Gurnos is a

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 ...

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Merthyr Tydfil County Borough () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. In , it had an estimated population of , making it the smallest local authority in Wales by population. It is located 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 ...

, United Kingdom. It consists principally of the Gurnos Estate. The population in 2011 5,280.

Background

The Gurnos Estate is a large

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...

established by Merthyr Tydfil Council in the early 1950s and expanded over many years. Many of the initial streets were named after trees; such as

Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

and

Rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

. A major expansion took place during the 1970s, including the building of Prince Charles Hospital. Streets on 1970s development were named after flowers and shrubs; such as

Lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

, Heather,

Lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet, is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centres of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centres occur in No ...

and

Forsythia ''Forsythia'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the olive family Oleaceae. There are about 11 species, mostly native to Eastern Asia, but one native to Southeastern Europe. ''Forsythia'' – also one of the plant's common names – is named ...

, with the exception of the three most recent areas known as ''Pen-Gurnos'', ''Pen-y-Dre'' and ''Pen-y-Fan View''. The area built since the 1970s is still often referred to locally as ''The New Estate''. The community population at the 2011 census was 5,280. The area was formerly open land, including the long-established Gurnos Farm. It also encompassed the notoriously dangerous Goitre Pond. The design and planning of the Gurnos estate borrows ideas from the Radburn system. The estate has become notorious throughout Wales, with the reputation of being an area of deprivation and crime. The Gurnos Tavern, one of the two community centres and many of the maisonette flats were demolished to make greener areas during the late 1990s.

Amenities

The Gurnos estate includes a main small shopping centre at Chestnut Way, known locally as ''The Gurnos Shops'', a social club ( ''The Gurnos Club''), and a community centre, all located within a few yards of each other. Other shops were also part of the estate's design at Pen-Gurnos and Clover Road. There have also been two

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s, the ''Gurnos Tavern'' and later ''The Matchstick Man'', named after late boxer

Johnny Owen John Richard Owens (7 January 1956 – 4 November 1980) was a Welsh professional boxer who fought under the name Johnny Owen. His seemingly fragile appearance earned him many epithets, including the "Merthyr Matchstick" and the "Bionic B ...

, however both have since closed. The Clover Road Stores are a small shopping section on Clover Road. They have a

Convenience Store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...

, and also a

Fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

. In 1999 the 3Gs Development Trust was established to work with the communities of the Gurnos and Galon Uchaf, offering support, information and developmental activities. The trust's offices are based at ''The Gurnos Shops'', together with other centres including a youth centre at Forsythia Close. The name ''3Gs'' illustrates the local perception that there are two estates, separated by

Prince Charles Hospital Prince Charles Hospital () is a district general hospital in Gurnos, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. It is managed by the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. History Construction of the first phase of the new hospital began in 1972 and it was off ...

; the ''Old Gurnos'' and the ''New Estate''; being two of the Gs, together with Galon Uchaf being the third. Penydarren was later added to the 3Gs remit and by 2013 the organisation's remit was expanded to include other wards as the Communities First North Cluster. The only

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the area is Pen-Y-Dre High School, there are also two

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 ...

s; Goetre Primary School and St Aloysius Roman Catholic Primary School.

References

External links

Old Merthyr Tydfil: Gurnos
- Historical Photographs of the Gurnos.
www.geograph.co.uk : photos of the Gurnos and surrounding area
{{Merthyr Tydfil Communities in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Merthyr Tydfil