Early History

High above the village on Carn Y Bugail (the Shepherd’s Cairn) are several cairns or burial places, over 3,000 years old. The well-known learning stone – Carreg-Fair-Hir (long slender stone) – belongs to the 8th Century A.D, while excavations near Colli Uchaf Farm have revealed the existence of a farmstead of the same period.

The growth of Bedlinog

The village grew rapidly, following the sinking of the pits. Public houses, school and places of worship soon appeared. Salem Chapel (1830 – Welsh Baptist) was enlarged in 1876, and four more soon erected. These were Moriah (1876 Welsh Congregational), Sardis (1899 English Congregational), Gosen (1885 Welsh Methodist) and sour (1899 Welsh Wesleyan). Anglican church-services began in 1886 although the present St. Cadoc’s Church dates from 1911. Various school buildings also appeared between 1880 and 1912. By the first World War (1914-18), Bedlinog had a population of nearly 5,000 with a number of it’s inhabitants having originated from Mid and North Wales, and the border counties of England.

Troubled Times – A village in revolt 1930’s

During the early 1930’s industrial unrest and social militancy at nearby Taff-Merthyr Colliery brought Bedlinog to the nation’s attention. The struggle basically was on behalf of the minors’ union of those days – the South Wales Minors’ Federation, and the democratic rights of its members. The coal owners of Taff-Merthyr insisted that the men should join a ‘Company Union’, known to its opponents as ‘The Scab Union’. Bedlinog became an industrial battleground! Serious rioting occurred, which led to a number of local people receiving prison sentences. By the end of the 1930’s, ‘Company Unionism’ had been defeated at Taff Merthyr Colliery and elsewhere. The south Wales Miners’ Federation had regained the initiative in the direction of coalfield society in South Wales. The communist party had gained a substantial number of converts in the village, where a sense of anger and bitterness remained for many years.

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