You are here:
Graig
Graig maps
Historic maps of Graig and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Graig maps
Graig photos
We have no photos of Graig, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Pontypridd| Church Village| Porth| Abertridwr| Ynyshir| Abercynon| Llanfabon| Tonyrefail| Llantrisant| Trealaw| Penygraig| Talbot Green| Treharris| Taffs Well| Tonypandy| Llanbradach| Penrhiwceiber| Caerphilly| Miskin| Llwynypia| Groesfaen| Ystrad Mynach| Pontyclun| Gilfach Goch| Mountain Ash| Hengoed| Tongwynlais| Maesycwmmer| Ystrad| Maes-Y-Cwmmer
Graig area books
Displaying 1 of 2 books about Graig and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Graig
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Graig.
Add your memory of Graig
or of a photo of Graig.
Born on The Graig
"It's only wind or powder on the stomach"my Mam had said as she walked home from the ammunition factory on a cold Autumn evening. The "wind" or "powder" was born on the 2nd December 1942. I, Colin Gronow, had arrived, born in the middle of a war! I was the third child born to my parents, Mam, who worked in the "arsenal" at Bridgend, and Dad, who was a coalminer. I had a sister June,and a brother Creighton. My brother was ten and June was eleven. I've always wondered why there was such an age gap, I suppose the war had something to do with it, because during an air raid my Mum and Dad took shelter in the coal cellar under the house, and well, they had to do something to take their minds off the bombing! So here I was, a little boy, born on the Graig, ready to face the world. The Graig is a district about half a mile from the centre of Pontypridd, a small town in the... Read more
Memories of The Graig
I was born in the house of Williams the Milk on the corner of Graig Avenue; my over-riding memories of the following few years are mainly of the horse and cart Mr. Williams used, pulled by his horse "Dolly". I sometimes went on the milkround with them, travelling through the Graig, Treforest, Merthyr Road, to Trallwn,and finally through Taff Street. At the Tumble Mr. Williams would get "Dolly" up to a gallop to cross the square and pass under the railway bridge to make a left turn into Union Street; it was often touch-and go whether "Dolly" would make it up the steep hill and round the corner. I went to a school in Maesycoed and remember going to bed in the afternoons. There was a small bakery near the school and to this day the smell of fresh bread triggers of memories of those years. I also have vivid memories of Sion's pond. It was a very eerie place for an imaginative mind,with those dead trees sticking out of... Read more
Mid Glamorgan memories
The Children's Home, Woodland Terrace
My sisters and I lived in the children's home at 40 Woodland Terrace, Maesycoed from 1972 till 1975. I remember the staff being very caring but occasionally strict. Us younger ones were banished to the massive garden! We used to sit on the wall at the back of the garden and wait for a man with a delapidated truck hollering "Any old iron". Sometimes we used to sneak through the bushes and head off into town which was down a very steep footpath. If caught, the dormitory was our sanctuary for a couple of hours! We went to a Victorian-looking primary school, I think it was near Dan-y-graig or Dan-y-llan. I'm sure it was called Maesycoed Primary School but my memory is a little hazy. I do remember that a little down the road opposite the school and up a steep hill were fields of fern and heather. The staff used to take us there for walks, probably to tire us out! I could wax nostalgic about those days but... Read more
My Courting Days
I lived in Mountain Ash and my husband to be lived in Cardiff, we both used to travel on the bus to Pontypridd to meet up. From there we would walk up to the monument for a kiss and a cuddle. We spent many happy hours up here thinking of our future together. Some times it was so cold we could hardly walk back to the bus as we were frozen. Now 47 years later we sometimes travel to Merthyr and every time we pass the monument we have lovely memories.
Swimming?
It was approximately 1960 that whilst bathing in the 'pool' as a child of about 3, I held onto the rail at the edge of the 'boardwalk' and became stuck as my legs were pulled underneath where the water poured in (not being strong enough to pull my legs back) and had to be rescued by another child. Scary!!
Working in Wollies
Whilst still at school I had a job on Saturday's at Woolworths, earning 16s11d for working 9am to 6pm. We had to serve the customers,(no checkouts then). My first day was on the fruit and veg counter and had to learn to use the old style weighing machine, also had to add up the items in our heads as we served. It was a really happy place and I loved it.
Birth
i dont have a clear memory of pontypridd, i was a baby of 14 months, a twin when our mother died giveing birth to a baby, her name was margret olwyn birch,nee owen, we were all put in the childrens homes, and my twin and i was adopted by two diffrent people, my other brothers and sisters were brought up in the home. we were born in number 7 norton bridge as it was called then, its now called pontsionnorton .i have visited where i was born, it has wonderful feelings of comeing home. if any one knows of my mother i would love to talk to them. i believe there was a calenda done 2 years ago of norton bridgewith photos of people who lived there in 1943 i would love to see the calender or even just the photo of mother and twins.
