Pontyates () is a village straddling two communities situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

and

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

West Wales West Wales () is a region of Wales. It has various definitions, either covering Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheubarth'', and an alternative definition is to include Swa ...

. The population in 2011 was 1,449.

General information

The village of Pontyates (or in Welsh called Pontiets)or the original name Tregwial offers a local garage, its own fire and rescue station, two bilingual primary schools, a fish and chip shop, a Chinese restaurant, a Tandoori restaurant, a cafe, a public house, a hairdressers and places of worship. The village is situated on the banks of the Gwendraeth Fawr river. It sits adjacent to the B4309 that runs between the towns of

and

which are both about 10 miles from the village. The village is primarily Welsh-speaking. Pontyates is set in a rural area which hosts impressive views of the surrounding valleys from the top of the hill. It is known to have two sides to the village, the

side and the

side, known locally as "pentre hyn" (this village) and "pentre draw" (that village), depending on which side the speaker stands. The population was around 4,000 in 1929, according to the parish entry of that year (Sourced from 'The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929').

Statistics

(According to National Statistics Online) *Average Age - 42 *Average Commute - 12.8 (miles) *Gender Ratio - 1.06 (female/male) *Population in Good Health - 58.3% *Students - 3%

History

From 1909 to 1953

Pontyates Pontyates () is a village straddling two communities situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. The population in 2011 was 1,449. General information The village of Pontyates (or ...

had its own railway station run by the

Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway The Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway (BP&GVR) was a mineral railway company that constructed a railway line in Carmarthenshire, Wales, by conversion of a canal, to connect collieries and limestone pits to the sea at Kidwelly. It extend ...

company.

was one of the stations that lay between

and the coal mine at Cwmmawr. The fact that the line was built down the old canal route meant that it was prone to flooding. The station at Pontyates was closed in 1953. Despite it being no longer in use, the railway line still runs across the road today and can be walked across as part of the mining heritage trail.

Origin of name

According to the

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

programme 'What's in a name'. 'Pontyates' is said to have been named after an English family, Yates. 'Pont' translates as 'bridge' in English and the Welsh word 'Y' means 'of'. This would mean the literal translation of Pontyates is Bridge-of-Yates. However, due to the name's similarity to the local word 'iet' meaning 'gate' the village is more commonly referred to as 'Pontiets'. A testament to this is the fact that both names appear on the welcome sign when entering the village. Another more realistic understanding of the origin of the village's name which locals believe is that 'iet' which means gate in Welsh was used as the village is the gateway to the Gwendreath Valley/Cwm Gwendraeth from the coast.

Sport

Pontyates is home to the rugby club Pontyates R.F.C. which plays in the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

, Division Five West Central League.

Notable people

Mandy Rice-Davies Marilyn Foreman (21 October 1944 – 18 December 2014), better known as Mandy Rice-Davies, was a Welsh model and showgirl best known for her association with Christine Keeler and her role in the Profumo affair, which discredited the Conservativ ...

- famous for her role in the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...

. *

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the Inside ...

- famous for her role as

Dot Cotton Dorothy "Dot" Cotton (also Branning) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', portrayed by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in f ...

in BBC's ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', was evacuated to the village during the Second World War. Reverend Professor Cyril Glyndwr Williams born at Frogmore,Pontyates.A leading authority on World Religions.

References

{{authority control Villages in Carmarthenshire Llanelli Rural