Croeserw is a village of approximately 1,380 inhabitants in

Gwynfi and Croeserw 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 bound ...

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 ...

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 level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

Origins

It takes its name from the Croeserw Farm and ' woollen factory', possibly of the

Elizabethan period The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

, which was demolished for road widening of the

A4107 road A41 may refer to: * A41, War Office Inventions Branch * ''A41'' (album), a studio album by All-4-One * Queen's Pawn Game, Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code * Samsung Galaxy A41, a smartphone * Vultee XA-41, an American World War II attack proto ...

in 1982. A stone monument now marks the position where the farm once stood. Croeserw, meaning 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 ...

'Crossing-acre' (Croes = Cross/crossing + Erw = acre) refers possibly to the road crossings where the lip of the Afan Valley meets the upper reaches of the

Llynfi Valley The River Llynfi, cy, Afon Llynfi, is one of three main tributaries of the River Ogmore ( cy, Afon Ogwr). It runs for around 10 miles from its source north of Maesteg and flows generally southwards through the Llynfi Valley to the confluence w ...

Amenities

Old Croeserw consists of the older buildings and the large cemetery on the hill overlooking the A4107. New Croeserw, higher up the hill, consists mainly of post-war public housing, many of which are now private. A cluster of retail outlets including a post office, a former

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

supermarket, now family-run, and an older hotel-pub are also located in New Croeserw. There is also an industrial park, and a primary school. Croeserw is surrounded on all sides by

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct Summit (topography), summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally con ...

s and

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s: * Rhiw Llech Mountain: North of Croeserw, meaning 'Slate Slope Mountain', rises to 390 metres above sea level. * Gelli Mountain: North-East of Croeserw. Gelli means Grove. The mountain takes its name from the nearby Gelli Farm. The mountain rises to 450m above sea level. *

Caerau Mountain Caerau may refer to: * Caerau, Anglesey, a hamlet on Anglesey, north Wales * Caerau, Bridgend, a village near Maesteg, south Wales ** Caerau F.C., Maesteg ** Caerau railway station * Caerau (Bridgend electoral ward), an electoral ward in Maesteg ...

: South-East of Croeserw. Caerau means 'forts'. The mountain takes its name from nearby Caerau. The mountain rises to 556m above sea level. * Foel Fawr Mountain: West of Croeserw, meaning 'Great Peak', rises to 347m above sea level.

History

A woollen farm has existed in Croeserw since pre-Industrial times. In the 19th century, Old Croeserw was developed as part of the expansion of

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

into the upper reaches of the Afan Valley. Local mines included Scatton, Avon and Dyffryn

coal pits 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 ...

as well as numerous

drift mines Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is above ...

. In order to meet the energy demand New Croeserw was developed to house mining families to service the burgeoning coal mines. These houses were substantially refurbished by the local authority in the 1980s/1990s. In 1982 the old Croeserw Farmhouse was demolished. After the

mine closure Mine closure is the period of time when the ore-extracting activities of a mine have ceased, and final decommissioning and mine reclamation are being completed. It is generally associated with reduced employment levels, which can have a significant ...

s, Croeserw experienced an economic downturn. Today, the main industries around Croeserw consist of light manufacturing,

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

, forestry and farming. There is also a high level of

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

and a large part of the population in retirement. It is hoped that the development of tourism and leisure facilities will provide further employment opportunities. Croeserw is well-served by regular direct bus services to

Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

and

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 ...

, including road links to

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and the M4. Recent developments include the

Afan Forest Park The Afan Forest Park (formally and locally known as Afan Argoed Country Park) is a forest park in Britain. It is set in the Afan Valley in Neath Port Talbot, in south Wales. It is well known for its mountain biking and hiking or hillwalking tr ...

(also known as Afan Argoed Country Park) Visitor Centre, the South Wales Mining Museum near Cynonville, and the Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Centre and Ponds.

Sport

Football

* Croeserw Athletic F.C. based in Croeserw is founded in 2010.

Transport links

A4063 road The A4063 links the town of Bridgend with Cymer in Wales. Settlements on route Settlements served by the route include: *Bridgend *Wild Mill * Pen-y-fai * Sarn *Aberkenfig *Tondu * Coytrahen *Llangynwyd * Cwmfelin *Maesteg * Nantyffyllon * Dyf ...

Croeserw to Caerau: to the upper Llynfi valley. #

Croeserw to Cwmavon #A4107 Croeserw to The Bwlch yr Afan (meaning Afan Mountain Pass) #

A4061 road The A4061 is the main road linking Bridgend with Hirwaun via the Ogmore and Rhondda Valleys in South Wales. It is a mix of streets connecting former mining communities, and mountain passes built as relief work for unemployed miners. The road ...

The Bwlch to

Treorchy Treorchy ( cy, Treorci; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 c ...

: to the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

. #A4061 The Bwlch to

Nantymoel Nant-y-moel or Nantymoel (meaning "stream from the bare mountain") is a village and includes the formerly separate village of Pricetown in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales on the River Ogmore, and is one of the constituent villages of the ...

: to the

Ogmore Valley Ogmore Valley ( cy, Cwm Ogwr) is a community in the Bridgend County Borough, Mid Glamorgan, Wales. Made up of the villages of Nantymoel, Ogmore Vale, Price Town and Wyndham, its population at the time of the 2001 census was 7,800, increasing to ...

Windfarms

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 ...

aims to achieve 10% of all energy from

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

sources by the year 2010. Under the TAN8 plan, 38% of all potential sites within Wales have been located within Neath Port Talbot. NPowerRenewables recently completed 16 300 ft

windfarm 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 to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

turbines on Ffynnon Oer. Spanish-owned

Gamesa Gamesa (formerly Galletera Mexicana S.A. de C.V. "Mexican Biscuit Company") is Mexico's largest manufacturer of cookies. The company also makes flour, ready to eat cereals and other related products. It is headquartered in San Nicolás de los Gar ...

plans to build 14 603 ft turbines, four on Blaencorrwg, and 10 on Gelli Mountain, which stands directly above Croeserw. Cardiff-based

Eco2 Eco may refer to Ecology or Economics. It may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Eco'' (video game), a 1988 life simulation game * Eco (2018 video game), a 2018 simulation game * ''Emil Chronicle Online'', a 2005 Japanese MMO computer ...

plans to build 4 410 ft turbines on Corrwg Fechan overlooking Glyncorrwg. There is widespread concern that these constructions will drive away the much-needed tourism in an area that is struggling to get back on its feet. The opposition to these plans is led by Glyncorrwg Action Group,Glyncorrwg Action Group
/ref> which is also spearheading a drive with local MP Dr

Hywel Francis David Hywel Francis (6 June 1946 – 14 February 2021) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberavon from 2001 to 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he chaired the Welsh Affairs Committee from 2005 to 2010 and ...

to designate the Afan Valley as an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

References

External links

* http://www.afanforestpark.co.uk/ * http://www.diggingupthepast.org.uk/swmm.html * http://www.CroeserwAthletic.page.tl {{authority control Villages in Neath Port Talbot Electoral wards of Neath Port Talbot Afan Valley