Rhos is a village in the

Swansea Valley The Swansea Valley (; ) is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Nea ...

, located outside of

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community (Wales), community in the lower Swansea Valley (). it had a population of approximately 7,172 in the 2021 Census for Pontardawe Parish, and forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot. On the opp ...

, in

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 ...

county borough,

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 ( ...

, in the community of Cilybebyll.

History

Originally part of the Cilybebyll estate, the Primrose Colliery was developed from the mid-1800s, close to the village. On 13 October 1858, when owned by Morgan and Lewis, fumes of an engine boiler suffocated 14 men and boys, and 7 horses. After the disaster, it was redeveloped as the New Primrose Colliery, owned by Sir Ralph Howard, and by 1896 employed 307. It closed in the early 1900s, but from 1908 was revived as a pumping station for the Tarenni Colliery.

Today

Like many other villages in the former

South Wales Coalfield The South Wales Coalfield () extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, especially in the South Wales ...

, Rhos has seen phases of major building development within its boundaries bringing with it an influx of new residents to a community historically known for its own particular identity. There is one primary school serving the village, called Rhos Primary School. The nearest secondary school is Cwmtawe.

Government and politics

The

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 ...

includes some or all of the following settlements Cilybebyll, Gellinudd and Rhos in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

. Rhos is bounded by the wards of

Ystalyfera Ystalyfera is a former industrial village and community in the upper Swansea Valley, on the River Tawe, about northeast of Swansea. It is an electoral ward and a community in the unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, comprising a r ...

and Ynyscedwyn (of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

) to the north;

Crynant Crynant () is a village and community in the Dulais Valley in Wales. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, situated between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east and Mynydd y ...

to the east; Cadoxton to the south east;

Bryncoch North Bryncoch North is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales forming part of the parish of Blaenhonddan. Bryncoch North covers some or all of the following Areas: Bryncoch and Gilfach in the parliamentary constituency of Neat ...

to the south;

Alltwen Alltwen (or Allt-wen; translates to "white wooded slope") is a village in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. Alltwen forms part of the community of Cilybebyll and is administered separately from adjoining Pontardawe on the opposit ...

and

to the west and

Godre'r Graig Godre'r Graig is a village and an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The village developed alongside the coal workings at the Tarenni Colliery, which closed in 1949. In 2008 the community came together at a public meeti ...

to the northwest. In the 2017 local council elections, the electorate turnout was %. The results were: On 14 November 2019, a by-election was held following the resignation of Alex Thomas. The electorate turnout was 34%. The results were:

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Rhos and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Neath Port Talbot Electoral wards of Neath Port Talbot