Pontycymer


Pontycymer is a former mining village in Wales. It is situated in the Garw Valley, in Bridgend County Borough, about 7 miles or 11 km north of the town of Bridgend.

Name

The name is Welsh: pont means "bridge" and cymer means "confluence", i.e. where two streams or rivers meet.
Older signs for the village use the spelling of Pontycymmer; as with many other place names in Wales a double "mm" was historically included as an Anglicised spelling, but the modern Welsh spelling uses a single "m". Recent signage and Post Office records have now been changed to reflect the original Welsh spelling.

Description

At the southern end of the village, marking its boundary with Pantygog, the River Garw is joined from the east by the Nant Fforch Wen. This area is still known as "Braich y Cymmer", reflecting the historical spelling with "mm". At the northern end, towards its boundary with Blaengarw, the River Garw is joined by the Nant Gelli Wern at Ffaldau, the village square.
Among those born in the village are the artist and journalist Molly Parkin, snooker player Ryan Day, Welsh rugby captain John Lloyd, Welsh rugby league player Ike Owens and news reader Huw Edwards. Dr Dan Davies, Phylip Henry Rees and Wendy Phillips, ‘the cleaning lady who went to Hollywood’ who was the inspiration for all Sara Sugarman's films.
Numerous locations in Pontycymer feature as the fictional village of Ogw in the film Very Annie Mary, as well as scenes from six other short films by same director, Sara Sugarman.
The oldest street in the village is Railway Terrace, originally named "Milk Row".

Governance

Pontycymmer is the name of an electoral ward to Bridgend County Borough Council. It elects one county councillor. The ward has been represented by the Labour Party, with the exception of 1999-2004 when Plaid Cymru were elected.

Attractions