The last remaining pub in the village, Blaenllechau Radical Club closed its doors in November 2015.

Originally a single farm in the Rhondda, in 1857 David Davis and his partners took a mineral rights lease in the area, and went exploring for high quality steam coal.

With little in the area, and the need to house workers and their families, the colliery village was developed alongside the workings of Ferndale No.1 pit.

The village and its nearest town of Ferndale were served by passenger rail on the Maerdy Branch, which left the mainline of the Taff Vale Railway at Porth.

Even under the ownership of the Great Western Railway, the line always found it hard to compete against local bus operators, although passenger services ran regularly from Pontypridd to Maerdy.