Mining in Cilfynydd and the Rhondda

Mining in Cilfynydd and the Rhondda

Before 1850 Cilfynydd was a very different place. The population

increased dramatically whereas before 1850 it was a rural area after

1850 it became overcrowded and cramped. Before 1850 the roads were

muddy tracks and the rivers were pure and clean. Before 1850 disease

was less common after it was a lot more widely spread because of the

cramped conditions and overcrowding.

After 1850 the population rose from 1,000 to 120,000 people. People

came to South Wales for jobs in the pit the housing conditions were

better than where they had come from but they were still pretty poor

standards of living. New industry developments brought Cilfynydd into

a new age. Railways were needed to transport coal, so countryside was

getting smaller and smaller and industry was quickly growing bigger

and bigger.

Men often lost their lives down the pit with rock falls and such.

There were a lot of children working down the mines. People often had

no choice but to send their children down the mines because they

needed the money. A report that was published in 1842 claimed that

children as young as four were working down the mines, it also said

that collieries in South Wales employed more children than any other

mining district in Britain. One of the main tasks done by children was

opening and closing trap doors that were situated at the end of each

underground tunnel. This job which required sitting in total darkness

was usually done by four to five year olds.

Living conditions were terrible; they lived in small cramped houses.

Even though they were terrible conditions to live in they were still

better than where they had come from. The role of the mother in the

family was to cook, clean and look after the children. She would also

manage the family's finances, this meant that she had to keep enough

money to pay all the bills and the rent she also had to buy the food

and clothes for the family.