Caerphilly County Borough
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox settlement Caerphilly County Borough (Template:Langx) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Newbridge, Blackwood, Bargoed, New Tredegar and Rhymney.
Geography
Caerphilly County Borough is in southeast Wales and straddles the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. It is bordered by Cardiff to the southwest, Newport to the southeast, Torfaen to the east, Blaenau Gwent to the northeast, Powys to the north, Merthyr Tydfil to the northwest and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the west.<ref name=Atlas>Template:Cite book</ref>
The northern part of the borough is formed by the broad expanse of the Rhymney Valley. The Rhymney River rises in the hills in the north and flows southwards for about thirty miles, looping round to the east just to the north of Caerphilly before reaching the Bristol Channel. Some of the larger towns are Bedwas, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Newbridge, Blackwood, Bargoed, New Tredegar and Rhymney. The valley also includes the communities of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tir-Phil, Brithdir, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly.<ref name=Atlas/>
History
Located on the edge of the South Wales Coalfield this area was sparsely populated with livestock husbandry being the main occupation. Farmers in their remote farmhouses on the windswept pastures might dig themselves some bucketfuls of coal for their hearth. Things began to change with the development of the iron industry, the start of the Industrial Revolution. In 1752, a 99-year lease was granted for a parcel of land in the Rhymney Valley which gave the lessees the right to mine coal and iron ore. Other such transactions followed, pit shafts were dug and the coal industry developed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were forty coalmines in the valley.<ref name=Today>Template:Cite web</ref>
One of the pits sunk in the late nineteenth century was the Elliot Colliery. At its peak before World War I, it was producing over a million tons of coal a year and employing nearly three thousand people. The coal eventually became depleted and the colliery closed in 1967. Most of the site was cleared but the East Winding House survives and is now a Grade II listed building, and a museum of the coal industry in the area has been opened on the site.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All the pits in the valley were closed by the end of the twentieth century; the spoil heaps were removed and the area was landscaped so that it is not now apparent that the valley ever had an industrial past.<ref name=Today/>
The county borough was formed on 1 April 1996 by the merger of the Rhymney Valley district of Mid Glamorgan with the Islwyn borough of Gwent.<ref name=1994Act>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2008, as a result of representations from different communities in the borough, a draft plan was put forward proposing various changes to the borders between communities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Governance
Local government
Template:Main Caerphilly County Borough Council is the governing body for the county borough. It has 69 seats and is majority controlled by Labour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
UK Parliament
Caerphilly County Borough is represented in the House of Commons by three UK Parliament constituencies. These are: <ref name="election maps">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Caerphilly, represented by Chris Evans (Labour Co-op)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Newport West and Islwyn, represented by Ruth Jones (Labour)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, represented by Nick Smith (Labour)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Caerphilly constituency is the only one wholly within the county borough council's boundaries, whereas Newport West and Islwyn crosses boundaries with Newport, and Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney with Blaenau Gwent.<ref name="election maps" />
Senedd
In the Senedd, the county borough is currently represented by three Senedd constituencies: <ref name="election maps" />
- Caerphilly, represented by Lindsay Whittle (Plaid Cymru)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Islwyn, represented by Rhianon Passmore (Labour Co-op)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, represented by Dawn Bowden (Labour)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The latter constituency crosses boundaries with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough.<ref name="election maps" />
The South Wales East region also includes the county borough, and is represented by two Conservative and two Plaid Cymru MSs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
From the 2026 Senedd election, the borough will be represented by the proposed Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni and Casnewydd Islwyn constituencies, each returning six MSs, following the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
Freedom of the Borough
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the County Borough of Caerphilly.
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Individuals
- Joseph Calzaghe: 17 May 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Lauren Price: 6 October 2021.<ref name=pw />
- Lauren Williams: 6 October 2021.<ref name=pw>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Military Units
- The Royal Welsh: 26 September 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
- The Royal British Legion: 25 March 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- List of places in Caerphilly County Borough for a list of towns and villages
Sports
Rugby
There are many rugby union clubs throughout the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> These are: Template:Columns-list
Notes
References
External links
- Caerphilly Council official website Template:Webarchive
- Menter Iaith Sir Caerffili Template:Webarchive the Welsh Language Initiative for Caerphilly County Borough
- Visit Caerphilly Tourism site by the local authority
- Caerphilly Observer Newspaper for the borough
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