The legend relates to one of Arthur's tasks: to rid the western Brecon Beacons of the pack of wild boars that were terrorizing the people. Arthur chased the boars from Dyfed eastward towards Powys. On the Black Mountain, he picked up a large stone (the carreg fryn fras) and cast it towards the wild animals, striking dead the leader of the pack on the edge of a valley near Craig-y-Fran Gorge. The big boar's body rolled down the valley and into the river which is now the Afon Twrch. The big stone is still on the mountain.
The early history of Cwmtwrch is found in the records of the Manor of Palleg. This small estate was owned by the Aubrey family in the early 16th century. In 1595 was said tO include 20 farms scattered around the high ground to the north of the Twrch river. There was also a corn milL, Felin Palleg, close to the river.
The manor passed to the Morgan family of Tredegar House, Newport South Wales, by the late 18th century. They employed a gamekeeper to look after the estate. Local woodland would have been a source of charcoal for the early iron furnace at Ynyscedwyn from the 17th century onwards. The best of the mature hardwood trees from the area were felled and sold off during the early 19th century.
The now vanished Tir-y-gof Farm was used by drovers as a base where their cattle were shod on their long journeys to market. Alongside the industrial workers there were tailors, shoemakers and blacksmiths, publicans and shopkeepers. There were also numerous chapels in the village, namely Bethania Chapel (1851), Bethel Chapel (1861), Beulah Chapel (1893) and Capel Newydd (1930).
Ebeneser Rees (1848-1908), the founder of the "Llais Llafur" newspaper was raised in Cwmtwrch and is buried in the Beulah Chapel Cemetery, Palleg.
Cwmtwrch has been split into two parts, Upper Cwmtwrch (Cwm Twrch Uchaf) and Lower Cwmtwrch (Cwm Twrch Isaf), due to the traversing of the now defunct railway line and road at two points requiring an upper and lower gate.[1]
Cwm-twrch is the name of the electoral ward which covers the western quarter of the Ystradgynlaiscommunity and includes Cwmtwrch Isaf and Cwmtwrch Uchaf to the south.[3] In 2004 a slice of the neighbouring Neath Port Talbot ward of Ystalyfera, bordering Cwmtwrch Isaf, was transferred to the Cwm-twrch ward.[4] The ward elects one county councillor to Powys County Council.
A Cwmtwrch & Gurnos ward is represented by up to four town councillors on Ystradgynlais Town Council.[5]
The village football team, Cwmtwrch Wanderers AFC, is long established and successful having won the Neath Premier division on 16 occasions. They have also won 15 cups to make them the most successful team in the league's history.
Golf is played at Palleg Golf Club which is located in Lower Cwmtwrch. A mountain course, it was extended to eighteen holes through lottery funding.
References
^""Plaque dedicated to Carl Gregg Doney, located at entrance to Doney Hall"". doi:10.31096/wua9999-wp_0292_box_3. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Morgan, Sion (17 June 2013). "Meet the tiny Welsh village fighting back against rising fuel prices". Walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
cwmtwrch, welsh, pronunciation, ˈkʊmtʊrχ, village, valley, afon, twrch, right, bank, tributary, swansea, valley, wales, some, miles, north, swansea, also, name, electoral, ward, powys, county, council, natural, spring, actors, craig, russell, richard, corgan, . Cwmtwrch Welsh pronunciation ˈkʊmtʊrx is a village in the valley of the Afon Twrch a right bank tributary to the Swansea Valley Wales some 15 miles north of Swansea It is also the name of an electoral ward to Powys County Council Cwmtwrch natural spring Actors Craig Russell Richard Corgan and Steven Meo all come from the village The Sci Fi comedy horror film Canaries is set and was filmed in Cwmtwrch Contents 1 History and origins 2 Governance 3 Sport 4 References 5 External linksHistory and origins EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The name Cwmtwrch meaning Valley of the wild boar derives from the Twrch Trwyth a mythical wild boar of King Arthur s legends and the ancient Welsh folklore tales of the Mabinogion in early Welsh literature The legend relates to one of Arthur s tasks to rid the western Brecon Beacons of the pack of wild boars that were terrorizing the people Arthur chased the boars from Dyfed eastward towards Powys On the Black Mountain he picked up a large stone the carreg fryn fras and cast it towards the wild animals striking dead the leader of the pack on the edge of a valley near Craig y Fran Gorge The big boar s body rolled down the valley and into the river which is now the Afon Twrch The big stone is still on the mountain The early history of Cwmtwrch is found in the records of the Manor of Palleg This small estate was owned by the Aubrey family in the early 16th century In 1595 was said tO include 20 farms scattered around the high ground to the north of the Twrch river There was also a corn milL Felin Palleg close to the river The manor passed to the Morgan family of Tredegar House Newport South Wales by the late 18th century They employed a gamekeeper to look after the estate Local woodland would have been a source of charcoal for the early iron furnace at Ynyscedwyn from the 17th century onwards The best of the mature hardwood trees from the area were felled and sold off during the early 19th century The now vanished Tir y gof Farm was used by drovers as a base where their cattle were shod on their long journeys to market Alongside the industrial workers there were tailors shoemakers and blacksmiths publicans and shopkeepers There were also numerous chapels in the village namely Bethania Chapel 1851 Bethel Chapel 1861 Beulah Chapel 1893 and Capel Newydd 1930 Ebeneser Rees 1848 1908 the founder of the Llais Llafur newspaper was raised in Cwmtwrch and is buried in the Beulah Chapel Cemetery Palleg Cwmtwrch has been split into two parts Upper Cwmtwrch Cwm Twrch Uchaf and Lower Cwmtwrch Cwm Twrch Isaf due to the traversing of the now defunct railway line and road at two points requiring an upper and lower gate 1 Nearby is the town of Ystradgynlais and villages of Ystradowen 2 Rhiwfawr and Ystalyfera Governance EditCwm twrch is the name of the electoral ward which covers the western quarter of the Ystradgynlais community and includes Cwmtwrch Isaf and Cwmtwrch Uchaf to the south 3 In 2004 a slice of the neighbouring Neath Port Talbot ward of Ystalyfera bordering Cwmtwrch Isaf was transferred to the Cwm twrch ward 4 The ward elects one county councillor to Powys County Council A Cwmtwrch amp Gurnos ward is represented by up to four town councillors on Ystradgynlais Town Council 5 Sport EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Cwmtwrch is home to the rugby union team Cwmtwrch RFC a Welsh Rugby Union affiliated club with over a hundred years of history A resident is Clive Rowlands former Wales national rugby union team captain who also managed both the national team and the British Lions The village football team Cwmtwrch Wanderers AFC is long established and successful having won the Neath Premier division on 16 occasions They have also won 15 cups to make them the most successful team in the league s history Golf is played at Palleg Golf Club which is located in Lower Cwmtwrch A mountain course it was extended to eighteen holes through lottery funding References Edit Plaque dedicated to Carl Gregg Doney located at entrance to Doney Hall doi 10 31096 wua9999 wp 0292 box 3 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Morgan Sion 17 June 2013 Meet the tiny Welsh village fighting back against rising fuel prices Walesonline co uk Retrieved 26 August 2017 Election Maps Ordnance Survey Retrieved 26 September 2018 The Neath Port Talbot and Powys Cwmtwrch Order 2004 Legislation gov uk Retrieved 26 September 2018 Ystradgynlais Town Council members Ystradgynlais Town Council Retrieved 26 September 2018 External links Editgrid reference SN757112 Upper Cwmtwrch grid reference SN768102 Lower Cwmtwrch Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cwmtwrch amp oldid 1081684388, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
