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Caerphilly County Borough

Coordinates: 51°39′22″N 3°10′59″W / 51.656°N 3.183°W / 51.656; -3.183
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Caerphilly County Borough
Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili (Welsh)
County borough
Left to right:
Coat of arms of Caerphilly County Borough
Coat of arms
Motto: 
Working Together for the Good of All
Caerphilly shown within Wales
Caerphilly shown within Wales
Coordinates: 51°39′22″N 3°10′59″W / 51.656°N 3.183°W / 51.656; -3.183
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryWales
Preserved countyGwent
Incorporated1 April 1996
Administrative HQTredomen Park, Ystrad Mynach
Government
[1]
 • TypePrincipal council
 • BodyCaerphilly County Borough Council
 • ControlLabour
 • MPs
3 MPs
 • MSs
3 MSs
+4 regional members
Area
[2]
 • Total107 sq mi (277 km2)
 • Rank16th
Population
 (2022)[2]
 • Total176,130
 • Rank5th
 • Density1,640/sq mi (635/km2)
Welsh language (2021)
[3]
 • Speakers10.5%
 • Rank2nd
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 codeGB-CAY
GSS codeW06000018
Websitecaerphilly.gov.uk

Caerphilly County Borough (Welsh: Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are Bedwas, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Newbridge, Blackwood, Bargoed, New Tredegar and Rhymney.

Geography

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Caerphilly County Borough is in southeast Wales and straddles the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. It is bordered by Cardiff to the southwest, Newport to the southeast, Torfaen to the east, Blaenau Gwent to the northeast, Powys to the north, Merthyr Tydfil to the northwest and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the west.[4]

The northern part of the borough is formed by the broad expanse of the Rhymney Valley. The Rhymney River rises in the hills in the north and flows southwards for about thirty miles, looping round to the east just to the north of Caerphilly before reaching the Bristol Channel. Some of the larger towns are Bedwas, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Newbridge, Blackwood, Bargoed, New Tredegar and Rhymney. The valley also includes the communities of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tir-Phil, Brithdir, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly.[4]

History

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Located on the edge of the South Wales Coalfield this area was sparsely populated with livestock husbandry being the main occupation. Farmers in their remote farmhouses on the windswept pastures might dig themselves some bucketfuls of coal for their hearth. Things began to change with the development of the iron industry, the start of the Industrial Revolution. In 1752, a 99-year lease was granted for a parcel of land in the Rhymney Valley which gave the lessees the right to mine coal and iron ore. Other such transactions followed, pit shafts were dug and the coal industry developed.[5] By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were forty coalmines in the valley.[6]

One of the pits sunk in the late nineteenth century was the Elliot Colliery. At its peak before World War I, it was producing over a million tons of coal a year and employing nearly three thousand people. The coal eventually became depleted and the colliery closed in 1967. Most of the site was cleared but the East Winding House survives and is now a Grade II listed building, and a museum of the coal industry in the area has been opened on the site.[7] All the pits in the valley were closed by the end of the twentieth century; the spoil heaps were removed and the area was landscaped so that it is not now apparent that the valley ever had an industrial past.[6]

The county borough was formed on 1 April 1996 by the merger of the Rhymney Valley district of Mid Glamorgan with the Islwyn borough of Gwent.[8] In 2008, as a result of representations from different communities in the borough, a draft plan was put forward proposing various changes to the borders between communities.[9]

Education

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Main article: List of schools in Caerphilly

Freedom of the Borough

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The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the County Borough of Caerphilly.

Individuals

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Military Units

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See also

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Sports

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Rugby

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There are many rugby union clubs throughout the county.[20] These are:

References

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  1. ^ "Council and democracy". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  3. ^ "How life has changed in Caerphilly: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b Concise Road Atlas: Britain. AA Publishing. 2015. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7495-7743-8.
  5. ^ "The History of the Upper Rhymney Valley". Bute Town. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  6. ^ a b "The Rhymney Valley today". Bute Town. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  7. ^ "A History of Elliot Colliery". Winding House Project. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994". The National Archives. legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Communities boundary review". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  10. ^ Crockett, Natalie (17 May 2009). "Caerphilly borough honours favourite son Calzaghe". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  11. ^ a b James, Rhiannon (6 October 2021). "Lauren Price and Lauren Williams get freedom of Caerphilly". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Prestigious honour set for Local Olympians". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Royal Welsh Regiment to receive Freedom of Caerphilly County Borough – Caerphilly.Observer". 21 September 2010.
  14. ^ WalesOnline (15 September 2010). "Regiment to get freedom of the borough".
  15. ^ steveorido (26 September 2010). "The Royal Welsh Freedom of the borough, Blackwood and Caerphilly". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "NOTICE OF THE DECISIONS FROM THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 17th NOVEMBER 2020 AT 5.00P.M." (PDF). Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  17. ^ James, Rhiannon (28 March 2022). "Royal British Legion granted the freedom of Caerphilly". Wales Online. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Freedom of the County Borough awarded to the Royal British Legion". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  19. ^ James, Rhiannon (25 March 2022). "Royal British Legion awarded freedom of Caerphilly county borough". The South Wales Argus. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Club Finder".
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