Onllwyn

Coordinates: 51°46′42″N 3°40′48″W / 51.77845°N 3.67994°W / 51.77845; -3.67994
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about a village. For the hill of this name northwest of Merthyr Tydfil, see Penmoelallt.

Onllwyn
Onllwyn is located in Neath Port Talbot
Onllwyn
Onllwyn
Location within Neath Port Talbot
Population1,194 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid referenceSN842102
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEATH
Postcode districtSA10
Dialling code01639
PoliceSouth Wales
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
Neath
List of places
UK
Wales
Neath Port Talbot
51°46′42″N 3°40′48″W / 51.77845°N 3.67994°W / 51.77845; -3.67994

Onllwyn (Welsh pronunciation:

Seven Sisters. The community area also covers the small settlements of Dyffryn Cellwen and Banwen To the north is Coelbren, Powys, while to the east the Afon Pyrddin forms the boundaries of both Powys and the Brecon Beacons National Park
.

History

EWS Class 66 shunts empty coal wagons towards the coal washery

First developed by the Romans, the local village

Roman Road within the community.

For broader coverage of this topic, see Banwen
.

Local tradition has it that

St Patrick was born here and taken prisoner to Ireland[citation needed
] by Irish raiders. A memorial stone in Banwen is the focus of celebrations and marches held on March 17 to mark the event.

With over 200 years of

coal washery and coal processing plant. On the route of the former Neath and Brecon Railway, there was a freight only line to the coal washery from the South Wales Main Line at Neath. The site of the coal washery (and the nearby Nant Helen surface mine), is being redeveloped as the Global Centre of Rail Excellence.[2][3]

Onllwyn was involved in several 20th-century coal mining strikes which brought the town notoriety. The political, labour and cultural connections between Onllwyn and the American coal mining region known as Appalachia grew into an in-person cultural exchange in the 1970s. Musical acts were performed at Onllwyn Miners' Welfare Hall in 1976, including a performance by The Strange Creek Singers featuring American musicians Hazel Dickens, Alice Gerrard, Mike Seeger, Tracy Schwartz, and Lamar Grier. The exchange was facilitated and filmed by Helen Lewis and John Gaventa.[4]

Onllwyn was also the setting for

British miners' strike in 1984.[citation needed
]

Map
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1km
0.6miles
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▯
═ ═ ═
Roman road
Roman Road
▢
Roman
Marching
Camp
Roman Fort
Memorial Stone to St Patrick
St Patrick
Memorial Stone
Henrhyd Falls
Henrhyd
Waterfall
Henrhyd Falls
Dyffryn Cellwen
Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE)
GCRE
Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE)
Blast Furnaces at Banwen
Blast
Furnaces
Onllwyn Trygloyn Slant Coalmine
Onllwyn Trygloyn Slant
Onllwyn No 3 Slant Coalmine
Onllwyn
No 3 Slant
Onllwyn No 1 Coal mine
Onllwyn No 1
Coal mine
Map of Onllwyn area. Three of the larger 20th century coalmines are shown as grey dots.[5] Other locations of note are shown as red dots.

Present

Commanding views of the Brecon Beacons, this now semi-rural location is popular for retired people. There is a Community College, "Dove Workshops", village shop, post office, pub, and Association football and Rugby union teams.

Government and politics

Onllwyn is in the parliamentary constituency of Neath.

Following a 2020 boundary review by the

electoral ward, effective from the 2022 local elections.[6] Two councillors are elected to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
.

The former ward of Onllwyn consisted of some or all of the following settlements: Banwen, Dyffryn Cellwen and Onllwyn.

Onllwyn was bounded by the wards of

Tawe Uchaf (both in Powys) to the north; Glynneath to the southeast; and Seven Sisters
to the south west.

In the 2017 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 42%. The results were:

Candidate Party Votes Status
George Cawsey Labour 273 Labour hold
Peter Westall Independent 248

Residents of note

  • David Hywel Francis
    , was born in Onllwyn, and took as his bardic name "Dai o'r Onllwyn"

References

  1. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. ISSN 0307-5214
    .
  3. ISSN 0026-8356
    .
  4. ^ Tom Hansell, Patricia Beaver and Angela Wiley, "Keep Your Eye upon the Scale," southernspaces.org accessed 6 October 2022
  5. ^ "Glamorgan West - Onllwyn". welshcoalmines.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Review of the Electoral Arrangements of the County Borough of Neath Port Talbot" (PDF). Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. August 2020. pp. 24–25. Retrieved 28 June 2022.

External links

Further reading

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