This website is about the history of Fochriw, a typical south Wales mining village, that developed from its rural existence by the need for iron and coal, during the 19th century.
Fochriw is located in the Darran Valley approximately 5 miles south-east of Merthyr Tydfil and 5 miles north of Bargoed in the County Borough of Caerphilly.
The website is divided into a number of sections that cover individual topics which, it is hoped, will provide an insight into the way people lived from about 1850 to the 1960’s and should be read in conjunction with A History of Fochriw Volumes 1 & 2 by Peter Price.
The site is continually evolving with many other topics still to be added, and your comments and contributions are sought in order that as much information as possible may be posted. Numerous photographs are included which are inserted in the main body of the text and in dedicated photo archives.
I have not identified all the individual sources of the various pieces of information since similar topics are covered by more than one source and I wanted to create a “narrative” as opposed to a thesis type document, so that the reader may experience a smooth flow in its presentation.
The web-site is also dedicated to the memory of the late Emlyn Evans who spent many years researching the history of the village and who produced a vast amount of information which has been an invaluable contribution in the compilation of this record.
Ifor Coggan
6 December 2006
