Betws ('' en, Chapel house'') is a small village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

on the River Amman, some 15 miles north of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Wales; it is part of the ecclesiastical

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of ''Betws and

Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) 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. Acco ...

'', and the urban area of Ammanford. The nearby mountain, at the western end of the Black Mountain, is named after the village, and has a large area of

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

History and location

The name 'Betws' is generally thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'bed-hus' - a house of prayer, or oratory, and means "chapel" in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

. Until the 19th century, when Ammanford developed extensively, Betws was the largest village in the area.Locksmith, WTH (1999) ''Ammanford: Origin of Street Names & Notable Historical Records'' LDGowerLordship

Until the 13th century, Betws was part of

Gower Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

, which is now known as the county of

but the old

commote A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...

border of the rivers Amman and

Loughor Loughor () ( cy, Casllwchwr) is a Welsh town in the City and County of Swansea, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community (Wales), ...

moved south and Betws has since the Acts of Union been part of Welsh-speaking

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. Article including Cowley Map of 1744, Kitchen Map of 1764, Carey Map of 1794 and Lewis Map 1833. Until 1817, when a road was built along the Amman valley, Betws was only accessible by roads crossing the mountain from

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

and

. This inaccessibility is commemorated in a local saying, which refers to the division between ''Betws a'r Byd'' (Betws and the world). There was a sign on the Amman bridge to this effect: Betws this way, the rest of the world that way. The people of Betws like to make the distinction between themselves and those over the river in

. The road bridge between Betws and Ammanford on Park Street was completed in 1892 and rebuilt in 1990 by T Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd. T. Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd. ('TRJ') is a major building contractor, originally based in the village but now located on the Ammanford side of the river. The land for Betws Park was given to Ammanford district Council by Lord Dynevor in 1903, but the council used it as a rubbish dump until the early 1930s. After this, it was properly developed by local volunteers as a park with

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s. On 23 June 2007, a new 'Memorial and Sensory Garden' was opened in the park. Y Byd a'r Betws

Betws Park Workshops are a collection of industrial units rented by various businesses. The workshops were opened in 1991, having previously been a screw manufacturing factory (1970-1981) and a lightbulb factory (1983-1986). The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the village is dedicated to St David. It dates to the 14th century but was renovated in 1872.''Betws'' - part of the Amman & Loughor Heritage Trails series of leaflets. Betws

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

was built before 1846, extended in 1928 and refurbished in 1988. The Caemawr housing estate was built in 1947, and the Bwtrimawr estate in 1976. Ammanford No. 1 (1890-1925) and No. 2 (1891-1976)

Collieries Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

were at the north end of Betws. The Tycoch nightclub now occupies some Ammanford No. 1 buildings. Betws drift

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mine opened in 1976 and closed in 2003 and the land is being redeveloped as housing and industrial units, including LBS Builders Merchants. There are plans to build a

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

on Betws Common. 75.1% of residents of Betws and Pontamman said they had 'knowledge of

' compared to 63.6% in

and 28.4% in

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 ...

. As of May 1, 2008, the Betws ward electorate was 1,450 and the County Councillor is Audrey Jones (Independent), replacing John Dorian Evans (Labour). The

is bordered by the communities of:

Llanedi Llanedi () is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Once the name of a parish, Llanedi is now a community taking in the hamlet of Llanedi and the villages of Hendy, Fforest (suburbs of Pontarddulais) and Tycroes. The community popula ...

;

Llandybie Llandybie ( cy, Llandybïe , " Saint Tybie's church") is a community which includes a large village of the same name situated north of Ammanford in Carmarthenshire, Wales. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, Llandybie village itself is ...

; and

Cwmamman Cwmamman is a community in Carmarthenshire, about 12 miles north of Swansea in southwest Wales. Literally meaning "Amman valley", it takes its name from the River Amman which runs through the area. Cwmamman was the original name of the area but ...

, all being in Carmarthenshire; and by

Mawr 240px, Pre-2022 Mawr electoral ward Mawr is a community (and former electoral ward) of the City and County of Swansea, in south Wales, U.K. Mawr has its own elected community council. Its name simply means "large", and it was given the name ...

in the

City and County of Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Sports

Betws Rugby Club currently fields two

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

teams: The first team finished 1st in WRU League Five South West in 2007–8 season and the second team finished bottom of Llanelli District Division 1. Ammanford football club have a ground at Rice Street, Betws, which is currently being reconstructed.

Notable people

*Balladeer,

Donald Peers Donald Rhys Hubert Peers (10 July 1908 – 9 August 1973) was a popular Welsh people, Welsh singer. His best remembered rendition and signature song was "In a Shady Nook by a Babbling Brook". Biography Early life Peers was born in the Welsh m ...

, was brought up in Heol-y-felin. *

Jim Griffiths James (Jeremiah) Griffiths (19 September 1890 – 7 August 1975) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, trade union leader and the first Secretary of State for Wales. Background and education He was born in the predominantly Welsh-speaking vill ...

, first

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...

and MP for

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

lived at the corner of Pentwyn Road and Park Street, where his father William was the village

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

(an anvil stands outside the house that occupies the site today). His elder brother

David Rees Griffiths David Rees Griffiths (6 November 1882 – 17 December 1953), also known by his bardic name of Amanwy, was a Welsh poet, and an older brother of politician Jim Griffiths. Griffiths was born in Betws, Carmarthenshire, where his father was a bla ...

found fame as the poet ''Amanwy''. *

Ivor Richard, Baron Richard Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, (30 May 1932 – 18 March 2018) was a British Labour politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 until 1974. He was also a member of the European Commission and latterly sat as a life peer ...

was born in Betws and attended Betws Primary School. * Henry Grindell "Death Ray" Matthews had a laboratory on Betws mountain from 1934 until his death in 1941. * Terry Magee, charity volunteer and former boxer.Ammanford Fire Station's page about Terry Magee's fundraising; although most articles give his hometown as Ammanford, the postal town which includes Betws; this page includes an article which states that he lives in Betws

Wildlife

A wide variety of birds can be seen around Betws.

Red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

, raven,

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

kestrel The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...

and sparrowhawks can be found on the mountain, whilst

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

and cormorant can be seen on the river. The woods are home to

jay A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

and

green woodpecker There are four species of bird named green woodpecker: * European green woodpecker, ''Picus viridis'' * Iberian green woodpecker The Iberian green woodpecker (''Picus sharpei'') is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Iberian peninsula. It wa ...

References

External links