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Description
Photography by John Ball - 12 noon, 14 July 1998 (with Agfa ePhoto-307 digital camera)
Alltwen is built beneath Craig Alltwen on the eastern slopes of the valley of the River Tawe. It is on the opposite bank of the river to Pontardawe.
Image 1:
The eastern approach to Alltwen is down Alltwen Hill.
Image 2:
Heol-y-parc (Park Road) drops from Alltwen Hill southwards to the River Llechau, a tributary of the River Tawe
Image 3:
The old Butcher's Arms public house on Alltwen Hill.
Image 4:
The narrow High Street, entering Alltwen Hill from the north. Opposite the end of High Street is the imposing Alltwen Independent Chapel, incorporated in 1757. The chapel was first erected on its present site in 1801, but has been the subject of a number of extensions and rebuilds. See my Welsh Churches and Chapels Collection for further details and photographs of Alltwen Chapel.
Image 5:
An old photograph of Alltwen Independent Chapel, looking up Alltwen Hill. To the right of the chapel is the Gwyn Hall. This picture dates from around 1910.
Image 6:
Behind the chapel is this old graveyard, much of it heavily overgrown, from where one can look southwards towards Clydach and the Lower Swansea Valley.
Image 7:
The Gwyn Hall, just below Alltwen Chapel. A plaque on its wall reads: St John the Baptist Church School and Reading Room, built by Mrs Gwyn 1893.
Image 8:
Howel Gwyn (1806-1888).
Howel Gwyn owned much of Alltwen, which his father, William Gwyn (1766-1830) had purchased in 1821. The Gwyn family lived at Dyffryn House, Bryncoch, between Alltwen and Neath. As well as being a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff, Howel Gwyn held many high offices in local government. He also founded many churches and schools. In 1851 he married Ellen Elizabeth Moore, and on her death in 1900, the estate passed to her nephew Joseph Moore-Gwyn (1850-1922). The link between Alltwen and the Gwyn family is commemorated in the names of the Gwyn Hall, Gwyn Street, Dyffryn Street, and the Gwyn Arms public house (Image 9).
Continue your exploration of Alltwen...
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