CYNON VALLEY

PENDERYN

Pennyderyn. 1291. CCRV 338.Arch. Melville Richards
Penderin. 1372. CCPM.xiii.140. ibid.
Penyderyn. 1468. BMW iii.594.RWM i.918.ibid.
Penyderen. 1503.Place-Names of Devynock Hundred.
parish of Penderyn. 1515.1448.DP. ibid.
Penyderyn. 1535. VE.402. ibid.
parish of Pendryn(sic).1546.DP.ibid.
Parish of Pennyderyn. 1547.MWBM. ibid.
Penderyn. 1553. HPP.52. ibid.
parish of Penderin.1567.60.53.HPP.52. ibid.

The early recorded forms of the place-name contain the two elements pen and deryn, dialect form of aderyn, with or without the definite article. The original meaning was 'bird's head',or 'the bird's head'.
It was totemistic in nature, marking a boundary line or a meeting place, with religious and tribal significances. The late Bedwyr Lewis Jones in an article on Pentyrch in the Western Mail wrote (translated):-

'Many centuries ago, the people of a district or hundred would assemble in one particular place in order to hold meetings in the open air. In those meetings it was the custom to place the head of an animal on a pole - as a totem pole. It seems most likely that a boar's head on a pole would mark the early meeting place for each of the four Pentyrch('s) or Bentyrch('s) in Wales'. Pentyrch contains the two elements 'pen' {head} and 'tyrch', genitive form of 'twrch' {boar} giving ‘boar's head’. Pen Hydd (stag), Penychen (ox) Pen yr Afr (goat), Pen yr Hwrdd (ram), and Pen March (stallion) fall into the same totemistic category of place-names as Pentyrch, and Penderyn. It seems likely that Penderyn, the name for the totemistic tribal meeting place or territory, was adopted as the name of the parish and later for the name of the settlement which grew around the Penderyn parish church, (dedicated to St.Cynog). Penderyn, ‘bird’s head’ For a more detailed account, see
'Cynon Valley Place-Names', pages 76-78.

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(Y) R U G O S (RHIGOS, RICOS)

The late Dr Melville Richards deeply regretted having suggested the spelling 'Y Rhigos' in Rhestr o Enwau Lleoedd/A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-Names,and strongly advocated 'Y Rugos'. He accepted 'Ricos' as the local dialect pronounciation. see his article on 'Y Rugos' (Iaith a Llen.8-9). Rugoys. 1314. CIPMV. MR.
Rigois,Rigos. 1536-9. Leland. MR.
Rygoes (Rhydgroes). 16th cent. Par iii. 120.MR.
Rigos. 1666. CFL Morg. MR.
Rhigoes. 1789. LTA. MR.
Rhygos. 1793. LTA. MR.
Rhy-goes. 1799. Yates's map. CVAI 14.
Rhydgroes. 1833. OS. MR.
Rhigos. 1851. census. MR.
Cefn Rhigos. 1954. OS1".
Rhigos Halt. 1954. OS1".

Welsh. 'y' + 'grugos',['grug(heather) + -os',
mutated to 'y rugos'
local dial.pron.'ricos']. the place of heather; the heath. Rhydgroes is to be ignored as it is merely an effort at 'correcting' the name. Cefn Rhigos(rugos) means the ridge of the place of heather. Rhigos Halt refers to the old railway line. Many Welsh place-names follow this pattern of having the name of a tree or type of vegetation plus the old collective suffix -os.
eg.
Y Wernos,gwernos(alder);
Onnos(ash),eg. Yr Onnos, Ystradfellte;
rhedynos (fern);
helygos(willow).cf.Lygos,Cwm Tawe;
bedwos (birch).cf.Bedwas;
panos(cotton grass).cf.Trebanos,Cwm Tawe;
tafol(docks).cf Gelli Dafolos(dial.dafolws),Penderyn;
dreinos (brambles).cf.Ton Drunoss,Plymouth Surveys.etc. MR. identifies other places in Wales with grugos as a place-name element.
eg.
Y Rugos,Llandinam;
Grugos,Tre-lech a'r Betws;
Grugos,Llandyfalle;
Grugos,Talgarth;
Grugos, Llanllwchaearn;
Cefn-Grugos,Llannarth;
Clun y rugos,(Glyn Rhigos on recent maps)Dulais,Neath;
Erw Grugos,Pen-bre;
Ton(y)grugos,Tonna;
Pantygrugos.Llannarth;
and Twyn y Rugos,Llangynidr,(Twyn y Rhicos).

pron. ugh ree goss. y rugos. local pron. rickoss. Sp. Y Rugos. Literal meaning :- the place of heather. for similar entries see
Deric John's 'Cynon Valley Place-names'
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LLANWYNNO

Llanivonno. 1535. V.E. Meisg.83.
Llan wonni. 1536-39. Itin.Lel.22. ibid.
Lanwyno. 1549. Card.Recs.ll.277. ibid.
Lanwno. 1559. Card.Recs.lV.84. ibid.
Llanwnno. 1550-1600. Rep.ll.part 1.135.ibid.
Lanwynno. 1578. Glam.Ants.113. ibid.
Llanwonno. 1597. Card.Recs.1. 340. ibid.
Lanwonno. 1666. M.M. ibid.
Llanwonnoe. 1673. B.M. part 3.707. ibid.
Llanwunno. 1699. Lhuyd.Paroch.iii. 9. ibid.
Llanwynno. 1729. Bowen. ibid.
Lanwonnoe. 1730. Plymouth. MR. PNCB.
Lanwonno. 1799. Yates.
Llanwynno. 1833. Colby.Meisg.83.

Welsh. Llan + Gwynno. Llan = (parish) church. Gwynno = pers. name.(saint). Gwynno's church. There are over six hundred and thirty llan place-names in Wales, yet Llanwynno is the only example of a llan place-name in the Cynon valley. The word llan has an interesting etymology.
"As both English and Welsh emanate from the Indo-European languages that spread from the north of India and across Europe,there is a close relationship between the Welsh word llan and the English land. In Welsh,the original meaning of llan was 'an enclosed piece of land',and this is seen today in such words as gwinllan (vinyard), perllan (orchard) and corlan (sheep pen). Very soon however,the word was used for 'an enclosed cemetery', then for the church inside the cemetery and finally for the land served by that church and its vicar,(ie.) - the parish. Very often llan was followed by the name of the patron saint of the parish or the founder of the church - such as Llangadog, Llanfwrog, Llanbedr or Llandeilo."
Tomos Roberts. Ditectif Geiriau.Western Mail.(trans.) Gwynno is the patron saint of Llanwynno and is said to be one of the three patron saints of Llantrisant (along with Illtyd and Tyfodwg ) as well as being one of the five saints of Llanpumsaint ( Gwyn, Gwynno, Gwynoro, Celynin and Ceitho ).
He is also eponymous with Maenor Gwynno (the parish of Vaynor )near Merthyr Tydfil. pron. llan('ll' as in Llanelli) win oh. llanwinno. Sp. Llanwynno. Literal meaning:- Gwynno's church. for similar entries see 'Cynon Valley Place-names'.
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SCALES ARMS

Scales Row p.h. 1919 OS 25”
Scale Arms 1901, 1910 Kelly’s Directory South Wales
Scales Arms 1848-1938 OA Vol. 2. p125.
1 Scale Row 1881 Census LDS
Scalys Arms 1851 Census GFHS

Located in Scales Row, Cwmbach, Aberdare, the Scales Arms (1) bears the name of the Scales family.
Scalys in the 1851 GFHS Census seems to be a scribal error for Scales. In the 1851 census, the publican is named Timothy Theophilus, age 56, born Llanfair, Carms. His eldest son is William Theophilus age 22, coal miner, born Aberdare parish. The 1881 LDS Census does not name the public house, but 1 Scales Row has William Theophilus, publican age 54, born Cwmbach. It seems likely that the eldest son has continued his father’s business. In 1901 and 1910 the public house is recorded as Scale Arms, the proprietors are William James and William Owen Jones respectively.
Another Scales Arms, Trecynon is listed in OA Vol 2. p125.

SCALES HOUSES and New Scales Houses

Scales Houses 1995 MSP;
Scales Buildings (1-12) 1851 Census GFHS;

Located in Llwydcoed, Scales Buildings/Houses were named after the Scales family. (2)
The brothers George and John Scale of Hansworth, Staffs were first of the Cynon Valley Scales lineage. They came to Llwydcoed in 1800 and built blast furnaces there.
Scales buildings are numbered from 1 to 12 in the 1851 Census.
The New Scales Houses were built c1914 on the site of the earlier Scales Houses. The New Scales Houses were also known as the ‘Belgian Houses’ as they accommodated refugees from that country at the onset of the First World War. (3)

SCALES ROW

Scales Row 1919 OS 25”; 1995 MSP;
Scale Row 1881 Census LDS;

Located on New Cardiff Road, Cwmbach, this row of houses is again named after the Scales family.(4) They are numbered from 1 to 10 in the 1881 census, but today (2002), they are reduced to three in number. As well as being owners of the Aberdare Ironworks at Llwydcoed and the Abernant Ironworks, the Scales were also at one time, part owners of the Aberdare Canal Co. In the1930s the disused Aberdare Canal (1812-1900) was filled in and transformed into a new road.(5) Cardiff New Road evolved as part of this transformation. Scales Row, once on the canal bank, is now on the side of the ‘new’ road.
It seems likely that Scales Row took its name from its proximity to the Scales Arms and that the public house bore the name of the Scales family.
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1. See D. L. Davies, Background Notes to “Gardd Aberdar” in Old Aberdare Vol. 2.
2. Cynon Valley in the Age of Iron, Raymond Grant p. 17. “ ‘Scales Houses’ were named after the ironmasters who built them, ”.
3. Aberdare Pictures From The Past, Volume 2, ph. 60.
4. Confirmed by local historian Tom Evans, Ynyslas, Abernant
5. The Aberdare Canal and Associated Tramroads by Tom Evans in Environmental
Studies in the Cynon Valley.

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BRYN PICA

2006 Bryn Pica Landfill Site & Community Recycling Centre RCT

2003 Bryn Pica Waste Education Centre RCT

2000 Bryn Pica Landfill Site RCT

1989 Bryn Pica OS Pathfinder 1109

1963-c83 Bryn Pica Open-cast Site Cynon Coal p.181

1885 Bryn Pica OS map

Welsh – ‘bryn’ + ‘pica’, a topographical place-name,

i.e. describing a feature of the landscape

Bryn Pica is currently the name of Amgen’s Community Recycling Centre and Landfill Site, previously the location of an open-cast coal site. Before industrial activity, Bryn Pica was the name of a hill near Ffynnon Cornel-y-garn on Aberdare Mountain.

Bryn = a hill

Pica is from English ‘pike’ meaning a peak, a beacon; tapering, conical.

Bryn Pica therefore has a meaning of ‘pike hill’, ‘pointed hill’, ‘beacon hill’.

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