Bettws , ( cy, Betws) is a small ex-mining and farming village in the South Wales Valleys in the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, Wales. Bettws is also an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

to the county council.

Bryngarw Country Park Bryngarw Country Park is made up of and is situated on the west bank of the Afon Garw, at the mouth of the Garw Valley in the Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The western boundary is marked by the Brynmenyn-Bettws road and the River Garw is its ...

is approximately one mile away, with a footpath leading there from the village. The village is around 3 miles away from Junction 36 on the

M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

, and is located to the west of

Llangeinor Llangeinor (Welsh: ''Llangeinwyr'') is a small village (and electoral ward) located in the Garw Valley around north of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,243. The entire village is now ...

and to the north of

Brynmenyn 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. Transport T ...

Geography

Bettws is located in the southern part of

Bridgend County Borough Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) 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. It ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) 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 ...

. It is located north of the town of

and lies on the west side of the main A4064 road. It is situated on the

River Ogmore The River Ogmore ( cy, Afon Ogwr) is a river in South Wales that is popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Gilfach Goch, past Bridgend and Ogmore. The River Ogmore rises at Craig Ogwr (527 m) in the ...

, and is watered by the Llynfi and Garw rivulets which border the village on both its sides. The nearest parish to Bettws is

to the north-east, and

Llangynwyd Llangynwyd is a village (and electoral ward) 2 miles to the south of Maesteg, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. It was part of the medieval commote (Welsh: ''cwmwd'') of Tir Iarll. History and amenities The village is the site of Llangy ...

to the west. The

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of Bettws is around 2,400 according to The Betws LIFE Centre.

Etymology

The name of the village comes from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

word ''bedhus'', meaning "prayer house", which became ''betws'' in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Governance

At the national level Bettws is in the Welsh

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Ogmore, for which Chris Elmore (Labour) has been MP since a by-election in 2016 which he won with a majority of 8,575. In the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

Bettws is in the constituency of

for which

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...

, the

First Minister of Wales , insignia = First Minister of Wales logo.png , insigniasize = 120px , insigniacaption = Logo , flag = Flag of Wales.svg , flagsize = 120px , flagborder = yes , flagcaption = Flag of Wales , image = File:Mark Drakeford (cropped).jpg , ...

, has been the

Assembly Member Assembly Member or AM may refer to: * A Member of the London Assembly (2000–pres.) *A Member of the Tobago House of Assembly (1980–pres.) Defunct titles * A Member of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2020), now Member of th ...

since 1999. For

European elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until ...

Bettws was in the

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

constituency prior to 2020. At the county level, Bettws is an

Bridgend County Borough Council Bridgend County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. History Bridgend County Borough and Bridgend County Borough Council came ...

, since 1995 electing one county councillor. Until June 2012 this was Labour councillor Christopher Michaelides who, shortly after finishing his year as county mayor and a month after winning the 2012 elections, died from cancer.

Demography

In the 2011 census Bettws village had 910 dwellings, 884 households and a population of 2,253 (1,093 males and 1,157 females). The average age of residents was 36 years. Of those aged between 16 and 74, 48.4% had no academic qualifications or one

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

. According to the census, 707 people were economically inactive of which 117 of those that stated they were economically active were unemployed. Christianity was the majority religion in the village being represented by 978 individuals, with 1061 recorded as having no religion and 195 whose religion was not stated.

Sport

Bettws F.C. are based in the village, the club also run numerous youth teams, including the successful under 19's. BETTWS BECAME WELSH LEAGUE DIVISION 1 CHAMPIONS IN EARLY 2000

Schools

Almost all children aged 3–11 attend Betws Primary School. When pupils complete Key Stage Two, 91% of students attend Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen (formally

Ynysawdre Comprehensive School Ynysawdre Comprehensive School was a public secondary school located in Tondu in Bridgend County Borough which catered for ages between 11 and 18. Beginning in Autumn Term 2011, Ynysawdre Comprehensive officially closed and its former students ...

and Ogmore School), with a minority attending Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd (they formally transferred to Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari) or

Brynteg Comprehensive School Brynteg School ( cy, Ysgol Brynteg) is one of the largest secondary schools in Wales. It is located on Ewenny Road in Bridgend, Wales. The school is one of seven comprehensive schools in the County Borough of Bridgend and mainly receives pupils ...

. Many special need pupils go on to attend Ysgol Bryn Castell.

Leisure

Betws Eco Lodge is situated in the heart of the village. It caters for groups and individuals in a Bunkhouse style. The project is run by The Youth of Bettws, a local Charity for young people between the ages of 7 to 25 years old.

lies to the south.

Notable people

Griffith J. Griffith Griffith Jenkins Griffith (January 4, 1850 – July 6, 1919) was a Welsh-born American industrialist and philanthropist. After amassing a significant fortune from a mining syndicate in the 1880s, Griffith donated to the City of Los Angeles wh ...

, philanthropist.

References

External links

The Garw Valley Web SiteBetwsecolodge.co.uk
{{authority control Villages in Bridgend County Borough Wards of Bridgend County Borough