Machen
Machen (from Welsh ma "place (of)" + Cein, a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Trethomas, and forms a council ward in conjunction with those communities. It lies on the Rhymney River. Mynydd Machen (Machen Mountain) provides a view over the village. It is possible to walk up to and along the top of the mountain, where a number of large boulders are present.
Machen has a successful boules (petanque) team that are located at the rugby club. The team has had a team in the first Division of the boules in Gwent (BIG) league for the last 4 years.
Machen was a village rooted in the iron and coal industries stretching from the 17th Century. Though little trace remains, the village was the site of the Machen Forge and several coal mines. A local history trail visits some of these sites. Machen Forge was an early adopter of the Osmond process for the production of wrought iron.
Machen railway station, which closed in 1964, was an important junction on the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, with a branch to Caerphilly on the Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway, closed to passengers in 1956. A multiple-arch railway viaduct can still be seen where it used to carry the eastbound branch of the Caerphilly Branch line over the river. It was built to allow the heavy trains out of Caerphilly to bypass the 1 in 39 incline up into Machen. The westbound branch crossed the Rhymney river at Fountain Bridge before rejoining the eastbound branch at Gwaun-y-Bara. The 'Fountain Bridge' where the main road between Trethomas and Machen crossed the railway was so named because, for many years, prior to road alterations, there was a free running spring at the roadside close to the site of the bridge. The point where the spring emerged was fashioned into a stone 'fountain well' which was regrettably demolished during the road works to improve the road.
Today a residual branch of the B&MR remains open to service the Hanson Aggregates quarry at Machen.
At Waterloo there was a Tinworks that supplied materials to the aircraft factory that once stood near the foundry above Royal Oak at Machen. Close to the Waterloo Tinworks, but on the other side of the railway became the factory that was Coates Brothers Paint Works, which later evolved into the Valspar paint division and later again became associated in the production of Inks and dyes. Nothing remains of the now demolished factory buildings, but plans for housing developments are in place.
Machen has a successful boules (petanque) team that are located at the rugby club. The team has had a team in the first Division of the boules in Gwent (BIG) league for the last 4 years.
Machen was a village rooted in the iron and coal industries stretching from the 17th Century. Though little trace remains, the village was the site of the Machen Forge and several coal mines. A local history trail visits some of these sites. Machen Forge was an early adopter of the Osmond process for the production of wrought iron.
Machen railway station, which closed in 1964, was an important junction on the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, with a branch to Caerphilly on the Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway, closed to passengers in 1956. A multiple-arch railway viaduct can still be seen where it used to carry the eastbound branch of the Caerphilly Branch line over the river. It was built to allow the heavy trains out of Caerphilly to bypass the 1 in 39 incline up into Machen. The westbound branch crossed the Rhymney river at Fountain Bridge before rejoining the eastbound branch at Gwaun-y-Bara. The 'Fountain Bridge' where the main road between Trethomas and Machen crossed the railway was so named because, for many years, prior to road alterations, there was a free running spring at the roadside close to the site of the bridge. The point where the spring emerged was fashioned into a stone 'fountain well' which was regrettably demolished during the road works to improve the road.
Today a residual branch of the B&MR remains open to service the Hanson Aggregates quarry at Machen.
At Waterloo there was a Tinworks that supplied materials to the aircraft factory that once stood near the foundry above Royal Oak at Machen. Close to the Waterloo Tinworks, but on the other side of the railway became the factory that was Coates Brothers Paint Works, which later evolved into the Valspar paint division and later again became associated in the production of Inks and dyes. Nothing remains of the now demolished factory buildings, but plans for housing developments are in place.
Map - Machen
Map
Country - United_Kingdom
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| Flag of the United Kingdom | |
The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. Its union in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which formally adopted that name in 1927. The nearby Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation. There are also 14 British Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and a third of the world's population, and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of its former colonies.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP | Pound sterling | £ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| GD | Gaelic language |
| CY | Welsh language |