Quaker's Yard (Rhyd y Grug) originated in the persecution of 'Dissenters' such as Quakers and Baptists in the seventeenth century, and the origins of Quaker's Yard as a village and independent community is part and parcel of this persecution. By mid century there was widespread dissatisfaction ? in England as well as in Wales - with the established Church of England, and dissenting groups started to break away from the church to form their own sects or divisions. By 1650 independent religious groups in the Merthyr area were worshipping at a farm at Pentwyn, remote and well out of the view of the authorities. For a while various Dissenting groups, despite their individual beliefs or creeds, continued to worship together. In 1667 the Quakers were given the use of a small piece of land on an estate owned by Mary Chapman. In her will of 1700 this land was subsequently given to the society and on this pature land the Quakers decided to create a burial ground. From this point the community of Quaker's Yard began to take shape.
A quiet rural location until the mid-nineteenth century, Quaker's Yard was transformed by the industrial revolution when the coal trade created booming and burgeoning communities like Treharris and Trelewis, both a short distance away from the village. Following the decline of the nearby coal industry the place regained some of its rural character.
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/3bceb0c6-bc6c-3ba4-86a9-664080798702

RCAHMW, 24 May 2017