The lido was proposed as a scheme to help the Troedyrhiw community during a time of high unemployment, with funds for materials provided by Mr & Mrs Threipland, Llanishen, of the Wyndham Estate, and labour provided by the unemployed miners of Troedyrhiw.
| Name | Troedyrhiw Lido |
| Built / opened | 25th August 1934 |
| Cost | |
| Dimensions | 69′ x 43′ |
| Capacity | |
| Water type | Spring fed fresh water |
| Depth(s) | Approx 3′ to 5′ |
| Diving boards | No |
| Changing facilities | In 1935 the construction of a pavilion containing separate male and female changing rooms took place, opened on 2nd July 1935 by Lady Howard Stepney. |
| Second pool | No |
| Spectator seating | No |
| Designer | |
| Date closed | |
| Status | Derelict |
| On site now | Pool still exists but overgrown |
| Notes | |
| Links | Troedyrhiw Lido, Pool | Coflein Troedyrhiw Lido, Merthyr Tydfil – October 2020 A former lido, a woodland and a 50mm lens |
Abridged article by Phillip Howells, Express, 3rd October 1934
On the lower slopes of the mountain and Troedyrhiw amidst pleasant scenery and commanding a splendid view, is a swimming pool. But anyone visiting there in the summer months, eager to plunge into the cooling water will be disappointed.
The pool is no longer in use. Stones, large and small providing cover for frogs and other water life, old buckets, and pieces of rubbish mass on the floor of the pool which now is covered with a few inches of water, dirty and stagnant.
Many times, have I gazed at what is left of the pool I have wondered when it was built, how and by whom. Recently, I had the chance to find out. I visited the home of Mr Gabriel Curnew at Chapel Street, Troedyrhiw, who told me the story of the Troedyrhiw Lido. A landlord living in Cardiff, who rejoiced in the name of Patrick Wyndham Murray Threpland owned land in Troedyrhiw. His wife Eleanor decided that she would like to do something for the people of Troedyrhiw. A meeting was called in the village.
The year 1934 was not a prosperous one for the people of South Wales. There were many unemployed in the area. But this helped the venture. Mr Murray Threpland provided all the materials necessary and the men of the village wielded picks and shovels voluntarily.
Their reward came when work was completed and the pool opened by Lady Stepney Howard, the mother of Mr Murray Threpland.
At the time the lido was built, life was hard for people. Money was scarce and they had to make do as best they could.
Now a dilapidated building whose walls are scrawled with names, some of years ago and other more recently, is the only memorial to the hard work put in by its builders. Next to the baths is a smaller pool, also in disuse.
Visitors seeing the Lido for the first time may stop and wonder at the history behind it and the mountainside is a pleasant spot at which to let your thoughts wander backwards.
Perhaps some time in the future another dedicated group of men will set about to repair the pool. And once again the mountainside will ring with the voices of children slashing in the crystal waters.
