Maesteg

File:Maesteg 001.jpg

Maesteg
Population
OS grid reference	SS855915
Principal area	Bridgend
Preserved county	Mid Glamorgan
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MAESTEG
Postcode district	CF34
Dialling code	01656
Police	South Wales
Fire	South Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Ogmore

Maesteg is a Welsh town located at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley in the north of the Welsh county borough of Bridgend (Pen-y-Bont ar Ogwr) in the traditional county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg). It is very close to the border with Neath Port Talbot county borough, and also to Rhondda Cynon Taff county borough. It has a population of some 17,830-19,223 people, with the surrounding area bringing the population to around 25,000 and is the 17th largest centre of population in Wales.

File:Maestegtownhall.jpg

Maesteg Town Hall

The town was built, like so many others in this area of South Wales on its nineteenth century and early twentieth century legacy stemming from Iron Production and coal mining. At the height of its importance, there were six collieries operating in the town; with associated coal mining industries locating in Maesteg.

History

The earliest settlement in the Llynfi Valley is at the Bwlwarcau Iron Age Hill fort near to Llangynwyd Village which is around 2 miles to the south west of Maesteg Town centre. This places earliest human settlement in the area around Maesteg to more than 2,000 years ago.

Immediately surrounding the Maesteg Area is significant evidence of settlement in the Bronze Age, which reaches back further in time, to nearly 4,000 years ago, in Carn Llechart, Crug yr Afan and Carn Bugail, there is also evidence of Neolithic settlement in this area of South Wales, in Penmaen Burrows in the Gower Peninsula, and Maesteg is also close to Paviland in the Gower, where the oldest remains of humans have been found in the United Kingdom, dating from 26,350 years ago +/- 550 years; so there is significant evidence that the area around Maesteg has seen anthropological contact for a very long time.

Closer to modern times, the Romans established a settlement at present day Bridgend, and it could be assumed that they visited the Llynfi Valley as they also established a settlement at Neath, although the road that connected them was to the south of the Llynfi Valley as the topography is somewhat trecharous between Maesteg and Neath.

Maesteg remained until the start of the nineteenth century a small rural village, with areas of the town also as small villages with Llangynwyd as the principal village, as it has the oldest most developed infrastructure in the valley. Maesteg began to develop and expand as the techniques of the Industrial Revolution began to be applied to South Wales. Iron, which had always been known to exist in the area, was exploited with the opening of the Iron Works in the 1820s. This was fueled by coal seams which also existed in the valley. This was then transported to Porthcawl via railway where it could be taken by sea anywhere in the world. Another Iron works was set up in the late 1830s, and the two companies were soon bought up by Sir John Bowring in 1843. Bowring's tenure was a financial disaster and he left financial involvement in Maesteg by 1848, when he was put in charge of the British consulate in Canton, and he then became Governor of Hong Kong (1854-59).

Bowring has left a lasting legacy on the town; part of Nantyffyllon district was called Bowrington for a time during the nineteenth century; also John Street in Nantyffyllon was named after him, and Charles Row was named after his brother. There also exists the Bowrington Arcade, which was built at the end of the nineteenth century at the corner of Neath Road and Llynfi Road in the Town Centre.

By 1886, iron-making had ceased in Maesteg, coupled with a long depression during the 1870s, this marked a dark period in Maesteg's recent history; however, work in the coal industries had already began, with the sinking of Garth colliery by 1864 and five more collieries sunk before 1908.

Maesteg collieries

Name	Year Sunk (Opened)	Year Shut
Garth	1864	1930
Oakwood	1868	1928/1929
Coegnant	1882	1981
Caerau	1889	1979
Bryn Navigation	1890	1964
St John's	1908	1985 (The Last Deep Mine in the Llynfi Valley)

This marked the largest expansion of Maesteg's population, with a greater number of people living in Maesteg at the start of the twentieth century than they do now at the start of the twenty-first. Coal mining was never expected to be an infinite resource, with closures of Garth and Bryn navigation in the 1930s and 1960s, as a natural result of running out of coal to mine. However, the National Coal Board closed Caerau and Coegnant before the "Miners' Strike" of 1982-83.

St, John's was also closed before its natural end. The legacy of the "Miners' Strike" is not as apparent as in other valleys which were arguably more economically reliant on coal, such as the Rhondda Valleys and valleys further to the east. There was still harsh economic hardship during the start of the 1980s for many of the population of Maesteg.

Industry and employment

Since the demise of the coal mining industry in Maesteg, it has seen little, if any, heavy industry. Maesteg was prepared for the closure of the mines in the 1980s and this gave low unemployment. The unfavourable economic climate has improved in recent years; there are several large factories, the largest of which manufactures cosmetics, another making rubber and another making insulation employ large numbers of people in the town. Service industries especially in the retail sector also employ large numbers of people. Maesteg has some nationwide retail chains, such as Woolworth, Select, Specsavers, New Look, Wilkinsons, Ethel Austin, Clinton Cards,Super Drugs, Blockbuster, Tescos and also a Somerfield supermarket.

Maesteg will probably never again develop any serious heavy industry because of its location, in terms of accessibility, as is the case with most other parts of the South Wales Coalfield; whilst the Llynfi Valley is the widest valley in South Wales, it only has room for one main road to traverse the length of the valley, for access to Bridgend and the M4 motorway.

There is a large proportion of people who live in Maesteg but commute to Bridgend (9 miles away) or to Cardiff (34 miles away).

Transportation

The main road in and out of Maesteg is the A4063, which links it to Bridgend along the length of the Llynfi Valley, this also links it to the villages of Coytrahen, Tondu, Aberkenfig, Sarn and also the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet Wales. There is also access to Port Talbot and Neath via the B4282 and also Cymmer and Treorchy (via the Bwlch y Clawdd Pass) using the A4063 (A4107).

Maesteg is also served by a Rail link which connects it to Bridgend and also to Cardiff.

Maesteg has three railway stations:

• Maesteg - this is located adjacent to the Somerfield store in the town centre and serves the town itself, with a bus link from the villages of Caerau and Nantyffyllon at the northern end of the valley.
• Maesteg Ewenny Road - this is to serve the Industrial Estate located close to the station.
• Garth - this serves Garth and Cwmfelin, which are slightly further down the Llynfi Valley.

Maesteg has a bus station in the town centre which serves as the transportation hub for routes around the town itself, and also to and from major towns in the area. The majority of these services are run by First. They run to Bridgend, Port Talbot and Neath.

Regeneration

Maesteg is undergoing regeneration to modernise the town. The people of Maesteg have mixed views on this scheme. Commercial Street is now complete, and Talbot Street has just been started. The works started at the post office end of Talbot Street and will run down Church Street before returning to Talbot Street and working up towards the completed Commercial Street.

Due to the works that took place in Commercial Street, many traders have had to close down their businesses due to profits dropping significantly. Many of the traders of Talbot Street fear that the same will happen there. A Tesco Store is currently being built near the "Old Parish" Four Sevens Rugby Club and the Sports Centre. A new road will then be built straight to Tesco from Talbot Terrace, bypassing the town centre. Many people fear that this will kill the town as people will no longer visit it as Tesco sells everything that is needed .


The £10 million Maesteg Washery Land Reclamation Scheme, which is funded mainly by the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) is transforming a former coal and iron industry site to provide a new comprehensive school and sports fields, in addition to areas set aside for new housing development.

Amenities & Sport Clubs

Maesteg is home to the rugby club nicknamed "The Old Parish" and is one of the most successful rugby teams in the vicinity as it is one of only three first class rugby clubs to have had an invincible season; the others being Newport (Wales) and Taranaki (New Zealand). All three clubs have black and amber as their club colours.

Arguably the most successful player to have played for the club was Allan Bateman.

He gained his first cap on Saturday, 3 March 1990 v Scotland at Cardiff, (Wales losing 13-9). All in all he gained in total 35 caps for his country a record for someone born within the Llynfi Valley. It was when Allan moved to Neath he started to improve and develop his game. As a versatile player he could play on the wing with the same style and class that characterised his centre play. As strong in attack as he was in defence. No sooner had he made his mark on international rugby, surprisingly he decided to switch codes, within days of being approached by Warrington R.L.F.C.

[Allan] inevitably was a major contributor in this triumph. Despite his advancing years, he still exuded class and made up in experience and guile what might have been lost in pace. He was still more than capable of pulling off a try-saving tackle or executing a try-making pass. In 2001 having enjoyed victory against Tonga, the quiet man of Welsh rugby bowed out. There have been few players blessed with his skills, fewer still with his modesty and dignity. Nice guys do win.....sometimes! (John Lovell)

After over a decade away from union and from home he finally returned in 1995 when union became open to professionalism Allan joined Richmond R.F.C in West London from Cronulla in Australia. With his experience from league (he became known as the "Clamp" because of the ferocity of his tackling) his return to union proved to be his most successful period of his career. Having moved from Richmond he went on to win the Heineken Cup (champions cup of European club rugby) with Northampton. As a result he re-joined the international scene and thus started the revival of Welsh rugby in the modern era. Having played at the top level for nearly 2 decades Allan decided to finish his career at his home club playing in the successful 2004-05 championship winning season seeing 'the parish' return to the top division within Welsh rugby.

The most capped player playing for Maesteg was Gwyn Evans who obtained 10 caps for Wales and 2 for the British & Irish Lions against New Zealand during 1983. Maesteg R.F.C also produced other Lions including; Trevor Lloyd - Inside Half - South Africa 1955, Ray 'Chico' Hopkins - Inside Half - New Zealand 1971 and of course Allan Bateman - Centre - South Africa 1997. A great achievement for a small locality.

For more detailed information about the club visit their [website by clicking here].([1]).

Maesteg swimming pool([2]) , located off Castle Street, is very popular among local residents and well located cetrally within the town. The lesuire centre ([3]), located at the site of the original Iron Works (see above)although remains a 'white elephant' has provided a large range of varied activities for locals and remains a hub for local community groups and sporting groups within the area. A newly re-furbished gym although small in size provides adequate equipment for those wishing to lose a few pounds!!!!

There also is a library([4]) which is currently being up-dated and various other amenities one would expect to find in a town of its size.

Located around 4 miles up the valley from Maesteg is Afan Forest Park ([5]). Here you will find beautiful scenery and a place to partake in many outdoor pursuits such as hill walking, mountain biking and a great place to hitch up your tent camping. Golf is also very popular and at the Maesteg Golf Club, ([6]) with its new clubhouse, a friendly club can be found with green fees in the £15-£25 pound range. --194.168.231.2 13:51, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Music and Art

Maesteg being in Wales has its own proud tradition of music and theatre. There are many good local groups providing everything from the traditional male voice choir music to the more modern rock band, Funeral for a Friend, which originally hails from Maesteg ([7], is one such example. There is a strong local music scene. [8]). Maesteg Children's Choir hosts many concerts throughout the year. Home of famous poet Will Hopkin among others.

Artist Christopher Williams (Welsh Artist 1873-1934) was born in Maesteg in 1873. Six of his paintings are on display in Maesteg Town Hall.

Famous People From Maesteg & the Llynfi Valley

Sian Lloyd, TV weather presenter was born in the town.

References

• http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/2005_world_city_populations/Wales.html
• http://www.bridgend.gov.uk/Web1/groups/tourism/documents/marketing/001792.hcsp
• http://www.grossi.co.uk/wales/towns.htm
• http://www.diggingupthepast.org.uk/maps/maesteg1884.html
• http://www.roman-britain.org/celtic/celtic_map.htm
• http://scarab.newport.ac.uk/pavi/paviland.html
• http://www.bridgend.gov.uk/Web1/groups/tourism/documents/marketing/001754.hcsp

51.61065°N 3.65496°W / 51.61065; -3.65496