Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen

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Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen (Welsh: Gwauncaegurwen) is a village in Neath Port Talbot, South Wales. Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is also a parish made up of the electoral wards of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower Brynamman.

1 Location
2 Etymology
3 Schools
4 Pwll-y-Wrach
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Location

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is located five mile east of the nearest town of Ammanford and nearly twenty miles north of Swansea.

[edit] Etymology

In common South Wales parlance, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is often referred to as "GCG" or "The Waun". The name, Gwaun cae Gurwen translates from the Welsh language into 'the meadow/moorland of white hemlock'.

[edit] Schools

Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Gwaun cae Gurwen (Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Welsh Primary School) used to be on Heol-y-Dwr (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. Children in the area have the choice of going to Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera in Ystalyfera (for full Welsh medium education)^[1], Ysgol Uwchradd Dyffryn Aman (for Welsh and English medium education) or Cwmtawe Comprehensive School (for all English education).

The Welsh language is very strong in the village amongst the young and the old. Almost all children are bilingual.

Near villages are Cwmgors, Brynamman, Tai'rgwaith, Glanaman and Garnant. This area is represented in Government by Peter Hain MP and in the Welsh Assembly by Gwenda Thomas AM, who lives in the village.

[edit] Pwll-y-Wrach

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 Mr. Benjamin and Mrs. Mary Jones and later by their sons David, Sam and John. 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-bluey colour and would sometimes come out to haunt the locals.

The now smaller estate is owned by Mair, Betty and John Jones.