Crynant
Encyclopedia
Crynant is a village
in the Dulais Valley
, lying between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east and Mynydd y Drum to the north. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath
in Neath Port Talbot
, Wales
.
Crynant is a long village, lying on the narrow valley floor and lower slopes of Hirfynydd. Originally there were separate villages (essentially separate farms), such as the region of Treforgan, but all have now merged into a single village. The river Dulais flows through the village.
Creunant is also the name of an electoral ward and a community
, coterminous with the village, in Neath Port Talbot County Borough
.
, like many Welsh place names, in description. 'Creu' (or nghreu) meaning the creation, or beginning, and 'nant' meaning stream. On the other hand, others might say Creu means a pound as in animal pound by the stream, a pound was known to have been sited on ground opposite the Red Lion. as a settlement Creunant has a long history proven in archaeology
dating back to the early Bronze Age, there is the site of a Bronze Age burial ground which lies to the north of Coed Du farm (the Roman road
Sarn Helen
was built along the crest of Hirfynydd above the village nearly 2,000 years ago).[citation?] There may have been Celtic and even pre-Celtic settlements here earlier.
In the Middle Ages
, there was a small monastic cell in Crynant where monk
s and other pilgrim
s would break their journeys. The village first appeared on maps as Capel Creunant (Creunant Chapel) which may have referred to the monastic outpost. Crynant remained a rural
agricultural community of scattered farms until the 19th century, and the discovery of coal.
The first colliery was Maes Mawr Colliery opened in 1874 and can still be seen at the site of the old Blaenant Colliery at the top end of Brynawel Pen Pentre, a terrace of old cottages, the first street to be built in the village. Men seeking work down the mines began arriving in Creunant, and the current village started taking shape, centred on the Square. Pen Pentre, the Square, Maes Mawr and Station Road all date from the 19th century. Station Road referred to the fact that the Neath and Brecon Railway ran through the village (built in the mid 1860's).
Crynant was once home to numerous collieries, including Cefn Coed Colliery which was, at one time, the deepest anthracite mine in the world. However, none of the former collieries are operational today, and all but one have largely been reclaimed by nature. The only colliery with some of its buildings still in a good state of repair is Blaenant Colliery, which was an extension of the old Cefn Coed. The Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
now housed there is named after the original mine. Blaenant was the last colliery to close. Until the late 1980s, there was another large colliery in the village, Treforgan Colliery, which has since been demolished. Part of the former site was used to establish Crynant Business Park (see below). Scattered around the village are the remains of older collieries (such as Tynewydd and Top Jebbs). The end of coal mining
changed the face of the village, the valley and the whole of the South Wales Coalfield
. The valley is only recently beginning to develop from an economic depression brought with the end of industry, and services are limited.
.
Crynant is bounded by the wards of Ynyscedwyn of Powys
to the north; Seven Sisters
to the northeast; Glynneath
tot the east; Resolven
to the southeast; Aberdulais
and Cadoxton
to the south; and Rhos
to the west.
In the 2008 local council elections
, the electorate turnout was 51.64%. The results were:
Crynant Business Park has been established upon the Treforgan site, enabling smaller companies to generate some employment for the community. Crynant Plant, a building and demolition company, is still by far the largest industry in the area, however most people commute to work to Neath, Swansea
, or further afield.
(although this site is now a haven for motor cross and quad bikes, much to the consternation of the people living nearby). Both sides of the village used to be covered by farmed conifer forests, but these have recently been removed by the Forestry Commission in order for native trees to grow. As this will be a slow process the hills now look quite bleak in places.
The river Dulais flows through the village and was often referred to as the Black River due to pollution by coal dust from the local mining industry. With the demise of the mines, the river runs clear again. A slaughter house used to stand on the banks of the river, at the end of Maes Mawr, and the blood used to stain the river red. Apparently, the red wavy lines at the top of the Crynant badge, the emblem of the rugby
team, represent the blood stained river.
when travelling north, just as you pass Blaenant colliery. Walking behind the mansion up to Bull Rock (Craig Poeth is the original Welsh name, lit. = "hot rock"), provides not only a striking bird's eye view of this house but also, in April and May, of the woods richly carpeted in bluebell
s.
Saint Illtud's Way also passes through the village, and there is a rumour that Gelli Galed, an old (now ruined) farmhouse dating back to the 17th century, which is perched on a ridge of Marchywel above the village, used to be a chapel for resting monks on their way to St David's
. Certainly a great deal of historical importance is attached to the building: for example, it is purported that there was a secret chamber used for hiding fugitives during the English Civil War
. It was also used as a chapel during the 18th century, serving the inhabitants of the area on both sides of Marchywel mountain.
a rugby union
club with over a hundred years of history.
The Gradon, located on the main road slightly north of Creunant Business park, is the last remaining pub in the village, the Kingfisher, on the northern extreme of the village where the road runs across the common and down into the Swansea valley, having recently closed. The oldest pub, the Red Lion, also recently closed having been in business since 1850. The Gradon used to be known as the British Legion. Its unusual name was derived from the names Grant and Donna , the children of a previous owner.
There is now only one club in the village still open, which is the Rugby Club. The Welfare has recently closed down, it was once a miners working mans club has seen considerable decline since the closure of the coal mines in the 1980s.
The village once hosted a carnival
every year, but with the demise of coal mining, that now has stopped. During World War II it was famous for the pantomimes which it produced every year, and which toured the surrounding villages.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Dulais Valley
Dulais Valley
The Dulais Valley, one of the South Wales Valleys is traversed by the River Dulais in southwest Wales north of the town of Neath.Settlements in the valley include Crynant, Seven Sisters, Banwen and Dyffryn Cellwen which are served by the A4109 road though the valley.The towns in the valley...
, lying between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east and Mynydd y Drum to the north. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
in Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Crynant is a long village, lying on the narrow valley floor and lower slopes of Hirfynydd. Originally there were separate villages (essentially separate farms), such as the region of Treforgan, but all have now merged into a single village. The river Dulais flows through the village.
Creunant is also the name of an electoral ward and a community
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
, coterminous with the village, in Neath Port Talbot County Borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
.
History
The name Y Creunant has its etymologyEtymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
, like many Welsh place names, in description. 'Creu' (or nghreu) meaning the creation, or beginning, and 'nant' meaning stream. On the other hand, others might say Creu means a pound as in animal pound by the stream, a pound was known to have been sited on ground opposite the Red Lion. as a settlement Creunant has a long history proven in archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
dating back to the early Bronze Age, there is the site of a Bronze Age burial ground which lies to the north of Coed Du farm (the Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
Sarn Helen
Sarn Helen
right|thumb|250px|A section of Sarn Helen near Betws-y-coed.Sarn Helen was a Roman road in Wales, running from Aberconwy in the north to Carmarthen in the south.It was some 160 miles in length...
was built along the crest of Hirfynydd above the village nearly 2,000 years ago).[citation?] There may have been Celtic and even pre-Celtic settlements here earlier.
In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, there was a small monastic cell in Crynant where monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s and other pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s would break their journeys. The village first appeared on maps as Capel Creunant (Creunant Chapel) which may have referred to the monastic outpost. Crynant remained a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
agricultural community of scattered farms until the 19th century, and the discovery of coal.
The first colliery was Maes Mawr Colliery opened in 1874 and can still be seen at the site of the old Blaenant Colliery at the top end of Brynawel Pen Pentre, a terrace of old cottages, the first street to be built in the village. Men seeking work down the mines began arriving in Creunant, and the current village started taking shape, centred on the Square. Pen Pentre, the Square, Maes Mawr and Station Road all date from the 19th century. Station Road referred to the fact that the Neath and Brecon Railway ran through the village (built in the mid 1860's).
Crynant was once home to numerous collieries, including Cefn Coed Colliery which was, at one time, the deepest anthracite mine in the world. However, none of the former collieries are operational today, and all but one have largely been reclaimed by nature. The only colliery with some of its buildings still in a good state of repair is Blaenant Colliery, which was an extension of the old Cefn Coed. The Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum is a former coal mine, now operating as a museum. It is located at Crynant near Neath in the South Wales Valleys.-Background:Coal mining in the Neath area began with the development of the port of Neath in the 16th century...
now housed there is named after the original mine. Blaenant was the last colliery to close. Until the late 1980s, there was another large colliery in the village, Treforgan Colliery, which has since been demolished. Part of the former site was used to establish Crynant Business Park (see below). Scattered around the village are the remains of older collieries (such as Tynewydd and Top Jebbs). The end of coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
changed the face of the village, the valley and the whole of the South Wales Coalfield
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
. The valley is only recently beginning to develop from an economic depression brought with the end of industry, and services are limited.
Government and politics
The electoral ward of Crynant consists of some or all of the following settlements: Crynant, Treforgan, Ynysfadog in the parliamentary constituency of NeathNeath (UK Parliament constituency)
Neath is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election and one Assembly Member by the first past the post system of election.- The Constituency of Neath :The constituency...
.
Crynant is bounded by the wards of Ynyscedwyn of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
to the north; Seven Sisters
Seven Sisters (electoral ward)
Seven Sisters is an electoral ward coterminous with a parish in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.The electoral ward of Seven Sisters consists of some or all of the following settlements: Seven Sisters, Bryndulais and Nant-y-cafn in the parliamentary constituency of Neath...
to the northeast; Glynneath
Glynneath (electoral ward)
Glynneath is the name of an electoral ward and a parish in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.The electoral ward of Glynneath consists of some or all of the following settlements: Glynneath, Morfa Glas, Rheola, Crugau, Pont-walby, Bryn-awel, Pentreclwydau and Aber-pergwym in the parliamentary...
tot the east; Resolven
Resolven (electoral ward)
Resolven is and electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Resolven is made up of the parishes of Resolven and Clyne and Melincourt....
to the southeast; Aberdulais
Aberdulais
Aberdulais or mouth & Dulais) is a village in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, lying on the River Neath.- History, amenities & attractions:...
and Cadoxton
Cadoxton (electoral ward)
Cadoxton is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It forms part of the parish of Blaenhonddan.Cadoxton consists of some or all of the settlements of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath and Cilfrew in the parliamentary constituency of Neath...
to the south; and Rhos
Rhos, Neath Port Talbot
Rhos is a village in the Swansea Valley, located between Neath and Pontardawe, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, South Wales.-History:Originally part of the Cilybebyll estate, the Primrose Colliery was developed from the mid-1800's, close to the village. On 13 October 1858, when owned by Morgan...
to the west.
In the 2008 local council elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2008
The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils....
, the electorate turnout was 51.64%. The results were:
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Morgan | Plaid Cymru | 494 | Plaid Cymru hold |
| Peter Lloyd Richards | Labour | 305 |
Employment
Farming is still important to the village and the hillsides are dotted with sheep and some cattle. The cattle are all for meat, with no dairy industry in the village. The village has a few small shops, the most famous being the old-fashioned Segadelli's (or Stella's) sweet shop on the square which sells ice cream and boiled sweets including Swansea mixture.Crynant Business Park has been established upon the Treforgan site, enabling smaller companies to generate some employment for the community. Crynant Plant, a building and demolition company, is still by far the largest industry in the area, however most people commute to work to Neath, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, or further afield.
Countryside
The countryside is very different from many Welsh coal mining villages, and is much prettier now that the coal tips to the south of the village have been removed, and those at Treforgan are now hidden under silver birchSilver Birch
Betula pendula is a widespread European birch, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus...
(although this site is now a haven for motor cross and quad bikes, much to the consternation of the people living nearby). Both sides of the village used to be covered by farmed conifer forests, but these have recently been removed by the Forestry Commission in order for native trees to grow. As this will be a slow process the hills now look quite bleak in places.
The river Dulais flows through the village and was often referred to as the Black River due to pollution by coal dust from the local mining industry. With the demise of the mines, the river runs clear again. A slaughter house used to stand on the banks of the river, at the end of Maes Mawr, and the blood used to stain the river red. Apparently, the red wavy lines at the top of the Crynant badge, the emblem of the rugby
Crynant RFC
Crynant Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Crynant, Wales, UK. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.-Early history:...
team, represent the blood stained river.
Locations and buildings of note
To the west of the village, on the old Neath road, lies Tyn-y-graig Mansion. Tyn - Y 0 Graig was built be the owner of Vale of Neath Brewery, Evans Bevan, for his daughter . It is currently being renovated and is a private dwelling. This can be glimpsed from the A4109 roadA4109 road
The A4109 road links Aberdulais with Glynneath in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.The route begins in Aberdulais at the junction with the A4230 and A465 roads; it diverges northwards away from the A465 up the Dulais Valley and crosses through the settlements of Crynant, Ynysfforch, Seven...
when travelling north, just as you pass Blaenant colliery. Walking behind the mansion up to Bull Rock (Craig Poeth is the original Welsh name, lit. = "hot rock"), provides not only a striking bird's eye view of this house but also, in April and May, of the woods richly carpeted in bluebell
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
s.
Saint Illtud's Way also passes through the village, and there is a rumour that Gelli Galed, an old (now ruined) farmhouse dating back to the 17th century, which is perched on a ridge of Marchywel above the village, used to be a chapel for resting monks on their way to St David's
St David's
St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...
. Certainly a great deal of historical importance is attached to the building: for example, it is purported that there was a secret chamber used for hiding fugitives during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. It was also used as a chapel during the 18th century, serving the inhabitants of the area on both sides of Marchywel mountain.
Sport and leisure
Crynant is home to Crynant RFCCrynant RFC
Crynant Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Crynant, Wales, UK. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.-Early history:...
a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club with over a hundred years of history.
The Gradon, located on the main road slightly north of Creunant Business park, is the last remaining pub in the village, the Kingfisher, on the northern extreme of the village where the road runs across the common and down into the Swansea valley, having recently closed. The oldest pub, the Red Lion, also recently closed having been in business since 1850. The Gradon used to be known as the British Legion. Its unusual name was derived from the names Grant and Donna , the children of a previous owner.
There is now only one club in the village still open, which is the Rugby Club. The Welfare has recently closed down, it was once a miners working mans club has seen considerable decline since the closure of the coal mines in the 1980s.
The village once hosted a carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
every year, but with the demise of coal mining, that now has stopped. During World War II it was famous for the pantomimes which it produced every year, and which toured the surrounding villages.
Notable residents
Notables who were born or lived in Crynant include:- Melveena McKendrick, author and academic, who is a Professor and Pro Vice Chancellor for Education at Cambridge University.
- Geraint F. LewisGeraint F. LewisGeraint F. Lewis is a Welsh-born astrophysicist , who is best known for his work on dark energy, gravitational lensing and galactic cannibalism. Lewis is a Professor of Astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, part of the University of Sydney's School of Physics...
, ProfessorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of AstrophysicsAstrophysicsAstrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
at the University of SydneyUniversity of SydneyThe University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - Marian Davies, presenter of the 1960s TV show HowHow 2How 2 was an informative children's programme produced by TVS between 1990 and 1992, and STV Productions from 1993 to 2006....
. - Gerallt Rosser, who along with his stage partner Lloyd Davies formed the comedy duo Rosser and Davies. They achieved fame in the late eighties when they won the BBC talent show Opportunity Knocks and subsequently went on to have their own, short lived, HTV series.
- Mike SmithMike Smith (saxophonist)Mike Smith is an English musician. He is an arranger, composer, conductor, studio musician, and keyboardist, but specializes in saxophone.Smith studied jazz and contemporary music at the Leeds College of Music, from which he graduated in 1988...
(saxophonist) from the 1960s band Amen CornerAmen Corner (band)Amen Corner were a successful Welsh rock group, formed in late 1966 in Cardiff, Wales.-Career:The band was named after The Amen Corner, a weekly disc spin at the Victoria Ballroom in Cardiff, Wales, where every Sunday night Dr... - Daral Pugh, professional footballer, who played for Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United, Cambridge United, Torquay United and Bridlington Town. Pugh is currently the assistant academy manager at Leeds United.
- Alfred Russel WallaceAlfred Russel WallaceAlfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...
, one of the leading names in the development of the theory of evolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
and the name behind Wallace's Line, lived in Neath and is known to have spent time in Crynant.
Further reading
- An overview of the history of Crynant can be found the book The village of Crynant: The place and its people, by Stanley Cadogan Lodwig (published posthumously by Eileen and Deborah Lodwig in 2008)
- Pictures of Crynant through the ages can be found in the Now and Then: Upper Dulais and Swansea Valleys series of books by W. T. Davies.
- Stars on a Saturday Afternoon by David Alexander", 1990, being a history of Crynant RFC.
- On a Summer Morning by W. V. Thomas and A. J. Thomas, prepared by I. W. and P. V. Thomas, 2007, this being an account of four Crynant soldiers who were killed in the battle for Mametz Wood in 1916.
- Facing The Threat by W. V. Thomas, prepared by I. W. Thomas and P. V. Thomas, 2008 and 2009, a tribute to the people of the village during the Second World War, 1939-1945.