Pontygwaith (Welsh language: "Bridge of work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a small village located in the Rhondda Fach valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, in the community of Tylorstown.

Pontygwaith takes its name from a blast furnace built in the early 16th century, though by 1863 it was described as a shapeless ruin[1] The location of the furnace was at the north end of what today is Furnace Road and the only documented proof of the structure is in a contract drawn up in 1614 between John Hanbury of Pontypool and Richard ap Rhys of Llantrisant for the supply of charcoal to the "furnace of Penrees" (Penrhys).

Elfed Davies, Labour Party Member of Parliament for Rhondda East 1959-74 and who went on to become elevated to the Peerage as Lord Davies of Penrhys, was born at Fenwick Street, Pontygwaith.

Pontygwaith was the birthplace of composer Mansel Thomas OBE (1909 – 1986).

[2] Between 1849 and 1856, the Taff Vale Railway opened the Maerdy Branch from Porth, including a station at Pontygwaith Halt.