Ystradgynlais

Coordinates: 51°46′52″N 3°45′04″W / 51.78101°N 3.75107°W / 51.78101; -3.75107

Ystradgynlais (Welsh: [ˌəsdradˈɡənlais], English /ˌʌstrədˈɡʌnlaɪs/) is a town on the River Tawe in southwest Powys. The town, which is the largest in the historic county of Brecknockshire and the second largest in the administrative area of Powys, grew around the ironmaking, coal mining and watchmaking industries.

History

The place-name Ystradgynlais, meaning 'vale of the river Cynlais' - Cynlais may be a personal name, or derive from cyn ('chisel') and glais ('stream') - is first recorded in 1372. In the 1600s there were only a couple of houses by the church and a pub (now the rectory). In 1801 there were only 993 residents in Ystradgynlais living in only 196 houses. The first documented written evidence of iron working in the area was at Ynyscedwyn and is of a deed of release dated 1729. By 1750 there were only 7 furnaces in south Wales, one of which was at Ynyscedwyn.

The first written evidence of coal workings in the area was in 1780 in Wauclawdd. Most of the coal dug up in the area was sent to the blast furnaces of the iron works. By 1790 the full extent of the mineral resources in the valley were better known and it was realised that to exploit these to the full, improved transport would be essential.