Treorchy (; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 communities of the Rhondda. It includes the villages of Cwmparc and Ynyswen.
History
Prior to industrialisation, most of the land was owned by one of the great families of Glamorgan with Treorchy coming under the domain of the Marquess of Bute Estate. The discovery of coal transformed the area. The period following 1851 saw Treorchy becoming an industrial town. The town grew around the coal mining industry during the late 19th and early 20th century, but by the end of the 20th century all the local pits had closed, creating an economic downturn in the community.
Treorchy had been established when the Abergorki Colliery, situated in Cwm Orci to the north, was opened as a level in 1859 by a Mr Huxham, a former manager of the Bute Merthyr Colliery. This was sold to J. H. Insole of Cymmer in 1862. The first deep mine in Treorchy was sunk in the 1860s by David Davies of Llandinam who would later own the Ocean Coal Company. The initial development of the town was linear, based on the main road through the valley, but by 1875 a grid pattern of streets was emerging.
Ysgol Gymraeg Ynyswen, a Welsh-medium primary school, is situated in the nearby village of Ynyswen. Established in 1950, it was the first Welsh-medium school in the Rhondda. It serves Treorchy and the surrounding villages, including Treherbert, Cwmparc, Penyrenglyn and Blaencwm.
Governance
The Treorchy electoral ward is coterminous with the borders of the Treorchy community and elects three county councillors to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Since 1995 representation has been by either the Labour Party or Plaid Cymru. Since 2008 the ward has had three Plaid Cymru representatives.
A 2018 review of electoral arrangements by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales would see Treorchy's representation reduced from three to two councillors. The proposals would take effect from the 2022 council elections.
Economy
After being a town whose employment relied almost entirely on coal mining in the Abergorki, Tylecoch, Parc and Dare collieries, by the end of the 1970s all of these collieries had closed. Employment in Treorchy is now mostly in retail. It was praised for the number of independent shops in the town, and for organising a number of events, from Christmas parades to arts festivals, as well as a gay pride gathering which was a first for the area. The hall also provides entertainment as a venue for cinema, theatre and pantomime, and for school eisteddfodau and other performances.
Treorchy hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1928, the only time the event has been held in the Rhondda.
Sport
Treorchy RFC is the rugby union club, nicknamed the Zebras.
Treorchy also has 6 tennis courts, situated in Ystradfechan Park, and is the home of the Rhondda Lawn Tennis Club.
Upper Rhondda Cricket Club play on Ystradfechan Fields in Treorchy. The club was founded in 2002 when Blaenrhondda CC and Treorchy CC merged, they also have a women's side which was the first women's cricket team in the Rhondda when they started in 2019.
Notable people
:See :Category:People from Treorchy
- Euros Bowen (1904–1988) – Welsh poet and bard
- Billy Cleaver (1921–2003) – Wales international rugby union player
- Donald Davies (1924–2000) – Computer scientist
- John Davies (1938–2015) – Welsh historian
- Bram Gay (1930–2019) - Musician and musical director
- Peter George (1924–1966) – Author and Oscar nominated screenwriter
- Noel Kinsey (1925) – Welsh international footballer
- Wayne Jones (1948) – Welsh international footballer
- Clive Thomas (1936) – World Cup football referee
- Frank Vickery (1951–2018) – Playwright
- Geraint Williams (1962) – Welsh international footballer
- Luke Morgan Britton (1990) – Music journalist and author.
- Tomos Williams (1995) - Wales international rugby union player