Cymmer ( cy, Cymer) is a small village in the community of Clymer and Glyncorrwg, in

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county bor ...

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 ...

, set on a hillside in the Afan Valley near the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

River Afan , name_etymology = , image = The_Afon_Afan,_Cymmer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1001060.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Afan near Cymmer , map = , map_size = , map_caption ...

and the River Corrwg. In 2001, Cymmer had a

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 2,883.

Description

Cymmer can also be spelled "Cymer", with "Cymmer" being the English-language version, and "Cymer" 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 ...

one. The word "Cymmer" translates from Welsh into English as "joining place of two rivers", and it is here that the Afon Corrwg and the Afon Afan meet, to flow onward as the River Afan until entering the sea at

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

. The immediate area is set in a densely forested upland area with steep sided river valleys cut through by the Rivers Afan and Corrwg. Patches of open

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

exist to the north and south.

Social conditions

The Cymmer

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 ...

was one of the top 10% most deprived wards in Wales according to the 2005 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Amenities

Local

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s include The Refreshment Rooms (the preserved

Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway was a Welsh railway company formed to connect the upper end of the Rhondda Fawr with Swansea, with the chief objective of transporting coal and other minerals to Swansea docks. It was incorporated in 1882, but ...

station) and a

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

called The Coronation Club. Local amenities include a library, a community

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, a sports hall,

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 ...

, a police station and fire station.

Government and politics

Cymmer is also the name of the

for the immediate area around the village. It elects a county councillor to

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local authority for the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council was controlled by the Labour Party from its creation in 1996 until 2022, when Plaid ...

. The ward includes some or all of the villages of Cymmer,

Abercregan Abercregan is a village in the community of Cymer and Glyncorrwg, in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Glamorgan. It is situated around north-east of Port Talbot and just west of Cymmer, and is also close to the River Afan , ...

Duffryn Duffryn ( cy, Dyffryn) is a large housing estatebr>in the southwest of the city of Newport, Wales, Newport, south Wales comprising a large portion of the Tredegar Park electoral district (ward). Built on land belonging to Tredegar Housebr> it ...

and

Croeserw Croeserw is a village of approximately 1,380 inhabitants in Gwynfi and Croeserw, Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Location It stands on a hillside in the Afan Valley (also known as Avon) at between 196 and 299 metres above sea leve ...

in the parliamentary constituency of

. Cymmer is bounded by the wards of

Resolven Resolven ( cy, Resolfen) is a small village and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is located in the Vale of Neath. Location The village is situated in the Vale of Neath, north east of the town of Neath, next to the A465 ...

to the north;

Glyncorrwg Glyncorrwg is a village in the Afan Valley, in southern Wales. Glyncorrwg is also the name of an electoral ward and formerly a community covering the village and surrounding countryside, in Neath Port Talbot county borough. Glyncorrwg community ...

to the northeast;

Gwynfi Gwynfi is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Gwynfi includes the villages if Abergwynfi and Blaengwynfi. Gwynfi is part of the community of Glyncorrwg and the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. Gwynfi is boun ...

to the east;

Blaengarw Blaengarw is the uppermost village in the river valley (Cwm Garw) of the River Garw, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. In the English language Blaengarw means the rugged 'front' or 'head' of the valley. The population of Blaengarw ward ...

, Caerau and Maesteg West 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 ...

to the south east;

Bryn and Cwmavon Bryn and Cwmavon ( cy, Bryn a Chwmafan) is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, south Wales. The electoral ward comprises the parishes of Bryn and Cwmavon. Bryn and Cwmavon consists of some or all of the following areas: ...

to the southwest; and

Pelenna Pelenna is a community (civil parish) in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It largely covers the valleys of the rivers Pelenna and the Blaenpelenna, to the east of the town of Neath. The community includes the villages of Efail-fach, Tonmawr and Pontrh ...

to the west. In the 2008 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 48.23%. The results were: Only one nomination was received for the 2012 Local Council Elections, from the sitting councillor Scott Jones. Jones continued to be the councillor of Cymmer without a contest. In the 2017 local council elections, the results were: In July 2018, Councillor Scott Jones resigned the Labour whip. He therefore now sits as an independent.

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Cymer and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Neath Port Talbot Electoral wards of Neath Port Talbot Afan Valley