Bargoed

Bargoed (Welsh: Bargod) is a town in the Rhymney Valley, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly and straddles the border between the traditional counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. The literal English translation of the town's Welsh name, Bargod, is 'border'.

Pronunciation of the town's name varies depending on street. There are many acceptable variations, from the 'official' Welsh Barr-god and English Bar-goid to the informal Baa-Gud and Baa-Go-Ed.

Originally a rural market town, Bargoed grew into a substantial town following the opening of a colliery in 1903. The colliery closed during the 1980s, and its former site is now home to a country park.

Today, many shops in the centre of Bargoed are closed down and boarded up, leaving parts of the town looking shabby and run-down. A comprehensive programme of improvements, focused on the town's bypass road, were begun in 2000.

'Greater Bargoed', as defined by the local authority Caerphilly County Borough Council, consists of the towns of Bargoed, Aberbargoed and the village of Gilfach. The combined population of these settlements is approximately 13,000.

Bargoed Grammar Technical School existed as the local Grammar School before Heolddu Comprehensive School was formed. Some of the Grammar school's buildings in Park Crescent were used during from the 1980's until 2002 for the valley's first Welsh Language comprehensive school, Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni. The buildings were vacated when the school moved to a new purpose-built site in Fleur-de-Lys.

Bargoed is regularly namechecked during televised snooker tournaments as Mark Williams, Embassy World Snooker Champion in 2000 and 2003, practices his sport at the town's Emporium Snooker Hall.