Like the neighbouring village of Glanamman it experienced a coal-mining boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the last big colliery closed in 1936 and coal has been extracted fitfully since then.

The location of Garnant and Glanamman was known as Cwmamman ("Amman valley") before coal was discovered; until the 18th century it was a remote wilderness with just a few farms and rough mountain roads.

Mining appears to have started at Brynlloi in Glanamman in 1757[2] and small coal workings proliferated in the first half of the 19th century.

[2] Cwmamman, the old name for the location of Glanamman and Garnant, was revived for the modern urban community covering the two villages, which now have much smaller populations than in their heyday at the turn of the 20th century.

Rhodri Glyn Thomas of Plaid Cymru currently represents the village at the Welsh Assembly in the constituency of Carmarthen East and Dinefwr.

The village is about 12 miles north of Swansea on the edge of the Black Mountain, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

The effect of the mining boom can be seen in the expansion of Cwmamman parish (including Glanamman and surrounding villages) from just over 3,000 in 1851 to over 11,000 in the early 20th century.

Other industries sprang up in the valley during the 19th century, including the Amman Tinplate Works between 1883 and 1932 which was turned into Parc Golwg Yr Aman.

Old Bethel Chapel, also known as The Old Meeting House, was built in 1773 high on the north side of the valley between Glanamman and Garnant.

[7] Garnant Park (formerly Cwmamman Recreation Ground) was part of Lord Dynevor's Glanrafon Farm estate.

[9] Players who have gone on to rugby at international level include Claude Davey, Tom Day and Trevor Evans of the British Lions.