First developed by the Romans, the local village Banwen is confined to the Roman Road of Sarn Helen. There are two Roman forts and the remains of a Roman Road within the community. Legend has it that St Patrick was born here and taken to Ireland after the area was raided by Irish raiders. A celebration and a march are held on March 17 to mark the event. With over 200 years of coal mining behind it, the parish once had five pits that employed hundreds of men. Now all that remains is a coal washery and coal processing plant. On the route of the former Neath and Brecon Railway, there is a freight only line to the coal washery from the South Wales Main Line at Neath. Onllwyn was involved in several 20th-century coal mining strikes which brought the town notoriety. The political, labour and cultural connections between Onllwyn and the American coal mining region known as Appalachia grew into an in-person cultural exchange in the 1970s. Musical acts were performed at Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall in 1976, including a performance by The Strange Creek Singers featuring American musicians Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, Mike Seeger, Tracy Schwartz, and Lamar Grier. The exchange was facilitated and filmed by Helen Lewis and John Gaventa. Onllwyn was also the setting for Pride, the award-winning 2014 LGBT-relatedhistoricalcomedy-drama film written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus. The movie chronicles the true story of a group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners' strike in 1984.
Present
Commanding views of the Brecon Beacons, this now semi-rural location is popular for retired people. There is a Community College, "Dove Workshops", village shop, post office, pub, and Association football and Rugby union teams. The area's residents often refer to the environs under the generic of Banwen, as it is easier to pronounce for non-Welsh language speakers.
Government and politics
The electoral ward of Onllwyn consists of some or all of the following settlements: Banwen, Dyffryn Cellwen and Onllwyn in the parliamentary constituency of Neath. Onllwyn is bounded by the wards of Abercraf and Tawe Uchaf to the north; Glynneath to the southeast; and Seven Sisters to the south west. The Onllwyn ward consists of open moorland and a band of woodland to the south. Mine workings are prominent in the north of the ward. There are only two A roads crossing the ward: the A4109 and the A4221. All of the settled areas in the ward lie around the A4109. In the 2017 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 4.2%. The results were:
