Bedlinog


Bedlinog is a small village located in the Taff Bargoed Valley 10 km north of Pontypridd, 10 km north west of Caerphilly and 10 km south east of Merthyr Tydfil in south-east Wales. It is currently in the south of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, but until 1974 was part of Gelligaer Urban District Council in the county of Glamorgan.

Description

It has a population of around 1,400 people. The combined population of Bedlinog and Trelewis has been recently recorded as approximately 3,140, increasing to 3,277 at the 2011 census.

Name

Bedlinog is the name of the village in both English and Welsh. The meaning of the name is somewhat unclear, but the usual suggestion is that it means the 'house near Llwynog'. If so, the first element is a variant of the Welsh 'bod', and the second a variant of the name of a stream which literally means 'fox'. However, all forms of the name are relatively late and show significant variation. During the nineteenth century the name was thought by some to have been formed from the elements 'bedd' and 'llwynog', and the form 'Beddllwynog' is used by some Welsh speakers today. But it is not the standard Welsh form, and it is clear that 'Bedlinog' was the predominant form used by the area's Welsh-speakers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Government

Bedlinog village is in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, which covers the villages of Trelewis and Bedlinog, but is the only electoral ward within the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council area which has its own Community Council.

Sport and leisure

The local rugby union club is Bedlinog RFC, founded in 1971 and a member of the Welsh Rugby Union.
One of the largest climbing centres in Europe less than a mile down the valley was closed briefly in 2008, but re-opened in October 2010.

Notable locals

Actress Gwenllian Davies was born in Bedlinog.

Welsh language culture

Bedlinog is home to the Bedroc festival, a major event in the Welsh language calendar which has been held over a weekend in June every year since 2008.