Bettws
Bettws is located in Bridgend
Bettws
Bettws
Location within Bridgend
Population2,253 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSS899867
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBRIDGEND
Postcode districtCF32
Dialling code01656
PoliceSouth Wales
FireSouth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament

Bettws /ˈbɛtus/, (Welsh: Betws) is a small ex-mining and farming village in the South Wales Valleys in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. Bettws is also an electoral ward for the county council.

Bryngarw Country Park is approximately one mile away, with a footpath leading there from the village. The village is around 3 miles away from Junction 36 on the M4 Motorway, and is located to the west of Llangeinor and to the north of Brynmenyn.

Geography

Bettws is located in the southern part of Bridgend County Borough in South Wales. It is located 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north of the town of Bridgend and lies on the west side of the main A4064 road.[2] It is on the River Ogmore, and the Llynfi and Garw rivulets border the village on each side. The nearest communities to Bettws are Llangeinor to the north-east, and Llangynwyd to the west.[3]

The population of Bettws is around 2,400 according to The Betws LIFE Centre.

Etymology

The name of the village comes from the Middle English word bedhus, meaning "prayer house", which became betws in Welsh.[4]

Governance

At the United Kingdom level Bettws is in the Welsh parliamentary constituency of Ogmore,[5] for which Chris Elmore (Labour) has been MP since a by-election in 2016 which he won with a majority of 8,575.[6]

In the Senedd, Bettws is in the constituency of Bridgend for which Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales, was the Member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2021.[7]

For European elections Bettws was in the Wales constituency prior to 2020.[8]

At the county level, Bettws was from 1995 until 2022 an electoral ward for Bridgend County Borough Council, electing one county councillor.[9] Until June 2012 this was Labour councillor Christopher Michaelides; but shortly after finishing his year as county mayor and a month after winning the 2012 elections, he died from cancer.[10] Since 2022 Bettws has formed part of the three-member Garw Valley ward.[11]

Demography

Bettws Parish Church

In the 2011 census Bettws village had 910 dwellings, 884 households and a population of 2,253 (1,093 males and 1,157 females). The average age of residents was 36 years. Of those aged between 16 and 74, 48.4% had no academic qualifications or only one GCSE. According to the census, 707 people said they were economically inactive, but 117 of those were unemployed. Christianity was the majority religion in the village, with 978 individuals. There were 1061 recorded as having no religion and 195 whose religion was not stated.[1]

Sport

Bettws F.C. are based in the village. The club also run numerous youth teams, including the successful under 19s.

Schools

Almost all children aged 3–11 attend Betws Primary School. When pupils complete Key Stage Two, 91% of students attend Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen (formerly Ynysawdre Comprehensive School and Ogmore School), with a minority attending Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd (they formerly transferred to Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari) or Brynteg Comprehensive School. Many special needs pupils go on to attend Ysgol Bryn Castell.

Leisure

Betws Eco Lodge is situated in the heart of the village. It caters for groups and individuals in a bunkhouse style. The project is run by The Youth of Bettws, a local charity for people between the ages of 7 and 25. Bryngarw Country Park lies to the south.

Notable people

Griffith J. Griffith, philanthropist.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Maps (Map). Google Maps.
  3. ↑ "Bettws - Blaenau". British History Online. pp. 81–88. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Welsh Place Names Dictionary
  5. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Ogmore by-election - 05 May 2016". Election Polling. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "Carwyn Jones AM". National Assembly of Wales. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "MEPs by Region". European Parliament / Information Office in the United Kingdom. n.d. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Bridgend County Borough Council Election Results 1995-2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  10. ↑ "Tributes to Betws councillor Christopher Michaelides". Wales Online. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  11. ↑ "The County Borough of Bridgend (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2023.

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