The name 'Betws' is generally thought to be derived from the
Anglo-Saxon 'bed-hus' - a house of prayer, or
oratory, and means "chapel" in the
Welsh language. Until the 19th century, when Ammanford developed extensively, Betws was the largest village in the area. , showing Betws (later detached), Kilvey (later added), and the Town and Franchise of Swansea. The language boundary - with English to the south - is shown as a dotted line. Until the 13th century, Betws was part of
Gower, which is now known as the county of
Swansea but the old
commote border of the rivers Amman and
Loughor moved south and Betws has since the
Acts of Union been part of Welsh-speaking
Carmarthenshire. Until 1817, when a road was built along the Amman valley, Betws was only accessible by roads crossing the mountain from
Neath and
Swansea. This inaccessibility is commemorated in a local saying, which refers to the division between ''Betws a'r Byd'' (Betws and the world). There was a sign on the Amman bridge to this effect: Betws this way, the rest of the world that way. The people of Betws like to make the distinction between themselves and those over the river in
Ammanford. The road bridge between Betws and Ammanford on Park Street was completed in 1892 and rebuilt in 1990 by T Richard Jones (Betws) Ltd. The land for Betws Park was given to Ammanford district Council by
Lord Dynevor in 1903, but the council used it as a rubbish dump until the early 1930s. After this, it was properly developed by local volunteers as a park with
tennis courts. s and other tragic incidents. THEIR MEMORY IS OUR HERITAGE." Betws Park Workshops are a collection of industrial units rented by various businesses. The workshops were opened in 1991, having previously been a screw manufacturing factory (1970–1981) and a lightbulb factory (1983–1986). In addition to this church, the village is also home to the Presbyterian 'Capel Newydd' . Betws
Primary School was built before 1846, extended in 1928 and refurbished in 1988. before being redeveloped as private residence. Betws drift
coal mine opened in 1976 and closed in 2003 and the land is being redeveloped as housing and industrial units, including LBS Builders Merchants. A wind farm was opened on Mynydd Y Betws in 2013 75.1% of residents of Betws and Pontamman said they had 'knowledge of
Welsh language' compared to 63.6% in
Carmarthenshire and 28.4% in
Wales. In the 2021 Census, the Betws ward electorate was 2,398 and the County Councillor is Betsan Jones (Plaid Cymru) The
community is bordered by the communities of:
Llanedi;
Ammanford;
Llandybie; and
Cwmamman, all being in Carmarthenshire; and by
Mawr in the
City and County of Swansea. ==Sports==