BETWS

''This article is about the place in Carmarthenshire. For other places called Betws or Bettws see Bettws.''
'Betws' (pronounced ) is a small village on the River Amman, some 15 miles north of Swansea, Wales; it is part of the ecclesiastical parish of ''Betws and Ammanford''. The nearby mountain, at the western end of the Black Mountain, is named after the village, and has a large area of common land.

Contents

History and Location

Sports

Notable people from Betws

Wildlife

External Links and References

History and Location

The name 'Betws' is generally thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'bed-hus' - a house of prayer, or oratory. Until the 19^th century, when Ammanford developed extensively, Betws was the largest village in the area.Locksmith, WTH (1999) ''Ammanford: Origin of Street Names & Notable Historical Records'' ISBN 0906821371
Until the thirteenth century^[2], Betws was part of Gower, which is now known as the county of Swansea but the old county border of the rivers Amman and Loughor moved south and Betws is today part of Welsh-speaking Carmarthenshire.http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/LlandeiloTalybont/Histdata.html Article including Cowley Map of 1744, Kitchen Map of 1764, Carey Map of 1794 and Lewis Map 1833.
Until 1817, when a road was built along the Amman valley, Betws was only accessible by roads crossing the mountain from Neath and Swansea. This inaccessibility is commemorated in a local saying, which refers to the division between ''Betws a'r Byd'' (Betws and the world). There was a sign on the Amman bridge to this effect: Betws this way, the rest of the world that way.
The people of Betws like to make the distinction between themselves and those over the river in Ammanford.
The road bridge between Betws and Ammanford on Park Street was completed in 1892 and rebuilt in 1990 by T Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd. T.Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd. ('TRJ') is a major building contractor, originally based in the village but now located on the Ammanford side of the river.^[3]
The land for Betws Park was gifted to Ammanford district Council by Lord Dynevor in 1903, but the council used it as a rubbish dump until the early 1930's. After this, it was properly developed by local volunteers as a park with tennis courts. On 23^rd June 2007 a new 'Memorial and Sensory Garden' was opened in the park.

Betws Park Workshops are a collection of industrial units rented by various businesses. The workshops were opened in 1991, having previously been a screw manufacturing factory (1970-1981) and a lightbulb factory (1983-1986).
The parish church in the village is dedicated to St David. It dates to the 14^th century but was renovated in 1872.''Betws'' - part of the Amman & Loughor Heritage Trails series of leaflets.^[4]
Betws Primary School was built before 1846, extended in 1928 and refurbished in 1988.
The Caemawr housing estate was built in 1947, and the Bwtrimawr estate in 1976.
Ammanford No. 1 (1890-1925) and No. 2 (1891-1976) Collieries were at the north end of Betws. The Tycoch nightclub now occupies some Ammanford No. 1 buildings.^[5]
Betws drift coal mine opened in 1976 and closed in 2003^[6] and the land is being redeveloped as housing and industrial units, including LBS Builders Merchants.^[7]
There are plans to build a windfarm on Betws Common.^[8][9]
75.1 % of residents of Betws and Pontamman said they had 'knowledge of Welsh language' compared to 63.6 % in Carmarthenshire and 28.4 % in Wales.^[10]

Sports

Betws Rugby Club currently fields two teams: The first team finished 4th in WRU League Five South West in 2006-7 season^[11] and the second team finished bottom of Llanelli District Division 1^[12]
Ammanford football club have a ground at Rice Street, Betws, which is currently being reconstructed.

Notable people from Betws

The balladeer, Donald Peers, was brought up in Heol-y-felin.^[13]
Jim Griffiths,^[14] first Secretary of State for Wales and MP for Llanelli lived at the corner of Pentwyn Road and Park Street, where his father William was the village blacksmith (an anvil stands outside the house that occupies the site today). His older brother David Rees Griffiths found fame as the poet 'Amanwy'.^[15]
Ivor Richard, Baron Richard was born in Betws and attended Betws Primary School^[16]
Henry Grindell "Death Ray" Matthews had a laboratory on Betws mountain from 1934 until his death in 1941.^[17]
Terry Magee, charity volunteer and former boxer.^[18]

Wildlife

A wide variety of birds can be seen around Betws: Red kites, ravens, buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks on the mountain; Kingfishers, dippers and cormorants on the river; Jays and woodpeckers in the woods.

External Links and References

★ Historical data

★ Parish website

★ Betws Mas o'r Byd (Betws Beyond the world) Carol Murphy & Chris Dixon, eds. Index only online.

★ Website about Ammanford with much about Betws

★ Betws community website

★ geograph: SN6312 : Betws Park

★ geograph: SN6312 : Bridge over Amman river, joining Ammanford and Betws
1. Includes Pontamman. 2004 data from the Office for National Statistics.
2. See the notes by Roger Turvey
3. TRJ Website
4. [1]
5. Dontstayin.com forum for Tycoch Nightclub
6. [2]
7. LBS Ammanford website
8. Website of local anti-windfarm group, with many photos of local scenery.
9. BBC News article about the approval of the windfarm.
10. 2001 Census
11. WRU League table
12. League table from West Wales sport
13. Article about Donald Peers.
14. Article about Jim Griffiths.
15. Article about ''Amanwy''.
16. Article about Baron Richard.
17. Article about "Death Ray" Matthews.
18. Ammanford Fire Station's page about Terry Magee's fundraising. Although most articles give his hometown as Ammanford, the postal town which includes Betws; this page includes an article which states that he lives in Betws.