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Blaengwrach
BlaengwrachLocation within Neath Port Talbot
Population	1,141 (2011 census)
OS grid reference	SN868052
Principal area	Neath Port Talbot
Preserved county	West Glamorgan
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEATH
Postcode district	SA11
Dialling code	01639
Police	South Wales
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Neath
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Neath
Councillors	Carolyn Edwards (Plaid Cymru)
List of places UK Wales Neath Port Talbot 51°44′03″N 3°38′26″W / 51.73404°N 3.64064°W / 51.73404; -3.64064

Blaengwrach (/blaɪnˈɡrɑːx/ blyne-GRAHKH, Welsh: [ˌblainˈɡwraːχ]) is a community near Glynneath and Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, which is a larger area than the Community. The principal settlement is Cwmgwrach, a village on the south side of the Neath valley, of which the eastern end is called Blaengwrach, which sometimes causes confusion.

Geography

Blaengwrach Community is a predominantly upland area, and contains the highest points of three local hills or mountains, namely Mynydd Resolfen (383m/1257 ft) and the more prominent Mynydd Pen-y-Cae (573m/1880 ft) and Craig-y-Llyn (600m/1970 ft), both of which have views of the valley below and the Brecon Beacons in the distance. Craig-y-Llyn is the highest point in the old county of Glamorgan, and is home to a nature reserve containing Llyn Fach and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. West of the summit is Foel Chwern round cairn.

Settlement

The villages of Cwmgwrach and Blaengwrach are on the upper reaches of the Neath Valley, and occupy the strip of lowland south of the River Neath, and up the lower slopes of the hillside around the Nant Gwrach stream. The ward had a population of 1,985 in the 2001 census, but 837 were residents of the neighbouring community of Glynneath, so the population of the Blaengwrach community was 1,148. The ward population changed very little at the census of 2011.

The settlement of Blaengwrach is sometimes confused with the village of Cwmgwrach, the name that is used for both the village as a whole, and the western settlement. Traditionally, the stream is the dividing line. The Community Council describe Cwmgwrach, as being a village that 'is actually a combination of Blaengwrach and Cwmgwrach'. A history of the village (Cwmgwrach: Valley of the Witch) was written by Ian Currie, published in 2000.

The village itself was once an active commercial centre, servicing the coalmines, but now contains one shop, a single pub and a rugby union club, Cwmgwrach RFC. Other community facilities include Blaengwrach Primary School, St Mary's Church in Wales, the 13th Afannedd (Cwmgwrach) Scout group, and the Welfare Hall. For wider services the village is largely dependent upon Glynneath.

On the western edge of Cwmgwrach are the ruins of Venallt Ironworks constructed around 1839-42. Iron was smelted here using anthracite coal using the recently developed hot blast method until the closure of the works in 1854. Most of the remains on land owned by Natural Resources Wales are now a scheduled monument and open to the public.

Transport

The Neath and Tennant Canal once reached to Glyn-neath, and has been restored to provide over four miles of walkable towpath between Resolven and Glynneath. The Vale of Neath Railway was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to carry coal to Swansea docks, and is still used for freight trains transporting coal from the Unity open cast mine at the north-east edge of the village. In 1996 the single-carriageway road along the length of the Neath valley was replaced with a major dual-carriageway, carrying the A465 trunk road from Llandarcy (near Neath) to Hirwaun in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which transformed the access along the Neath valley.

Government and politics

Blaengwrach is in the parliamentary constituency of Neath.

For elections to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Blaengarwch is covered by the 'Blaengarwch and Glynneath West' electoral ward, which also covers the west part of the Glynneath community (though not the village of Glynneath). The ward elects one councillor.

The former ward of Blaengwrach included part or all of the villages of Blaengwrach and Cwmgwrach, as well as Glynneath town.

In the 2017 local council elections, the Blaengwrach results were:

In the 2012 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 42.28%. The Blaengwrach results were:

Film

In 2014, a film called 'Valley of the Witch', was released, set in Cwmgwrach, and with substantial on location filming. A low-budget indie horror/witchcraft film, it was written and directed by Andrew Jones, and released to DVD in 2015 under the title 'Conjuring the Dead'.

References

1. John Wells's Phonetics Blog
2. G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 16; "Welsh speakers pronounce 'gwrach' as one syllable by treating the 'w' as a rounding of the lips to accompany the 'r'," which also occurs with English /r/.
3. "Welcome to the Blaengwrach Community Council Website". Blaengwrach Community Council.
4. Currie, Ian. Cwmgwrach: Valley of the Witch. D.W. Jones (Printers). ISBN 978-0953203826.
5. "Venallt Ironworks". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
6. "Venallt Ironworks". Archwilio. GGAT. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
7. ECLECS. "Where is Resolfen?". Resolfen History Society.
8. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
9. "NPT 2017 Election results for Blaengwrach". npt.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
10. "Valley of the Witch (2014)". IMDb.
11. Mark Gorden Palmer. "Conjuring the Dead (2015)". Seat at the back - cinema magazine.

External links

• www.geograph.co.uk Photos of Blaengwrach and surrounding area
• Cwmgwrach Public Cemetery transcripts and images
• St. Mary's Church, Blaengwrach, transcripts and images

v t e Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Communities	Aberavon Baglan Baglan Bay Baglan Moors Blaengwrach Blaenhonddan Briton Ferry Bryn Cilybebyll Clyne and Melincourt Coedffranc Crynant Cwmavon Cwmllynfell Cymer and Glyncorrwg Dyffryn Clydach Glynneath Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen Gwynfi and Croeserw Margam Margam Moors Neath Onllwyn Pelenna Pontardawe Port Talbot Resolven Sandfields East Sandfields West Seven Sisters Taibach Tonna Ystalyfera
Towns and villages	Aberdulais Abergarwed Alltwen Blaengwrach Blaenhoddan Cadoxton Cilfrew Cilybebyll Clyne Cwmgors Cwmllynfell Crynant Cwrt Herbert Glynneath Godre'r Graig Goytre Groes Llangiwg Lonlas Lower Brynamman Margam Melincourt Morfa Glas Neath Pontardawe Port Talbot Resolven Rhiwfawr Rhydyfro Seven Sisters Skewen Tairgwaith Tonna Ystalyfera
Castles	Neath Castle Margam Castle
Rivers	River Afan River Neath Neath and Tennant Canal
Natural sites and parks	Aberavon Beach Aberdulais Falls Afan Forest Park Gnoll Country Park Margam Country Park Melincourt Falls
Topics	Parliamentary constituencies Places SSSIs Listed buildings Grade I Grade II* Scheduled monuments Registered parks and gardens Lord Lieutenants High Sheriffs Museums Public art
Geography Wales

• Vale of Neath
• Villages in Neath Port Talbot
• Former wards of Neath Port Talbot
• Communities in Neath Port Talbot