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In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Merthyr Tydfil like this:
Merthyr-Tydfil, parl. bor., par., and market town, Glamorgan, 22 miles NW. of Cardiff and 190 miles W. of London by rail - parl. bor. (comprising most of the par. of Merthyr-Tydfil, the par. of Aberdare, and parts of the pars. of Llanwonno and Vainor, the latter in Brecknockshire), 29,954 ac., pop. ...
91,373; town and par., 17,400 ac., pop. 48,861; 2 Banks, 2 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. Merthyr-Tydfil is situated at a high elevation among the bleak and wild hills of Glamorgan. It is the great centre of the iron mfr., and the whole locality abounds with the heaped and smouldering refuse of the works. Before 1755 it was a small and almost unknown village, but about that time some furnaces were erected, giving it an initial prosperity which ever since has been continually and largely augmented. Every branch of iron and steel mfr. is here conducted on a gigantic scale. The coal supply is abundant. A remarkable scene at Merthyr-Tydfil is the lurid appearance of the country in the night time when the furnaces are at work. Merthyr-Tydfil returns 2 members to Parliament; it was made a parl. bor. in 1832.
Merthyr Tydfil is now part of MERTHYR TYDFIL District. Click here for graphs and data of how MERTHYR TYDFIL has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Merthyr Tydfil itself, go to Statistics.
How to reference this page:
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Merthyr Tydfil in Glamorgan | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1113
Date accessed: 14th January 2026
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Merthyr Tydfil".
