Pontypridd Through Time

Alun Seward, a semi-retired estate agent, was born and bred in Rhondda. Although he has lived for over 25 years in Radyr on the outskirts of Cardiff, he has a great love of Rhondda and its heritage and feels it should be celebrated. An aspiring novelist, he wrote all the text for this book. He has two children and four grandchildren. David Swidenbank is a freelance writer and photographer, and took and assembled all the photos for this book. He trained in Documentary Photography at Newport Art School in the late 70s, after which he spent some years working as a photographer for a number of national magazines. He is currently studying for a B.A. in photographic studies, and has several photos exhibited at The Wales Millennium Centre. He has lived in Porthcawl for nearly twenty years with his wife Chris. Alun and David are friends and previous colleagues, having both worked for almost a decade at house builders Wilcon Homes. Both were made redundant in 2008, and used the opportunity to pursue and develop their joint interest in local history.

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Pontypridd has changed and developed over the last century.