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40-839: It has achieved a record seventeen first place wins at the Royal National Eisteddfod , the latest of which was at Cardiff in 2018. The choir also won the Choir of the Festival award in 2004 and 2006. In 2001 and 2004 the Pontarddulais Male Choir won the Best Male Choir award at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Other first places include 10 times at the Cardigan Eisteddfod, 5 times winners at

80-508: A Welcome (1993) Sain Tawelwch (The Sound Of Silence) Christmas From The Land of Song: The Massed Male Choirs of Morriston Orpheus Treorchy and Pontarddulais with The Band of The Welsh Guards by Various (1995) Land of my Fathers by Pontarddulais Male voice Choir, Morriston Orpheus Choir, and Caerphilly Male voice Choir National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh : Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru )

120-484: A community council. Labour is the dominant political force and has been since the First World War. The community elects 23 town councillors from 11 community wards: Cilfynydd , Glyncoch, Graig , Hawthorn , Ilan, Pontypridd, Rhondda , Rhydfelen Central, Rhydfelen Lower, Trallwng and Treforest. Pontypridd community comprises the town centre itself, with the following key villages/settlements: Pontypridd serves as

160-533: A permanent stone circle. This also has the benefit of bringing the Gorsedd ceremonies onto the maes : previously they were often held many miles away, hidden from most of the public. As well as the main pavilion with the main stage, there are other venues through the week. Some are fixtures every year, hosting gigs (Maes B/Llwyfan y Maes/Caffi Maes B). Other fixtures of the maes are the Pabell Lên (literature pavilion),

200-499: A population of about 32,700 in the 2011 census figures. while Pontypridd Town ward itself was recorded as having a population of 2,919 also as of 2011. The town lies alongside the north–south dual carriageway A470 between Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil. The A4054, running north and south of the town, was the former main road, and like the A470, follows the Taff Valley . South of the town is

240-410: A train passed through Pontypridd railway station (including the freight lines immediately to its west) every two or three minutes. The station was originally built as a long single island, at one point the world's longest platform, a reflection of both the narrow available geography of the steep valley side and the need to accommodate many converging railways lines at what became the 19th-century hub of

280-578: Is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf , South Wales , approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Pontypridd comprises the electoral wards of Cilfynydd , Glyncoch , Graig , Hawthorn , Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan, Trallwng ( Trallwn ) and Treforest . The town mainly falls within the Senedd and UK parliamentary constituency by the same name, although

320-560: Is taken very seriously, and an award of a crown or a chair for poetry is a great honour. The Chairing and Crowning ceremonies are the highlights of the week, and are presided over by the Archdruid . Other important awards include the Prose Medal  [ cy ] (first introduced in 1937) and Welsh Learner of the Year award (first introduced in 1983). There are three ranks of membership in

360-551: Is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales . Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 100,000 visitors, the highest recently being 186,000 attending the 2024 festival in Pontypridd . The 2018 Eisteddfod

400-622: Is welcome at the Eisteddfod, whatever language they speak". The Eisteddfod offers bilingual signage and simultaneous translation of many events though wireless headphones. There is also a Welsh learners area called Maes D. These efforts have helped increase takings, and the 2006 Eisteddfod reported a profit of over £100,000, despite costing £2.8m to stage. The Eisteddfod attracts some 160,000 people annually. The National Eisteddfod in Cardiff (2008) drew record crowds, with over 160,000 visitors attending. It

440-479: The Maes (field). The space required for this means that it is rare for the Eisteddfod to be in a city or town: instead it is held somewhere with more space. Car parking for day visitors alone requires several large fields, and many people camp on the site for the whole week. The festival has a quasi- druidic flavour, with the main literary prizes for poetry and prose being awarded in colourful and dramatic ceremonies under

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480-700: The Glamorganshire Canal , and later by the Taff Vale Railway , to the ports at Cardiff , Barry and Newport . Its role in coal transport lengthened its railway platform, which is thought to have once been the longest in the world in its heyday. Pontypridd in the second half of the 19th century was a hive of industry, once nicknamed the " Wild West ". There were several collieries within the Pontypridd area itself, including: As well as deep-mined collieries, there were many coal levels and trial shafts dug into

520-574: The Neuadd Ddawns (dance hall), the Pabell Wyddoniaeth a Thechnoleg (science and technology pavilion), Maes D (learners' pavilion), at least one theatre, Y Cwt Drama (the drama hut), Tŷ Gwerin (folk house), Y Lle Celf ("the Art Place") and hundreds of stondinau (stands and booths) where groups, societies, councils, charities and shops exhibit and sell. Since 2004, alcohol has been sold on

560-465: The River Taff built in 1756 by William Edwards . This was Edwards's fourth attempt, and at the time of construction, was the longest single-span stone arch bridge in the world. Rising 35 feet (11 m) above the level of the river, the bridge forms a perfect segment of a circle, the chord of which is 140 feet (43 m). Notable features are the three holes of differing diameters through each end of

600-434: The maes ; previously there was a no-alcohol policy. The Eisteddfod's most well-known awards are those for poetry. The chair is awarded for an awdl , a long poem in strict metre. A new bardic chair is specially designed and made for each eisteddfod. The crown is awarded for a pryddest  [ cy ] , a poem in free verse . A new bardic crown is specially designed and made for each eisteddfod. In 2014,

640-546: The mass in Latin are allowed and this has been controversially used to allow concerts featuring international soloists. The venue is officially proclaimed a year in advance, at which time the themes and texts for the competitions are published. The organisation for the location will have begun a year or more earlier, and locations are generally known two or three years ahead. The Eisteddfod Act 1959 ( 7 & 8 Eliz. 2 . c. 32) allowed local authorities to give financial support to

680-628: The A473 for Llantrisant and Pencoed . To the west is the A4058, which follows the River Rhondda to Porth and the Rhondda Valley beyond. The name Pontypridd derives from the name Pont y tŷ pridd , Welsh for "bridge by the earthen house", referring singly to successive wooden bridges that once spanned the River Taff at this point. Pontypridd is noted for its Old Bridge , a stone construction across

720-714: The Cilfynydd and Glyncoch wards fall within the Cynon Valley Senedd constituency and the Cynon Valley UK parliamentary constituency . This change was effective for the 2007 Welsh Assembly election , and for the 2010 UK General Election . The town sits at the junction of the Rhondda and Taff valleys, where the River Rhondda flows into the Taff just south of the town at Ynysangharad War Memorial Park. Pontypridd community recorded

760-790: The Eisteddfod began to award a Welsh-language Album of the Year (Albwm Cymraeg Y Flwyddyn) during its Maes B event. (Venues in England are in italics) The Eisteddfod has visited all the traditional counties of Wales. It has visited six of the seven current cities in Wales: Bangor, Cardiff, Newport, St David's, Swansea and Wrexham. It visited Wrexham when it was classified as a town; Wrexham attained city status in 2022. It has never visited St Asaph , which attained city status in 2012. Pontypridd Pontypridd ( / ˌ p ɒ n t ɪ ˈ p r iː ð / PON -tih- PREEDH , Welsh: [ˌpɔntəˈpriːð] ), colloquially referred to as Ponty ,

800-425: The Gorsedd. Until 2012 they were, in ascending order of honour: If no stone circle is there already, one is created out of Gorsedd stones , usually taken from the local area. These stone circles are icons all across Wales and signify the Eisteddfod having visited a community. As a cost-saving measure, the 2005 Eisteddfod was the first to use a temporary "fibre-glass stone" circle for the druidic ceremonies instead of

840-697: The Miners Eisteddfod in Porthcawl and twice winners at the Pantyfedwen Eisteddfod in Pontrhydfendigaid. The choir, conducted by Noel Davies, performed choral parts for the soundtrack of the film Pink Floyd – The Wall , including the track " When the Tigers Broke Free ", which was released as a single; and recorded with Roger Waters on his album Radio K.A.O.S. . Pontardulais Male Choir

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880-504: The Old Bridge until the 1860s. The history of Pontypridd is tied to the coal and iron industries; before their development Pontypridd was a hamlet of a few farmsteads, with Treforest initially becoming the main urban settlement in the area. Sited at the junction of three valleys, it became an important location for transporting coal from the Rhondda and iron from Merthyr Tydfil , first by

920-559: The Taff Vale Iron Works, both in Treforest near the now University of South Wales . The town has a hospital, Dewi Sant Hospital and acts as the headquarters of Transport for Wales Rail at Llys Cadwyn. Pontypridd Urban District Council operated from 1894 to 1974, when it was incorporated into Taff Ely Borough Council . That in turn came under the unitary Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in 1996. Pontypridd Town Council functions as

960-593: The auspices of the Gorsedd of Bards of the Island of Britain, complete with prominent figures in Welsh cultural life dressed in flowing druidic costumes, flower dances, trumpet fanfares and a symbolic Horn of Plenty . However, the Gorsedd is not an ancient institution or a pagan ceremony but rather a romantic creation by Iolo Morganwg in the 1790s, which first became a formal part of the Eisteddfod ceremonial in 1819. Nevertheless, it

1000-468: The bridge, the purpose of which is to reduce weight. On completion, questions were soon raised as to the utility of the bridge, with the steepness of the design making it difficult to get horses and carts across. As a result, a new bridge, the Victoria Bridge, paid for by public subscription, was built adjacent to the old one in 1857. Pontypridd was known as Newbridge from shortly after the construction of

1040-511: The event. Traditionally, the Eisteddfod venue alternates between north and south Wales; the decision to hold both the 2014 and 2015 Eisteddfodau in South Wales was thus seen as controversial, but the decision was later reversed and Montgomeryshire named as host county for 2015. Occasionally the Eisteddfod has been held in England, although the last occasion was in 1929. Hundreds of tents, pavilions and booths are erected in an open space to create

1080-452: The first event held in 1861, in Aberdare . One of the most dramatic events in Eisteddfod history was the award of the 1917 chair to the poet Ellis Humphrey Evans, bardic name Hedd Wyn , for the poem Yr Arwr (The Hero). The winner was announced, and the crowd waited for the winner to stand up to accept the traditional congratulations before the chairing ceremony, but no winner appeared. It

1120-715: The first national Eisteddfod. Even before they became a regular annual event, Eisteddfodau were held on a national scale in Wales, such as the Gwyneddigion Eisteddfod of 1789, the Provincial Eisteddfodau from 1819 to 1834, the Abergavenny Eisteddfodau of 1835 to 1851, and The Great Llangollen Eisteddfod of 1858. However the National Eisteddfod of Wales as an organisation traces its history back to

1160-552: The hillsides overlooking the town from Cilfynydd, Graig, Graigwen and Hafod . The Albion Colliery in the village of Cilfynydd in 1894 underwent one of the worst explosions in the South Wales coalfield, with the death of 290 colliers (see Keir Hardie ). Other instrumental industries in Pontypridd were the Brown Lenox /Newbridge Chain & Anchor Works south-east of the town, and Crawshay 's Forest Iron, Steel & Tin Plate Works and

1200-2483: The members of the Pontarddulais Male Choir was made in June 1962 in the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea at a Service given by the NFSH. The conductor was T. Hayden Thomas, M.B.E., and the organist was Ivor Owen. The 10" LP contained Rhyd-y-Groes, Calon Lan, Teyrnasoedd-y-Ddaear, Gracious Spirit of Thy Goodness, The Lord's My Shepherd, and "He That Shall Endure to the End" from Elijah. It was recorded by David Kent-Watson of Lawrence Recordings, later to become Cameo Classics. [ Hearts and Voices (2017) http://pontarddulaismalechoir.cymru/shop.html ] Songs from Wales Pontarddulais Male Choir /Iona Jones (Soprano) Pontarddulais Male Choir (2007) Men Of Harlech, Clawss Madog, Y Blodyn A Holltodd Y Maen (The Flower That Shattered The Stone), Over The Rainbow (Iona Jones & Choir), Y Tangnefeddwyr (The Peace Makers), The Lord's Prayer, Take Me Home, Morte Criste (When I Survey The Wondrous Cross), Christus Salvator, Sweet Georgia Brown, Dashenka (Y Sipsiwn), Mil Harddach Wyt Na'r Rhosyn Gwyn, Tydi A Roddaist (Thou Gavest), Calon Lan, Li'l Liza Jane, Gwahoddiad, Cymru Fach (Iona Jones & Choir) (My Own Little Country), As Long As I Have Music Great Voices of Wales: Choral Wonders (2006) Softly As I Leave You, Ride The Chariot, Diolch L'r Lor, Finnish Forest, Windmills Of Your Mind, Thanks Be To God, An Evening's Pastorale, Bryn Myrddin, Christus Redemptor, My Lord What A Mornin', Memory, Lord's Prayer, Bywyd Y Bugail, Mill Harddach Wyt Na'r Rhosyn Gwyn, Comrades In Arms Sing Songs of England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales (1996) Down Among The Dead Men, Tom Bowling, Linden Lea, Golden Slumbers, Annie Laurie, Flow Gently Sweet Afton, Ye Banks And Braes , Will Ye No Come Back Again, Oft In The Still Of The Night, Londonderry Air, She Moves Through The Fair, Cockles And Mussels, March Of The Men Of Harlech, All Through The Night, Davis Of The White Rock, Watching The Wheat Softly As I Leave You (1994) Softly As I Leave You, Ride The Chariot, Diolch I'r Ior, The Finnish Forest, The Windmills Of Your Mind, Thanks Be To God, An Evening's Pastorale, Bryn Myrddin, Christus Redemptor, My Lord What A Mornin', Memory, The Lord's Prayer, Bywyd Y Bugail, Mil Harddach Wyt Na'r Rhosyn Gwyn, Comrades In Arms, We'll Keep

1240-510: The postal town for the community of Llantwit Fardre under the CF38 postcode district, although the area is not considered part of Pontypridd. Pontypridd came into being because of transport, as it was on the drovers' route from the south Wales coast and the Bristol Channel , to Merthyr, and onwards into the hills of Brecon . Although initial expansion in the valleys occurred at Treforest due to

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1280-731: The same route. Pontypridd is twinned with Nürtingen , Baden-Württemberg , Germany. Initial contact was made between them in 1965, with a visit by Côr Meibion Pontypridd Welsh male voice Choir to a choir called Liederkranz ("Coronet of Songs") based in the Oberensingen area of Nürtingen. The visit was returned a year later. Reciprocal choir visits have continued and the partnership prompted Pontypridd Urban District Council to join with Nürtingen in formal twinning relations, under an agreement signed in July 1968 by John Cheesman, Chairman of Pontypridd UDC, and Karl Gonser, Mayor of Nürtingen. Pontypridd

1320-530: The slower speed of the River Taff at that point, the establishment of better bridge building meant a natural flow of power to Pontypridd. The establishment of Pontypridd over Treforest was finally confirmed with the building of the Glamorganshire Canal to serve the coalmines of the Rhondda Valley. However, the volumes of coal extraction soon led to construction of the Taff Vale Railway , which at its peak meant

1360-453: The usual Prose Medal) were awarded. From 1950 onward, a newly created rule required all competitions to be held in Welsh . However, settings of the mass in Latin are allowed and this has been controversially used to allow concerts featuring international soloists. In recent years efforts have been made to attract more non-Welsh speakers to the event, with the official website stating "everyone

1400-737: The valleys. Due to the restrictive geography, only parcels and mail were handled at Pontypridd. Heavy freight went to Treforest . The station today is operated by Transport for Wales , which is headquartered in the town. It reflects the fewer destinations served since the Beeching and earlier cuts, with one up (valley) platform, one down (through) platform, a down bay platform (opened in December 2014), and one passing loop. A tram service began on 6 March 1905 from Cilfynydd through Pontypridd to Treforest. It gave way on 18 September 1930 to trolleybuses , which on 31 January 1957 were replaced by buses following

1440-694: Was established in 1960, under the leadership of the late Noel Davies MBE. It was borne out of the Pontarddulais Youth Choir which had become too old for youth competitions. Under Noel's leadership the choir won a record 11 firsts at the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales, and one first at the International Eisteddfod, Llangollen until he handed the role to Clive Phillips in 2001, when he retired after 41 years unbroken service as Musical director. The earliest known recording by

1480-561: Was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free ' Maes '. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen ; events were held over a one-week period. The National Museum of Wales says that "the history of the Eisteddfod may [be] traced back to a bardic competition held by the Lord Rhys in Cardigan Castle in 1176", and local Eisteddfodau were certainly held for many years prior to

1520-463: Was postponed for 12 months because of the international COVID-19 pandemic . This was the first year no Eisteddfod had taken place since 1914, when the event was cancelled at short notice because of the outbreak of the Great War . ( incomplete ) The National Eisteddfod is traditionally held in the first week of August, and the competitions are all held in the Welsh language . However, settings of

1560-495: Was proposed that the 2018 National Eisteddfod in Cardiff would use permanent buildings to host events, rather than the traditional Maes site and tents. This was due partially to a lack of suitable land that could be repaired affordably after the festival. It was billed as an "Eisteddfod with no fence" in the media and was held at Cardiff Bay. The 2019 Eisteddfod in Llanrwst returned to the traditional Maes . The 2020 Eisteddfod

1600-685: Was then announced that Hedd Wyn had been killed the previous month on the battlefield at Passchendaele in Belgium. These events were portrayed in the Academy Award nominated film Hedd Wyn . In 1940, during the Second World War , the Eisteddfod was not held, for fear that it would be a bombing target. Instead, the BBC broadcast an Eisteddfod radio programme, and the Chair, Crown and a Literature Medal (as opposed to

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