Betws (; ) is a small village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

on the

River Amman The River Amman () is a river of south Wales, which joins the River Loughor at Pantyffynnon. The source of the Amman is on the Black Mountain. The river name is said to derived from the Welsh word ' "pig, piglet", reflecting the way in whic ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, Wales, some 15 miles north of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

; it is part of the ecclesiastical

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of ''Betws and

Ammanford Ammanford ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population of 5,445, and the wider built up area had a population of 8,285. Ammanford is se ...

'', and the urban area of Ammanford. The nearby mountain, at the western end of the Black Mountain, is named after the village, and has a large area of

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

History and location

The name 'Betws' is generally thought to be derived from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

'bed-hus' - a house of prayer, or oratory, and means "chapel" in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

. Until the 19th century, when Ammanford developed extensively, Betws was the largest village in the area.Locksmith, WTH (1999) ''Ammanford: Origin of Street Names & Notable Historical Records'' LDGowerLordship

Until the 13th century, Betws was part of Gower, which is now known as the county of

but the old

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

border of the rivers Amman and

Loughor Loughor (; ) is a town in Swansea, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically in Glamorgan, it lies on the estuary of the River Loughor (). The town has a community (Wales), community council under the name Llwchwr. The town is bordered by ...

moved south and Betws has since the Acts of Union been part of Welsh-speaking

. Article including Cowley Map of 1744, Kitchen Map of 1764, Carey Map of 1794 and Lewis Map 1833. Until 1817, when a road was built along the Amman valley, Betws was only accessible by roads crossing the mountain from

Neath Neath (; ) 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 population of 19,2 ...

and

. This inaccessibility is commemorated in a local saying, which refers to the division between ''Betws a'r Byd'' (Betws and the world). There was a sign on the Amman bridge to this effect: Betws this way, the rest of the world that way. The people of Betws like to make the distinction between themselves and those over the river in

. The road bridge between Betws and Ammanford on Park Street was completed in 1892 and rebuilt in 1990 by T Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd. T. Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd. ('TRJ') is a major building contractor, originally based in the village but now located on the Ammanford side of the river. The land for Betws Park was given to Ammanford district Council by

Lord Dynevor Baron Dinevor, of Dinefwr Castle, Dinevor in the County of Carmarthen (usually spelt Dynevor or Dinefwr), is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 17 October 1780 for William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, with remainder to his da ...

in 1903, but the council used it as a rubbish dump until the early 1930s. After this, it was properly developed by local volunteers as a park with

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s. On 23 June 2007, a new 'Memorial and Sensory Garden' was opened in the park. Betws Park Workshops are a collection of industrial units rented by various businesses. The workshops were opened in 1991, having previously been a screw manufacturing factory (1970–1981) and a lightbulb factory (1983–1986). The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the village is dedicated to St David. It dates to the 14th century but was renovated in 1872.''Betws'' - part of the Amman & Loughor Heritage Trails series of leaflets. Betws

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

was built before 1846, extended in 1928 and refurbished in 1988. The Caemawr housing estate was built in 1947, and the Bwtrimawr estate in 1976. Ammanford No. 1 (1890–1925) and No. 2 (1891–1976)

Collieries Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. 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 extrac ...

were at the north end of Betws. The Tycoch nightclub now occupies some Ammanford No. 1 buildings. Betws drift

coal 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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

mine opened in 1976 and closed in 2003 and the land is being redeveloped as housing and industrial units, including LBS Builders Merchants. There are plans to build a

wind farm A wind farm, also called a wind park 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 turbines covering an exten ...

on Betws Common. 75.1% of residents of Betws and Pontamman said they had 'knowledge of

' compared to 63.6% in

and 28.4% in

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 ...

. As of May 1, 2008, the Betws ward electorate was 1,450 and the County Councillor is Audrey Jones (Independent), replacing John Dorian Evans (Labour). The

is bordered by the communities of: Llanedi;

; Llandybie; and Cwmamman, all being in Carmarthenshire; and by Mawr in the

City and County of Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Sports

Betws Rugby Club currently fields two

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

teams: The first team finished 1st in WRU League Five South West in 2007–8 season and the second team finished bottom of Llanelli District Division 1. Ammanford football club have a ground at Rice Street, Betws, which is currently being reconstructed.

Notable people

Harry Grindell Matthews Harry Grindell Matthews (17 March 1880 – 11 September 1941) was an English inventor who claimed to have invented a death ray in the 1920s. Early life and inventions Harry Grindell Matthews was born on 17 March 1880 in Winterbourne, Glouces ...

(1880–1941), an English inventor who claimed to have invented a death ray; he had a laboratory on Betws mountain from 1934. * David Rees Griffiths (1882–1953), bardic name of ''Amanwy'', a Welsh poet, and an older brother of Jim Griffiths. * Jim Griffiths (1890–1975), first

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales (), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Ki ...

and MP for

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

lived at the corner of Pentwyn Road and Park Street, where his father William was the village

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

(an anvil stands outside the house that occupies the site today). *

Donald Peers Donald Rhys Hubert Peers (10 July 1908 – 9 August 1973) was a Welsh people, Welsh singer of traditional pop. His best remembered rendition and signature song was "In a Shady Nook by a Babbling Brook". Biography Early life Donald Peers was b ...

(1908–1973), balladeer, was brought up in Heol-y-felin. *

Ivor Richard, Baron Richard Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, (30 May 1932 – 18 March 2018) was a British Labour politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 until 1974. He was also a member of the European Commission and latterly sat as a life pee ...

PC, QC (1932–2018) was born in Betws and attended Betws Primary School. *

Terry Magee Terry Magee (born 1 November 1964, Belfast) is a retired professional Irish boxer. Magee, the older brother of Eamonn and Noel, fought at Light Middleweight but also fought at heavier weights towards the end of his career. Background Magee g ...

(born 1964), charity volunteer and former boxer; lives locally.Ammanford Fire Station's page about Terry Magee's fundraising; although most articles give his hometown as Ammanford, the postal town which includes Betws; this page includes an article which states that he lives in Betws

Wildlife

A wide variety of birds can be seen around Betws.

Red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other Diurnality, diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harrier (bird), harriers. The species currently breeds only i ...

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Easte ...

kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...

and sparrowhawks can be found on the mountain, whilst

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

and

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

can be seen on the river. The woods are home to jay and green woodpecker.

References

External links