The Tonypandy Riots were a series of violent confrontations between coal miners and police that took place at various locations in and around the mines of the Cambrian Combine, a business network of mining companies formed to regulate prices and wages in south Wales.

The riots were the culmination of an industrial dispute between workers and the mine owners who went on strike for a year in an effort to fight for a living wage. As the days grew into weeks, the long period of striking culminated in a bitter struggle to halt the operation at Llwynypia's iconic Powerhouse - a centre of activity that ensured work could continue in the nearby Glamorganshire Colliery.

The Tonypandy Riots relate to specific events in early November 1910 when strikers, impassioned by extended hand-to-hand fighting with the Glamorgan Constabulary smashed windows of mining officials' homes and many of the shops in the town.

Today it is recognised as one of the most fierce encounters in the coal mining history of Wales. Through this website, find out more about the history of the Riots, the impact it had on the Rhondda, Wales and indeed the world at large.