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The Hoover Factory, Pentrebach

Buildings and structures in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Hoover Factory
Hoover Factory

The Hoover Factory, situated in Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, opened on 19 October 1948 in order to manufacture Hoover washing machines. The initial workforce consisted of only 350 people but throughout the years, the growth of the company saw this figure rise to 5,000 in the 1960s and 70s.At its peak, the Hoover Factory was the largest employer in the borough.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article The Hoover Factory, Pentrebach (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

The Hoover Factory, Pentrebach
Merthyr Road,

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Latitude Longitude
N 51.7282 ° E -3.3663 °
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Merthyr Road

Merthyr Road
CF48 4TU , Troed-y-rhiw
Wales, United Kingdom
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Hoover Factory
Hoover Factory
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Pentrebach
Pentrebach

Pentrebach (Welsh pronunciation: [ˌpɛntrɛˈbɑːχ], sometimes written Pentre-Bach, literally: small village) is a village in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales and is formed from the original settlements of Lower Pentrebach, Tai-bach and Duffryn.It lies on the east side of the River Taff opposite Abercanaid, south of Merthyr and north of Troedyrhiw. To the east of the village lies the Mynydd Cilfach-yr-Encil which rises up to 445 metres (1,460 ft). Pentrebach is part of the Plymouth electoral ward which covers Pentrebach, Abercanaid and Troedyrhiw. The village was founded at the time that John Guest built the Plymouth Ironworks in 1763. The name Guest became part of the Guest, Keen and Nettelfold company (GKN). In 1818 Anthony Hill took over ownership of the business. His House was later used as an old people's home, and today has been converted into a Brewers Fayre Restaurant with a Premier Inn attached. The original Merthyr Tramroad, built in 1802, ran alongside the site of the modern day village, on its way from penydarren to Abercynon, though very little of the village had been built at that time. A tunnel still exists, which can be visited on the Merthyr Road. Locomotives had to tip their chimneys while going through this tunnel due to the tunnel clearance. Pentrebach has its own railway station. This opened in 1886 on the standard gauge Taff Vale Railway which runs from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil alongside the River Taff. The original purpose of the railway was to carry iron ore to Cardiff Docks.In 1862, on the south side of the village, The South Duffryn Colliery was opened with two shafts which were 250 metres (820 ft) deep. At the height of the production there were some 1300 men employed there. An opencast mine was also located on the mountainside above the village. The Plymouth Ironworks closed in 1882 and the South Duffryn Colliery ceased production in 1940. After the war, new industries were attracted to the village. In 1945, the Kayser Bondor Factory opened making underwear, followed in 1948 by the establishment of the Hoover factory manufacturing washing machines. The factory later produced the Sinclair C5 battery-powered three-wheeler car. On Friday, 6 March 2009, Hoover confirmed that it was to cease production of washing machines and other laundry products at the factory. Linde set up a factory in the village on a site where the South Duffryn Colliery was located. This plant manufactured Forklift and at one time employed circa 500 people. The plant closed in 2013. but the site has since been taken over by U.S. defence contractor General Dynamics to produce armoured vehicles for the British Army. Pentrebach has two clubs: The Hills Plymouth Cricket Club, and the Pentrebach working men's club. Pentrebach also has a chapel, Jerusalem Chapel, Greenfield School and an Integrated Children's Centre. The mountain above Pentrebach has become popular with hang glider pilots in recent years.

Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil (; Welsh: Merthyr Tudful pronounced [ˈmɛrθɪr ˈtɪdvɪl] (listen)) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about 23 miles (37 km) north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, who according to legend was slain at Merthyr by pagans about 480 CE. Merthyr generally means "martyr" in modern Welsh, but here closer to the Latin martyrium: a place of worship built over a martyr's relics. Similar place names in south Wales are Merthyr Cynog, Merthyr Dyfan and Merthyr Mawr. Noted for its industrial past, Merthyr was known as the 'Iron Capital of the World' in the early 19th century, due to the scale of its iron production. The worlds first ever railway journey happened in Merthyr in 1804, travelling 9 miles from the ironworks at Penydarren to the Glamorganshire Canal on the Merthyr Tramroad. The 1851 census found Wales to be the world's first industrialised nation, as more people were employed in industry than agriculture, with Merthyr the biggest town in Wales at that time. The Ukrainian City of Donetsk, originally 'Hughesovka', was founded by John Hughes of Merthyr in 1870, when he took iron working to the area. Iron production declined in Merthyr from 1860 on, though Merthyr's population continued to rise due to the emergence of coal mining in the area, peaking with around 81,000 people in 1911.The area is currently known for its industrial heritage and adventure tourism. Merthyr and the surrounding areas boast the Grade-I listed Cyfarthfa Castle, the world fastest seated zip line, the UK's largest mountain bike park, the largest indoor climbing wall in Wales, national cycle routes and plans for the UK's longest indoor ski slope.