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Ferndale in the Parishes of Ystradyfodwg & Llanwonno

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"FERNDALE is a township forming part of the Rhondda Urban District, in the Rhondda Fach valley, with a Station 9 miles north-north-west of Pontypridd, on the Great Western railway; though a quarter of a century ago it contained but five farms, it is now a populous place, and in 1887, together with Tylorstown and Mardy, as formed into an ecclesiastical parish, but in 1900 was separated from Tylorstown, and together with Mardy was formed into a new ecclesiastical parish under the name of Ferndale. In 1921, however, it was separated from Mardy, and is now itself a separate ecclesiastical parish. It is in the hundred of Miskin, petty sessional division of Rhondda, Pontypridd union and county court district, rural deanery of Rhondda and archdeaconry and diocese of Llandaff. The parish is lighted with gas. Christ Church, erected in 1887 at a cost of £2,237, is a building of Welsh sandstone with Bath stone dressings, ... and has 400 sittings. The register dates from the year 1888. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £295, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Llandaff and the Board of Patronage, ... The church of St.Dunstan's, a chapel of ease to Christ Church, and erected in 1905 at a cost of £2,400, is a building of native stone with Bath stone dressings, ... Welsh services only. The church of St. Paul, a chapel of ease to Christ Church, Ferndale, is an iron building, erected in 1877, at a cost of £500; it is now used as a parish room. There are several dissenting chapels. The Ferndale Workmen's Hall, Library and Institute is in High street; it contains a public hall, theatre, swimming bath &c., besides a library containing over 5,000 volumes of Welsh and English books. The Ferndale Workmen's General Hospital and Eye Infirmary was established in 1891 for the benefit of the workmen of the district; it is a free institution. The rapid rise of this place is due to the extensive collieries of Messrs. Davis and Sons Limited. The population of the ecclesiastical parish in 1901 was 15,531, and in 1911, 18,144." [Kelly's South Wales Directory 1923 (ArchiveCDBooks) - transcribed by Gareth Hicks]

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Archives & Libraries

Ferndale Library
High Street
Ferndale
CF43 4RH

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Church History

The Sunday School with its banner outside Salem Newydd Baptist Chapel, Ferndale, c. 1905 - on the People's Collection Wales site

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Church Records

For full and up-to-date details of their holdings see the sites of Glamorgan Record Office and/or West Glamorgan Archives

Christ Church, Ferndale
According to sources

  • On Coflein it says Christ Church was in Station Rd., Ferndale. Built in 1886, status in 2000 unknown. Sited at ST00019709
  • On the rhondda.co.uk site it also said Station Rd, built 1890, since demolished
  • On the RCT site (use search box) there is a photograph with this narrative; "Ferndale Collieries, Circa 1920; Details Black and White Also features, Colliery Offices, Christ Church, Ferndale Junior School, Salisbury Hotel". [Enlarge the image and it's just possible to make out a church in the centre, I think.]
Non Conformist Registers Deposited
ChapelBaptismsMarriagesBurialsOS Map RefDeposited
Bethel, Baptist-1923-1988-SS 99999692GRO
Penuel, Calvinistic Methodist-1945-1981-SS 00019670NLW
English, Wesleyan-1901-1987-SS 99989692GRO

GRO - Glamorgan Record Office, Cardiff
NLW - National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth

Ferndale also contains two modern parishes:

St Dunstan

The church is dedicated to St. Dunstan, is in the Benefice of Ferndale with Maerdy, and the diocese of Llandaff. Details of the present incumbent of this benefice can be found at the Church in Wales website. The church can be located at grid reference SS999967.

Anglican Parish Registers
BaptismsMarriagesBurialsBannsBishops Transcripts
No Registers have been deposited yet

St Thomas

The church is dedicated to St. Thomas, is in the Benefice of Ferndale with Maerdy, and the diocese of Llandaff. Details of the present incumbent of this benefice can be found at the Church in Wales website. The church can be located at grid reference ST000971.

Anglican Parish Registers
BaptismsMarriagesBurialsBannsBishops Transcripts
No Registers have been deposited yet
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Description & Travel

Historic Landscape Characterisation: The Rhondda - on the CADW site.
Fully explore the site - there are separate detailed sections for places in the area

Ferndale - on the Rhondda Cynon Taf Libraries Heritage Trail site

Various landscapes - on the People's Collection Wales site

You can see pictures of Ferndale in the Parishes of Ystradyfodwg & Llanwonno which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SS999970 (Lat/Lon: 51.662835, -3.448653), Ferndale in the Parishes of Ystradyfodwg & Llanwonno which are provided by:

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Military History

War Memorial - on the People's Collection Wales site

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Occupations

The South Wales Coal Annual for 1908; Edited by Joseph Davies . The section re Ferndale Collieries has been extracted

Ferndale No 1 Pit on the Welsh Coal Mines site

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

  • Ferndale and Blaenllechau Workmen's Band "Minutes 1923-1927; agreement 1927; note of payments to band members, undated (c1927)."
  • National Union of Mineworkers (South Wales Area). Ferndale Lodge "Minute books 1919-1959; Financial records 1924-1957; Correspondence and related papers 1919-1957; Accident and compensation records 1928-1959; Material relating to the 1926 Ferndale disturbances, 1926"
  • John Evans (Ferndale) "Minutes of a meeting of the Rhondda District of the South Wales Miners' Federation) together with related congress report 1907; Mardy Colliery agreement 1917; Ferndale Collieries price-list (photocopy) 1895; material relating to the Ebbw Vale dispute 1922"

Various items - on the People's Collection Wales site

  • Young and old at Ferndale Colliery. One of a series of photographs taken during the Royal visit to South Wales in 1907
  • Black and white film negative of a photograph showing 'the old & the new' headgears, Ferndale no.4 Pit.
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Schools

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

  • Ferndale Senior Girls/Secondary Girls school records " .............. comprising of logbook, 1937-1973; loose papers, c1848-1970"
    "........ a secondary school was established in Ferndale in 1892. It was then enlarged in 1897-1898 and established as an Organised Science School, later it was reopened as a secondary school with accomodation for 330 pupils."