Porth and Cymmer
Porth known as 'The
gateway to the Rhondda' derives its name from
its position at the entrance to the two Rhondda
Valleys, the Rhondda Fach and The Rhondda Fawr.
Similarly Cymmer, which is now seen as a 'suburb'
of Porth, derives its name from the old Welsh
word that describes a spot where two rivers
of the same name converge. Early sources show
that originally the positions were reversed
and that the district was more commonly known
as Cymmer. It was only with the development
of the mining operations on the Porth Estate,
and the coming of the Taff Vale Railway to Porth,
that the name Porth for the area came to prominence.
In common with most of the Rhondda, prior to
the emergence of coal mining Porth was very
much a 'rural idyll', sparsely populated and
of great natural beauty. Porth however was one
of the first districts within the Rhondda to
see industrialisation on a large scale, changing
its nature from one of pastoral tranquillity
to one that that 'assumed the dreary, God-forsaken
aspects of colliery districts in general'. Prior
to its development in Porth mining on any scale,
in the Rhondda, had only been undertaken at
Dinas. However major development really began
with the penetration of the Taff Vale Railway
into the area alongside an upsurge in demand
for coal leading to a shortage in supplies.
This
coupled with improved mining techniques meant
that conditions were ripe for the development
of the industry within the Rhondda Valleys.
This attracted mining speculators to the area,
and the one of most significance to the development
of Porth was George Insole.
Insole was the owner of a shipping company in
Cardiff that had specialised in coal. Seeing
an increasing demand for bituminous coal he
decided to become a producer rather than just
a supplier. To this end he opened Maesmawr Colliery,
but production was lower than he had hoped.
Also the coal produced was of inferior quality
to 'Coffin's Coal' as that produced at Dinas
had become known.
Thus in 1844 he leased the mineral rights to
375 acres of land at Cymmer from Evan Morgan
of Tyn-Y-Cymmer Farm, opening the South Cymmer
Level in the December of the year. At first
progress was slow and output, from the No.2
Rhondda seam, disappointing. Thus Insole decided
in 1847 to sink a pit, the No.1 Pit or Old Cymmer
Pit, to the No.3 Rhondda. Seam. This was struck
some eighty yards below the No.2 seam and quickly
gained a reputation as a coking coal, an in
1848 36 coke ovens were constructed at Cymmer.
To meet ever increasing demand the operations
at Cymmer were extended and in 1851 the Upper
Cymmer Colliery was sunk. Also in 1855 the New
Cymmer Colliery was opened near the Cymmer Old
Pit.
Thus began the mining industry in the Rhondda,
which was to dominate the landscape and lives
of the people of the Valley for the next hundred
and fifty years.
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