the former

Treorchy Jewish Community

Treorchy, Rhondda-Cynon-Taf, South Wales

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Town of Treorchy

Treorchy is a small town situated in the Rhondda Fawr Valley in south Wales, lying about 22 miles north-west of Cardiff, some 4 miles to the northwest of Tonypandy.

From 1894 to 1897, Treorchy was in the urban district of Ystradyfodwg in the county of Glamorganshire. From 1897 to 1974, it was in the urban district (from 1955 municipal borough) of Rhondda, in the county of Glamorganshire. From 1974 until 1996, it was part of the district of Rhondda in the new county of Mid Glamorgan. Since 1996, it has formed part of the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf - a unitary authority (within the ceremonial, or preserved, county of Mid Glamorgan).

The Jewish Community

A small Jewish community appears to have existed in Treorchy at the end of the nineteenth century.

Communal Data
Congregation:	The town would not appear to have had a formally constituted congregation. However The Jewish Chronicle of 15 October 1897 reported that: "TREORCHY. Through the exertions of Mr. Charles Tanchan, the President, and Mr. B. Love,⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ the Secretary, the hall of the Public Library was secured and services held during the New Year and Yom Kippur" In addition, there is a note in the Jewish Year Book of 1898/9 that public services were held in Treorchy on the High Holidays. However, there is no reference to the town in any later editions of the Jewish Year Book. The services would certainly have been Ashkenazi Orthodox.
Registration District:	Rhondda Cynon Taf, since 1 October 2002^{^(iv)}- Link to Register Office website
Cemetery Information:	There was no Jewish cemetery in Treorchy, the nearest being at Pontypridd, some 10 miles to the south-east.

Online Articles, Videos and Other Material
relating to the Treorchy Jewish Community

on JCR-UK

Some Thoughts on the Rhondda Valley Communities by Harold Pollins.

on third party websites

The Jewish Community of Treorchy, YouTube video.

Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to text above)

(i) and (ii) Reserved.
(iii) A Jewish Chronicle announcement of 16 November 1894 refers to the recent marriage of the granddaughter of late Rev E. Saul to Benjamin Love of Treorchy. ↵
(iv) The Registration District was previously known as Pontypridd until 1 October 2002. All records would now be held by the current office. ↵

Former Jewish Communities in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf home page

Jewish Congregations in the former county of Glamorganshire

Jewish Congregations in the former administrative county of Mid Glamorgan

Jewish Congregations in Wales, listed according to current unitary authorities

Jewish Communities & Congregations in Wales home page

Page created: 13 May 2006
Data significantly expanded and notes added: 19 January 2025
Page most recently amended: 19 January 2025

Research and formatting by David Shulman

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