Cwmtwrch () is a village in the valley of the Afon Twrch, a right-bank tributary to the Swansea Valley, Wales, 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 ...

. It is also the name of 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 Powys County Council. Actors Craig Russell, Richard Corgan and Steven Meo all come from the village. The Sci Fi comedy horror film Canaries is set and was filmed in Cwmtwrch.

History and origins

The name Cwmtwrch (meaning ''Valley of the wild boar'') derives from the " Twrch Trwyth", a mythical wild boar of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

's legends and the ancient Welsh folklore tales of the

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...

in early Welsh literature. The legend relates to one of Arthur's tasks: to rid the western

Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons ( cy, Bannau Brycheiniog, ) are a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of Old Red Sandstone peaks which lie to the south of Brecon. Sometimes referred to as "the central Beacons" t ...

of the pack of wild boars that were terrorizing the people. Arthur chased the boars from Dyfed eastward towards Powys. On the Black Mountain, he picked up a large stone (the ''carreg 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 the Afon 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 was said tO include 20 farms scattered around the high ground to the north of the Twrch river. There was also a corn milL, Felin 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 lower gate. Nearby is the town of Ystradgynlais and villages of

Ystradowen Ystradowen is a small village twelve miles west of Cardiff, located in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales; its nearest town is Cowbridge which is about three miles to the south. The village was served by Ystradowen railway station between 18 ...

Rhiwfawr Rhiwfawr is a village of just under 100 houses in the Swansea Valley, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Location Most of the village is high upon a ridge overlooking Cwmtwrch and most of the houses are over above sea level. The maj ...

and Ystalyfera.

Governance

Cwm-twrch is the name of the

which covers the western quarter of the Ystradgynlais community and includes Cwmtwrch Isaf and Cwmtwrch Uchaf to the south. In 2004 a slice of the neighbouring Neath Port Talbot ward of Ystalyfera, bordering Cwmtwrch Isaf, was transferred to the Cwm-twrch ward. The ward elects one county councillor to Powys County Council. A Cwmtwrch & Gurnos ward is represented by up to four town councillors on Ystradgynlais Town Council.

Sport

Cwmtwrch is home to the rugby union team Cwmtwrch RFC a Welsh Rugby Union affiliated club with over a hundred years of history. A resident is Clive Rowlands, former Wales national rugby union team captain, who also managed both the national team and the British Lions. The village football team, Cwmtwrch Wanderers AFC, is long established and successful having won the Neath Premier division on 16 occasions. They have also won 15 cups to make 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.

References

External links

* – Upper Cwmtwrch * – Lower Cwmtwrch {{authority control Villages in Powys Wards of Powys Swansea Valley