Abercarn is a small town and community in Caerphilly county borough, Wales. It is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

on the A467 between Cwmcarn and

Newbridge Newbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Newbridge, New South Wales *Newbridge, Victoria * Newbridge Heights Public School England * Newbridge, Bath, electoral ward *Newbridge, Cornwall, three places in Cornwall with the same name * Newbridge, ...

, within the historic boundaries of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

History

An estate at Abercarn was owned by the ironmaster

Richard Crawshay Richard Crawshay (1739 – 27 June 1810) was a London iron merchant and then South Wales ironmaster; he was one of ten known British millionaires in 1799. Early life and marriage Richard Crawshay was born in Normanton in the West Riding of ...

; in 1808, it passed to his son-in-law, the industrialist and politician Benjamin Hall. The district was traditionally associated with the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

collieries,

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

and tinplate works of the South Wales coalfield and South Wales Valleys, although all have now closed; the town, which lies in the middle portion of the Ebbw valley, being situated on the south-eastern flank of the once great mining region of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

and

. On 11 September 1878, an underground explosion at the Prince of Wales Colliery killed 268 coal miners. Abercarn, High Street

Local government

The area was part of the ancient

parish of

Mynyddislwyn 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 MynyddIslwyn (Islwyn Mountain or Islwyn's Mountain, Islwy ...

until the late 19th century. In 1892 a local board of health and local government district of Abercarn was formed. This became Abercarn urban district in 1894, governed by an urban district council of twelve members. Under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

the urban district was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the borough of

Islwyn The Borough of Islwyn was one of five local government districts of Gwent from 1974 to 1996. History The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent. It covered the whole area of three former districts and part of a four ...

, Gwent. Further local government organisation in 1996 placed the area in the county borough of Caerphilly. The former urban district corresponds to the three communities of Abercarn, Crumlin and

Sport

Abercarn is home to Abercarn Rugby Club which is a member of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

, and to Abercarn United Football Club which plays in division one of the Gwent County League.

Transport

Bus

The town is served by

Stagecoach South Wales Stagecoach in South WalesCompanies House extract company no 255550 ...

services including: * X15 (from

Brynmawr Brynmawr (; , ,) is a market town, community and electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at the head of the South Wales Valleys. It grew with the devel ...

) * 151 gold (from Newport to

Blackwood Interchange Blackwood Interchange ( cy, Cyfnewidfa Coed Duon) is a bus station located in the town centre of Blackwood, Caerphilly, South Wales. It is situated on Gordon Road adjacent to the High Street. Background The existing Blackwood Bus Station r ...

)

Rail

The town is lies between Newbridge railway station and Crosskeys railway station, with the latter is slightly the closer of the two. Both are approximately a four-minute drive or thirty minute walk away. The town was formerly served by

Abercarn railway station Abercarn railway station served the village of Abercarn, in the county of Monmouthshire. History The station was opened by the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company on 21 December 1850. It was resited following a deviation of the line in . It ...

, which closed to passengers in April 1962.

Military

Following the formation of the Territorial Force in 1908, the Abercarn Territorial Cadet Company was formed within the wider Army Cadet Force. Following its formation the company was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment. In 1912 the company was affiliated with the new formed 1st Cadet Battalion,

The Monmouthshire Regiment The Monmouthshire Regiment was a Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial infantry regiment of the British Army. Originating in units of Volunteer Force (Great Britain), rifle volunteers formed in Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in 1859, ...

Notable people

The surgeon Sir Clement Price Thomas (1893–1973) was born in Abercarn. He was famous for his 1951 operation on

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

References

{{authority control Towns in Caerphilly County Borough Local Government Districts created by the Local Government Act 1858 Communities in Caerphilly County Borough