Two hundred years ago, this was a remote district on the very northwestern edge of Glamorgan. The open common of Caegurwen was the haunt of shepherds and their flocks, with a handful of small farms along the banks of the Amman river. Drover’s fairs were occasionally held on the common. “Ffair y Gwter”, as it was known, carried on into the 20th century as a street market.
Small pits had worked rich seams of coal and ironstone since at least the 17th century. The mining technique of “hushing” was also used, washing away the topsoil and exposing the minerals beneath. This created a great gully, known as the Gwter Fawr, which became the name for the area.
The first underground colliery in the area was Lefel yr Offis, opened by John Jones of Brynbrain. In 1819 he built a new road over the Mynydd Du to Gwynfe, so that he could sell his coal to the farmers north of the mountain. In 1824, he extended the road southwards across the Caegurwen common to meet the Pontardawe to Llandeilo turnpike road.
These roads opened the way to the growth of industry in the Gwter Fawr area, which was further increased by the construction of the railways from Garnant (1847) and the Swansea Valley (1864). New collieries opened up, such as Pwll y Gwter (1855), as well as the Amman Iron Works (1847), whose furnaces lit up the night skies for miles around. The ironworks was partly converted into a tinplate works in 1872, by which time the name of Gwter Fawr had been dropped in favour of the new name – Lower Brynamman. A second tinplate works was built at Glynybeudy in 1890.
These industries drew people into the area and the village grew rapidly. The terraced streets included shops, pubs and fine nonconformist chapels. In 1896, the Banwen school was built (now Ysgol y Glyn) and by the early 20th century local people could take part in a wide range of cultural and sporting activities – from choral societies to rugby.
From the 1920s onwards, the industries in Lower Brynamman began to decline. Opencast mining has removed the evidence of many of the collieries, and the area is now a softer, greener landscape as the scars of industry heal. The heavy industries are only a memory today, but a walk through Lower Brynamman still brings you into contact with evidence of the former communities.
IMAGES
The 1831 OS map shows how little settlement existed in the area in the early 19th century.
The 1891 map shows the early village
Drawing of a hushing
George Borrow. In 1854 the famous English traveller George Borrow passed through the area and stayed at the Farmers Arms for a night. (Include a quote from Borrow as a piece of artwork)
Farmers Arms opened in 1823, is now the rugby club.
Amman Iron works built 1847
Colliers – close up
Pantycelyn Colliery 1888-1932
Local Chapels: Ebeneser Independent & Siloam Baptist
