Brynmawr

see also Bryn Mawr (two words), a town in Pennsylvania, home to a famous college.

Brynmawr (sometimes hyphenated to Bryn-mawr in Welsh — meaning "big hill") is a market town in mid Wales. The town, nestled at the head of the South Wales Valleys, grew during the arrival of the mining and iron industries in the early 1800s . It was originally a small village settlement called Gwaen Helygen. With the expanison of the Nant-y-glo (meaning stream of coal) Ironworks housing was required for the workers and Brynmawr turned into a prosperous town. It currently has an estimated population of over 14,000 people, very few of whom speak Welsh.

Brynmawr is the highest town in Wales, approximately 1,350 feet above sea level, nestling high above the Clydach Gorge on the Heads of the Valleys road. It was originally a market town. Altough the traditional Saturday market itself has diminished somewhat the focal point of the town still remains. The Market Square with its Market Hall, now a cinema and theatre proudly presenting films and productions from the local amateur operatic society. Around the Market square, the trading community offers traditional, family oriented shops with a friendly and personal service. It also now has a large supermarket on the old site of the Semtex factory which boosted the town's name and reputation over the last 50 years.

The town has its own newsletter and website and visitor centre by means of Brynmawr Scene run by Sue and Rob Ball. The town also has its own radio station, called [BRfm], located at the premises of Brynmawr Scene. It is run by local volunteers and is one of the few stations to have a youth team of under-16s to present shows.

[Brynmawr School], the town's main secondary school, has a student roll of over 900 pupils and over 60 staff. It is extremely successful in sports and also has just won the Southern Global UK Premier League Rock Challenge.

Famous people from Brynmawr include the world-renowned artists Mac Adams and Andrew Vicari. Brynmawr also had its own furniture and shoe factory during the 1930s depression, items of which are now held in the town's museum.

During the 1930s, Brynmawr slumped into a depression much worse than any other areas. It was described in a government survey as a 'Hell hole of drunks'. However the Quakers arrived and started to build community projects. For example an outdoor pool was built in Bath's Lane just off King Street, the fountain of which now lies in the Welfare Park, which was originally a pond drained and built again by the Quakers.

External links

[A community website for local residents.]

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