Gowerton ( ) is a large 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 ...

, about northwest of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the

Gower Peninsula The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards th ...

. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within the Gowerton electoral ward of the City and County of Swansea Council, which elects one councillor. The

had a population of 5,212 and the built-up area with Waunarlwydd 8,183. In 1980, the Welsh

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

(named after ''Dyffryn Lliw'', see below) was held at the Elba sports complex in the village. The Eisteddfod stone (

Gorsedd stones Gorsedd stones () are groups of standing stones constructed for the National Eisteddfod of Wales. They form an integral part of the druidic Gorsedd ceremonies of the Eisteddfod. The stones can be found as commemorative structures throughout Wale ...

) is located on the roundabout (grid ref. 585966) on the B4295 road to Penclawdd.

Geography

Nearby villages/towns are Penclawdd (west), Three Crosses and

Dunvant Dunvant (, and ) is a suburban district and Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and falls within the Dunvant (electoral ward), Dunvant ward. It is situated in a valley some 4.5 miles west of Swansea city ce ...

(south), Waunarlwydd (east, contiguous with Gowerton), Gorseinon (north) 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 ...

(north-west). From 1974 to 1966, Gowerton was part of the district of Lliw Valley (''Dyffryn Lliw'') within West Glamorgan. People from Gowerton are often referred to as "starch". When the local area processed steel for export, the steel owners and white-collar workers lived in the Gowerton area; hence the name "

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...

". On the other hand, many of the manual workers resided in neighbouring Penclawdd and are known by the affectionate term "donks". Gowerton is twinned with

La Gacilly La Gacilly (; Gallo: ''La Gaczilhae'', ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. It is located on the right bank of the Aff River, about north of Redon, on the train line between Vannes and Rennes and a ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Politics

Gowerton elects a

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

of thirteen members in two wards: East and West.

Education

Gowerton has three schools: Gowerton Primary school, Gowerton Comprehensive School and Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr (Welsh medium comprehensive school).

Religion

Gowerton once had five church or chapel buildings: St John's Church (built 1882), Tabernacl (opened 1893) Temple United Reformed Church (opened 1888), Bethel (opened 1873) and Bethania (opened 1891). However, only two, St John's Church and Temple URC, still remain. Bethel has lain in ruins for two decades and both Tabernacl and Bethania have been demolished.

Transport

Bus services are provided by

First Cymru First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. With its headquarters previously in Swansea, it is now part of the First Wales and West region which also covers Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Bath and ...

and NAT. These depart Gowerton from Hill Street or Sterry Road.

provide a half-hourly service (no. 16) through the village to

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 ...

and Gorseinon. Gowerton railway station is on the West Wales Line, between Swansea and Llanelli. Gowerton once had two railway stations, but today only one remains. This was made single-track in 1986. Work began in November 2012 to restore the double track to Gowerton by mid-2013, this has now been completed.

Sport

The local rugby club is Gowerton RFC. Gowerton's Elba Sports Complex is home to Swansea Senior League Second Division, Gowerton FC. Gowerton has a golf range and a nine-hole, par 3 golf course.

References

External links

Gowerton local historyGowerton primary school
{{authority control Communities in Swansea Villages in Swansea Swansea Bay (region)