Hanes Cwmllynfell / History of Cwmllynfell

Mae gan Gwmllynfell le pwysig yn hanes Anghydffurfiaeth yng Nghymru. Adeiladwyd y capel annibynnol cyntaf yma mor gynnar â 1701, ar lannau’r Llynfell. Gellir gweld adfeilion yr hen gapel a’i fynwent Fictoraidd drawiadol o hyd. Adeiladwyd mynwent fwy ym 1850 a’r capel presennol ym 1905, yn nes at sgwâr y pentref.

Saif Cwmllynfell yng nghysgod cwm Llynfell, yn agos at fan cyfarfod siroedd hanesyddol Sir Gâr, Sir Forgannwg a Sir Frycheiniog. Ceir tystiolaeth bod pobl wedi byw yma yn yr Oes Efydd, fwy na 4,000 o flynyddoedd yn ôl. Ym 1984, cafodd pum pen bwyell o’r cyfnod hwnnw eu darganfod yn y pentref.

Adeiladwyd yr ysgol gyntaf yn y pentref ym 1804, ar ochr arall y Llynfell i’r hen gapel. Hon oedd yr unig ysgol yn yr ardal ac roedd yn darparu addysg dda i blant lleol drwy gydol y 19^eg ganrif. Cafodd ei chau ym 1883, pan agorwyd yr ysgol bresennol. I ddathlu’r digwyddiad dilynodd y plant eu pennaeth mewn gorymdaith o’r hen ysgol i’r adeilad newydd.

Erbyn yr 20^fed ganrif, roedd Cwmllynfell yn gymuned lo brysur, a thomen y lofa’n taflu ei chysgod ar draws y dirwedd leol. Roedd gan dafarn y pentref, y Mountain Hare (Y Boblen bellach), far pren hir a oedd yn ymestyn ar hyd yr adeilad. Byddai’n llawn glowyr ar ddiwedd y shifft. Roedd gan y pentref Neuadd Les y Glowyr drawiadol hefyd, y talwyd amdani gan gyfraniadau’r glowyr eu hunain. Adeiladwyd Neuadd y Mileniwm sy’n addas i’r oes fodern yn ei lle yn 2002.

Yn ystod y 18^fed ganrif, roedd haearnfaen yn cael ei gloddio’n lleol a’i werthu i waith dur Llandyfan ac Ynyscedwyn. Roedd cyfres o byllau glo llwyddiannus ar hyd y cwm ar ddechau’r 19^eg ganrif, gan gynnwys Glofa Cwmllynfell a agorwyd ym 1820. Oherwydd y galw uchel am lo a haearn lleol yng nghanol y 19^eg ganrif, denwyd mwy a mwy o bobl i’r ardal i chwilio am waith.

Ymhlith y bobl a oedd yn gysylltiedig â Chwmllynfell yn y gorffennol, roedd John Jones, Brynbrain, entrepreneur lleol blaenllaw yn ystod hanner cyntaf y 19^eg ganrif. Drwy ei ymdrechion i ddatblygu pyllau glo a haearnfaen ac adeiladu ffyrdd newydd, cyfrannodd lawer at lwyddiant cynnar y rhanbarth. Roedd Jones yn ddiacon yn hen Gapel Cwmllynfell lle gellir gweld ei garreg fedd o hyd. Ganwyd y bardd, Watcyn Wyn, ger y pentref ac enillodd un o’r gwobrau cyntaf am farddoniaeth mewn Eisteddfod a gynhaliwyd yng Nghwmllynfell ym 1859

Cwmllynfell has an important place in the history of Welsh Nonconformism.  The first independent chapel was built here as early as 1701, on the banks of the Llynfell.  The ruins of the old chapel and its remarkable Victorian graveyard can still be seen.  They were replaced by a bigger graveyard in 1850 and the present chapel in 1905, closer to the village square.

Cwmllynfell stands in the shelter of the Llynfell valley, close to the meeting point of the historic counties of Carmarthenshire, Glamorganshire and Breconshire. There is evidence that people lived here in the Bronze Age, over 4,000 years ago.  In 1984, a hoard of five bronze axe heads from that period was discovered in the village.

The first school in the village was built in 1804 across the Llynfell from the old chapel.  It was the only day school in the area and provided a good education for local children throughout the 19th century.  It was closed in 1883, when the present school was opened.  To celebrate the event, the children followed their headmaster in a procession from the old school to the new building.

By the 20th century, Cwmllynfell was a busy mining settlement, with the colliery tip dominating the local landscape.  The village pub, the Mountain Hare (now known as Y Boblen) had a long wooden bar stretching the length of the building, which would be packed with colliers at the end of the shift.  The village also had its own impressive Miners Welfare Hall, paid for by the contributions from the miners themselves.  This was replaced by the modern Millennium Hall in 2002.

During the 18th century ironstone was being mined locally and sold to the Llandyfan and Ynyscedwyn Ironworks.  There was a string of successful coal mines along the valley during the early 19th century, including Cwmllynfell Colliery, which opened in 1820.  The demand for local coal and iron in the mid-19th century drew more and more people into the area to find work.

Amongst the figures associated with Cwmllynfell in the past was John Jones, Brynbrain, a leading local entrepreneur during the first half of the 19th century.  Through his efforts to develop coal and ironstone mines and build new roads, he contributed much to the early success of the district.  Jones was a deacon at the old Cwmllynfell Chapel, where his gravestone can still be seen.  The poet Watcyn Wyn was born near the village and won one of his first prizes for poetry in an Eisteddfod held at Cwmllynfell in 1859.

Image Courtesy of Cellan Evans