Bettws , () is a small ex-mining and farming village in the

South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys () are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run northsouth, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the ...

in the county borough of

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, Wales. Bettws is also 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 t ...

for the county council.

Bryngarw Country Park Bryngarw Country Park is made up of and is situated on the west bank of the Afon Garw, at the mouth of the Garw Valley in the Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The western boundary is marked by the Brynmenyn-Bettws road and the River Graw is its ...

is approximately one mile away, with a footpath leading there from the village. The village is around 3 miles away from Junction 36 on the

M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

, and is located to the west of

Llangeinor Llangeinor (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Llangeinwyr'') is a small village (and community council electoral ward) located in the Garw Valley around north of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The ward population taken at the United Kingdom ...

and to the north of

Brynmenyn Brynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school. Transport T ...

Geography

Bettws is located in the southern part of

Bridgend County Borough Bridgend County Borough () 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. Its members of the Senedd are Sarah Murphy ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. It is located north of the town of

and lies on the west side of the main A4064 road. It is on the

River Ogmore The River Ogmore () is a river in South Wales that is popular with Angling, anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Gilfach Goch, past Bridgend and Ogmore-by-Sea, Ogmore. The River Ogmore rises at Craig Ogwr (527 m ...

, and the

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

and Garw rivulets border the village on each side. The nearest communities to Bettws are

to the north-east, and

Llangynwyd Llangynwyd is a village (and electoral ward) 2 miles to the south of Maesteg, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. It was part of the medieval commote (Welsh: ''cwmwd'') of Tir Iarll. History and amenities The village is the site of Llang ...

to the west. The population of Bettws is around 2,400 according to The Betws LIFE Centre.

Etymology

The name of the village comes from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

word ''bedhus'', meaning "prayer house", which became ''betws'' in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

Governance

At the United Kingdom level Bettws is in the Welsh

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Ogmore, for which

Chris Elmore Christopher Philip James Elmore (born 23 December 1983) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bridgend, previously Ogmore, since 2016. He has been Comptroller of the Household (Government Whip) s ...

(Labour) has been MP since a by-election in 2016 which he won with a majority of 8,575. In the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

, Bettws is in the constituency of

for which

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones, Baron Jones of Penybont, (born 21 March 1967), is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He previously served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 20 ...

, the

First Minister of Wales The first minister of Wales () is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government po ...

, was the

Member of the Senedd A member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; ; , plural: ) is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd constituency, Senedd constituencies, a ...

from 1999 to 2021. For

European elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until 2019, 751 ...

Bettws was in the

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

constituency prior to 2020. At the county level, Bettws was from 1995 until 2022 an

for

Bridgend County Borough Council Bridgend County Borough Council () is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales. History Bridgend County Borough and its council came into effect from 1 April 1996, following the '' Local Government (W ...

, electing one county councillor. Until June 2012 this was Labour councillor Christopher Michaelides; but shortly after finishing his year as county mayor and a month after winning the 2012 elections, he died from cancer. Since 2022 Bettws has formed part of the three-member

Garw Valley Garw Valley () is a community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. As the name suggests, it follows and encompasses the valley of the River Garw. The community includes the village of Blaengarw ...

ward.

Demography

In the 2011 census Bettws village had 910 dwellings, 884 households and a population of 2,253 (1,093 males and 1,157 females). The average age of residents was 36 years. Of those aged between 16 and 74, 48.4% had no academic qualifications or only one

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

. According to the census, 707 people said they were economically inactive, but 117 of those were unemployed. Christianity was the majority religion in the village, with 978 individuals. There were 1061 recorded as having no religion and 195 whose religion was not stated.

Sport

Bettws F.C. are based in the village. The club also run numerous youth teams, including the successful under 19s.

Schools

Almost all children aged 3–11 attend Betws Primary School. When pupils complete Key Stage Two, 91% of students attend Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen (formerly

Ynysawdre Comprehensive School Ynysawdre Comprehensive School was a public secondary school located in Tondu in Bridgend County Borough which catered for ages between 11 and 18. Beginning in Autumn Term 2011, Ynysawdre Comprehensive officially closed and its former students ...

and

Ogmore School Ogmore Comprehensive school, formerly known as Ogmore Grammar School, was a secondary school located in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, UK. Ogmore Comprehensive School's mottos was “Preparing Pupils for life". The school was establi ...

), with a minority attending Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd (they formerly transferred to Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari) or

Brynteg Comprehensive School Brynteg School () is one of the largest secondary schools in Wales. It is located on Ewenny Road in Bridgend, Wales. The school is one of seven comprehensive schools in the County Borough of Bridgend and mainly receives pupils from the Brackla, ...

. Many special needs pupils go on to attend Ysgol Bryn Castell.

Leisure

Betws Eco Lodge is situated in the heart of the village. It caters for groups and individuals in a

bunkhouse A bunkhouse is a barracks-like building that historically was used to house working cowboys on ranches, or loggers in a logging camp in North America. As most cowboys were young single men, the standard bunkhouse was a large open room with narr ...

style. The project is run by The Youth of Bettws, a local charity for people between the ages of 7 and 25.

lies to the south.

Notable people

Griffith J. Griffith, philanthropist.

References

External links

The Garw Valley Web SiteBetwsecolodge.co.uk
{{authority control Villages in Bridgend County Borough Wards of Bridgend County Borough