Rhos is a village in the

Swansea Valley The Swansea Valley ( cy, Cwm Tawe) is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Sw ...

, located outside of

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county ...

, in

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot ( cy, Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf ...

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 te ...

, South Wales, in the community of Cilybebyll.

History

Originally part of the Cilybebyll estate, the Primrose Colliery was developed from the mid-1800s, close to the village. On 13 October 1858, when owned by Morgan and Lewis, fumes of an engine boiler suffocated 14 men and boys, and 7 horses. After the disaster, it was redeveloped as the New Primrose Colliery, owned by Sir Ralph Howard, and by 1896 employed 307. It closed in the early 1900s, but from 1908 was revived as a pumping station for the Tarenni Colliery.

Today

Like many other villages in the former

South Wales Coalfield The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espe ...

, Rhos has seen phases of major building development within its boundaries bringing with it an influx of new residents to a community historically known for its own particular identity. There is one primary school serving the village, called Rhos Primary School. The nearest secondary school is Cwmtawe.

Government and politics

The electoral ward includes some or all of the following settlements Cilybebyll, Gellinudd and Rhos in the

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 Neath. Rhos is bounded by the wards of

Ystalyfera Ystalyfera is a former industrial village and community (Wales), community in the upper Swansea Valley, on the River Tawe, about northeast of Swansea. It is an ward (politics), electoral ward and a community (Wales), community in the unitary a ...

and Ynyscedwyn (of

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

) to the north;

Crynant Crynant ( cy, Y Creunant) is a village and community in the Dulais Valley in Wales. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, situated between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east ...

to the east; Cadoxton to the south east;

Bryncoch North Bryncoch North is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales forming part of the parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the past ...

to the south;

Alltwen Alltwen (or Allt-wen; translates to "white wooded slope") is a village in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. Alltwen forms part of the community of Cilybebyll and is administered separately from adjoining Pontardawe on the opposit ...

and

to the west and

Godre'r Graig Godre'r Graig is a village and an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The village developed alongside the coal workings at the Tarenni Colliery, which closed in 1949. In 2008 the community came together at a public meeti ...

to the northwest. In the 2017 local council elections, the electorate turnout was %. The results were: On 14 November 2019, a by-election was held following the resignation of Alex Thomas. The electorate turnout was 34%. The results were:

References

External links

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