coking coals and, by the time of World War I, the village housed around 140 coke ovens. By-products of the coke distillation process was used to light the mines and the narrow streets of miners' cottages known as "terraces". Some of the terraces have been widened but others remain so narrow that a single car can barely pass through. On 25 January 1932, a gas explosion occurred at the colliery. Eleven workers were killed in the incident, two of whom were members of the rescue party. All perished after inhaling afterdamp following the explosion. By 1936, of the original six pits opened at the Glamorgan, two remained in operation, employing only 560 workers, as against 2904 employed in 1923. The colliery was eventually closed in August 1945. Notable buildings Built in the early 1900s on the site of the Glyncornel farm, owned by the DeWinton family, Hen Glyncornel is one of the most imposing houses in the village. Built by Archibald Hood for his son William, this building was then surpassed by nearby Glyncornel House which was built by the Cambrian Coal Combine for senior management, but was turned into a maternity hospital in 1939 by Rhondda Borough Council. Llwynypia was also home to the largest hospital in the Rhondda. The old Llwynypia Hospital was built in 1903, originally as a workhouse, later becoming a general hospital. As the only village with maternity facilities in the Rhondda, most residents from the area over the last century have Llwynypia as their place of birth on their birth certificates. Llwynypia Hospital's accident and emergency unit was closed in the 1990s and the hospital closed completely in January 2010. It has been replaced by the new Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda. Llwynypia Colliery Engine House (the Demon) Llwynypia Road, opposite Asda. Grade 2 listed building which was part of the Glamorgan colliery and known as the Scotch. The Engine house was the centre of the Tonypandy Riots in 1910 due to the colliery reliance on the building for power generation. Governance The Llwyn-y-pia electoral ward is coterminous with the borders of the Llwynypia community and elects one county councillor to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Since 1995 representation has mainly been by the Labour Party but the ward had a Plaid Cymru councillor from 1999 to 2004. A 2018 review of electoral arrangements by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales would see