Sebastopol is the southernmost suburb of

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

in the county borough of

Torfaen Torfaen (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Newport, Wales, Newport to t ...

, within the historic boundaries of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. It is named in honour of the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

n city

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

(also known as Sebastopol) that was taken during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. It is a working-class area consisting of mainly privately owned terraced houses and a substantial number of local authority/ex-local authority housing (known as the Kemys Fawr Estate).

Layout

Today Sebastopol is a large community that is all but merged with nearby

Griffithstown Griffithstown is a large suburb of Pontypool in the borough of Torfaen, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It is an ecclesiastical parish, formed in May 1898, from Llanfrechfa Upper and Panteg, and includes Sebastopol, but ...

- the boundary being along Cwrdy Road, across Panteg Cricket Club, the Open Hearth and Griffithstown Railway Goods Shed on Station Road. Like nearby

New Inn New Inn () is a village and community directly south east of Pontypool, within the County Borough of Torfaen in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It had a population of 5,986 at the 2011 Census. Location The village is bo ...

, Sebastopol does not have a central village area, but is spread out along its main thoroughfares South Street & Greenhill Road.

Amenities

The settlement has few large landmarks such as Panteg House, Panteg Park, The Crown (built in 1859) and Iestyn's Fish Bar. It has three general shops: two on South Street and one on The Avenue (Kemys Fawr Estate). Its wider economy includes many second-hand car salesrooms on Station Road, "The Open Hearth" (originally the Railway Inn) and "Sebastopol Social Club"

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s. From 1873 to 2004, the main employer for the area was Panteg Steelworks. There are two churches: Penry Gospel Hall and St. Oswald's

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, but most ecclesiastical needs are met by

. Kemys Fawr Infant & Nursery School was located on the Kemys Fawr Estate to provide education for 3 - 7 year olds however, the School was closed (approx 2018) and demolished the ground was used to build Houses and Flats; children then mainly attend

Junior School for further schooling. Until April 2012 there was also a special needs school: Crownbridge School, catering for pupils in the age range 3 - 19 with severe learning difficulties; this has relocated to the grounds of Croesyceiliog School in Cwmbran. There is a park near Kemys Fawr Infant & Nursery School with a football pitch. The

Monmouthshire Canal Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, built in the 1790s, runs through Sebastopol from

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

on its way to Newport.

South Sebastopol (Edlogan Wharf) development

Since 1996 local residents resisted plans of developers put forward under the Local Plan of

Torfaen County Borough Council Torfaen County Borough Council () is the governing body for Torfaen, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. History The borough council was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as a lower-tier district council with borough status. ...

to build homes and small business premises on a large green fields area. To be known as "South Sebastopol", a wide tract of new housing would fill the gap between the

district suburbs of northern

to the

Cwmbran Cwmbran ( ; , 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 counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was ...

district suburbs of southern

. In 2011 outline plans drawn were refused by the council. Detailed plans were approved in October 2014, and work started in April 2016. As of 2019, there are three property developers building estates within South Sebastopol, the largest being Edlogan Wharf by Taylor Wimpey, followed by Hanbury Village by Barratt and Pastures Green by Lewis.

Notable people

* Terry Hubbard (born 1950), Welsh former professional footballer * James Waite, Welsh professional footballer

References

{{Authority control Villages in Torfaen Suburbs of Pontypool