Bedwellty (Welsh: Bedwellte) is a small village in Caerphilly County Borough in south Wales. The village stands on a ridge of high ground between the Rhymney and Sirhowy valleys. The village comprises St Sannan's parish church, public house and a few houses. The register of St Sannan's Church dates from 1624,[1] which qualifies Bedwellty as an ancient parish. Historically the parish lay in the county of Monmouthshire, the hundred of Wentloog, Tredegar County Court District, the rural deanery of Bedwellty, the archdeaconry of Monmouth and the diocese of Llandaff.[2] Several towns based on the iron industry expanded within the parish boundary, including from west to east, Rhymney, Tredegar and Ebbw Vale, which gradually gained administrative independence from Bedwellty between the 1870s and 1890s. A Bedwellty Local Government District was established for the rest of the parish in 1891, becoming an urban district in 1894.
Bedwellty Urban District was abolished in 1974, being divided between the Rhymney Valley and Islwyn districts. A community called Bedwellty was then created for the part of the former urban district which lay within Islwyn. The community of Bedwellty was abolished in 1982, being divided into the four communities of Argoed, Blackwood, Cefn Fforest, and Pengam.
History
The original ancient parish was very large,[3] including most of the upper Ebbw and Sirhowy valleys.[4] The first census, of 1801[5] documented that 619 people lived in the parish, which then included Rhymney and Tredegar.[6] A number of coal mining communities grew up in the parish, and in the 19th century these became separate local government units.
The church of St Sannan was built in a thirteenth century Gothic style. The church tower is fourteenth century and contains six bells. The church was restored in 1858 and repaired in 1882. The exterior is whitewashed.[7]
The Bedwellty Poor Law Union was established in 1849, covering the two parishes of Bedwellty and Aberystruth. A workhouse was built to serve the area at Georgetown in Tredegar, opening in 1852.[8]
On 19 June 1874, Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Tredegarlocal boards of health and local government districts were formed, each including parts of the civil parish. The remainder of the parish of Bedwellty became a local government district on 29 May 1891.[9] When parish and district councils were established under the Local Government Act 1894, the Bedwellty Local Government District became Bedwellty Urban District. The 1894 act also directed that parishes could not straddle district boundaries, and so the parts of Bedwellty parish which were within the Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Tredegar urban districts became separate civil parishes.
In 1926, Bedwellty and Mynyddislwyn urban districts formed the West Monmouthshire Omnibus Board[10] to ensure local control of bus services. In 1935, a County Review Order altered the boundaries between Bedwellty and Mynyddislwyn.
Former Municipal Offices, headquarters of Bedwellty Urban District Council, Commercial Road, Aberbargoed
Bedwellty Urban District Council established its headquarters at the corner of Commercial Road and Bedwellty Road in Aberbargoed. After the council's abolition the building was converted into flats and renamed Blaen-y-Cwm.[11][12]
The urban district was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974. Its area was split: the wards of Aberbargoed, Cwmsyfiog, New Tredegar, and Phillipstown passed to the Rhymney Valley district of Mid Glamorgan, where they became a single community called New Tredegar. The remainder of Bedwellty urban district, comprising the Argoed, Blackwood, Cefn Fforest, and Pengam wards, passed to the Islwyn borough of Gwent, where they became a single community called Bedwellty.[13][14] The Aberbargoed area was later transferred from New Tredegar community to Bargoed community. Bedwellty community was abolished in 1982, being divided between four new communities called Argoed, Blackwood, Cefn Fforest, and Pengam.[15]
Further local government reorganisation in 1996 saw the Rhymney Valley and Islwyn districts united to become the county borough of Caerphilly, bringing the former area of Bedwellty Urban District back within one administrative area. The area of the former Bedwellty Urban District now corresponds to the communities of Argoed, Blackwood, Cefn Fforest, New Tredegar, Pengam, and parts of the communities of Bargoed and Darran Valley.
The parliamentary constituency of Bedwellty was created in 1918 covering a much larger area. It continued to exist until 1983, when it was replaced by the constituency of Islwyn. The member of parliament for the Bedwellty and Islwyn constituencies from 1970 to 1995 was Neil Kinnock, Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, who took the title Baron Kinnock, of Bedwellty in the County of Gwent in 2005.
Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar. Its highest point is Coity Mountain at 1,896 feet (578 m).
The Borough of Islwyn was one of five local government districts of Gwent from 1974 to 1996.
Caerphilly County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Tredegar is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the Industrial Revolution in Wales. The relevant wards collectively listed the town's population as 15,103 in the UK 2011 census.
Blackwood is a town, community and an electoral ward on the Sirhowy River in the South Wales Valleys administered as part of Caerphilly County Borough. It is located within the historic county of Monmouthshire.
Islwyn was a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The area, historically known for coal-mining, had voted for Labour Party candidates since it was created effective at the 1983 general election. Islwyn's first Member of Parliament (MP) was Neil Kinnock, who represented it until he resigned from Parliament in 1995. Kinnock also served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 until 1992.
Pontllanfraith is a large village and community located in the Sirhowy Valley in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is situated adjacent to the town of Blackwood, with the Sirhowy River passing through both locations. The village includes the communities of the Penllwyn, Springfield and The Bryn. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 8,552.
Rhymney Valley was one of six local government districts in Mid Glamorgan from 1974 to 1996.
Mynyddislwyn was a civil parish and urban district in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It was abolished in local government reorganisation in 1974. It is named for the mountain in its centre, Mynydd Islwyn.
Western Monmouthshire was a parliamentary constituency in Monmouthshire, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Ynysddu is a small village and community in the Sirhowy valley of south-east Wales. It is part of the district of Caerphilly within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It lies between to Cwmfelinfach and Wyllie, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) north of the town of Risca and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the market town of Blackwood. It is about 10 minutes by road from the M4 motorway and 20 minutes from the Second Severn Crossing. The population in 2008 was 2,905, increasing to 3,948 at the 2011 Census.
The Sirhowy Tramroad was a plateway built to convey the products of ironworks at Tredegar to Newport, South Wales. It opened in 1805 between Tredegar and Nine Mile Point, a location west of Risca, from where the Monmouthshire Canal Company operated a tramroad to Newport. The Sirhowy Tramroad was operated at first by horse traction, but early locomotives were used, and a passenger service was operated.
The North Gwent Football League is a football league in South Wales. The headquarters are located at The Ex-Servicemens Club, Ebbw Vale.
This is a list of listed buildings in Wales, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom.
The Bedwellty Union Workhouse was situated in Georgetown, Tredegar. It is 2.9 miles (4.7 km) from the Nanybwtch Junction A465. The building was in existence for approximately 127 years. The workhouse building was also used as a hospital. Today, the site where the building once stood, there is a housing estate known as St James Park.
The 1973 Gwent County Council election was held on Thursday 12 April 1973 to elect councillors to the new Gwent County Council, governing the new county of Gwent, Wales. It took place on the same day as other county council elections in the United Kingdom.
Newport West and Islwyn is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, first contested at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies.
↑ Annual Report of the Local Government Board. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1892. p.349. Retrieved 12 October 2022. The County of Monmouth (Bedwellty) Confirmation Order, 1891
↑ Yelton, Michael; Taylor, Chris (2008). West Mon The History of the West Monmouthshire Omnibus Board 1926-74. Glossop, Derbyshire: Venture. ISBN9781905304264.
↑ Planning application 5/5/83/0097: Change of use of buildings and land for residential purposes at Municipal Offices, Aberbargoed, granted 28 March 1983.
↑ "Bedwellty Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
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