Aberdare Boys’ Grammar School

Although we haven’t yet acquired many early copies of The Aberdarian containing match reports, we did manage to get hold of an early issue of The Pontypriddian. Inside, we were interested to see a very brief report of a match that Pontypridd Intermediate School played against us. Obviously, the report confirms that the School was playing the game competitively by at least 1911.

There are two extracts shown below: the first is from the beginning of the magazine. It suggests that The Pontypriddian was first published in about 1901, and that there was one edition per term.

The second extract is the report on the game. It was written from the Pontypridd point of view, and it records a victory for Aberdare. The venue was probably in Robertstown as the school had a made a decision to lease the land there a few years previously in 1909.

The reference to the afternoon activities on the lake and at the swimming baths suggests that the team stayed on after lunch and spent some time in Aberdare Park (opened in 1869).

Pontypridd home matches may have been played in the grounds of Gelliwastad House or at Ynysangharad Farm where the town cricket club was based.

After the First World War, land belonging to the farm was purchased for recreational purposes, and by 1923 Ynysangharad Park was opened. The conversion of the farmlands to the park was influenced by Gordon Lenox, of Brown Lenox Chain and Anchor Works.