Ynysawdre | |
---|---|
Tondu Ironworks | |
Location within Bridgend | |
Population | 3,367 2011 |
OS grid reference | SS900845 |
Community |
|
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRIDGEND |
Postcode district | CF32 9 |
Dialling code | 01656 |
Police | South Wales |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
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, [1] reducing to 3,367 at the 2011 Census. [2]
The community of Ynysawdre is home to several notable buildings. Tondu Ironworks is an important remnant of Britain's industrial heritage. Built in 1820 by Sir Robert Price, the ironworks, although derelict, still survive as a series of large roofless stone buildings. Structures surviving include the charging bank, the blast-engine house, a range of seven iron ore calcining kilns, each 62 ft by 32 ft in size, and over a hundred beehive-shaped coking kilns. The calcining and coking kilns are rare surviving examples of the thousands of kilns once found throughout Britain. [3]
Other notable remains from the area's industrial past include Aberkenfig Railway Bridge and Glan-Rhyd Railway Viaduct, two horse-drawn railway bridges, both built in the 1920s.
Ynysawdre is home to Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen, a large English-medium comprehensive school which serves the Garw and Ogmore valleys. Y Dderwen was formerly the two schools of Ynysawdre School and Ogmore School; Ynysawdre was based on Y Dderwen's current site and Ogmore School was based in the nearby village of Bryncethin. Y Dderwen's new building opened in 2013.
The community was also home to Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School until mid-2011, when it relocated to a new building in Brackla. The school served the entire county borough.
Ynysawdre is also home to Brynmenyn Primary School, a small school with its own nursery. Tondu primary school is located in the village of Aberkenfig.
Ynysawdre is the location of Pandy Park, home of Tondu RFC. Pandy Park houses numerous football and rugby pitches. Ynysawdre Pool and Fitness Centre is located on Heol-Yr-Ysgol, one of the main roads.
At the local level Ynysawdre has a community council, comprising up to ten community councillors elected (or co-opted) from the community wards of Tondu and Brynmenyn. [4]
Ynysawdre was also an ward electing a county councillor to Bridgend County Borough Council. Since 1995 the ward had been represented by the Labour Party. [5] In January 2019 a consultation period began, to review the wards and representation in the county. The proposals included merging the Ynysawdre ward with neighbouring Sarn. [6] From the 2022 local elections Ynysawdre became part of the 'St Bride's Minor and Ynysawdre' ward, which also covers the community of St Bride's Minor. The ward elects three county councillors. [7]
Tondu is a village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, located about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the town of Bridgend, in the community of Ynysawdre.
Ogmore was a constituency created in 1918, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
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).
Tondu railway station is a railway station serving the village of Tondu, Bridgend county borough, South Wales. It is located on the Maesteg Line from Cardiff via Bridgend.
Aberkenfig is a village located in the County Borough of Bridgend, Wales to the north of Bridgend town. It is in the community of Newcastle Higher.
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.
Ogmore Comprehensive school, formerly known as Ogmore Grammar School, was a secondary school located in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, UK. Ogmore Comprehensive School's mottos was “Preparing Pupils for life". The school was established in 1972 and covered Year 7 to Year 13, ages 11 to 18 in the UK. The school colors were Navy Blue and Red, with coordinating navy blue colored uniforms. It closed in 2011.
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.
Brynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school.
Cefn Cribwr is a village and community in Bridgend County Borough in south Wales. The village is located about 5 miles (8 km) from the centre of Bridgend town, and in-between Bridgend and Pyle.
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 Comprehensive School was a public secondary school located in Tondu in Bridgend County Borough which catered for ages between 11 and 18.
Newcastle Higher is a community in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. Located north west of Bridgend town centre it is made up of the townships of Pen-y-fai and Aberkenfig and straddles the M4 motorway. The Pen-y-fai community is home to several notable buildings, including the Glanrhyd Hospital, Court Colman Hotel, Smyrna Baptist Chapel and All Saints Church. Aberkenfig is home to the Len Evans Centre, Aberkenfig Welfare Hall and Aberkenfig Mosque to name but a few. Both communities have war memorials in honour of those local residents who served and lost their lives in WW1 and WW2.
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade II* structures are those considered to be "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or fittings. In Wales, the authority for listing under the Planning Act 1990 rests with Cadw.
Valleys Gateway names the five merged villages north of Bridgend and the M4 in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The villages are Aberkenfig, Bryncethin, Brynmenyn, Sarn and Tondu.