Cwmtwrch (Welsh pronunciation:[ˈkʊmtʊrχ]) is a village in the valley of theAfon Twrch, a right-bank tributary to theSwansea Valley, Wales, some 15 miles north ofSwansea. It is also the name of anelectoral ward toPowys County Council.
ActorsCraig Russell,Richard Corgan andSteven Meo all come from the village.
The Sci Fi comedy horror film Canaries is set and was filmed in Cwmtwrch.
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The name Cwmtwrch (meaningValley of the wild boar) is said to derive from the "Twrch Trwyth", amythical wild boar ofKing Arthur'slegends and the ancient Welshfolklore tales of theMabinogion in early Welsh literature.
The legend relates to one of Arthur's tasks: to rid the westernBrecon Beacons of the pack of wild boars that were terrorising the people. Arthur chased the boars fromDyfed eastward towardsPowys. On theBlack Mountain, he picked up a large stone (thecarreg fryn fras) and cast it towards the wild animals, striking dead the leader of the pack on the edge of a valley near Craig-y-Fran Gorge. The big boar's body rolled down the valley and into the river which is now theAfon Twrch. The big stone is still on the mountain.
The early history of Cwmtwrch is found in the records of the Manor of Palleg. This small estate was owned by the Aubrey family in the early 16th century. In 1595 it was said to include 20 farms scattered around the high ground to the north of the Twrch river. There was also a corn mill, Melin Palleg, close to the river.
The manor passed to the Morgan family of Tredegar House, Newport South Wales, by the late 18th century. They employed a gamekeeper to look after the estate. Local woodland would have been a source of charcoal for the early iron furnace at Ynyscedwyn from the 17th century onwards. The best of the mature hardwood trees from the area were felled and sold off during the early 19th century.
The now vanished Tir-y-gof Farm was used by drovers as a base where their cattle were shod on their long journeys to market. Alongside the industrial workers there were tailors, shoemakers and blacksmiths, publicans and shopkeepers. There were also numerous chapels in the village, namely Bethania Chapel (1851), Bethel Chapel (1861), Beulah Chapel (1893) and Capel Newydd (1930).
Ebeneser Rees (1848–1908), the founder of the "Llais Llafur" newspaper, was raised in Cwmtwrch and is buried in the Beulah Chapel Cemetery, Palleg.
Cwmtwrch has been split into two parts, Upper Cwmtwrch (Cwm Twrch Uchaf) and Lower Cwmtwrch (Cwm Twrch Isaf), due to the traversing of the now defunct railway line and road at two points, requiring an upper and a lower gate.[1]
Nearby are the town ofYstradgynlais and the villages ofYstradowen,[2]Rhiwfawr andYstalyfera.
Cwm-twrch is the name of theelectoral ward which covers the western quarter of theYstradgynlaiscommunity and includes Cwmtwrch Isaf to the south and Cwmtwrch Uchaf to the north.[3] In 2004 a slice of the neighbouringNeath Port Talbot ward ofYstalyfera, bordering Cwmtwrch Isaf, was transferred to the Cwm-twrch ward.[4] The ward elects one county councillor toPowys County Council.
A Cwmtwrch & Gurnos ward is represented by up to four town councillors on Ystradgynlais Town Council.[5]
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Cwmtwrch is home to therugby union teamCwmtwrch RFC, a Welsh Rugby Union affiliated club with over a hundred years of history. A resident wasClive Rowlands, formerWales national rugby union team captain, who also managed both the national team and theBritish Lions.
The village football team,Cwm Wanderers A.F.C., is long established and successful, having won the Neath Premier Division on 16 occasions. They have also won 15 cups, making them the most successful team in the league's history.
Golf is played at Palleg Golf Club which is located in Lower Cwmtwrch. A mountain course, it was extended to eighteen holes through lottery funding.
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