Abertridwr and Senghenydd are located approximately three miles north west of Caerphilly and both developed rapidly towards the end of the nineteenth century as a result of the booming coal industry. Nant Cwm parc flows southwards through Senghenydd before joining Nant Llan near the centre of Abertridwr. Both streams then join a third, larger stream - Nant yr Aber - which continues its journey south eastwards towards Caerphilly. These three streams give Abertridwr its name - 'Mouth of the Three Waters' in English.
When the first edition of the 25inch OS maps was published in 1875, Senghenydd did not exist at all. In its place were a few scattered farms - Bendyr-hwch; Gelli-Ddu; Parc Mawr and Gwern-y-Milwr. Aber-tridwr was a very small village with a Welsh Independent chapel (NPRN 9392) originally built in 1856; the Pant-t?g Inn; a tannery; a corn mill and a smithy.
Exactly a quarter of a century later, in 1900, the second edition of the 25inch maps was published and the area had been completely transformed. Abertridwr had a station (NPRN 41431) on the Aber branch of the Rhymney Railway. Several terraced rows of workers' housing had been built, especially extending from the village centre beyond the railway station to the south, and for about a quarter of a mile towards Senghenydd to the north. Abertridwr had also gained another public house and a post office. A mile to the north, Senghenydd had gone from non-existent in the mid-nineteenth century to outgrowing Abertridwr in the first years of the twentieth. It too had a railway station and several rows of workers housing including Station Terrace, Grove Terrace, and Stanley Street. The village had several amenities as demonstrated by the name of its central road - Commercial Street. These amenities included schools, a post office, a hotel and a public house. Senghenydd also had four places of worship: St. Peter's church (NPRN 14409); two Congregational chapels (NPRN 9430 and NPRN 9429); and Salem Welsh Baptist chapel (NPRN 9432). The reason for this rapid transformation of the landscape could be found on the northern edge of the village. Universal Colliery (NPRN 85091) opened in 1893 and 'at the height of its production, it supplied over 10,000 tons of coal a week to the British Fleet based in Scapa Flow during World War One.' It closed in 1928.
The mine suffered two major disasters - an accident in 1901 that killed 81 men and then, 'on 14 October 1913, Universal was the scene of the worst ever mining disaster in the UK when an explosion killed 439 men and boys.' Consequently, a memorial was erected on 14th October 1981 (NPRN 410287) which is now part of the National Mining Memorial and Garden. The site of the old mine is now occupied by a recreation ground and a sawmill.
Senghenydd and Abertridwr continued to develop and expand in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, so that it is now difficult to say where one village ends and the other begins. They are served by three primary schools - Nant Y Parc Primary School, which educates approximately 190 pupils; Ysgol Ifor Bach, which educates approximately 275 children, and Cwmaber Infant School, which educates approximately 150 pupils aged three to seven before they go on to Cwmaber Junior School. Amenities in the village include convenience stores, a post office, a pharmacy and a butchery, grocers and delicatessen. St Peter's church remains open, and the congregational chapel (NPRN 9430) is now a United Reform Church. Senghenydd also has several allotment gardens, a rugby football club, and a cricket ground. Abertridwr continues to be the smaller of the two settlement, but it too has amenities such as a post office, a police station, a library and several independent shops and eateries. Next to the library is a playground, which was originally opened as a miners' Welfare Park in July 1925 (NPRN 416259) and 'provided a full-size bowling green, six tennis courts, a croquet lawn, skittle green, quoits pitches and children's play area.' Beulah Baptist chapel (NPRN 9394), which was built in 1905, seems to be the only chapel that remains open as a place of worship at Abertridwr, although there is a YMCA next to Cwmaber Junior School.
Sources: modern and historic maps; google maps; Coflein databse; Estyn reports on Nant Y Parc Primary School published in June 2015; Cwmaber Infant School published in June 2017; Cwmaber Junior School published in November 2016 and Ysgol Ifor Bach published in March 2014
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 22nd February 2019