Gwent Archives (Welsh: Archifau Gwent) is the local records office and genealogy centre, based in Ebbw Vale, South Wales for the historic county of Monmouthshire. It covers the modern local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly County Borough, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. [1]
Monmouthshire Record Office was established in 1938 at the Shire Hall in Newport. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, it became the Gwent County Record Office and moved to the newly built County Hall in Cwmbran. [1] In October 2011 the record office moved from Cwmbran to a newly developed site in Ebbw Vale and was renamed Gwent Archives. [2]
The Gwent Archives are housed in the Grade II* listed office buildings of Ebbw Vale Steelworks. The red brick building with its tall clock tower was built in 1915/6 for the Ebbw Vale Iron and Steel Company. [3] In 2009 plans were approved for architects Stride Treglown to convert the building into a headquarters for Gwent Record Office, with a new extension, exhibition and educational facilities. [4] [5] The building was finished off with a bilingual poem specially written by the National Poet of Wales, Gillian Clarke, which is partially reproduced on the facade of the new extension. [6]
Gwent Archives has two main strongrooms with 6 miles (10 km) of shelving, [7] containing records going back as far as the 12th-century. [8] The new wing has a double roof to help keep a stable temperature and environment. [9] The Ebbw Vale Steelworks Archive Trust, [10] a voluntary group which preserves the history of the industry in the area, is also based at the Archives. [9]
Cwmbran is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
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).
Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a population of roughly 33,000. It has direct access to the dualled A465 Heads of the Valleys trunk road and borders the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Until 1974, Monmouthshire, also formerly known as the County of Monmouth, was an administrative county in the south-east of Wales, on the border with England, and later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. Its area now corresponds approximately to the present principal areas of Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Newport and Torfaen, and those parts of Caerphilly and Cardiff east of the Rhymney River.
Monmouth was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The seat was created for the 1918 general election. From 2005 until 2024 the Member of Parliament (MP) was David Davies of the Conservative Party.
St Illtyd is a hamlet near Aberbeeg, in southeast Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is situated on the mountain road between Pontypool and Abertillery in Blaenau Gwent. It rests at about 1200 feet above sea level. The Royal Mail postcode is NP13 2AY.
The Ebbw Valley Railway is a branch line of the South Wales Main Line in South Wales. Transport for Wales Rail provides an hourly passenger service each way between Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff Central, and an hourly service each way between Ebbw Vale Town and Newport.
East Wales is either a ITL 3 statistical region of Wales or generally a region encompassing the easternmost parts of the country.
The Gwent County League is a football league in South Wales, consisting of 3 divisions, named the Premier Division, Division One and Division Two. The Premier Division is a feeder to the Ardal Leagues, and therefore sits at tier 4 of the Welsh football pyramid.
Ebbw Vale Town railway station serves the town centre of Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, serving as the terminus of the Ebbw Valley Railway.
The Newport and District Football League is a football league covering the city of Newport and surrounding areas in South Wales. The headquarters are located at Newport Civic Centre.
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Gwent, in the south-east of Wales. Headquartered in Caerleon, the local health board (LHB) was launched in October 2009 through the merger of Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust and Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Newport, Torfaen, and Monmouthshire LHBs. It is named after Aneurin Bevan, a Member of Parliament who represented the area and who was the Minister of Health responsible for the foundation of the National Health Service. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is the operational name of Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board.
Rassau, sometimes The Rassau, is a village and community located in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) and the preserved county of Gwent. It currently lies on the northern edge of the county borough of Blaenau Gwent in Wales. According to the 2011 census, the population of Rassau is 3,234. Residents often refer to either Old Rassau and New Rassau or Bottom Rassau and Top Rassau to distinguish the different parts of the village.
Ebbw Vale Steelworks was an integrated steel mill located in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. Developed from 1790, by the late 1930s it had become the largest steel mill in Europe. It was nationalised after World War II. As the steel industry changed to bulk handling, iron and steel making was ceased in the 1970s, and the site was redeveloped as a specialised tinplate works. It was closed by Corus in 2002, but is being redeveloped in a joint partnership between Blaenau Gwent Council and the Welsh Government.
Ysbyty’r tri Chwm is a mental health facility in Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The site was opened in 1996. It is managed by the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.
Swffryd is a Welsh community on the boundary of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council.
RTB Ebbw Vale Football Club are a Welsh association football club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales. The team was founded in 1951 as the football club of the Richard Thomas and Baldwins Steelworks. They currently play in the Gwent County League Premier Division, which is at the fourth tier of the Welsh football pyramid.
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.
Coalbrookvale is a village in the Ebbw Valley in Blaenau Gwent. It belongs in the community of Nantyglo and Blaina.
The Gwent County Football Association Senior Cup is the regional knock-out competition for clubs beneath the umbrella of the Gwent County Football Association in South Wales.