Cwmavon (
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
spelling: Cwmafon; translation: "river valley") is a hamlet about 2 miles south of
Blaenavon
Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Th ...
and 4 miles north of
Pontypool. The hamlet is part of the
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...
of
Abersychan
Abersychan is a town and community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, and lies within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent.
Abersychan lies in the narrow northern section of the Afon Lwy ...
in the county borough of
Torfaen
Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-w ...
in
south east Wales
South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...
, and is within the boundaries of the historic county of
Monmouthshire.
Cwmavon is in the south of the
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, in and around Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, was inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
The Blaenavon Ironworks, now a museum, was a major centre of iron production using locally mined or quarried iron ...
(a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
), the Blaenavon Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest, and in the Cwmavon
Conservation Area.
Geography
The scattered settlement lies in the steep wooded valley of the
Afon Llwyd. The agricultural landscape, with irregular field patterns, scattered farmsteads, woodlands, sheep folds, limestone quarries and kilns is typical of the medieval and post-medieval mixed agriculture in the wider region.
The Afon Llwyd is at the eastern edge of the
South Wales coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espe ...
, so no coal mining took place in Cwmavon. However, the western side of the valley, in areas such as Varteg and Garndiffaith, included coal mines and ironworks.
Industrialisation
In 1793 the
Blaenavon Railroad (a horse drawn
tramroad
A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later.
Plateways consisted of "L"-shaped rails, where the flange ...
) was completed to link
Blaenavon Ironworks
Blaenavon Ironworks is a former industrial site which is now a museum in Blaenavon, Wales. The ironworks was of crucial importance in the development of the ability to use cheap, low quality, high sulphur iron ores worldwide. It was the site o ...
with the
Monmouthshire Canal
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, wit ...
. The engineer for both the tramroad and canal was
Thomas Dadford, Jr
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
for the Monmouthshire Canal Company. The connection between the canal and tramroad at
Pontnewynydd
Pontnewynydd is a predominantly working class suburb of Pontypool, Torfaen, in Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewydd in nearby Cwmbran.
Location
It lies in between Pontypool to the south and Snatchwood to the north. The area of ...
was completed in 1875 and the canal opened in February 1876 for shipping of goods from the ironworks to the port of
Newport.
A branch was built to connect the nearby Varteg Ironworks (founded in 1802) to the railroad at Cwmavon.
In 1806 a forge was built near the Afon Lwyd to serve the ironworks. At about the same time a row of twelve cottages (
Forge Row, Cwmavon
Forge Row is a terrace of seven, originally twelve, cottages build around 1804 for workers at a nearby forge in Cwmavon, Torfaen, south east Wales. The cottages have been sympathetically restored. The terrace is regarded as a fine example of earl ...
) were built for the workers of the forge. The forge closed later but was revived in 1823, and Cwmavon House was built (sometime between 1825 and 1835) about 40m north of Forge Row for Mr Partridge, owner the forge. The forge closed in 1840 and many of the workers moved away.
In 1845 the Monmouthshire Canal Company obtained an Act of Parliament to improve the Blaenavon Railroad and connect it to a new railway to Newport under the control of a new company, the Newport and Pontypool Railway. In 1848, after slow progress on building, the railway company was taken over by the canal company to form the
Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company
The Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company was a canal and railway company that operated a canal and a network of railways in the Western Valley and Eastern Valley of Newport, Monmouthshire. It started as the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation and o ...
. The section from Newport to Pontypool was opened in June 1852, but the northern connection to Blaenavon could not be completed until part of the old canal had been drained.
The completed line opened in 1854.
In 1860 Varteg Collery opened and an incline linked the colliery to
Cwmavon railway station.
Sometime in the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, a file factory opened on the site of the Cwmavon Forge and a house was built nearby.
Cwmavon Reservoir was built in the late 19th century by the Pontypool Gas and Water Company to supply water to Abersychan, and also supplies the village. The reservoir is fed by a spring at its northern end. In 1906 two bodies were discovered in the reservoir in two separate incidents.
In 1900 a new brewery for Westlake's of Blaenavon was built in Cwmavon. The site was chosen as the geology of the Afon Lwyd changes nearby to limestone with springs feeding the river, ensuring a good supply of clean water. The design of the five-storey building, by
George Adlam & Sons
George Adlam & Sons Ltd (formerly known as George Adlam) was an iron and brass foundry and engineering company in Fishponds, Bristol, England.
History
The company was founded around 1800 and became a limited company in 1908.
The company was b ...
, was acclaimed at the time by the ''Brewers Journal'' saying "the plant will be of the most modern description, both scientifically and practically." With its polychromatic tower it was one of Adlam's more flamboyant designs. The site also includes a substantial two storey house with five bays for the manager. By 1907 the brewery had a chain of public houses and in 1911 took over the Castle Brewery in Pontypool.
Transport
The A4043 road passes through Cwmavon. An hourly bus service (operated by Phil Anslow Coaches) runs Monday to Saturday in daytime between Blaenavon, Pontypool and
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to prov ...
.
There are stops at the reservoir, bridge, and community centre.
The
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
route 492 passes to the west of Cwmavon.
The traffic-free route (part of the Torfaen Leisure Route) is open to walkers, and also horse-riders (Pontypool to Garn Lakes, Blaenavon only).
Amenities
The village population is very low, but there is a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
close to the village. The other of Cwmavon's pubs, The Westlakes, named after the former
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
of the same name that is nearby. The Westlakes pub was closed 6 years ago and now the nearest one is The Rising Sun in Abersychan or The Crown in the Varteg. The new Cwmavon Village Hall was built nearly 6 years ago.
Recognition and conservation
In 1973 the 12 cottages at
Forge Row (by now converted into 6 cottages) were designated as Grade II* listed buildings. The cottages were restored in 1989 by the British Historic Buildings Trust and the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
.
The Cwmavon Conservation Area was designated in 1994 by Torfaen Borough Council.
The Blaenavon Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest was one of the landscapes included when the register was first published in 1998.
The Blaenavon Industrial Landscape was added to the
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in 2000.
Recreation
A three-hour circular walk around Cwmavon highlights the industrial and agricultural heritage of area. The Eastern Valley Heritage Ride (34 miles by bicycle) affords views of Cwmavon from the western side of the valley.. The Chartism Trail is 12 mile car tour around Torfaen with stopping points and optional walks, and downloadable MP3 files with commentaries. One of the stops is Forge Row in Cwmavon.
References
External links
Aerial view of Forge Row and Cwmavon House- part of the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
Eastern Valley (1937)- summary of documentary film featuring miners from Cwmavon
Pontpool-Blaenavon cycle route
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Villages in Torfaen