Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales
Rhondda Branch Junction Signal Box
Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales
A Grade II listed building in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, designated on 17 July 1990.
The record
- Designation
- Listed building, Grade II
- Broad class
- Transport
- Date of designation
- 17 July 1990
- Locality
- Pontypridd
- Town
- Pontypridd
- Community
- Pontypridd
- Unitary authority
- Rhondda Cynon Taff
- Country
- Wales
- Coordinates
- 51.60129, -3.34365
- Cadw reference
- 13527
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1636 map "Cornubia : Devonia, Somersetus, Dorcestria, Wiltonia, Glocestria ..." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Historical maps covering this location
- 1636 · Cornubia : Devonia, Somersetus, Dorcestria, Wiltonia, Glocestria ... (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1637 · The fourth table of England. Cornub. Devonia, Somerset etc. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1865 · England and Wales. England No. 6. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1895 · Sheet 11. Ordnance Survey of England and Wales. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
- 1907 · 248 Pontypridd (Hills) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
Cadw's description
Location
To N of the Railway Station within the junction of the railway lines immediately N of Sardis Road and S of the 2 viaducts spanning the River Rhondda.
History
The Taff Vale Railway was the first major locomotive railway in Wales. It was incorporated in 1836, built 1837-40 and opened in 1840-1 from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff, primarily to serve the ironworks of Merthyr Tydfil. The chief engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. As branch lines were built to the Cynon and Rhondda valleys later in the C19 mineral traffic, largely coal, increased dramatically, making Pontypridd an important focal point of the S Wales railway network. The signal box was sited at the Rhondda Branch Junction. The design, by McKenzie and Holland, is a modified version of their Type 3 design. It was built after 1895 and is possibly contemporary with the 1907 reconstruction of the station.
Exterior
A 2-storey red brick building with slate roof. At the S end 2 bays have been reduced to a single storey with a flat roof, but was formerly 6 + 1-bays long. A name plate reads 'Pontypridd JCSB'.
Interior
The signal box once contained 230 levers.
Reason for designation
Listed for group value with other listed railway items in the centre of Pontypridd.
Nearby in the register
- Railway Bridge over Sardis RoadTransportunder 1 mi
- Taff Vale Railway Viaduct over Mill Street including masonry weirTransportunder 1 mi
- Railway Viaduct over River RhonddaTransportunder 1 mi
- St Catherine's Church Parish RoomsReligious, Ritual and Funeraryunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.