The Sirhowy Valley ( ) is an industrialised valley in the eastern part of the
Valleys region of
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It is named from the
Sirhowy River () which runs through it. Its upper reaches are occupied by the town of
Tredegar
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 R ...
within the
county borough of
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...
. The valley initially runs south-southeast between the ridges of
Cefn Manmoel to the east and
Mynydd Bedwellte to the west before turning to a more southerly direction. Its central section is one of the least populated of the Welsh coalfield valleys. The valley enters the county borough of
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain.
It is north of Cardiff an ...
, which contains the towns of
Blackwood () and
Pontllanfraith. It then turns east and joins the valley of the
Ebbw River,
Ebbw Vale
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 ...
at
Crosskeys
Crosskeys () is a village, community (Wales), community and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Caerphilly county borough in Wales.
Etymology
The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains ...
.
History
The valley's industrial history began with
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 bloome ...
before evolving to meet the demand for
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
and the expansion of
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
. This process was led by companies such as the
Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. Coal mines used to be located throughout the valley, including:
Wyllie
Wyllie is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adrian Wyllie (born 1970), American political activist, radio personality, and investigative journalist
* Alex Wyllie (born 1944), New Zealand rugby union player and coach
* Andre ...
;
Nine Mile Point and
Oakdale. The Sirhowy passes the old Gelligroes Mill near
Blackwood along its path.
Prior to the
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...
, the valley was served by the
Sirhowy Railway
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 ope ...
,
with stations at many points including Nantybwch,
Argoed,
Blackwood,
Pontllanfraith and
Ynysddu.
References
{{reflist
External links
The Sirhowy Valley Websitewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of the Sirhowy Valley and surrounding area
Valleys of Blaenau Gwent
Valleys of Caerphilly County Borough