78-532: Fochriw ( Welsh pronunciation: [vɔxˈrɪu̯] ) is a village in Caerphilly County Borough , Wales. It was well known for its neighbouring collieries , which employed nearly the entire local population in the early 20th century. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan . The village appears as the backdrop on the BBC Wales sitcom High Hopes credits. The village's population
156-462: A Roman legion led by Gaius Manlius Valens . In AD 54, emperor Claudius died and was succeeded by Nero . This caused the situation in Britain to change, and Rome began to focus more on consolidating their power in Britain instead of expanding their territory. This is evidenced by the archaeological record, which finds vexillation fortresses (small Roman forts) at the time of Nero's accession. After
234-601: A distinct region. Northern and southern Wales had some notable cultural differences before the Roman invasion, and should not be considered one entity. Southern Wales was advancing along with the rest of Britain throughout the Iron Age, whereas the northern parts of Wales were conservative and slower to advance. Along with their technological advancement, from the fifth to the first century BC, southern Wales became more heavily and densely populated. Southern Wales had more in common with
312-570: A formal transfer of authority to local chiefs: the later rulers of Galloway , home to the Novantae, claimed Maximus as the founder of their line, as did the Welsh kings. Maximus ruled the Roman West until he was killed in 388. A succession of governors ruled southeastern Britain until 407, but there is nothing to suggest that any Roman effort was made to regain control of the west or north after 383; that year
390-540: A further climb for a mile of 1:38. The highest point of the line, and the highest railway in South Wales, was in the cutting before Pant-y-waun , adjacent to the still-extant reservoir of Rhaslas Pond. At 1314 feet, this was a single foot higher than Torpantau summit in the Brecon Beacons . By 1919, there was also a connection from Fochriw Colliery through to Cwm Bargoed , west of the village. Fochriw railway station
468-619: A military occupation in most of Wales, except for the southern coastal region of South Wales , east of the Gower Peninsula , where there is a legacy of Romanisation in the region , and some southern sites such as Carmarthen , which was the civitas capital of the Demetae tribe . The only town in Wales founded by the Romans, Caerwent , is in South Wales. Wales was a rich source of mineral wealth , and
546-412: A permanent garrison, the Romans pushed west and north. A Roman road was made to Gelligaer as a connecting link between the forts of Cardiff and Brecon. In addition to a fort at Gelligaer another was eventually built at Penydarren . Thence the road ran through Pontsarn and Vaynor to Y Gaer , near Brecon . On an Ordnance Survey map one can trace the line of the Roman road on Gelligaer common, where it
624-522: A school and a station. By 1919 the village had grown and the terraces to the south around Aelbryn and Glyn Terrace had been built. A church and two larger schools had also appeared. Fochriw Colliery was sunk by the Dowlais Iron Co. to provide coal for their blast furnaces at Dowlais . Sinking began in 1857 and by 1866 two shafts were producing coal. In 1910 the No. 1 pit was producing 1,900 tons weekly from
702-586: A short period of relative inaction, Quintus Veranius became governor of Britain and decided it was time to conquer the rest of the British Isles. Veranius began to campaign against the Silures, but in AD 58 he died, one year after he was appointed to Britain. Suetonius Paulinus was his successor, and it would seem that Veranius had had some success in his campaigns because Paulinus began to shift north (suggesting that there
780-521: A time when 'decrees' against them were issued. Bede repeats the story in his Ecclesiastical History , written c. 731. The otherwise unspecified 'City of the Legion' is arguably Caerleon , Welsh Caerllion , the 'Fortress of the Legion', and the only candidate with a long and continuous military presence that lay within a Romanised region of Britain, with nearby towns and a Roman civitas . Other candidates are Chester and Carlisle , though both were far from
858-471: 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. All the pits in the valley were closed by the end of the twentieth century; the spoil heaps were removed and
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#1733085498766936-438: 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 Bedwas , Risca , Ystrad Mynach , Newbridge , Blackwood , Bargoed , New Tredegar and Rhymney . Caerphilly County Borough is in southeast Wales and straddles the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire . It
1014-482: 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. 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
1092-429: Is favoured by others. By the middle of the 4th century the Roman presence in Britain was no longer vigorous. Once-unfortified towns were now being surrounded by defensive walls, including both Carmarthen and Caerwent . Political control finally collapsed, and a number of alien tribes then took advantage of the situation, raiding widely throughout the island, joined by Roman soldiers who had deserted and by elements of
1170-423: Is known as Heol Adam. The Roman road from the fort at Gelligaer lies just west of Fochriw and Pant-y-Waun . It is said that the Romans marched 11 Roman miles a day and there was a rest post at Twyn-y-Waun which was 11 miles from the fort at Gelligaer. A Roman fort also exists at Pen-y-Darren which is located underneath the current site of Merthyr Town F.C. Fochriw existed to provide accommodation for miners at
1248-656: Is known is that their characteristically Irish circular huts are found where they settled; that the inscription stones found in Wales, whether in Latin or ogham or both, are characteristically Irish; that when both Latin and ogham are present on a stone, the name in the Latin text is given in Brittonic form while the same name is given in Irish form in ogham; and that medieval Welsh royal genealogies include Irish-named ancestors who also appear in
1326-575: Is located on the north-east flank of Mynydd Fochriw at the head of the Bargoed Fach (now called the Darran ) valley, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Bargoed , and 5 miles (8.0 km) south east of Merthyr Tydfil . The village straddles two ancient hamlets in the parish of Gelligaer, these being the Ysgwyddgwyn and Brithdir hamlets, the dividing line being the brook (Bargoed Fach) which flows in
1404-441: Is not suggestive of full Romanisation. They are most numerous at military sites, and their occurrence elsewhere depended on access to suitable stone and the presence of stonemasons, as well as patronage. The Roman fort complex at Tomen y Mur near the coast of northwestern Wales has produced more inscriptions than either Segontium (near modern Caernarfon) or Noviomagus Reginorum ( Chichester ). In areas of civil control, such as
1482-450: Is today. However, the latter changes did not take place until relatively recently when nearly all the remnants of the coal mining industry were removed from around the village. The memories of the industrial landmarks, or eyesores, that remained following the closure of the Fochriw and South Tunnel collieries are only retained by those of a certain age, and the younger generation no longer have
1560-517: Is virtually no evidence to shed light on the practice of religion in Wales during the Roman era, save the anecdotal account of the strange appearance and bloodthirsty customs of the druids of Anglesey by Tacitus during the conquest of Wales. It is fortunate for Rome's reputation that Tacitus described the druids as horrible, else it would be a story of the Roman massacre of defenceless, unarmed men and women. The likelihood of partisan propaganda and an appeal to salacious interests combine to suggest that
1638-701: The Brigantes to the north. They controlled most of the island's centres of wealth, as well as much of its trade and resources. In Wales the known tribes (the list may be incomplete) included the Ordovices and Deceangli in the north, and the Silures and Demetae in the south. Archaeology combined with ancient Greek and Roman accounts have shown that there was exploitation of natural resources, such as copper, gold, tin, lead and silver at multiple locations in Britain, including in Wales. Apart from this we have little knowledge of
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#17330854987661716-523: The Freedom of the County Borough of Caerphilly. There are many rugby union clubs throughout the county. These are: Wales in the Roman era The Roman era in the area of modern Wales began in 48 AD, with a military invasion by the imperial governor of Roman Britain . The conquest was completed by 78 AD, and Roman rule endured until the region was abandoned in 383 AD. The Roman Empire held
1794-501: The Ordovices of central and northern Wales. Aside from the many Roman-related discoveries at sites along the southern coast, Roman archaeological remains in Wales consist almost entirely of military roads and fortifications. Archaeologists generally agree that the British Isles were mainly inhabited by speakers of Celtic languages ( Celts ) before the Roman invasion, organized into many tribes . The area now known as Wales had no political or social unity, and Romans did not treat it as
1872-456: The Romans had reached the flat plain where, within a mile or so of each other, the three rivers, Rhymney , Taff and Ely reach the sea, and had built there a wooden fort. Later this was rebuilt in stone and its remains can still be seen in patches at the base of the walls of Cardiff Castle . This was the principal centre of occupation of what was the old county of Glamorgan . Leaving at Cardiff
1950-439: The cantrefi of Arfon and Arllechwedd ), and in the territory of the Demetae . The circumstances of their arrival are unknown, and theories include categorising them as "raiders", as "invaders" who established a hegemony, and as " foederati " invited by the Romans. It might as easily have been the consequence of a depopulation in Wales caused by plague or famine, both of which were usually ignored by ancient chroniclers. What
2028-574: The 4th century, from the Forest of Dean east of the River Wye continuously around the coast of the estuary, up to and including Somerset . In the De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae , written c. 540, Gildas provides a story of the martyrdom of Saint Alban at Verulamium , and of Julius and Aaron at Legionum Urbis , the 'City of the Legion', saying that this occurred during a persecution of Christians at
2106-532: The Brithdir Hamlet which tend to converge near Fochriw”. It has also been known as Boch Rhiw Carn, Ffochreiw, Fochrhiw, Vochriw, Vochrhiw, and, currently, Fochriw. The interpretation of the name from an my original Fochriw family was Foch Y Rhiw Pentwyn Mawr which translates in English to : the cheek of the slope of the head hill (Pentwyn Mountain). This seems to describe the village's actual location. By 75 AD
2184-470: The Britons. Historically Magnus Maximus was a Roman general who served in Britain in the late 4th century, launching his successful bid for imperial power from Britain in 383. This is the last date for any evidence of a Roman military presence in Wales, the western Pennines , and Deva (i.e., the entire non-Romanised region of Britain south of Hadrian's Wall ). Coins dated later than 383 have been excavated along
2262-560: The Demetae. This tribe did not oppose Rome, and developed peacefully, isolated from its neighbours and the Roman Empire. The Demetae were the only pre-Roman Welsh tribe to emerge from Roman rule with their tribal name intact. The mineral wealth of Britain was well-known prior to the Roman invasion and was one of the expected benefits of conquest. All mineral extractions were state-sponsored and under military control, as mineral rights belonged to
2340-600: The Fochriw Colliery, later for the Ogilvie Colliery to the South. By the end of the 19th century there were a few houses on Brook Road, still the main road through the village, and three terraced streets to the west of Railway Terrace. The streets are still marked on maps and traces of the roads remain, although all buildings have been cleared and they are now a bare field. At this time there were two chapels: baptist and Carmel,
2418-462: The Middle Ages have him as the ancestor of kings and saints. In the Welsh story of Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig ( The Dream of Emperor Maximus ) , he is Emperor of Rome and marries a wondrous British woman, telling her that she may name her desires, to be received as a wedding portion. She asks that her father be given sovereignty over Britain, thus formalising the transfer of authority from Rome back to
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2496-475: The Parishioners of the said parish. It was identified as Brohru Carn in the 12th century, and a reference to Fforch y Rhiw is made in the book Parish of Gelligaer by T.V. Davies, in the section dealing with Roman History and the route of Heol Adam. It states that “The holding called Fforch y Rhiw is mentioned in several Gelligaer leases of the 17th century. The name probably arises from a number of old tracks in
2574-523: 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. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were forty coalmines in the valley. 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
2652-540: The Rhymney running as far north as Fochriw Colliery, past a number of other collieries in the Darran valley . The Rhymney section to Deri was opened in 1864, but the B&;M did not open through Fochriw to Dowlais Top until 1 September 1867, as they had been legally obliged to complete their connection from Dowlais to Merthyr first. The line through Fochriw may have been completed some years before this, and coal shipped northwards from
2730-729: The River Bargoed upwards till it comes very near the way upon the Common that leadeth from Keven y Brith decr to Twyn y Wayn then directly eastwards to the three stones in the Heath below Twyn y Wayn between Merthyr and Gellygaer then directly to the E sid Twyn y Wayn then directly to Fynnon Gwellin then to the old water pond in Pantywayn Coal pits then directly to the spring head of a Brook called Nant y Glynon then to Pwll Elwch Uarc then to Carn y Clyndir or Mark Ycha then to Carn Helig then to Rhyd y Milwr on
2808-492: The River Rhymney then along the River Rhymney to Aberbargoed Bridge aforesaid. The foregoing boundaries were perambulated the 24th day of May 1750 by George Parry Curate of Gellygaer, William Perrott Churchwarden, Edmond LLewelyn of Garthgynyd, George Williams of Carno, Henry Thomas of Brithdee, Thomas Lewis of Keven Bach, David Evans of Blaen Rhymney, Moses David of Pitwellt, Lewis Edwards of Ysgwyddgwyn and several others of
2886-526: The Roman army. Due to the Silures' ferocity and insubordination, the Romans built a legionary fortress to suppress them. The Silures (and later the Ordovices) were led by Caratacus , a king who had fled South-eastern England. Under Caratacus' rule, the Welsh fought the Romans in a pitched battle which led to the loss of all the Ordovician territory. This defeat was not crushing, and Caratacus continued to fight
2964-426: The Roman conquest was similar to the rest of Iron Age Britain ; however, this is still debated due to the sparsity of evidence. For the most part, the region's archaeological legacy consists of burials and hill forts. Wales (along with more distant parts of Britain) gradually stopped making pottery, which usually helps archaeologists explore the distant past, throughout the Iron Age. Archaeological assemblages such as
3042-541: The Roman remains in Wales are military in nature. Sarn Helen , a major highway, linked the North with South Wales. The area was controlled by Roman legionary bases at Deva Victrix (modern Chester ) and Isca Augusta ( Caerleon ), two of the three such bases in Roman Britain, with roads linking these bases to auxiliaries' forts such as Segontium ( Caernarfon ) and Moridunum ( Carmarthen ). Furthermore, South-east Wales
3120-516: The Romanised area of Britain, and had a transitory, more military-oriented history. A parenthetical note concerns Saint Patrick , a patron saint of Ireland. He was a Briton born c. 387 in Banna Venta Berniae , whose location is unknown due to transcription errors in surviving manuscripts; his home is a matter of conjecture, with sites near Carlisle favoured by some, while coastal South Wales
3198-399: The Romans used their engineering technology to extract large amounts of gold, copper, and lead, as well as modest amounts of some other metals such as zinc and silver. The Roman campaigns of conquest in Wales are documented in surviving ancient sources, which record in particular the resistance and ultimate conquest of two of the five native tribes, the Silures of the south east, and
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3276-512: The Romans, defeating two auxiliary cohorts. Caratacus fled to the Queen of the Brigantes, Cartimandua , who was loyal to the Romans and handed Caratacus over to Roman forces 51 AD. While dealing with all these problems, in AD 52, the Roman governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula , died. His death gave the Silures a respite before Scapula's successor, Didius Gallus, arrived. In that time, the Silures defeated
3354-727: The Upper Two Feet Nine and the Upper Four Feet seams, with the No. 2 pit producing 3,900 tons from the Big Coal, Red Coal and Rhas Las seams. It closed in 1924. Fochriw was on the Brecon and Merthyr Railway line from Bargoed to Dowlais Top . The Bargoed branch of the Rhymney Railway ran north from Bargoed to Deri Junction , then the B&M constructed the line from Deri northwards, through Fochriw. Each company had running rights, with
3432-448: The Wall, suggesting that troops were not stripped from it, as was once thought. In the De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae written c. 540, Gildas says that Maximus left Britain not only with all of its Roman troops, but also with all of its armed bands, governors, and the flower of its youth, never to return. Having left with the troops and senior administrators, and planning to continue as
3510-405: The Welsh tribes of this era. There is uncertainty regarding which parts of Wales were invaded by the Romans prior to the conquest of Anglesey in AD 60, due to a lack of written source material, with Tacitus as the only written source documenting this period. Tacitus records that a tribe had attacked a Roman ally in Britain. According to Tacitus, the tribe that was responsible for this incursion
3588-406: The Welsh tribes. However, this victory was short-lived, and a massive rebellion in the province of Britain led by Boudica erupted in the east and interrupted the consolidation of Wales. It was not until AD 74 that Julius Frontinus resumed the campaigns against Wales. By the end of his term in AD 77, he had subdued most of Wales. Only one tribe was left mostly intact throughout the conquest,
3666-648: The Wilburton complex suggest that there was trade throughout all of Britain including Wales, connecting with Ireland and Northern France. On the eve of the Roman invasion of Wales, the Roman military under Governor Aulus Plautius was in control of all of southeastern Britain as well as Dumnonia , perhaps including the lowland English Midlands as far as the Dee Estuary and the River Mersey , and having an understanding with
3744-531: The account merits suspicion. The Welsh region of Britain was not significant to the Romanisation of the island and contains almost no buildings related to religious practice, save where the Roman military was located, and these reflect the practices of non-native soldiers. Any native religious sites would have been constructed of wood that has not survived and so are difficult to locate anywhere in Britain, let alone in mountainous, forest-covered Wales. The time of
3822-524: The area was a National School at Pentwyn. It was opened in 1856 by the Gellygaer Charities which were left to the parish by Edward Lewis of Gilfach Bargoed in 1715. The new infant school was opened in July 1910 and was attended for instruction by the scholars for the first time on the first Monday of September 1910. In April 1911 a half acre of land adjacent to the existing school was bought for £20. It
3900-532: The area was landscaped so that it is not now apparent that the valley ever had an industrial past. 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 . 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. The following people and military units have received
3978-468: The army was able to obtain tiles from civilian sources which located their kilns in the lowland areas containing good soil, and then shipped the tiles to wherever they were needed. The Romans occupied the whole of the area now known as Wales, where they built Roman roads and castra , mined gold at Luentinum and conducted commerce, but their interest in the area was limited because of the difficult geography and shortage of flat agricultural land. Most of
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#17330854987664056-507: The arrival of Christianity to Wales is unknown. Archaeology suggests that it came to Roman Britain slowly, gaining adherents among coastal merchants and in the upper classes first, and never becoming widespread outside of the southeast in the Roman Era. There is also evidence of a preference for non-Christian devotion in parts of Britain, such as in the upper regions of the Severn Estuary in
4134-432: The bottom of the valley. The boundaries of these hamlets were walked by a number of parishioners of the parish on 24th day of May, 1750, and a document detailing the boundaries of each hamlet, namely Keven, Hengode, Garthgynyd, Ysgwyddgwyn, and Brithdecr (Brithdir) was produced, extracts of same are reproduced below. Ysgwyddgwyn Hamlet It begins where Nant Goch goes to Bargoed by Pont Cradoc then along Nant Goch upwards to
4212-406: The colliery, but the line was not yet officially opened for passenger service. Increasing coal traffic southwards from Cilhaul and Ogilvie collieries after 1900 led to the Rhymney section being relaid as double track . The Ogilvie Colliery at Deri was sunk between 1918 and 1923. The climb from Deri Junction to Fochriw was steep, three miles of 1:40, a shallow gradient through the station, and then
4290-402: The countryside. In Wales, this can be said only of the southeasternmost coastal region of South Wales . The only civitates in Wales were at Carmarthen and Caerwent . There were three small urban sites near Caerwent, and these and Roman Monmouth were the only other "urbanised" sites in Wales. In the southwestern homeland of the Demetae , several sites have been classified as villas in
4368-496: 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. Located on
4446-543: 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
4524-426: The emperor. His agents soon found substantial deposits of gold, copper, and lead in Wales, along with some zinc and silver. Gold had been mined at Dolaucothi before the invasion, but Roman engineering was applied to greatly increase production of gold and other metals. This continued until the process was no longer practical or profitable, and the mine was abandoned. Modern scholars have made efforts to quantify
4602-405: The late 4th century. In addition, southwestern Wales was the tribal territory of the Demetae, who had never become thoroughly Romanised. The entire region of southwestern Wales had been settled by Irish newcomers in the late 4th century, and it seems far-fetched to suggest that they were ever fully Romanised. However, in southeast Wales, following the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Britain,
4680-548: The native Britons. Order was restored in 369, but Roman Britain did not recover. It was at this time that Wales received an infusion of settlers from southern Ireland, the Uí Liatháin , Laigin , and possibly Déisi , the last no longer seen as certain, with only the first two verified by reliable sources and place-name evidence. The Irish were concentrated along the southern and western coasts, in Anglesey and Gwynedd (excepting
4758-638: The native Irish narrative The Expulsion of the Déisi . This phenomenon may however be the result of later influences and again only the presence of the Uí Liatháin and Laigin in Wales has been verified. Historical accounts tell of the upheavals in the Roman Empire during the 3rd and 4th centuries, with notice of the withdrawal of troops from Roman Britain in support of the imperial ambitions of Roman generals stationed there. In much of Wales, where Roman troops were
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#17330854987664836-431: The needed materials were available in suitable combination, and the forested, mountainous countryside was not amenable to this kind of industrialisation. Clusters of tileries , both large and small, were at first operated by the Roman military to meet their own needs, and so there were temporary sites wherever the army went and could find suitable soil. This included a few places in Wales. However, as Roman influence grew,
4914-458: The north than it did with the rest of Britain, and they saw little outside influence until the Roman conquest. Hill forts are one of the most common sites found throughout Iron-Age Wales, and this is what archaeologists mostly rely on for most of their evidence. Nevertheless, due to the relative lack of archaeological activity, survey groupings of these forts throughout Wales can be uneven or misleading. Modern scholars theorize that Wales before
4992-402: The only indication of Roman rule, that rule ended when troops left and did not return. The end came to different regions at different times. Tradition holds that Roman customs held on for several years in southern Wales, lasting into the late 5th and early 6th century, and that is true in part. Caerwent continued to be occupied after the Roman departure, while Carmarthen was probably abandoned in
5070-457: The past, but excavation of these and examination of sites as yet unexcavated suggest that they are pre-Roman family homesteads, sometimes updated through Roman technology (such as stone masonry), but having a native character quite different from the true Roman-derived villas that are found to the east, such as in Oxfordshire . Perhaps surprisingly, the presence of Roman-era Latin inscriptions
5148-631: The ruler of Britain, his practical course was to transfer local authority to local rulers. Welsh legend provides a mythic story that says he did exactly that. After he became emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Maximus returned to Britain to campaign against the Picts and Scots (i.e., Irish), probably in support of Rome's long-standing allies the Damnonii , Votadini , and Novantae (all in modern Scotland). While there he likely made similar arrangements for
5226-574: The stone standing on the Common opposite Mardy Bach house then from that stone directly westward along the old ditch to the Highway that leadeth from Pen yr Hrwl Ddu to Pen y Bryn Oie then along the way to Trosater Henla then to Three Great Stones standing in the Heath below Twyn y Wayn between Merthyr and Gellygaer then directly eastward to Bargoed River little below the way that leadeth from Keven y Brith Brithdecr (Brithdir) Hamlet It begins where Bargoed River goes to Rhymney by Aberbargoed Bridge then along
5304-510: The territories of a civitas , the fortification and occupation of hill forts was banned as a matter of Roman policy. However, further inland and northward, a number of pre-Roman hill forts continued to be used in the Roman Era, while others were abandoned during the Roman Era, and still others were newly occupied. The inference is that local leaders who were willing to accommodate Roman interests were encouraged and allowed to continue, providing local leadership under local law and custom. There
5382-450: The town of Venta Silurum (Caerwent) remained occupied by Romano-Britons until at least the early sixth century: Early Christian worship was still established in the town, that might have had a bishop with a monastery in the second half of that century. Magnus Maximus In Welsh literary tradition, Magnus Maximus is the central figure in the emergence of a free Britain in the post-Roman era. Royal and religious genealogies compiled in
5460-450: The value of these extracted metals to the Roman economy , and to determine the point at which the Roman occupation of Britain was "profitable" to the Empire. While these efforts have not produced definitive results, the benefits to Rome were substantial. The gold production at Dolaucothi alone may have been of economic significance. The production of goods for trade and export in Roman Britain
5538-414: The “experience” of living in a community which is centred on coal . The History of Fochriw website can be accessed at the following link: https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/en/archive/20160112101258/http://www.fochriwhistory.co.uk/index.htm Fochriw is a typical South Wales Valleys coal mining village that developed from its rural existence by the need for iron and coal during the 19th century. It
5616-580: Was 1,250 in 2011. Fochriw's growth was germinated to a lesser extent by the Rhymney Iron Company ’s demand for ironstone, and to a greater extent by the Dowlais Ironworks ’ need for high-quality coal . The coal was of such good quality that it could be directly used in the iron-making process without the need for conversion to coke . Over a period of about 130 years, the landscape changed from rural to industrial and then back to rural, as it
5694-402: Was built to the north of Brook Row, on top of the embankment which can still be seen on the east of Railway Terrace. Southwards its path can still be seen as a footpath between Aelbryn and Plantation Terrace. As well as the platform, there was also a small goods shed . The siding and goods shed were removed in 1959 and the railway closed to passengers on the 29 December 1962. The first school in
5772-568: Was concentrated in the south and east, with virtually none situated in Wales. This was largely due to circumstance, with iron forges located near iron supplies, pewter (tin with some lead or copper) moulds located near the tin supplies and suitable soil (for the moulds), clusters of pottery kilns located near suitable clayey soil, grain-drying ovens in agricultural areas where sheep were raised (for wool), and salt production concentrated in its historical pre-Roman locations. Glass-making sites were located in or near urban centres. In Wales none of
5850-558: Was no notable opposition in the south). Paulinus was quite successful in his conquest of northern Wales, and it would seem that by AD 60 he had pushed all the way to the Irish Sea because he was preparing for a conquest of Anglesey . Anglesey was swelling with migrants fleeing from the Romans, and it had become a stronghold for the Druids. Despite the Romans initial fear and superstition of Anglesey, they were able to achieve victory and subdue
5928-477: Was not until September 1912 that a letter was written to the building committee of the County Council recommending that a new school be built. On 1 April 1971 both Infants and Junior schools combined under one Head Teacher to become Fochriw Primary School. A Nursery was opened at Plantation Terrace in 1973. Caerphilly County Borough Caerphilly County Borough ( Welsh : Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili )
6006-549: Was the 'Decangi', which scholars associate with the Welsh Deceangli . The Romans responded swiftly, imposing restrictions upon all of the suspected tribes, then they began to move against the Deceangli. The Roman conquest of this tribe is believed to have been between the years AD 48 or 49. Shortly following this, the Romans campaigned against the Silures tribe of south-eastern Wales, which must have had previous encounters with
6084-421: Was the most Romanised part of the country. It is possible that Roman estates in the area survived as recognisable units into the eighth century: the kingdom of Gwent is likely to have been founded by direct descendants of the (Romanised) Silurian ruling class ' The best indicators of Romanising acculturation is the presence of urban sites (areas with towns, coloniae , and tribal civitates ) and villas in
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