{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | country = Wales | official_name = Pontrhydyfen | welsh_name = Pont-rhyd-y-fen | coordinates = {{coord|51.634|-3.744|display=inline,title}} | population = 830 | population_ref = | unitary_wales = Neath Port Talbot | lieutenancy_wales = West Glamorgan | constituency_westminster = Aberafan Maesteg | post_town = PORT TALBOT | postcode_district = SA12 | postcode_area = SA | dial_code = 01639 | os_grid_reference = SS793942 | static_image_name = File:Y Bont Fawr Aquaduct - Pontrhydyfen.jpg | static_image_caption = Y Bont Fawr Aqueduct }}
'''Pontrhydyfen''' (or '''Pont-rhyd-y-fen''') is a small village in the Afan Valley, in Neath Port Talbot county borough in Wales ({{gbmapping|SS794940}}). The village sits at the confluence of the River Afan and the smaller Afon Pelenna, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the larger village of Cwmafan and not far from the towns of Port Talbot and Neath. The views from the village are dominated by the hills of Foel Fynyddau (370 m) to the west, Moel y Fen (260 m) to the south-east and Mynydd Pen-rhys (280 m) to the north. This former coal mining community is distinguished by two large 19th-century bridges that span the valley: a railway viaduct (''the red bridge'') and a former aqueduct, known in the Welsh language as ''Y Bont Fawr'' ("The Big Bridge"). The built-up area has a population of around 830.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=W37000345|title=Custom report - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics}}</ref> It is in the community of Pelenna. There is both a community centre and a rugby union club, Pontrhydyfen RFC.<ref name="RFC">{{cite web|url=https://pontrhydyfen.rfc.wales/ |title=Pontrhydyfen RFC |website=pontrhydyfen.rfc.wales/|access-date=2 August 2023}}</ref>
== History == 200px|left|thumb|Pontrhydyfen Aqueduct The industrial history of Oakwood began in the 1820s, when the first blast furnace was lighted for the Pontrhydyfen Iron Works<ref name="Blast">{{cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Pontrhydyfen_Iron_Works |website=gracesguide.co.uk |title=Pontrhydyfen Iron Works|access-date=11 April 2020}}</ref> and coalmaster John Reynolds built the aqueduct to power it.<ref name="Afan">[http://www.digitaldesk.org/resources/afanvalley/pontrhydyfen.htm Afan Valley Then & Now. Retrieved 13 March 2020]</ref> By 1877 local Ordnance Survey maps show the site of the iron works as ruins,<ref name="OS">{{cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102342514 |title=Ordnance Survey Map (1874–77)|website=maps.nls.uk|access-date= 11 April 2020}}</ref> but there are continued historical references to the two blast furnaces at Pontrhydyfen until 1902.<ref name="Blast" />
George Yates' Map of the County Glamorgan shows coal mining just south of Oakwood on the West slopes of Moel y Fen and Mynydd Bychan by 1799.<ref name="Yates">{{cite web|url=https://viewer.library.wales/4997601#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&manifest=https%3A%2F%2Fdamsssl.llgc.org.uk%2Fiiif%2F2.0%2F4997601%2Fmanifest.json&xywh=8229%2C5361%2C1065%2C622 |publisher=The National Library of Wales |title=George Yates' Map of the County Glamorgan (1799)|access-date=12 April 2020}}</ref> By 1875 maps show a range of collieries including: Craig (SS 788933), Graiglyn (SS 788935) & Wernavon (SS 791936) on the south-east slopes of Foel Fynddau, each serviced by tramways, and Craig-y-fedw (SS 787947) on the east slope of Mynydd Hawdref<ref name="OSGlamorgan1897">{{cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102183177 |publisher=The National Library of Scotland |title=Ordnance Survey Map of Glamorgan Sheet XXV. N.E. (Revised 1897)|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> and then by 1914 maps show Oakwood Colliery (SS 799941) just to the south-east of Rhyslyn Carpark.<ref name="OSGlamorgan1914">{{cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102183171 |publisher=The National Library of Scotland |title=Ordnance Survey Map of Glamorgan Sheet XXV. N.E. (Revised 1914)|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref>
There are several viaducts around the village. The nine-arch Pontrhydyfen viaduct built in 1898 was the last railway bridge built in the valley.<ref name="Afan" /> The Bont Fawr Aqueduct (aka The Big Bridge). Built by John Reynolds and completed in 1827, the four-arch aqueduct is 153 yards (140 m) long and over 75 feet (23 m) high. A watercourse some two miles long carried water from the Afan; it supplied the water which powered the giant waterwheels of the Oakwood / Pontrhydyfen Ironworks.<ref name="Afan" /> Its use in supplying the waterwheels was relatively short-lived, and there is no record it being used for this purpose following the acquisition of the site by Governor and Company of Copper Miners in 1841.<ref name="Listed">[https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/iconic-welsh-aqueduct-been-painstakingly-13743450 Wales Online – An iconic Welsh aqueduct has been painstakingly restored by Gemma Parry. Retrieved 9 April 2020]</ref> The Bont Fawr Aqueduct is 'one of the few surviving structures relating to the use of water power in the iron industry in the region' and is a Grade II* listed building.<ref name="Listed" /> It remains in use today as a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists, the canal which it once carried having been filled in.
thumb|The Pontrhydyfen Rugby Ground By 1897 there were three quarries on Moel y Fen, one on Mynydd Hawdref (just west of Efail-fach), two on the east slopes of Foel Fynyddau, two on the south slopes of Mynydd Pen-Rhys and one in the vicinity of Penhydd-fach.<ref name="OSGlamorganRevised1914">{{cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/102183165 |title=The National Library of Scotland – Ordnance Survey Map of Glamorgan Sheet XXV. N.E.|access-date=14 April 2020|website=maps.nls.uk}}</ref>
== Notable people == Pontrhydyfen was the birthplace of the actor, Richard Burton,<ref name="Burton">[https://www.richardburton.com/life/ The Official Richard Burton Website. Commissioned by Onward Productions. Retrieved 1 April 2020]</ref> Broadway theatre and musical star Ivor Emmanuel who was also in ''Zulu'',<ref name="Emmanuel">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fwales%2Fentries%2Fb21fd1a4-0003-37a8-b08a-7f63b147b924 BBC's Phil Carradice (2013) The life and times of Ivor Emmanuel. Retrieved 1 April 2020]</ref> international opera singer Rebecca Evans,<ref name="Evans">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/rebecca-evans/index.shtml BBC Website. Wales Music Biography Rebecca Evans. Retrieved 1 April 2020]</ref> and singer and songwriter Geraint Griffiths.<ref name="Griffiths">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymru/deorllewin/enwogion/cantorion/pages/geraint_griffiths.shtml BBC Lleol. De Orllewin Cantorion Geraint Griffiths. Retrieved 1 April 2020]</ref> The Richard Burton Appreciation Society is based in the village.<ref name="Society">[https://www.facebook.com/groups/2244108958/ Facebook Group. The Richard Burton Appreciation Society. Retrieved 1 April 2020]</ref>
== Visitor destination== Due to its location close to Afan Forest Park, the area is a gateway for mountain biking. The valley offers the best places for mountain biking in South Wales and is consistently ranked highly within the best in the UK.<ref name="Biking">{{cite web|title=Proviz Sports. 2019. Top 15 Mountain Bike Trails in the UK 2020|url= https://www.provizsports.com/en-gb/blog/top-15-uk-mountain-bike-trails|website=www.provizsports.com|access-date= 14 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="NRW">{{cite web|url=https://naturalresources.wales/days-out/places-to-visit/south-east-wales/afan-forest-park/mountain-biking-in-afan-forest-park/?lang=en |website=naturalresources.wales |title=Afan Forest Park|access-date= 13 March 2020}}</ref> There are paths for walking from the village that lead to the Penrhys Trail.
There are also three pubs in the area, The Colliers, The Miners and the Blue Scar.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2742267 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Pontrhydyfen and surrounding area]
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Category:Afan Valley Category:Villages in Neath Port Talbot