Vanished Wales: What happened to Pantywaun - the village that vanished without trace?

The village was once a bustling mining community, but no trace of it exists today.

In the hinterland between Merthyr and Caerphilly counties, you’ll find empty hillsides where a village used to stand.

It was the old mining community of Pantywaun, and families had lived there since the 1800s.

The village had a number of cottages, churches, a school and even a railway station.  

Every resident that called the village home was forced to relocate.

Colin Thomas grew up in the village during the 1950s.

Colin told ITV’s Vanished Wales: “It brings a lot of memories back to me when I talk about Pantywaun.

“There was a lot of poverty in the area, but there was a lot of love too. People would look after one another and doors were always open. 

“Parents, particularly the mothers, used to pride themselves on looking after their children. It was a beautiful community.  

“It had a chapel, a church and a Pentecostal hall. There was beautiful singing on a Sunday morning from those places. You could hear it echoing.”

Colin Thomas described the village as a "beautiful community".

Life in Pantywaun could be tough. Money was tight and there were no luxuries. But the community was strong and supportive.

David Thomas grew up in the village: “I was born into a family of eight. We lived in a two-up, two-down mining cottage. 

“We had to walk outside the village to get water from the spring, carry it back and heat it on the coal fire. 

“Saturday night was bath night and it was a tin tub in front of the fire. 

“But as children we had fresh air and freedom. We had a very close knit community and we loved it so much.”

The village had a train station, shops and a pub.

There is no trace of Pantywaun today. The landscape is silent and still.

In the 1960s the railway line that ran to the village was closed. At the same time, the council decided that many of the houses in the village had become run down and were no longer fit to live in.

Many villagers pleaded to stay, but eventually the 100 residents were rehoused and Pantywaun was abandoned.

Ironically, the old mining village was demolished to make way for an open cast mine. 

Allan Morgan was employed to demolish the very village he grew up in.

Allan Morgan grew up in Pantywaun, and years later he was employed by the company that was demolishing his former home

He told ITV’s Vanished Wales: “Unfortunately, I was actually working on the machine that took the first footings of the houses of the street that I lived in. And the whole village was demolished then. It was all taken down.

“It was sad to see it, knowing that it was the street was where I used to live. Very sad.”

These days you’d never know that Pantywaun even existed.  

But the village lives on in hearts and minds. Memories that will be passed on from one generation to the next.

You can see more on this story, and many other lost landmarks, in Vanished Wales. Tuesday 18th April at 8pm on ITV Cymru Wales. You can also catch up with the series here.