Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen


Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen 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.

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. 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.

Schools

Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Gwauncaegurwen used to be on Heol y Dŵr which is where the Pwll y Wrach estate is based. It has since been moved to Heol Newydd, 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, Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, or Cwmtawe Community School.

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:

Representation

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, Dai Lloyd and Bethan Jenkins, and Caroline Jones. It has a Community Council.
The electoral ward mentioned above has a population taken at the 2011 census of 2,910.

Sport

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

Notable natives

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. 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.