25-688: Glyntawe is a hamlet and parish on the upper reaches of the River Tawe in Powys , Wales, in the community of Tawe-Uchaf . It has always been sparsely populated. Today it attracts tourists for outdoor activities in the Brecon Beacons National Park and for caving. A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1849) describes Glyntawe as, "a chapelry, attached to the parish of Devynock, in the hundred of Devynock, union and county of Brecknock, South Wales, 15 miles (W. S. W.) from Brecknock. It
50-568: A chapel in the parish of Defynnog , Brecknockshire, was dedicated to Saint Callwen . Capel Colwyn or St Colwen's in Callwen, Glyntawe, was a chapel of ease to Defynnog until around 1868, when Glyntawe became a separate parish. The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870–72) described Glyntawe as "a hamlet-chapelry in Devynnock parish, Breconshire; 7½ miles W of Brecon town and r. station. Post town, Brecon. Pop., 99. Houses, 20. The living
75-404: A number of initiatives to better connect the urban areas on the west of the river with the more rural areas of Kilvey Hill and Crymlyn Bog beyond to the east. 51°37′N 3°56′W / 51.617°N 3.933°W / 51.617; -3.933 Trecastle Trecastle ( Welsh : Trecastell ) ("the town of the castle") is a village in Powys , Wales, situated on the edge of
100-614: Is a 30 miles (48 km) long river in South Wales . Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains , the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Park , before the river turns south and then southwest to its estuary at Swansea . Its main tributaries are the right bank Upper and Lower Clydach Rivers and the Afon Twrch . The total area of
125-583: Is a hostel that can sleep up to 40 people, and makes a base for outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, caving or fishing. Glyntawe contains the National Showcaves of Wales at Dan yr Ogof , a major tourist attraction. This is part of a large system of caves which includes the Ogof yr Esgyrn. Craig-y-Nos Castle is very close to Glyntawe. River Tawe The River Tawe ( / ˈ t aʊ i / ; Welsh : Afon Tawe [ˈtau.ɛ] )
150-597: Is a p. curacy in the diocese of St. David's. Value, £80. Patron, the Vicar of Devynnock." On 1 July 1893 a new Church of Saint Callewn was substituted for the older building in the parish of Glyntawe by Basil Jones , bishop of St David's . Historical census figures for the hamlet of Glyntawe are: The community was never industrialized. The people of Glyntawe would have farmed, worked in the quarries or in Penwyllt brickworks, or perhaps worked at Craig-y-Nos Castle . The church
175-460: Is extended as far as requiring permission and payment for bridges which are built over it. This was last exercised in 2008 when Swansea Council was required to pay £281,431 to the estate, as revealed by a Freedom of Information request. The lower part of the valley was intensely industrialised in the 18th and 19th centuries and was especially impacted by metal refining and working and to a much lesser extent by porcelain manufacture. Large areas of
200-409: Is situated at the south-western extremity of the extensive parish of Devynock, in a vale between elevated and dreary mountains, not far from the source of the river Tawe." Theophilus Jones in 1809 wrote of Devynock parish that, The third chapel in this parish, in the vale of Tawe, is sometimes called Cael Glyntawe and sometimes Capel Callwen, a corruption of Cellwen, Fairwood chapel, or the chapel in
225-468: Is situated on the A40 trunk road between Brecon and Llandovery , which largely follows the old coaching route and passes a monument to a coach crash in the 19th century between Trecastle and Llandovery. The village was extended in 1960 to 1970s but maintains its linear pattern. It is now known for its antique trade. Trecastle's history makes it one of the longest-established Brecknockshire villages, thus
250-409: The Brecon Beacons National Park ( Welsh : Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog ) and in the community of Llywel . The village has a population of about 200. Trecastle is named after Castle Tump (Trecastle Motte) an early 11th-century Norman motte-and-bailey fortification [1] , built by Bernard de Neufmarche and designed to protect Brecon from attack from the west. Despite this purpose,
275-515: The Motte & Bailey is considered an important ancient & medieval monument and the village contains a number of listed Georgian and Medieval properties. Listed buildings in Trecastle include; Near the village is the site of Y Pigwn . This consists of two overlaying Roman practice marching camps which are on the summit of Trecastle Mountain. They have been described as 'amongst
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#1732797662300300-528: The 19th century Trecastle had eight annual fairs , its own gasworks, two schools , a grain mill , two smithies , 16 shops and numerous pubs. Between 1830 and 1914, Trecastle and Llywel are said to have had two of the most important wool mills in Brecknockshire . The arrival of the railway in Sennybridge meant that Trecastle lost its place as the trading centre for the area. Trecastle
325-603: The National Park. From around the 12th century the Bishop of St David's owned the land to the west of the book and Trecastle was thus used as a staging post en route to the cathedral. After leaving the stopping point the road is thought to have turned to follow the Roman Road near Y Pigwn. Centuries later, Trecastle was used by coach travellers as a stopping point on the route from Gloucester to Llandovery . In
350-733: The Roman Forts at Llandovery and Brecon Gaer , and a small Roman fortlet at "Waun Ddu" lies 700m to the West. There are standing stones and a stone circle nearby. Trecastle is within the Maescar & Llywel electoral ward for Powys County Council , Brecon and Radnorshire constituency in the Senedd and Brecon and Radnorshire constituency in the UK Parliament . Some of the information contained in this article has been adapted from
375-464: The area continued to be threatened, with Edward I of England spending three days in Trecastle quelling a revolt in 1295. The old castle name of 'una villa nostra de Lliwel' was changed by the end of the Medieval era to the local name Trecastle, "the town of the castle". The fortification still exists at the east end of the village and the motte is 21 feet (6.4 m) high; the largest of its type in
400-542: The best-preserved and best-known Roman temporary camps in Wales. The camps were first discovered 1849 and were planned and described by William Rees at the meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological Association at Breconin 1853. Rees also illustrates Bronze Age burial urns which were found by a Mr Holford in nearby burial mounds. The "Y Pigwm" camps are close to the presumed Roman road linking
425-647: The catchment is some 246 km (95 sq mi). The Tawe passes through a number of towns and villages including Ystradgynlais , Ystalyfera , Pontardawe , and Clydach and meets the sea at Swansea Bay below Swansea. The Tawe Valley ( Cwm Tawe in Welsh ) is more commonly known as the Swansea Valley . Ownership of the riverbed was granted to the Duke of Beaufort in the 17th century by Charles II resulting in exclusive mineral and fishing rights, which
450-414: The fair wood, descriptive no doubt of its early appearance; but so rude has been the hand of time and the equally denuding industry of man, so changed are the habiliments of nature in the course of ages, that she has here been disrobed of her verdant livery, which has been succeeded by a comfortless and slight russet mantle, incumbered by large stones and pebbles, and where the oak formerly grew in luxuriancy,
475-548: The lake. They seem to have been occupied only for short periods, and perhaps were hunting camps. Tools at the site are made of stones from some distance away, perhaps acquired by trade. The Ogof yr Esgyrn cave at the source of the Afon Llynfell, part of a very large system of solution caves under the Cribarth plateau to the west of the upper Tawe, was discovered in 1922 and excavated between 1923 and 1950. Finds date from
500-523: The lichen at present barely vegetates." A prehistoric site at Waun Fignen Felen, Glyntawe, has been carefully studied by paleo-ecologists and archaeologists. During the Mesolithic the area contained a small open lake that was gradually choked by weeds. At first it was surrounded by open country, but later this gradually changed to woodland. Stone tools and debris from knapping from the early and late Mesolithic were found in different locations around
525-465: The lower valley remain contaminated by industrial spoil containing copper , lead , nickel and zinc . The only significant extant relic of those times is a major nickel refinery at Clydach which is part of the Canadian company Vale Inco . The quality of the river has now greatly improved. Large salmon swim up the river to spawn , whilst trout are in abundance. In 1992, a barrage was built at
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#1732797662300550-665: The mouth of the river. National Cycle Route 43 follows this river for much of its course. Bridges over the River Tawe within the City and County of Swansea , from north to south: There are plans for further housing developments on both east and west banks of the River Tawe and a proposal to operate river taxis along the river. A report was commissioned by Natural Resources Wales in 2015 as part of its 'Tawe Trial' initiative - completed by regeneration consultants Trilein Ltd. it recommended
575-810: The post-glacial period through the Roman era to historic times. The cave was used for habitation and for burial. The strata from different eras were mixed together, and included a bronze rapier, bronze razor, bronze awl, gold bead, bone awl and weaving comb, as well as pottery sherds from the Bronze Age. In the Tudor period the Lord of Brecon owned several corn mills, including one in Glyntawe, called Melin Gaeth in Welsh,
600-475: The villain's mill, where the villeins had to grind their corn. When Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham , was convicted of treason they became the property of the crown. Queen Elizabeth I of England granted the mills to one of the Herberts of Crickadarn for sixty years. In 1633 a decree of court established the right to compel tenants of the manor to bring their corn to the mills to be ground. In 1836
625-679: Was rededicated to St John the Baptist in 1964–65, although it is still called Callwen Church by the locals. The school in Callwen was closed in 1970. The rural community of Glyntawe, which includes the hamlet of Callwen, is part of the Community of Trecastle . The school is now the Glyntawe Outdoor Centre, an activity centre run by Dulwich College . Also called the Dulwich College Field Centre, this
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