included Mr. Giddy, a respected patron of Trevithick and an 'engineer from the Government'.[8] The engineer from the Government was probably a safety inspector and particularly interested in the boiler's ability to withstand high steam pressures.
Subsequently to the locomotive trial, Homfray sold both the house and his shares in the Penydarren Ironworks to William Foreman. Foreman then later sold the property to the James family.[2]
Present
Requisitioned by the UK Government at the start of World War 2, it was handed over to the Ministry of Works in 1943. The house was demolished in 1957, and after a period of archeological excavation of the Roman fort, the site was redeveloped as the present day housing community.[2]
References
- ^ Penydarren Ward 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: National Statistics. UK government. Retrieved 1 March 2009
- ^ a b c d e f "Archeologists hope to learn more about Roman occupation from Penydarren site". Merthyr Express. 23 March 1957. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ "Frank Treharne James". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Pen-y-Darren Roman Fort". roman-britain.org. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ "Penydarren House". alangeorge.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ "Welsh Biography Online". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
- ^ Rattenbury, Gordon (2004). Merthyr Tydfil Tramroads and their Locomotives. Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901461-52-0.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Rogers, Col. H. C. (1961). Turnpike to Iron Road. London: Seeley, Service & Co. p. 40.
External links
- Old Merthyr Tydfil: Penydarren - Historical Photographs of Penydarren
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