Resolven

Coordinates: 51°42′36″N 3°41′46″W / 51.710°N 3.696°W / 51.710; -3.696

Resolven (Welsh: Resolfen) is a small village in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. It is located in the heart of the Vale of Neath.

Location

The village is situated in the Vale of Neath, next to the A465 Heads of Valleys Road, and is the main settlement in the community of Resolven. Together with the community of Clyne and Melincourt, the village makes up the Resolven electoral ward.

History and amenities

In the immediate surrounding areas there are a number of industrial sites, which have become somewhat run down during the 1980s and 1990s. The popular Rheola indoor market is located near the village on the site of an old industrial factory, but has since moved from Rheola and now resides in the old TRW Steering Systems building.

The larger surrounding area has much attractive countryside and a substantial wind farm above the village at Ffynon Oer.

Resolven has played host to one of the best known stages of the Wales Rally GB for many years.

Resolven (electoral ward)

Resolven is and electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Resolven is made up of the parishes of Resolven and Clyne and Melincourt.

Resolven includes some or all of the settlements of Resolven and Clyne in the parliamentary constituency of Neath. The ward consists of steep wooded hills to the northwest and north east with undeveloped moorland to the south. It is cut through the middle by the Neath Valley which is treversed by the A465 'Heads of Valleys' road.

Resolven is bounded by the wards of Glynneath to the north; Blaengwrach to the northeast; Glyncorrwg to the east; Cymmer to the southeast; Pelenna to the south; Tonna to the southwest; Aberdulais to the west; and Crynant to the northwest.

In the 2012 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 41.05%. The results were:

Coordinates: 51°42′36″N 3°41′41″W / 51.70990°N 3.69477°W / 51.70990; -3.69477

Resolven (ship)

The SV Resolven was a merchant brig which was found abandoned on 29 August 1884, with her lifeboat missing , between Baccalieu Island and Catalina, Newfoundland and Labrador. Her logbook was posted to within six hours of being sighted. Other than a broken yard, she had suffered minimal damage. The galley fire was alight and the lamps were burning. A large iceberg was sighted nearby. It has been claimed that none of the seven crew members or four passengers were accustomed to northern waters and it was suggested that they panicked when the ship was damaged by ice, launched the lifeboat, and swamped, though no bodies were found. Three years later, Resolven was wrecked while returning to Newfoundland from Nova Scotia with a load of lumber.

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