Penrhiwceiber
Penrhiwceiber
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 Penrhiwceiber
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| Penrhiwceiber shown within Rhondda Cynon Taf | |
| Population | 6,789 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST0597 |
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| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Mountain Ash/Aberpennar |
| Postcode district | CF45 |
| Dialling code | 01443 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
Eglwys Santes Gwenffrewi
Penrhiwceiber is a Welsh former coal mining village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf that lies south of the town Aberpennar and north of the village of Tyntetown, and is one of many villages in the Cynon Valley. Prior to 1870 the area was heavy woodland, but the opening of the Penrhiwceiber Colliery in 1878 saw its rapid expansion into a thriving village.
Penrhiwceiber, according to Thomas Morgan in his 1887 publication, should be worded as Pen-Rhiw-Cae-Byr - 'the top of the slope of the little field'. Other thoughts refer to the word ceiber, which means joist, beam or rafter and may suggest a place where timber was plentiful, which would certainly describe the area, which was a heavy woodland, before the coming of the coal trade.
Penrhiwceiber was once a heavily wooded area with steep sloping mountainsides up until the last 20 years of the 19th century. According to the 1871 Census Records the village of Penrhiwceiber is not listed, however in 1881 the Census lists a number of streets within the village of Penrhiwceiber, notably Railway Terrace, Cynon Terrace, Glanlay Street and Penrhiwceiber Road. This rapid growth was connected to the burgeoning coal trade and the construction of the Penrikyber Colliery in 1878. The sinking of the colliery was first attempted in 1872 by a Mr. Thomas of Cwmbach on behalf of a group of businessmen who set themselves up as the Penrhiwceiber Navigation Collieries Company. After facing problems such as running water and soft sand beds, the first commercial coal was raised from the mine in 1879, though the pit was serviced by a simple wooden headgear with a single rope. Growth was rapid, and in an 1896 report by the Inspector of Mines, the colliery was employing 1,463 men. By 1908, that number was close to 1,800. In 1909 the colliery suffered a pit fire which saw the lives of 30 men saved by the actions of the fire brigade. There was one fatality.
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Wikipedia