Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is located five mile east of the nearest town of Ammanford and nearly fifteen miles north of Swansea. Nearby villages include Cwmgors, Lower Brynaman & Tairgwaith,.

The name Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is believed to be an alteration of what was originally gwaun cegerwen (i.e. "white hemlock heath" in Welsh, ceger being a dialect form of cegid).[2] In local usage, the name is often shortened to "Y Waun", meaning "the heath" in Welsh.

Gwaun-cae-Gurwen was a mining village in the west Wales anthracite district. There were six or seven pits in the early 1920s.[3]

Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Gwauncaegurwen (Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Welsh Primary School) used to be on Heol y Dŵr (Water Street) which is where the Pwll y Wrach estate is based. It has since been moved to Heol Newydd (New Road), overlooking the village, and the former school transformed into a wood workshop.

Secondary-age children in the area have the choice of going to Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera in Ystalyfera (for full Welsh-medium education),[4] Ysgol Dyffryn Aman (for Welsh- and English-medium education),[5] or Cwmtawe Community School (for English-medium education).[6]

The Welsh language is very strong in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, with the highest proportion of Welsh-speakers being among the young. The Welsh Language Board reported in 2009 that:

In areas such as Gwaun Cae Gurwen (67.9%) and Brynaman Isaf (68%) [...] Welsh is a natural community language spoken in the street, in cafés and amongst third sector organisations. Perhaps the most notable fact is that the highest percentage of Welsh speakers is amongst 10–19 year olds.[7]

As of 2017 the area was represented in the House of Commons by Christina Rees, and in the National Assembly for Wales by Jeremy Miles; they both represent the Neath constituency. Its South Wales West regional assembly members are Suzy Davies (Welsh Conservatives), Dai Lloyd and Bethan Jenkins (Plaid Cymru), and Caroline Jones (UKIP). It has a Community Council.

The electoral ward mentioned above has a population taken at the 2011 census of 2,910.[8]

Cwmgors RFC play their home games at Parc-y-werin, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen. Their clubhouse is also situated at New Road, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen.

• Sir Gareth Edwards, former Wales and British and Irish Lions player; a street, Maes Gareth Edwards, is named after him
• Dame Siân Phillips, actress
• Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Llandaff

At one time, almost all of the land of The Waun was owned by the Jones Family who also owned the "Pwll-y-Wrach Estate". It was run by the Head and later by their sons (and spouses). They still own parts of the land of the village but most has been sold off. Both farmhouses connected to the Estate are still standing. They are: Pwll-y-Wrach and Glangwrach. Pwll y Wrach is the main house where the head of the family lived.

It is no longer a farming estate but remains to own much of the land in the village. The name means the Witch's Pool in English, because of an old Welsh myth that the witches lived in it because of the greeny-blue colour and would sometimes come out to haunt the locals.

• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and surrounding area
• Gwaun Cae Gurwen Community Council website