Penywaun (also in ) is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

, electoral ward and north-western suburb of Aberdare in the

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of th ...

within the

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 ...

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vill ...

, Wales. At the 2011 census, the population of the ward was registered as 3,063.

Etymology

Penywaun derives from two common Welsh toponyms "Pen" meaning top or head and "Gwaun" meaning moorland. Writing in 1887, Rev. Thomas Morgan states that the toponym (which he spells "Penwaun") indicates the end of the moor known as the ''Hirwaun Gwrgant'' or Gwrgan's "Waun".

Background

Much of the local housing was built by the local Aberdare urban district council after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in several stages, starting with simple pre-fabricated houses. Shops and businesses trading in the village include a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, a

newsagent A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency ( Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of ...

s, hairdresser, a traditional

fish and chip Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...

shop, and three grocery-type stores, one opposite ''the Colliers Arms''

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. Most of the retail is in a retail precinct ('the Shopping Centre').

Schools

*Primary Schools **Penywaun

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

, near Coed Glas, educates approximately 252 pupils, aged 3 to 11. *Main secondary education schools are: **

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the Cynon Valley in the village of Penywaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, to the northwest of the town of Aberdare. The school was established on 1 September 1995. It provides a Welsh ...

a Welsh Medium comprehensive school, serving the village since 1995. ** Aberdare High School ** Aberdare Girls' School ** Bishop Hedley High School (a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

secondary school in Merthyr Tydfil) **St. John's The Baptist High School Of Aberdare. *Vocational and Further Education courses **

Coleg Morgannwg Coleg Morgannwg (English: ''Glamorgan College'') is a former further education college located at four main campuses across Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. In 2013, Coleg Morgannwg merged with Ystrad Mynach College to become Coleg y Cymoedd. The col ...

(Aberdare campus) is in the next village of

Trecynon Trecynon is a village near Aberdare situated in the Cynon Valley, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It dates from the early nineteenth century and developed as a result of the opening of the Aberdare Ironworks at Llwydcoed in 1800. Etymology The s ...

Culture

Saint Winifred Church - see photograph - (

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

) is in the centre of the village. St Lleurwg Church in Hirwaun is the sister church sharing (co-serving) the Parish of Hirwaun. Penywaun Workingmen's Club and Institute (PWCI) began in the village in 1959. Many successful singers and entertainers have performed here, including Sir Tom Jones shortly before his rise to stardom in the 1960s.

Politics

Penywaun is also an electoral ward for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. The County Borough Councillor until 2012 was Glyn Roberts (Labour), a long-serving Director of the Tower Colliery company. Since May 2012 the councillor has been Helen Boggis (Labour).

Sport, leisure and recreation

Penywaun F.C. plays soccer regularly in the Aberdare Valley Premier Division. Penywaun is also home to an award-winning

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the ...

group which meet regularly at Penywaun Community Centre. Two allotments (for gardening) are managed locally by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. Aberdare Park and

Dare Valley Country Park Dare Valley Country Park (Welsh: Parc Gwledig Cwm Dâr) is a public park in Wales. It lies near the village of Cwmdare and the town of Aberdare, Cynon Valley, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales. It comprises of woodlands, pasture and moorland mo ...

are within two miles.

Notable people

Kim Howells Kim Scott Howells (born 27 November 1946) is a Welsh Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd from 1989 to 2010, and held a number of ministerial positions within the Blair and Brown governments. Biography ...

- Welsh Labour politician and MP for Pontypridd, born in Merthyr Tydfil, but raised in Penywaun * Dai Young (rugby footballer) - Lived in Penywaun for many years with his parents

References

External links

2001 Census dataPenywaun Online, the local community magazinePenywaun on Flickr, a photo sharing website
{{authority control Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Aberdare Communities in Rhondda Cynon Taf Wards of Rhondda Cynon Taf