Report - Tonypandy Powerhouse, May 2018

[Hydref Coch]

I like to view Urban Explorers as historians, more than anything. That is why I have wanted to check out this building for a while now, for its historical significance.
It was built in 1905 as the powerhouse for the Glamorgan Colliery, which soon became the Rhondda's most profitable coal mine. More interestingly, it saw the begining of the Tonypandy riots, the climax of the 1910 Halfpenny Strike by Rhondda miners. The riots would see the controversial use of the armed forces against striking miners by then Home Secretary Winston Churchill, who is reported to have said "If the Welsh are striking over hunger, then fill their bellies full of lead". If the riots hadn't died down, Churchill was prepared to cut off food supplies to the South Wales Valleys in order to starve the miners into submission.
Today, things are a little more peaceful at the Powerhouse. Glamorgan Colliery closed down in 1945, shortly before coal was nationalised in Britain. Now, all that remains is the powerhouse, a grade 2 listed building which hasn't aged well. In 2007, their were hopes of developing the site. However, this never happened and it seems unlikely that any development will ever take place.

 

[Speed]

Nice spot

 

[Idle Hands]

Plenty of little remnants like this down that way if that's your thing - and that's aside from the bigger sites like Penallta and Tower. If I remember rightly there's a burger van permanently trading outside this one

 

[Hydref Coch]

Plenty of little remnants like this down that way if that's your thing - and that's aside from the bigger sites like Penallta and Tower. If I remember rightly there's a burger van permanently trading outside this one

Yes, that's true. They don't seem to mind people having a look around though