This first map is an
edition from about 1888 and shows the Aberdare Park area before the school
was built in 1896. The piece of land opposite the entrance to the park was an empty field (called Comin Bach according to a local history) but the three chapels behind the school are evident at this time.
Boys who attended the school came from a wide area (or length?) of the Cynon Valley
and the next three maps show developments in the valley since the second
World War. There are marked differences in the built-up area in the 1947
and the 1956 maps. At the top end of the valley, the Bryn residential estate in Rhigos,
and the Trading Estate near Hirwaun, were built. Further down the valley
the residential estates in Penywaun and Cwmbach also appear. By 2003, of
course, the notable changes are the loss of the collieries and the railway
lines, and the new roads through the valley.
There was another Grammar School in Mountain Ash which was
co-educational, and it's not clear to me why some pupils were selected for
this school and others for the Aberdare schools. For example my older sister was sent from Rhigos Primary
School to Mountain Ash Grammar School while I was sent to the Aberdare
Boys Grammar School. Secondary school children from Rhigos were collected by
a special school bus (Western Welsh) at about 8:25 for the journey to school. As we
travelled such a long way (about 5 miles) we were also provided with free
season tickets for the journey. I think that boys who lived within 2 miles
(?) of the school were expected to walk. We would still use these season tickets if
we travelled home late after detention, and were often
told off by the conductor for not using the school bus provided, adding
insult to injury!
The next map shows the area of the school about 1973 after the school itself had moved to the
Cwmdare Hill site, though the building was still standing and in use as
offices. This is a large scale map which show lots of interesting detail
in the streets around, and in the park.
Finally here's a
link to the Google Maps page showing a high resolution satellite image of the area around the
school. The images were made around 2003 as the picture shows that the school
has been demolished and only the School House and the clock tower are
left.
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