Llanfabon

"LLAN FABON, in the Cwmwd of Senghenydd, Cantref of Brenhinol (now called the Hundred of Caerphilly), County of GLAMORGAN, South Wales: a Chapel, not in charge, to the Vicarage of Eglwys Ilan; and dedicated to St. Mabon. The Resident Population of this Parish, in 1801, (containing the Hamlets of Garth, and Glynn Rhymny) was 475. The Money raised by the Parish Rates, in 1803, was £191..14..5, at 8s. 6d. in the pound. It is 12 m. N. b. W. from Caerdiff. This Parish is about four miles in length, and a mile and a half in breadth; and about one tenth part of it is an uninclosed Common." From: A Topographical Dictionary of The Dominion of Wales by Nicholas Carlisle, London, 1811.

"LLANVABON, a parish in the hundred of CAERPHILLY, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 9 miles (S. S. E.) from Merthyr-Tydvil, containing 853 inhabitants. This parish comprises a surface of about five thousand acres, in general mountainous : it is bounded on the west by the river Taf, and on the east by the Romney : the soil consists of gravelly clay and peat. A colliery belonging to Sir C. Smith, Bart., from which a tram-road communicates with the Glamorganshire canal, affords employment to about twenty men. The parish is intersected by the road from Cardiff to Merthyr, which passes about two miles and a half westward from the church, and by the Glamorganshire canal, on the banks of which, within its limits, is situated the Navigation House, where this important line of communication is joined by the Aberdare canal, and by the tram-road from Merthyr-Tydvil: at this point of junction is a spacious quay. The living is consolidated with the vicarage of Eglwysilan, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Llandaf. The church is dedicated to St. Mabon. There are two places of worship for Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, and one for Wesleyan Methodists. James Thomas, in 1730, gave by will a rent-charge of £2 for the benefit of the poor of this parish. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor is £213. 19." ( A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis 1833)

"GARTH, a hamlet, in the parish of LLANVABON, hundred of CAERPHILLY, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 8 miles (S. S. E.) from Merthyr-Tydvil, containing 577 inhabitants. The parochial church is situated in this hamlet, which forms the western portion of the parish. It has much elevated ground, rising above the left bank of the Taf, the western base of which is skirted by that river and the canal and road from Merthyr- Tydvil to Cardiff, which run within a few yards of each other. The river and canal are crossed by bridges on the road to Aberdare; and immediately adjoining, the canal is conveyed over the Tif by a well-executed aqueduct. . . . A rail-road extends from the canal here across the road, near the Navigation House, and up the vale between this hamlet and the parish of Gellygaer, to some collieries in the neighbourhood." [A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis 1833 © Mel Lockie 2016]

"GLYN-RUMNEY (GLYN-RHYMNI), a hamlet, in the parish of LLANVABON, hundred of CAERPHILLY, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 4 miles (N. by w.) from Caerphilly, containing 276 inhabitants. It is bounded on the east by the river Romney, over which is the bridge of Pontystrad, leading into Monmouthshire. The road from Caerphilly to Merthyr-Tydvil passes through a vale, parallel with the river, the steep sides of which are well wooded, . . ."[A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis 1833 © Mel Lockie 2016]