Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen (Welsh: Gwauncaegurwen) is a village and community in the borough of Neath Port Talbot, South West Wales. Historically a part of Glamorgan, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is a parish made up of the electoral wards of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower Brynamman.

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen
Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen
Location within Neath Port Talbot
Population4,240 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSN705115
Principal area
Ceremonial county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAMMANFORD
Postcode districtSA18
Dialling code01269
PoliceSouth Wales
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
  • Neath

Location

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is located five mile east of the nearest town of Ammanford and nearly fifteen miles north of Swansea. Nearby villages include Cwmgors, Lower Brynaman & Tairgwaith,.

Etymology

The name Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is believed to be an alteration of what was originally gwaun cegerwen (i.e. "white hemlock heath" in Welsh, ceger being a dialect form of cegid).[2] In local usage, the name is often shortened to "Y Waun", meaning "the heath" in Welsh.

History

Gwaun-cae-Gurwen was a mining village in the west Wales anthracite district. There were six or seven pits in the early 1920s.[3]

Schools

Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Gwauncaegurwen (Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Welsh Primary School) used to be on Heol y Dŵr (Water Street) which is where the Pwll y Wrach estate is based. It has since been moved to Heol Newydd (New Road), overlooking the village, and the former school transformed into a wood workshop.

Secondary-age children in the area have the choice of going to Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera in Ystalyfera (for full Welsh-medium education),[4] Ysgol Dyffryn Aman (for Welsh- and English-medium education),[5] or Cwmtawe Community School (for English-medium education).[6]

Welsh language

The Welsh language is very strong in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, with the highest proportion of Welsh-speakers being among the young. The Welsh Language Board reported in 2009 that:

In areas such as Gwaun Cae Gurwen (67.9%) and Brynaman Isaf (68%) [...] Welsh is a natural community language spoken in the street, in cafés and amongst third sector organisations. Perhaps the most notable fact is that the highest percentage of Welsh speakers is amongst 10–19 year olds.[7]

Representation

As of 2017 the area was represented in the House of Commons by Christina Rees, and in the National Assembly for Wales by Jeremy Miles; they both represent the Neath constituency. Its South Wales West regional assembly members are Suzy Davies (Welsh Conservatives), Dai Lloyd and Bethan Jenkins (Plaid Cymru), and Caroline Jones (UKIP). It has a Community Council.

The electoral ward mentioned above has a population taken at the 2011 census of 2,910.[8]

Sport

Cwmgors RFC play their home games at Parc-y-werin, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen. Their clubhouse is also situated at New Road, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen.

Notable natives

Pwll-y-Wrach

At one time, almost all of the land of The Waun was owned by the Jones Family who also owned the "Pwll-y-Wrach Estate". It was run by the Head and later by their sons (and spouses). They still own parts of the land of the village but most has been sold off. Both farmhouses connected to the Estate are still standing. They are: Pwll-y-Wrach and Glangwrach. Pwll y Wrach is the main house where the head of the family lived.

It is no longer a farming estate but remains to own much of the land in the village. The name means the Witch's Pool in English, because of an old Welsh myth that the witches lived in it because of the greeny-blue colour and would sometimes come out to haunt the locals.

gollark: Anyway, by defining an answer to sqrt(-1) you can attain the complex numbers, which are a very powerful extension to the real number line.
gollark: Bold of you to only accept the reals as "numbers". Complex numbers have rights too.
gollark: In what way?
gollark: Yes, I'm aware.
gollark: How is this even a debate? Refusing to describe things doesn't make them not exist or be widely accepted or whatever. It's just very inconvenient whenever people want to discuss or mention them.

References
  1. "Community population 2011". Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. "Cwmgors a'r Waun local history website". Archived from the original on 18 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
  3. Bullock, Arthur (2009). Gloucestershire Between the Wars: A Memoir. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-4793-3. (Page 128)
  4. Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera website
  5. Ysgol Dyffryn Aman website
  6. Ysgol Gymunedol Cwmtawe website
  7. Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg / Welsh Language Board Archived 2011-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 12 April 2015.
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