Brynamman
| |
---|---|
Location within Carmarthenshire | |
Population | 2,608 |
Community | |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | AMMANFORD |
Postcode district | SA18 |
Dialling code | 01269 |
Police | Dyfed-Powys |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Brynamman (Welsh : Brynaman) is a village on the south side of the Black Mountain (Y Mynydd Du), part of the Brecon Beacons National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog). The village is split into Upper Brynamman and Lower Brynamman by the River Amman, which is also the boundary between the counties of Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot (in the old county of Glamorganshire). Ruins of stone dwellings (possibly prehistoric), an early type of lime kiln and rectangular medieval buildings found on the mountain show that people have lived in this area for a long time. The population of Brynamman was 2,608 as of 2011; the urban area including Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen was 5,692. [1] [2]
Brynamman was previously known as Y Gwter Fawr (Welsh : "The Big Gutter"); The name was changed when the railway from Ammanford reached the village. George Borrow describes aspects of Gwter Fawr in the mid-19th century in his book Wild Wales published 1862. The current name is derived from "Brynamman House", the home of John Jones, builder of the railway.[ citation needed ]
Brynamman Golf Club (now defunct) first appeared in the mid-1920s. It continued into the 1930s. [3] A feasibility study is being conducted into the reopening of Brynamman Lido, which opened in 1934 and closed in 2010. [4]
Ynys Dawela Nature Park is situated to the west of Brynamman, in the upper reaches of the Amman Valley. Its northern boundary is the Brecon Beacons National Park, and the river Amman, fringed with ancient oak woodland, forms its southern boundary. The park covers an area of 39 acres (15.8 hectares) and was once a working farm. The meadows dating from this period now support some scarce flowers, such as the Whorled Caraway and Meadow Thistle, and other wildlife, such as the marsh fritillary butterfly and dormice. [5]
The park has a range of important habitats supporting a diverse assemblage of plant and animal life. The wet grasslands, marshy ground and ponds are particularly important to amphibians, like newts, frogs and toads. The site narrowly escaped opencast mining, before Dinefwr Borough Council secured its future by purchasing it from British Coal. Since then the park has been developed for recreational and educational use. The park is managed by Carmarthenshire County Council and supported by volunteers.[ citation needed ]
The Tregib Arms in Brynamman was built c.1860. The first-ever union branch to look after the needs of Welsh anthracite miners was started in the public bar in 1891. [6] The original certificate can be viewed in the lounge bar.
During the 1930s Welsh middleweight boxing champion Tommy Davies was a regular customer; his photo can be seen in the main bar. [7]
The Brecon Beacons are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan, its twin summit Corn Du, and Craig Gwaun Taf, which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons have given their name to the larger Brecon Beacons National Park, and the range itself is therefore sometimes known as the Central Beacons to differentiate the two.
Powys is a county and preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown, and the administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells.
Ammanford is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger.
Llandeilo is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The town is served by Llandeilo railway station on the Heart of Wales Line.
Llandovery is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about 25 miles (40 km) north-east of Carmarthen, 27 miles (43 km) north of Swansea and 21 miles (34 km) west of Brecon.
Tonypandy is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the town was the scene of the 1910 Tonypandy riots.
Glanamman is a mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Garnant it experienced a coal-mining boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the last big colliery closed in 1947 and coal has been extracted fitfully since then.
Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, is a national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons, the mountain range at its centre. The national park includes the highest mountain in South Wales, Pen y Fan, which has an elevation of 886 metres (2,907 ft).
South Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards to include Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both south Wales and west Wales. The Brecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of south Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest British mountain south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia.
Pen y Fan is the highest peak in South Wales, situated in Brecon Beacons National Park. At 886 metres (2,907 ft) above sea-level, it is also the highest British peak south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia. It is the highest point of the historic county of Brecknockshire. The twin summits of Pen y Fan and Corn Du at 873 metres (2,864 ft) were formerly referred to as Cadair Arthur or 'Arthur's Seat'.
Abercraf is a village in Powys, Wales, in the community of Ystradgynlais and within the historic boundaries of the county of Brecknockshire.
Garnant is a mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, north of Swansea. Like the neighbouring village of Glanamman it experienced a coal-mining boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the last big colliery closed in 1936 and coal has been extracted fitfully since then. The village has the only Commissioners' church built in southwest Wales, traditionally a Methodist region.
The Black Mountain is a mountain range in South, Mid and West Wales, straddling the administrative boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys and forming the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its highest point is Fan Brycheiniog at 802 metres or 2,631 ft. The Black Mountain also forms a part of the Fforest Fawr Geopark.
Pontyberem is a village and community situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. As of the 2001 Census, the population was recorded as 2,829, reducing to 2,768 at the 2011 Census.
Trimsaran is a community and former mining village which lies on the B4308 between Llanelli and Kidwelly, in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire.
Govilon is a small Welsh village located between Llanfoist and Gilwern near Abergavenny in north Monmouthshire. It is part of the community of Llanfoist Fawr. The population was 1,447 in 2011.
The Beacons Way is a waymarked long distance footpath in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. It is a linear route which runs for 99 miles (159 km) east to west through the National Park, and passes many of the most important landmarks and mountain peaks in the mountain range. It also includes a few of the towns in the park as well as popular attractions such as Carreg Cennen Castle near Llandeilo at the western end of the path.
Tumble, is a village situated south of Cross Hands near the towns of Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Tumble, along with Cross Hands is part of the community of Llannon. The population, including Drefach was 4,302.
Gwynfe or Capel Gwynfe is a small village inside the portion of Brecon Beacons National Park that is in Carmarthenshire, a county of southwestern Wales. This village is situated between Trichrug and the western slopes of the Black Mountain, to the west of the A4069 road about halfway between Llangadog and Brynamman. The village comprises a scattered collection of mostly nineteenth and twentieth-century housing that developed around several chapels. The area around the village is mainly farmland and the village was 2004 'Village of the Year for Carmarthenshire'. The village has a grade-two listed phone box now used as an information centre and a modern community hall built in 2001. The community association have erected 2 large woodcarvings of three red kites.
The bedrock geology of Carmarthenshire in west Wales consists largely of Palaeozoic age sedimentary rocks. Unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age in Carmarthenshire include a dissected cover of glacial till, valley floor alluvium and some scattered peat deposits in both upland and lowland settings. There are extensive beach and tidal flat deposits along the Carmarthenshire coast. The exploitation of the county's mineral riches, particularly coal and limestone, was a key part of the local economy through much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.