Administrative Boundary of Rhondda Cynon Taf

About Rhondda Cynon Taf

Rhondda Cynon Taf is a principal area in the south Wales valleys, encompassing the historic mining valleys of the Rhondda, Cynon, and Taff rivers. Covering approximately 424 square kilometres from the industrial valley floors to the northern fringes of the Brecon Beacons, Rhondda Cynon Taf had a population of approximately 241,000 at the 2022 Census, the largest of the Valleys authorities. The Rhondda Coalfield The Rhondda valleys — Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach — were, at the height of the South Wales coal boom in the early 20th century, home to more than 50 collieries and one of the most concentrated coal-mining landscapes in the world, drawing migrant workers from across Britain and beyond and giving rise to a distinctive, densely packed valley townscape of terraced housing climbing the hillsides. The Rhondda Heritage Park, at the former Lewis Merthyr Colliery in Trehafod, preserves this history, offering underground tours led by former miners. The area's mining communities became internationally renowned for their male voice choirs, a choral tradition — exemplified by choirs such as the Treorchy Male Choir — that grew out of chapel worship and colliery brass and voice ensembles, and for a deep-rooted passion for rugby union. Castell Coch Castell Coch ("Red Castle"), on the southern edge of the council area near Tongwynlais, is a Victorian Gothic Revival folly built from 1875 for the 3rd Marquess of Bute by the architect William Burges — the same patron and architect responsible for the interiors of Cardiff Castle — atop the ruins of a genuine medieval fortress; its fantastical, fairy-tale interior makes it one of the most celebrated works of Gothic Revival architecture in Britain. Pontypridd, at the confluence of the Taff and Rhondda rivers, is the birthplace of the singer Tom Jones. GIS and Boundary Data The administrative boundary of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is available for free download in GeoJSON and KML formats, sourced from the OS Open Geography portal (Crown copyright 2024). Compatible with QGIS, ArcGIS, Mapbox, and Google Earth, the dataset supports mining heritage mapping, architectural heritage research, valley regeneration planning, and demographic analysis across the Rhondda Cynon Taf council area.

📍 Administrative boundary of Rhondda Cynon Taf county