Caerphilly County Borough

Geography

Caerphilly County Borough is in southeast Wales and straddles the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. It is bordered by Cardiff to the southwest, Newport to the southeast, Torfaen to the east, Blaenau Gwent to the northeast, Powys to the north, Merthyr Tydfil to the northwest and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the west.

The northern part of the borough is formed by the broad expanse of the Rhymney Valley. The Rhymney River rises in the hills in the north and flows southwards for about thirty miles, looping round to the east just to the north of Caerphilly before reaching the Bristol Channel. Some of the larger towns are Bedwas, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Newbridge, Blackwood, Bargoed, New Tredegar and Rhymney. The valley also includes the communities of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tir-Phil, Brithdir, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly.

History

Located on the edge of the South Wales Coalfield this area was sparsely populated with livestock husbandry being the main occupation. Farmers in their remote farmhouses on the windswept pastures might dig themselves some bucketfuls of coal for their hearth. Things began to change with the development of the iron industry, the start of the Industrial Revolution. In 1752, a 99-year lease was granted for a parcel of land in the Rhymney Valley which gave the lessees the right to mine coal and iron ore. Other such transactions followed, pit shafts were dug and the coal industry developed. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there were forty coalmines in the valley.

One of the pits sunk in the late nineteenth century was the Elliot Colliery. At its peak before World War I, it was producing over a million tons of coal a year and employing nearly three thousand people. The coal eventually became depleted and the colliery closed in 1967. Most of the site was cleared but the East Winding House survives and is now a Grade II listed building, and a museum of the coal industry in the area has been opened on the site. All the pits in the valley were closed by the end of the twentieth century; the spoil heaps were removed and the area was landscaped so that it is not now apparent that the valley ever had an industrial past.

The county borough was formed on 1 April 1996 by the merger of the Rhymney Valley district of Mid Glamorgan with the Islwyn borough of Gwent. In 2008, as a result of representations from different communities in the borough, a draft plan was put forward proposing various changes to the borders between communities.

Governance

Local government

Main article: Caerphilly County Borough Council

Caerphilly County Borough Council is the governing body for the county borough. It has 69 seats and is majority controlled by Labour.

UK Parliament

Caerphilly County Borough is represented in the House of Commons by three UK Parliament constituencies. These are:

• Caerphilly, represented by Chris Evans (Labour Co-op)
• Newport West and Islwyn, represented by Ruth Jones (Labour)
• Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, represented by Nick Smith (Labour)

The Caerphilly constituency is the only one wholly within the county borough council's boundaries, whereas Newport West and Islwyn crosses boundaries with Newport, and Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney with Blaenau Gwent.

Senedd

In the Senedd, the county borough is currently represented by three Senedd constituencies:

• Caerphilly, represented by Lindsay Whittle (Plaid Cymru)
• Islwyn, represented by Rhianon Passmore (Labour Co-op)
• Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, represented by Dawn Bowden (Labour) The latter constituency crosses boundaries with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough.

The South Wales East region also includes the county borough, and is represented by two Conservative and two Plaid Cymru MSs.

From the 2026 Senedd election, the borough will be represented by the proposed Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni and Casnewydd Islwyn constituencies, each returning six MSs, following the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024.

Education

Main article: List of schools in Caerphilly

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the County Borough of Caerphilly.

Individuals

• Joseph Calzaghe: 17 May 2009.
• Lauren Price: 6 October 2021.
• Lauren Williams: 6 October 2021.

Military Units

• The Royal Welsh: 26 September 2010.
• The Royal British Legion: 25 March 2022.

Notes

References

References

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2. {{UK subdivision statistics citation
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6. "The Rhymney Valley today". Bute Town.
7. "A History of Elliot Colliery". Winding House Project.
8. "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994". legislation.gov.uk.
9. "Communities boundary review". Caerphilly County Borough Council.
10. "Caerphilly result - Local Elections 2022 - BBC News". BBC News.
11. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
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13. "Newport West and Islwyn results - General election 2024". BBC News.
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15. (24 October 2025). "Plaid Cymru wins by-election as Labour loses Caerphilly seat for first time". BBC News.
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17. "Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney results". BBC News.
18. "South Wales East results". BBC News.
19. (11 March 2025). "New Senedd 'super consituencies' confirmed". nation.cymru.
20. Crockett, Natalie. (17 May 2009). "Caerphilly borough honours favourite son Calzaghe".
21. James, Rhiannon. (6 October 2021). "Lauren Price and Lauren Williams get freedom of Caerphilly".
22. "Prestigious honour set for Local Olympians".
23. (21 September 2010). "Royal Welsh Regiment to receive Freedom of Caerphilly County Borough – Caerphilly.Observer".
24. WalesOnline. (15 September 2010). "Regiment to get freedom of the borough".
25. steveorido. (26 September 2010). "The Royal Welsh Freedom of the borough, Blackwood and Caerphilly".
26. "NOTICE OF THE DECISIONS FROM THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 17th NOVEMBER 2020 AT 5.00P.M.".
27. James, Rhiannon. (28 March 2022). "Royal British Legion granted the freedom of Caerphilly".
28. "Freedom of the County Borough awarded to the Royal British Legion".
29. James, Rhiannon. (25 March 2022). "Royal British Legion awarded freedom of Caerphilly county borough".
30. "Club Finder".