St John's Church, Dowlais

Dowlais (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈdɔu̯lai̯s]) is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking; once employing, through the Dowlais Iron Company, over 7,000 people, the works being the largest in the world at one stage.

Bethania, Dowlais was a Welsh Independent, or Congregationalist, chapel in South Street, Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. The cause was established in 1824 and the chapel rebuilt on several occasions in the nineteenth century. The present chapel dates from 1895 but was vastly enlarged and re-modelled in 1910. The building is Grade II listed.Bethania's origins were as an offshoot of the original Congregationalist chapel at Merthyr, Ynysgau. There was a Congrgationalist tradition at Dowlais before the growth of an industrial community there and the family of Gwernllwynisaf (one of the farms) were prominent in the cause at Ynysgau. One of the early leaders was Methusalem Jones (1769–1839), but following disagreements he withdrew and concentrated on leading the cause at Bethesda, which together with Ynysgau had been instrumental in establishing Bethania.A revival took place in South Wales in 1829. At the time, Bethania shared its minister with Zoar, Merthyr Tydfil. Samuel Evans, mister at Zoar since 1810, took care of Bethesda from 1828. Evans died in 1833, aged 56 John Hughes became the minister in 1833. Aged 33 at the time, he remained at Bethania for thirty years, the longest pastorate in the chapel's history. Hughes was a native of Capel Iwan in Carmarthenshire and had trained at the Neuaddlwyd Academy in Cardiganshire. A new chapel which could accommodate 1250 people was opened in 1838. By 1848 Bethania had a Sunday School attended by 600 adults and children. During Hughes's pastorate a new branch of Bethania was opened at Gwernllwyn, Dowlais.On 13 and 14 July 1868, John Evans, a student from Brecon College, was ordained minister at Bethania.Peter Price was ordained minister at Bethania in 1904 and proved to be an vocal critic of the 1904–05 Religious Revival. Price departed from Bethania in 1910 in acrimonious circumstances.The chapel closed in 1998 and the building is now used by an evangelical congregation.

Dowlais Central railway station served the village of Dowlais, Glamorgan, Wales, from 1869 to 1960 on the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway.

The Dowlais Ironworks was a major ironworks and steelworks located at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Founded in the 18th century, it operated until the end of the 20th, at one time in the 19th century being the largest steel producer in the UK. Dowlais Ironworks were the first business to license the Bessemer process, using it to produce steel in 1865. Dowlais Ironworks was one of the four principal ironworks in Merthyr. The other three were Cyfarthfa, Plymouth, and Penydarren Ironworks. In 1936 Dowlais played a part in the events leading to the abdication crisis of Edward VIII, when the King visited the steelworks and was reported as saying that "these works brought these men here. Something must be done to get them back to work", a statement which was seen as political interference. The steelworks finally closed in 1987.

Penydarren BGC is a football club based in Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil, who play in the Ardal Leagues South West, the third tier of the Welsh football pyramid.

Pantysgallog Low Level Halt railway station was a station that served the village of Pant, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales on the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway. The station closed in 1958 and the site is now a housing estate.

Dowlais Cae Harris railway station served the village of Dowlais, Glamorgan, Wales, from 1867 to 1964 on the Rhymney Railway.

Pantysgallog High Level Halt railway station was a station that served the village of Pant, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales on the Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway. A short branch line from Pant to Dowlais Central. The station closed in 1960 with the line and the site is now a housing estate.

Dowlais High Street railway station was a station that served the village of Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales on the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway. The station closed in 1962 The site is now occupied by Station Terrace with only the steps visible. .

The A4060, also known as the East of Abercynon to East of Dowlais Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales.

Pant is a village and community on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil, a large former mining town in the South Wales Valleys, Wales. Pant is notable for being the starting point of the Brecon Mountain Railway, and the site of the former Morlais railway tunnel, which runs underneath the village and emerges in the middle of it. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 2,656.

The South Wales Valleys (Welsh: Cymoedd De Cymru) are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run north–south, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (Welsh: Y Cymoedd), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.