IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Pwllfa Road, ABERDARE, CF44 6NT

A dead-end street, Pwllfa Road descends from Fforchaman Road towards the Aman River.

On the corner of Pwllfa Road and Fforchaman Road, opposite the Shepherds Arms. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3905100

Local posters claim this is the last pub in the village and in danger of closing. The different construction and the old writing style of the name suggest it has survived for quite some time.

The pub on the corner of Fforchaman Road and Pwllfa Road dates from 1850. It was named after Thomas Shepherd, the founder of Cwmaman Colliery.

Colourful artwork by pupils of Cwmaman Infants School brightens up the railings opposite the school entrance gates. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3905083

The Royal Cwmaman Theatre. https://theroyalcwmamanhall.com The hall is where the Stereophonics, who came from Cwmaman, first performed in the 1990s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cwmaman

A dram was a truck on rails that was used in coal mining, a reminder that Cwmaman used to be a coal mining village.

Viewed across Fforchaman Road. This is the location of Cwmaman Theatre & Cinema and Cwmaman Health Suite. The premises are also used by local community groups, clubs and organisations. Special events include education courses, seminars and gigs. Cwmaman Institute was established in 1868 as a reading room, in a rent-free house donated by the Cwmaman Coal Company. A library was added shortly afterwards, giving a place where local people could read books and children could be educated. In 1884, a committee of officials at Cwmaman Colliery started a scheme whereby a halfpenny in each pound was deducted weekly from the colliery workmen's wages. Thus the movement to establish a purpose-built Public Hall & Institute began. In March 1892 Lord Aberdare opened the building seen here. It provided the village with a new complex, including a public hall with seating for c700 people, reading rooms, a billiards room and a caretaker's cottage. During the 20th century, the fate of the Institute was inevitably linked to the demise of coal mining in the Cynon Valley. The closure of local collieries from the early 1960s onwards made it harder for the Institute to raise local funding and commitment. The fabric of the building deteriorated during the 1960s and 1970s. At the same time, membership of local groups and societies grew and there was new interest in maintaining the building as a community centre for Cwmaman, its current use.

Alice Place is a short street between Fforchaman Road on this side and the north bank of the Aman River ahead. A brown sign on the right shows that there is overflow parking ahead. Cwmaman Public Hall & Institute http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3905153 is on the left.

Using a minimalist approach to self advertising, the Barber Shop is on the right at 17a Fforchaman Road. There is no traditional red and white striped pole, only a small nameplate (between the black door and window frame) showing Barber Shop.