Glynneath ( ; also spelt ''Glyn-neath'' and ''Glyn Neath'') is a town,

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 ...

and

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 ...

lying on the

River Neath River Neath () is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay. Course U ...

in the county borough of

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhon ...

, Wales. It was formerly in the historic county of

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

. Glynneath ward covers only part of the community, with some 840 electors included in the neighbouring ward of Blaengwrach. Industrialisation reached Glynneath when coal mining started in 1793, and rapidly expanded when the Neath Canal came to the town in 1775. Many features of the old canal still survive to the present time. There are waterfalls to the north east at Pontneddfechan near the

Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons (; ) are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan (), its twin summit Corn Du (), and Craig Gwaun Taf (), which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons ha ...

and large parts of the rural area are heavily forested.

Notable buildings and structures

Glynneath is home to the ruins of Aberpergwm House. Once owned by Rhys ap Siancyn, Aberpergwm House became the home of the Williams family, Welsh gentry with a strong tradition of using the Welsh language over English. Their descendants include the last of the Welsh household bards

Dafydd Nicolas Dafydd Nicolas, or David Nicholas (c.1705 – 8 February 1774) was a Welsh poet. Life He was born in Llangynwyd, near Maesteg, Wales; the folklorist identified him as the Dafydd Nicolas baptised on 1 July 1705, son of Robert Nicolas and Anne R ...

and folksong collector Maria Jane Williams. The Williams' family motto ''y ddioddefws y orfu'' (He who suffers, triumphs) was adopted by

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Loca ...

. The mansion itself was remodelled in 1876 but is now derelict and little of note remains of the building. St. Cadoc's Church, in the grounds of Aberpergwm House, was built as a chapel in the 17th century, rebuilt in 1808-1809 for the Aberpergwm Williams family and extended in 1836–41. It is a Grade II* listed building. Rheola House, a Regency house designed c.1812 by the eminent architect John Nash, is also Grade II* listed. Glynneath Town Hall is a regularly used civic building situated at Heathfield Avenue. It is owned and managed by Glynneath Town Council. The Grade II* listed Bethania Community Centre on the High Street is an example of an early Calvinistic Methodist chapel with well detailed external frontage in contrasting stone and iron work railings. The interior has good examples of very finely detailed woodwork. A bronze statue of the singer Max Boyce, who was born in the town, was erected in the High Street, in September 2023, in recognition of Boyce's 80th birthday.

Sports and leisure

Glynneath used to host one of motor sport's most important challenges, the British round of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

(formerly known as the Lombard RAC rally or Rally GB). Some of the biggest names in motor sport have taken part and have failed to complete the British round. Glynneath also has an association with downhill

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

with the Welsh National Championships being held at Rheola. Glynneath is home to Glynneath RFC, a

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 ...

club founded in 1889. Glynneath also boasts an active group of football clubs and a well attended tennis club. Until recently, Glynneath Bowls Club, in particular the Ladies' Bowls Club was an active group. Glynneath Leisure Centre, maintained through Celtic Leisure is situated just off of Chain Road.

Notable residents

* The Anchoress, musician, was born in the town. * Max Boyce, comedian and singer, closely linked to Welsh rugby culture. * Julie Gardner, television producer, responsible for the successful relaunch of

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

. * Leslie Hardman,

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, who was among the liberators of

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

, was born in the town. * Ruth Madoc, actress, best known for her role as Gladys Pugh in the television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Hi-de-Hi!'' * Siwan Morris, actress, who has appeared in the television series '' Belonging'', '' Caerdydd'', and '' Skins''. * Glyn Prosser; Glynneath RFC, Neath RFC,

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 ...

rugby union & Huddersfield RLFC rugby league footballer. * January Rees, Wales women's rugby union player, comedian * Emlyn Walters, Bradford Northern and

rugby league footballer.

Twin Town

Glynneath is twinned with Pont-Évêque, France, since 1993. The town twinning supports football matches between the two towns, and a visit by Glynneath Male Voice Choir.

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Glynneath and surrounding areaGlynneath Town Council website

References

{{authority control Towns in Neath Port Talbot Communities in Neath Port Talbot Vale of Neath