Nant-y-moel or Nantymoel (meaning "stream from the bare mountain") is a village and includes the formerly separate village of Pricetown in the county borough of

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, Wales on the

River Ogmore The River Ogmore () is a river in South Wales that is popular with Angling, anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Gilfach Goch, past Bridgend and Ogmore-by-Sea, Ogmore. The River Ogmore rises at Craig Ogwr (527 m ...

, and is one of the constituent villages of the Ogmore Valley. It is bordered by the village of Wyndham to the south and by the Bwlch y Clawdd mountain to the north.

History

As with the rest of the Ogmore Valley, it was mainly a farming community up until the middle of the 19th century when

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

became widespread across

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. The last coal mine (Wyndham/Western Colliery) closed in 1983, resulting in high unemployment at that time. Most residents today now travel to

or other larger towns for work. Part of the former colliery site is home to Aberfields (known locally as The Planka), which hosts a number of community sports and leisure activities. Since 19 August 2023 Aberfields has hosted a free, weekly 5 km parkrun.

Politics

Nantymoel is the name of an

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 ...

Bridgend County Borough Council Bridgend County Borough Council () is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales. History Bridgend County Borough and its council came into effect from 1 April 1996, following the '' Local Government (W ...

. Prior to 1996, Nantymoel was a ward to Ogwr Borough Council, electing one councillor.

Transport

The A4061 road passes through the village and goes north over Bwlch y Clawdd where it links to

Treorchy Treorchy (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of t ...

and the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'la ...

to the north and the

A4107 The A4107 road is an A road in Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. It begins in Port Talbot and heads up the Afan Valley in a north easterly direction. It then continues over the moors eastwards until it connects with the A4061 road sou ...

that goes west. The Bwlch, and surrounding large hillsides, offers a far-reaching view of the surrounding countryside. On a clear day, it is possible to see

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

over the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

to the south, and 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 ...

mountain range to the north.

Education

The primary school was one of the few in the whole valley that did not close in July 2003 and merge with the new Ogmore Primary School. It was refurbished in 2002 to combine with the nursery school that had previously closed.

Notable people

Lynn Davies Lynn Davies CBE (born 20 May 1942) is a Welsh former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He was the 1964 Olympic champion in the event. Early life Davies was born in Nantymoel near Bridgend and was a member of the ...

, Olympic athlete. *

John Forrester-Clack John Forrester-Clack is an Australian artist who won the 2009 Capital Chemist Art Prize (formerly the Brindabella Art Prize) and was a finalist in the 2011 and 2012 Dobell Prize. Clack's signature is the sign of the cross plus the word Amen, ...

, artist. *

Windsor Davies Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted ...

, actor.

References

{{authority control Villages in Bridgend County Borough