Rhymney

Known to many outside Wales from the song "The Bells of Rhymney", a musical adaptation of a poem by Idris Davies.

• Country — Wales • Welsh Name — Rhymni • Constituency Welsh Assembly — Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni • Official Name — Rhymney • Unitary Wales — Caerphilly • Lieutenancy Wales — Gwent • Constituency Westminster — Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney • Post Town — BARGOED • Postcode District — CF81 • Postcode Area — CF • Post Town1 — TREDEGAR • Postcode District1 — NP22 • Postcode Area1 — NP • Dial Code — 01685 • Os Grid Reference — SO115075 • Population — 8,845

Several authors have studied the toponymy of Rhymney. Morgan (1887) opined: Thomas (1990, originally 1938) was similarly expansive, although from a perspective of different variations of the name Rhymney: Mills (2003) cited Remni 1101, Rempny 1296, Rymney 1541.' He then defined Rhymney as '(Place on the) River Rhymney', to which he added 'The river name means "auger" (Welsh rhwmp + adjectival ending -ni, describing its boring action.'

The countryside around present day Rhymney would have been very different in the early 17th century. In 1624 the parish of Bedwellty was created which covered the lower division of the Wentloog Hundred, in the county of Monmouth, a hilly district between the River Rhymney on the west and the Sirhowy River on the east. The upper Sirhowy Valley at this time would have been a natural well-wooded valley, consisting of a few farms and the occasional small ironworks where iron ore and coal had occurred together naturally. Later it would have contained the chapelries of Rhymney and Tredegar, the latter being known as a market town. Industrialisation began in the 1750s with the establishment of the Sirhowy Ironworks. However, in his famous An historical tour in Monmouthshire, historian William Coxe (1801) referred to: 'the rich vale of Carno; the diffridfs fertilifed by the Rumney; the romantic vallies of the Ebwy and Sorwy; and the whole of the beautiful and undulating country I vlfited in thefe excurfions.'

In 1906 John Edward Lloyd, the Welsh historian, documented that in 1800 David Evans, Thomas Williams, John Ambrose and Richard Cunningham entered into an agreement to build a furnace and to carry on an iron works and a cast iron trade on a plot of land ownned by the Duke of Beaufort and Mr Glover. The name of the firm was The Union Iron Company. The works started production in 1801. Two years later negotiations were conducted by Benjamnin Hall and a partnership was formed between Richard Crawshay, Watkin George, Benjamin Hall, Richard Cunningham and Thomas Williams to form The Union Iron Works Company. After documenting the arrangements of the partnership, Lloyd (1906) then documented: 'then appears the following remarkable provision: — "It is also agreed that Coal may be used for manufacturing iron on the premises."' about which Jones commented: 'Possibly it refers to a Small Forge or Smith's Shop being established.' In the following year a dispute arose between Cunningham and Crawshay whereby the latter accused the former 'with having improperly drawn up bills on account of the co-partnership', of being, as Lloyd (1906) put it, 'a swindler, or words to that effect.' Subsequently Cunningham responded to the dispute by inaugurating a suit against Crawshay and others which alleged that his signature on the deed of Dissolution of the previous partnership had been improperly obtained and under threats and duress, and was altogether void....' Lloyd (1906) commented: 'it may be assumed that Mr. Cunningham could not, and did not, continue a member of the firm any longer.' And he observed that, after 1806: In 1825 the Bute Iron Works were built, so-called because it was built on land owned by the Marquess of Bute. It was situated on the right bank of the River Rhymney and immediately opposite the Union Iron Works. Its partners were William Forman, Thomas Seton and Thomas Johnson. The lease for the land was for 92 years. However, a few years after 1825 or thereabouts, the owners of the adjoining Bute Works and The Union Iron Works Company agreed that they should be amalgamated to form one company, the Rhymney Iron Company (Rhymney and Bute). Mushet (1840) observed that the company had six blast furnaces.

In 1906, Sir Henry W. Tyler, the Chairman of Rhymney Iron Company, Limited wrote to Lloyd from London in response to a request for information from him about the modern history of the iron works. Tyler recalled: By the early 20th century the town's collieries employed nearly the entire local population.

In 1999 Ystrad Mynach College launched its sister campus in Rhymney to serve the top end of the Rhymney Valley under the name The College Rhymney. The college underwent rapid growth after its opening, with over 700 students enrolling on various courses in the 2007–2008 academic year. However, it is now closed. The town has Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymnia, a Welsh language primary school, and a secondary school, Idris Davies School, that serves a catchment area which includes Fochriw, Pontlottyn and New Tredegar. Rhymney railway station is on the Rhymney Line. The line features a viaduct that was built by the Rhymney Railway company to facilitate the line in 1857 after the incorporation of the company to build the line to the steel works in 1854. The viaduct which opened in 1858 was designed by English engineer Joseph Cubitt.(1811–1872).

The parish church of Rhymney is a Grade II listed building that was constructed in the neo-classical style. It was built by architect Philip Hardwick from London on commission for Andrew Buchan who was the manager of the local Rhymney brewery between 1838–1858. The building was listed in 1990 and was noted for being one of the most 'interesting' examples of neoclassical architecture in South Wales. Buchan himself is buried in the parish church vaults and is commemorated with a plaque in the nave of the church. The parish is occasionally visited by enthusiasts of Hardwick's work who are interested in neo-classical buildings of this type.

• See also:Category:People from Rhymney Engineer Cornelius Lundie (1815–1908) was born in Kelso, in Scotland. He received his education in Scotland and variously worked in Scotland, New South Wales in Australia and England. In 1861 he was appointed the manager of the Rhymney Railway. For over 40 years, he was, until a few years prior to his death, the consulting director of the Company, and discharged the duties of that office until the very end. As an engineer he designed and constructed many extensions of the system and widenings of the main line, including a double-way tunnel under the Cefn Onn or Caerphilly mountain, and a masonry viaduct of seven spans over the River Taff, besides new locomotive shops at Caerphilly, and other works. He was 93 when he died in 1908 and is thought to be the oldest railway director of his time. Welsh language poet and congregational minister Thomas Cynfelyn Benjamin (1850–1925) was born at Carno Hill. Professor, civil servant, administrator and author Dr Thomas Jones (1870–1955) was born in the High Street. After leaving school at 14 he became a clerk at the Rhymney Iron and Steel Works. He was admitted to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1890 and later migrated to Glasgow University in 1890. Between 1904 and 1905 he lectured in Ireland and upon returning to Wales in 1910 became Secretary of the Welsh National Campaign against Tuberculosis. He was appointed Secretary of the National Health Insurance Commission (Wales) in 1912 and transferred to London in 1916 as Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, eventually becoming Deputy Secretary. He suffered a serious fall indoors at his home in Kent in June 1955 and died in a private nursing home on 15 October 1955. His daughter, the Labour Party politician Eirene White, was later granted the title Baroness White of Rhymney. The long-time Secretary of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society Walter Conway, (1872-1933) was born in Plantation Street. In 1908 he was elected as a guardian on the Board of Guardians of the town's workhouse, the Bedwellty Union Workhouse, in which capacity he served more than twenty years. In 1915 he was elected as the Chairman of the Board. The celebrated Welsh poet Idris Davies (1905–1953) was born in Field Street. After leaving school at the age of 14 he worked as a miner in the nearby Abertysswg and Rhymney Mardy Pits. After participating in the failed General Strike of 1926, Davies moved to London where he worked as a teacher at various schools. Four volumes of his poetry were published during his lifetime: Gwalia Deserta (1938), The Angry Summer: A Poem of 1926 (1943), Tonypandy and other poems (1945), and Selected Poems (1953). He returned to Rhymney in 1947 and died of cancer on 6 April 1953. Notable people born in Rhymney include the Major League Baseball trainer John D. Reese, Wales international rugby union Wing Tom James, and Professor W. John Morgan, Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner, and Chair of the United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO.https: www.ukwhoswho.com/

One of the largest employers in Rhymney is Williams Medical Supplies. The town is home to the Rhymney Silurian Male Choir, which was formed in 1951 to renew the tradition of male voice singing in Rhymney. During its history, the choir has won four National Eisteddfod titles and raised money for a number of charities.

Rhymney is known to many outside Wales due to folk singer Pete Seeger's song "The Bells of Rhymney". The lyrics to the song are drawn from a poem by Idris Davies, and the poem was first published in Davies' 1938 anthology Gwalia Deserta. The poem was inspired by the failure of the 1926 General Strike and by the Marine Colliery disaster of 1 March 1927. In addition to Rhymney, the poem also refers to the church bells of Merthyr, Rhondda, Blaina, Caerphilly, Neath, Brecon, Swansea, Newport, Cardiff and the Wye Valley. The song has been covered by a number of acts over the years, including Judy Collins, Cher, the Alarm, the Ian Campbell Folk Group, John Denver, Robyn Hitchcock, Oysterband and Ralph McTell. Arguably the most widely known rendition of the song, however, was that recorded by the American band the Byrds for their 1965 album Mr. Tambourine Man.