Blaengarw | |
---|---|
Location within Bridgend | |
Population | 1,789 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SS902928 |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRIDGEND |
Postcode district | CF32 |
Dialling code | 01656 |
Police | South Wales |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Blaengarw is the uppermost village in the river valley (Cwm Garw) of the River Garw, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales.
In the English language Blaengarw means the rugged 'front' or 'head' of the valley. The population of Blaengarw ward according to the 2001 census was 1,895, falling to 1,789 at the 2011 census. [1]
During the 19th and 20th centuries the village served as a mining town for the coal miners of the Garw Valley section of the South Wales coalfield. Built in 1893, the Blaengarw Workmen's Hall is a testament to this history and is still used today as a community and entertainment centre. The Welsh poet Daniel James (Gwyrosydd) composed the popular Welsh hymn Calon Lân while working as a coal miner at the Blaengarw pit. [2] The town was a flashpoint of public disorder during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985). [3]
Formerly a separate ward electing one councillor, since 2022 Blaengarw has formed part of the three-member Garw Valley ward. [4]
Blaengarw is home to the largest Time Bank in Europe the Blaengarw Time Centre, hosted by Creation Group. [5]
The Blaengarw Time Centre is based in Blaengarw Workmen's Hall which was bought by the community in 2000. For every hour spent on community work citizens receive one "Time Credit" which can be used to attend one hour of a social, educational or cultural event. Community assets in the village include a food shop, a community café, a heritage café, a digital inclusion centre, a community library and a sculpture studio. Activities organised by the centre include coffee mornings, arts classes, information technology classes, a youth club, dance and drama workshops, sugar craft and after-school clubs. [6]
The 2001 comedy Very Annie Mary , starring Rachel Griffiths, Jonathan Pryce and Ioan Gruffudd was filmed in the village, [7] as was the 2019 Channel 4 miniseries The Accident . [8]
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, 20 miles (32 km) west of Cardiff and 20 miles (32 km) east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Ogmore. The River Ewenny also flows through the town. The population was 49,597 in 2021. Bridgend is within the Cardiff Capital Region which in 2019 had a population of approximately 1.54 million.
Maerdy is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley.
Treorchy is a town and community in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 communities of the Rhondda. It includes the villages of Cwmparc and Ynyswen.
Bridgend County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. Its members of the Senedd are Sarah Murphy MS, representing the Bridgend Constituency, and Huw Irranca-Davies MS representing the Ogmore Constituency, and its members of the UK parliament are Jamie Wallis and Chris Elmore.
Llangynwyd is a village 2 miles to the south of Maesteg, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. It was part of the medieval commote of Tir Iarll.
Bedwas is a town situated two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.
Ogmore was a constituency created in 1918, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
The River Garw runs for about 12 miles from its source in the hills north of Blaengarw to the confluence with the River Ogmore and the River Llynfi at Aberkenfig. It is one of three main tributaries of the River Ogmore which runs through the town of Bridgend. It is in Wales, United Kingdom.
The Garw Valley Railway is the trading name of the Bridgend Valleys Railway Company Limited. It operates a short section of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge railway located in South Wales, which is being recreated as a heritage railway. Formerly part of the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway (L&OR) and built by the Great Western Railway (GWR), the line was used for freight and passenger services, with most of the track still in place between Brynmenyn and Pontycymer. The project currently has a train shed at Pontycymer, and hopes to initially offer brake van rides between Pontycymer and Pant-y-Gog, a distance of 0.5 miles (0.8 km).
Pontycymer, also spelt Pontycymmer, is a former mining village in Wales. It is situated in the Garw Valley, in Bridgend County Borough, about 7 miles or 11 km north of the town of Bridgend.
Sarn is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, about three miles north of Bridgend and which lies just east of the confluence of the Ogmore and Llynfi rivers. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig, south of Brynmenyn, and south-east of Tondu. It is around 15 minutes' walk from the M4 and the McArthurGlen Group Bridgend Designer Outlet.
Ogmore Vale is a village in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales on the River Ogmore. The village's main source of income came from coal mining. Up until the year 1865, the Ogmore valley was a quiet, isolated, rural hill farming community of less than ten farms and a few cottages. Today, along with Nantymoel and Price Town it makes up the community of Ogmore Valley.
Bettws, is a small ex-mining and farming village in the South Wales Valleys in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. Bettws is also an electoral ward for the county council.
Bryncethin is a small village and electoral ward in the County Borough of Bridgend, South Wales, located just north of Junction 36 of the M4 Motorway and approximately 3 miles north of the county town of Bridgend. The population of the ward was 1,319 in 2011.
Nant-y-moel or Nantymoel is a village and includes the formerly separate village of Pricetown in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales on the River Ogmore, and is one of the constituent villages of the Ogmore Valley. It is bordered by the village of Wyndham to the south and by the Bwlch y Clawdd mountain to the north.
Caerau is a former mining village in the community of Maesteg, Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located approximately 2 miles north of the centre of Maesteg town in the Llynfi Valley. Caerau, surrounded by mountainous terrain and forestry, is one of the border points between Bridgend County Borough and Neath Port Talbot County Borough, bordered to the north by Croeserw and Cymmer, Neath Port Talbot. Caerau, borders Dyffryn and Spelter to the south in Nantyffyllon, Maesteg.
Llangeinor is a small village located in the Garw Valley around 5 miles (8 km) north of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,243. The entire village is now protected as part of a conservation area.
Garw Valley is a community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. As the name suggests, it follows and encompasses the valley of the River Garw. The community includes the village of Blaengarw at the head of the valley, followed by Pontycymer and Llangeinor on the river, with Bettws between the Garw and the Llynfi in the south. Garw Valley is bordered to the west by Maesteg, Llangynwyd Middle and Llangynwyd Lower; to the east by Ogmore Valley and to the south by Ynysawdre and St Bride's Minor.
Ynysawdre is a small community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig in Wales, and comprises the two villages of Tondu and Brynmenyn. The name Ynysawdre is also usually used for a small section of Tondu. At the 2001 census, the population of the community was 3,698, reducing to 3,367 at the 2011 Census.