MYNYDD RUDRY

The community was formerly known as Yr-Yw-Dre (English: The Yew-tree Town), deriving from the large number of yew-trees which are a feature of the mountains surrounding the village. In the mid-nineteenth century, lead-ore was extracted from the limestone hills surrounding Rudry, with miners being brought into the area from North Wales.^[4] The community was also served by two railway stations, Waterloo Halt and Fountain Bridge Halt, with each station serving trains travelling in one direction only. Both stations were closed in 1956. There is a primary school not far from the village hall. The school was built in about 1902.

The church has been in existence since at least 1295 (729 years ago); it is thought that the site was home to a wayside shrine used by pilgrims for some time before this. The church is the centre of a local belief that Oliver Cromwell sought refuge in St James's during the Second English Civil War. While there is little evidence today to support this, it is known that Cromwell was actively leading forces in the area and that Charles I spent time at nearby Ruperra Castle. In the late eighteenth century the priest at St James's was one William Price. While Price was known as an eccentric in his own right, his son, William Price, gained great renown as a Chartist, Neo-druid, political activist, Welsh nationalist and as a pioneer of cremation.