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Tredegar (; ) is a town and
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
situated on the banks of the
Sirhowy River The Sirhowy River () is a river in Wales and a tributary of the Ebbw River. Sources The Sirhowy River has its source on the slopes of Cefn Pyllau-duon above Tredegar. After flowing through Siôn-Sieffre's Reservoir it turns south through Tred ...
in 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 ...
, in the southeast of Wales. 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 ...
, it became an early centre of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
in
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 ...
. The relevant wards (Tredegar Central and West, Sirhowy and Georgetown) collectively listed the town's population as 15,103 in the UK 2011 census.


The origin of the name 'Tredegar'

Tredegar was originally part of the Tredegar Estate, the seat of which was in Coedcernyw, outside Newport, and which extended northwards to include almost the entire length of the
Sirhowy Valley The Sirhowy Valley ( ) is an industrialised valley in the eastern part of the Valleys region of Wales. It is named from the Sirhowy River () which runs through it. Its upper reaches are occupied by the town of Tredegar within the county borou ...
. Local historian Oliver Jones (1969) writes that, by c.1803, the new town that had been created after the completion of the Furnace No 3 of the local iron works:
...was becoming known far and wide as ''
Tredegar Iron Works The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond the Confederate capital. Tredegar supplied about half the art ...
'' and not as ''Tredegar'' as would be expected, the town not having or being allowed to have an identity apart from the industry that sustained it. And as Tredegar Iron Works it continued to be known for many years. Tombstones in the old Cholera Cemetery on
Cefn Golau Cefn Golau Cholera Cemetery is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is situated on a narrow mountain ridge in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent between Rhymney and Tredegar in South East Wales. The Welsh name 'Cefn Golau' means 'hill of light'. ...
describe the victims of the 1832 and 1848 epidemics as "natives of the Tredegar Iron Works" and as late as the 1860's letters were still being addressed, for example, to "Mr. John Lewis, East Lane, Tredegar Iron Works.' (op. cit.: 41)
The previous analysis is supplemented by the fact that company's buildings appeared on the 1832
Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
map as 'Tredegar Iron Works'. Jones didn't state when the name of the new town was shortened to 'Tredegar'. But when its name was shortened, it resulted in the existence of two Tredegars, one at each end of the estate: one at the top of the Sirhowy Valley and the other outside Newport. In 1881,
Octavius Morgan Charles Octavius Swinnerton Morgan DL, JP, FRS, FSA (15 September 1803 – 5 August 1888), known as Octavius Morgan, was a British politician, historian and antiquary. In 1840, in his capacity as a JP he served on the Grand Jury at Monmouth ...
, the fourth son of Sir Charles Morgan of Tredegar, had published his
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
of the name of his ancestral home, which he had republished in 1886. He divided his etymology into two parts, about the Welsh adjective 'tref' and the noun 'degar'. He began by dismissing four derivations of 'tref': 'the foot of the camp', 'ten plough-lands', 'ten acres' and 'two forts', which he described as 'conjectural'. He then proposed his derivation, which he described as 'most obvious' and 'the true one' – that 'tref' means 'the dwelling place, chief mansion, or homestead of some important person'. Morgan then cited a poem, a manuscript and a pedigree in support of his proposal that 'degar' was derived from an historical personage called 'Teigr', whose name was changed to 'Deigr' to enable euphony (see the entry for the term in
Phonaesthetics Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of the beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words. The term was first used in this sense, perhaps by during the mid-20th century ...
), which in turn was styled as 'degyr, which then in another context presumably became 'Degar'. Bartrum (2009, originally 1993) explicitly concurred with Octavius Morgan in the entry for "Deigr ap Dyfnwal Hen (Legendary)" in his ''A Welsh Classical Dictionary'', while Osborne and Hobbs (1992) and Owen and Morgan (2007) implicitly did so. In the local
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
dialect known as
Gwenhwyseg or (also called " Gwentian" in English) is a Welsh dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well ...
, the name was often pronounced as ''Tredecar'' (with
provection Provection (from Latin: ''provectio'' "advancement") is a technical term of linguistics with two main senses. (1) The carrying over of the final consonant of a word to the beginning of the following word. Examples in English include Middle Engli ...
of /g/ to /k/). There was also a shortened form ''Decar''.


History


Industrialisation

Tredegar became industrialised because the local availability of easily accessible iron ore and the three natural resources which enabled iron production: * wood, which was used to produce charcoal as a fuel * coal, which was used to produce coke as a fuel * water, from the fast-flowing
Sirhowy River The Sirhowy River () is a river in Wales and a tributary of the Ebbw River. Sources The Sirhowy River has its source on the slopes of Cefn Pyllau-duon above Tredegar. After flowing through Siôn-Sieffre's Reservoir it turns south through Tred ...
, which could be used for scouring (separating the topsoil from the underlying iron ore). There is disagreement about the date when the first furnace was built locally. In his 1903 ''History of the iron, steel, tinplate and ... other trades of Wales'', Charles Wilkins described a charcoal-fired furnace, Pont Gwaith yr Haiarn lternatively 'Hearn'('the bridge iron works'), four miles south of Tredegar, as 'one of the oldest places on the hills for ironmaking.' He cited in support of his description the Rev. R. Ellis ('Cynddelw'), who had claimed, 'many years ago', that old inhabitants 'fixed the earliest date of working there as at the close of seventeenth century, probably about 1690.' (ibid.) In contrast, local author David Morris ('Eiddil Gwent') related in his ''Hanes Tredegar'' his conversation with an old lady, 'Mrs Thomas', who told him that her father and husband's relations had worked in the furnace at Pont Gwaith yr Hearn, next to the Sirhowy River, four miles south of Tredegar. The furnace was developed by two
Bretons The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...
and worked by men from
Penydarren : ''For Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive, see Richard Trevithick#"Pen-y-Darren" locomotive, Richard Trevithick.'' Penydarren is a Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales. Description The area ...
,
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
. Morris concluded that they had built the furnace 'about the year 1738 or 1739.' Local historian Oliver Jones cast doubt on the claim of David Morris in his 1969 book ''The early days of Sirhowy and Tredegar''. He commented that "when the Bretons arrived in 1738 they simply took over a works which had been in existence for many years." There is also disagreement about the next furnace that was built locally, the coal-fired Sirhowy Furnace. Evan Powell claimed in his 1884 ''History of Tredegar'' that it was erected 'a few years' after the closure of the Pont Gwaith yr Hearn furnace, by a Mr Kettle of
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
. Oliver Jones also cast doubt on this claim. He commented: 'neither maps nor documents support owell.... Nor does Kettle, the name of the man who is supposed to have built it at that time, appear anywhere in the records.' However, there is agreement that a furnace was built 'near the confluence of Nant Melin brook and the river Sirhowy at the place then called Aber-Sirhowy' in 1778, by manual workers who were hired by a consortium of four men: Thomas Atkinson, a merchant from York, and three businessmen from London, William Barrow, Bolton Hudson and John Sealy, who were 'involved in the tea and grocery trade'. The consortium secured a forty-year lease on local lands from Charles Henry Burgh, who had inherited the estate of his father, the Rev. Henry Burgh. It employed miners who drove coal levels into the hillsides at Bryn Bach and Nantybwch, the first small-scale coal mining operation in the area, for the coal-fired furnace. (Oliver Jones documented that, from the mid-1780s, 'coal mining became more systematic and much better organised'.) Other trades that the consortium employed included furnacemen, furnace helpers, smiths, cokers, masons and mule drivers.


Tredegar Ironworks

In 1797,
Samuel Homfray Samuel Homfray (1762 – 22 May 1822) was an English industrialist during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, associated with the early iron industry in South Wales. Samuel was the son of a successful ironmaster, Francis Homfray, and ...
, with partners Richard Fothergill and Matthew Monkhouse, built a new furnace, leasing the land from the
Tredegar Estate Baron Tredegar, of Tredegar House, Tredegar in the Monmouthshire (historic), County of Monmouth, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 April 1859 for the Wales, Welsh politician Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar ...
in Newport.B. Gardner's History of Tredegar and other information
This created the new
Sirhowy Ironworks : ''For the ironworks in the US state of Virginia, see Tredegar Iron Works.'' Tredegar Iron and Coal Company was an important 19th century ironworks in Tredegar, Wales, which due to its need for coke became a major developer of coal mines and p ...
, that were in 1800 to become the
Tredegar Iron Company : ''For the ironworks in the US state of Virginia, see Tredegar Iron Works.'' Tredegar Iron and Coal Company was an important 19th century ironworks in Tredegar, Wales, which due to its need for coke became a major developer of coal mines and p ...
, named in honour of the Tredegar Estate at
Tredegar House Tredegar House (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Tŷ Tredegar'') is a 17th-century Charles II of England, Charles II-era mansion in Coedkernew, on the southwestern edge of Newport, Wales. For over five hundred years it was home to the Morgan family, late ...
and
Tredegar Park Tredegar Park () is a country park situated in the Coedkernew area of Newport, Wales. It lies close to junction 28 of the M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingd ...
in Newport in the south of the county. Before 1800, Tredegar 'contained only three houses'. In 1891, the company ceased production of iron, but continued to develop coal mines and produce coal. The former Tredegar Ironworks were effectively abandoned, with Whiteheads taking over the southern section of the site from 1907. In 1931, they also closed down their operations, moving everything to their Newport works. TICC continued to develop coal mines and work pits, until it was nationalised in 1946, becoming part of the
National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...
. The
Tredegar Iron Works The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond the Confederate capital. Tredegar supplied about half the art ...
in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
was named in honour of the town.


Tredegar Circle

Samuel Homfray Samuel Homfray (1762 – 22 May 1822) was an English industrialist during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, associated with the early iron industry in South Wales. Samuel was the son of a successful ironmaster, Francis Homfray, and ...
, an iron master who managed to obtain a large parcel of land in and around Tredegar, is to be thanked for Tredegar Circle and the wide streets running out from it. He showed a great concern about the state of the current streets and how narrow they were, deciding that his new town would have wide streets running out from a central place. Tredegar Circle was first known as 'The Square', but as buildings and shops developed around it people within Tredegar began to refer to it as 'The Circle'. The town clock which stands in the middle of Tredegar Circle was once where the town stocks resided, with there being records of people being put into the stocks to be punished for petty misdemeanours. People being punished within the stocks would have their legs trapped in the stocks, being kept outside for hours in all weather conditions. Prostitution was rife within Tredegar Circle, almost having a reputation of being a 'red light district' in the earlier days. Tredegar Circle was also seen as being an important 'shopping centre', many local tradespeople would go there to set up stalls and sell their wares to the people within Tredegar, before the town clock was erected. Horses and carts loaded with goods would clatter around Tredegar Circle, with almost every type of produce being available to buy within Tredegar Circle. Tredegar Town Hall, a prominent building in The Circle, was rebuilt in 1892. Tredegar Circle is also known for the pubs that occupy it, although there have been many that have closed down over the years such as the Greyhound Inn and the Freemasons, both once very popular with local workers. There have been many reported arrests within Tredegar Circle, in both present and earlier days, due to drunken and disorderly behaviour.


Welsh language

According to the 2011 Census, 5.4% of Tredegar Central and West's 6,063 (328 residents) resident-population can speak, read, and write
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
.Welsh language skills by electoral division, 2011 Census
Retrieved 13/12/21
This is below the
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
's figure of 5.5% of 67,348 (3,705 residents) who can speak, read, and write
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
.


Riots

The town is known for its three major riots. In 1868, there were the election riots, which took place after the locals' favourite candidate, Colonel Clifford, was not elected. Secondly in 1882, there was a major anti-Irish riot in Tredegar. There had been a large Irish community in Tredegar since the 1850s, and for a while there had been tensions. Reports from the time vary, however where they all concur includes the fact the riot began with stone throwing and quickly escalated with Irishmen's homes being destroyed and furniture burned in the streets. The Irish were run out of Tredegar and some were beaten. Troops from Newport and Cardiff had to be called in to quell the violence Thirdly, there were the anti-Jewish riots of 1911, which some called a
pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
, when Jewish shops were ransacked and the army had to be brought in. Though Jewish businesses and property were attacked, nobody was killed in this riot.


Foundation

Samuel Homfray Samuel Homfray (1762 – 22 May 1822) was an English industrialist during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, associated with the early iron industry in South Wales. Samuel was the son of a successful ironmaster, Francis Homfray, and ...
and his partners needed accommodation for their workers, and so needed to develop a suitable town. The land on the eastside of the Sirhowy river was owned by Lt.Col. Sir
Charles Gould Morgan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Gould Morgan, 2nd Baronet (4 February 1760 – 5 December 1846), was a Welsh soldier and politician, the MP for Brecon and County of Monmouth. Early career The 2nd baronet was the son of Sir Charles Morgan, 1s ...
who granted a lease in 1799 to build Tredegar Ironworks Company. In 1800, Homfray married Sir Charles daughter Jane, and hence improved his lease terms. The west bank of the river was owned by
Lord Tredegar Baron Tredegar, of Tredegar in the County of Monmouth, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 April 1859 for the Welsh politician Sir Charles Morgan, 3rd Baronet, who had earlier represented Brecon in Parliamen ...
, and hence in the short term remained undeveloped. Homfray was a hard task master. He sold franchises to business people who wanted to operate within his town, from which he would take a percentage. He paid his workers in his own private coinage, so that they could not easily spend their wages outside the town. However, the opportunity to work created a boom town, which with a parish population of 1,132 in 1801 had boomed to 34,685 by 1881, in part boosted by the laying of the stretch of horse drawn track to Newport in 1805. But all of this development came at a price. Adrian Vaughn, in his 1985 book ''Grub, Water & Relief'', mentions that in 1832 John Gooch took a managerial post in the Tredegar iron works: There were several
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemics in the town in the 19th century, and a dedicated cholera burial ground was established at
Cefn Golau Cefn Golau Cholera Cemetery is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is situated on a narrow mountain ridge in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent between Rhymney and Tredegar in South East Wales. The Welsh name 'Cefn Golau' means 'hill of light'. ...
.


Governance


Links with the Labour Party

Tredegar has strong links with prominent Labour MPs and the history of the Labour Party and the
Labour Movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
in Britain as a whole. It was the birthplace of
Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...
, who was responsible for the introduction of the British
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
(NHS), and who in the 1920s was involved in the management of Tredegar General Hospital.
Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...
, leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, was born in Tredegar in 1942 and lived there for most of his early life, attending the town's Georgetown Infants and Junior Schools between 1947 and 1953.The Georgetown Schools (1877–1989) Clarice Brown Starling Press, Newport 1989 His predecessor as leader,
Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...
, was Labour MP for the local constituency —
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 ...
— during his time as party leader. As part of the once safe Labour constituency of Blaenau Gwent, Tredegar was for a period represented by the independent left-wing politician Dai Davies until the general election of 2010, when it reverted to Labour.


Architecture


Bedwellty House

Bedwellty House is a
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
house and gardens. Originally a "low thatched-roof cottage", the old house was renovated in 1809. The present Bedwellty House was built in 1818 as a home for
Samuel Homfray Samuel Homfray (1762 – 22 May 1822) was an English industrialist during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, associated with the early iron industry in South Wales. Samuel was the son of a successful ironmaster, Francis Homfray, and ...
, whose Iron and Coal Works were the main local employers for much of the 19th century. The surrounding
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
garden and park, designed originally as a
Dutch garden Dutch garden refers firstly to gardens in the Netherlands, but also, mainly in the English-speaking countries, to various types of gardens traditionally considered to be in a Dutch style, a presumption that has been much disputed by garden historia ...
around which one could walk or ride without being confronted by gate, fence or outside features, contains the Long Shelter, also a Grade II listed structure built for the
Chartist Movement Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, wi ...
.


Town Clock

One of Tredegar's main attributes is the Town Clock, erected in 1858, which dominates the southern part of the town centre. The clock was made by J. B. Joyce & Co of
Whitchurch, Shropshire Whitchurch is a market town in the north of Shropshire, England. It lies east of the Wales, Welsh border, 2 miles south of the Cheshire border, north of the county town of Shrewsbury, south of Chester, and east of Wrexham. At the 2021 Unit ...
and was the idea of Mrs. R. P. Davies, the wife of the Tredegar Ironworks manager, who had decided that she wanted to present a "lofty illuminated clock", and it was she who decided that it would be erected in the Circle.Old Tredegar Volume One W. Scandlett
"The clock tower is seventy-two feet high. The foundation is of masonry, on which is surmounted the cast-iron base which has four arms from each corner to a distance of sixty feet at a depth of five feet and below ground level. The pillar is wholly composed of cast-iron, upon a square pediment which in turn, receives a rectangular plinth, and upon this stands a cylindrical column of smooth surface and symmetrical diameter, ornamented with suitable coping on which rests the clock surrounded with a weather vane. The plinth is inscribed on the four aspects, on the south side - Presented to the town of Tredegar from the proceeds of a bazaar promoted by Mrs. R.P. Davis. Erected in the year 1858. On the west side is effigy of Wellington, with the legend - Wellington, England's Hero. On the North, the Royal Arms of England; and on the east, the name and description of the founder with his crest, - Charles Jordan, Iron Founder, Newport, Mon. The clock is provided with four transparent faces or dials, each five feet three inches diameter, and these were illuminated originally by gas, but this was later changed to electricity. The minute hands are each two feet two inches long, and the hour hand one foot seven inches long. The clocks mechanism is a mainwheel strike, with a single four-legged Gravity Escapement driving the four dials. It has a 1¼ second pendulum and the bob weighs two hundredweight".Tredegar Urban District Council's "Centenary Souvenir", 1958
The clock stopped working in January 2007 due to rain water affecting the rebuilt electrical mechanism. A campaign was set up to petition the council to repair the clock before its 150th anniversary in 2008. Further repairs were necessary in 2020, which were undertaken by
Smith of Derby Group Smith of Derby Group is a clockmakers, clockmaker based in Derby, England founded in 1856. Smith of Derby has been operated continuously under five generations of the Smith family. History John Smith (21 December 1813 - 1886)Tredegar Town Band, which takes part in national competitions, was founded in 1849. Tredegar Orpheus
Male voice choir A men's chorus or male voice choir (MVC) (German: ''Männerchor''), is a choir consisting of men who sing with either a tenor or bass voice, and whose music is typically arranged into high and low tenors (1st and 2nd tenor), and high and low bas ...
, which takes its name from
Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...
, the
Greek god In ancient Greece, deities were regarded as immortal, anthropomorphic, and powerful. They were conceived of as individual persons, rather than abstract concepts or notions, and were described as being similar to humans in appearance, albeit larg ...
of music, was founded in 1909. Tredegar is home to
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
teams Tredegar Rugby Football Club who play in the Swalec League Division Two East and Tredegar Ironsides Rugby Football Club. The club was formed in 1946. There is also the nearby Tredegar and Rhymney Golf Club. Tredegar is home to Bryn Bach Park, a
country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a specific meaning. There are around 250 designated c ...
. Home of the Blaenau Gwent film Academy which gives young people (7–18) opportunity to learn how to produce films and build up confidence, which has gone to produce both multi award-winning films Life of a Plastic Cup and Stationary Bike based on the short story by Stephen King.


Local schools

* Two
dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for children aged two to five. They emerged in Great Britain and its colonies during the Early modern Britain, early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman ...
s prior to 1828 * The Town School opened in 1837 * Earl Street mixed Junior & Infants Schools in 1876 * Georgetown schools in 1877. First Headmistress in 1878 * Georgetown Senior Boys School in 1904 * Sirhowy School * Tredegar
Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
* Tredegar Secondary Modern * Thomas Richards Centre * Tredegar
Comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
* Deighton
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
* Glanhowy primary school * Georgetown primary school (rebuilt 2004) * St. Joseph's R.C. school * Brynbach primary school


Transport

The need for transport development came from Tredegar's industrialisation. By 1805, a joint venture between the Tredegar Iron Company and the Monmouthshire Canal resulted in the early development of what became the
Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway The Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway, also known as the ''Heads of the Valleys line'', was a railway line which operated between 1860 and 1958 between the Monmouthshire town of Abergavenny and the Glamorgan town of Merthyr Tydfil in So ...
, connecting Tredegar to
Newport Docks Newport Docks is the collective name for a group of docks in the city of Newport, south-east Wales. By the eighteenth century there were a number of wharves on the west shore of the River Usk; iron and coal were the principal outward traffic. Th ...
through of tramway. Originally powered by horses, in 1829 Chief Engineer Thomas Ellis was authorised to purchase a steam locomotive from the Stephenson Company. Built at Tredegar Works and made its maiden trip on 17 December 1829. In 1865, the railway was extended north to
Nantybwch Nantybwch railway station was a station on the London and North Western Railway's Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway, Heads of the Valleys line serving the village of Nantybwch in the Wales, Welsh county of Monmouthshire. The village Nant ...
to meet the
LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
. The railway declined with the industrial works, and Tredegar railway station closed with 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 ...
in 1963. The closest railway stations now are in Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Abergavenny. The proposed
South Wales Metro The South Wales Metro () is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based public transport services and systems network being developed in South East Wales around the hub of railway station.The development will also include the electrif ...
includes a station in Tredegar, using the line closed by British Railways as part of their Beeching modernisation plan. For much of the 20th Century Tredegar was served by two bus companies:
Red & White Services Red & White Services was a bus company operating in south east South Wales, Wales and Gloucestershire, England between 1929 and 1978. Red & White evolved into Red & White United Transport Ltd, formed in 1937, which owned bus and road freigh ...
Ltd (based in Chepstow) and Hill's of Tredegar (a local family-owned business). Red & White can trace their services in the town back to 13 June 1921, when John Watts & partner started the Valleys Motor Bus Services running two routes from Tredegar. Their operation expanded and by 1930 had become Red & White Services. The company had a large depot in the town and built a brand new Bus Station (in front of the depot building) which was opened 30 January 1959 by then local MP Aneurin Bevan.


Carreg Bica Isaf

In October 2013, a local farmer was jailed for ten months after he permitted 4,700 loads of waste to be illegally dumped on his land, earning £283,000. A spokesmen for
Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales () is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Countryside Council for Wales, E ...
hoped the case would show that people could not profit from illegal dumping.


Filming location

Tredegar has been used for numerous TV and film locations, including ''
The District Nurse ''The District Nurse'' is a television series produced by BBC Wales and shown on BBC One between 1984 and 1987. The series was a period drama created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland (who both went on to create ''EastEnders'') and starred Nerys ...
'' starring
Nerys Hughes Nerys Hughes (born 8 November 1941) is a Welsh actress and narrator, known primarily for her television roles, including her parts in the BBC TV series '' The Liver Birds'' (1971-1978) and '' The District Nurse'' (1984-1987). Early life and e ...
. In 1982, a televised version of the
A.J. Cronin Archibald Joseph Cronin (Cronogue) (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981) was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is '' The Citadel'' (1937), about a Scottish physician who serves in a Welsh mining village before achieving succes ...
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
, ''
The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...
'', was filmed in Tredegar, starring
Ben Cross Harry Bernard Cross (16 December 1947 – 18 August 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 film ''Chariots of Fire'' and for playing Billy Flynn in the or ...
. The series was based partly on Cronin's experiences as a doctor in the town, where he had worked for the Tredegar Medical Aid Society in the early 1920s. This society contributed the model which established the British
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
.How the Medical Aid Society started...
, Tredegar Development Trust, accessed 17 May 2010
Aneurin Bevan who launched the Health Service in 1948 said ""All I am doing is extending to the entire population of Britain the benefits we had in Tredegar for a generation or more. We are going to 'Tredegarise' you"
60 Years of the NHS, accessed May 2010
Just north of Tredegar lies the
Trefil Trefil is a small village in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. It lies at the top of the Sirhowy Valley, near to Brecon Beacons National Park. It is three miles northwest of Tredegar. With one public house, The Top House, serving ...
region. Trefil found new fame in 2005 when it was used as a location for the alien
Vogon The Vogons are a fictional alien race from the planet Vogsphere in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''—initially a BBC Radio series by Douglas Adams—who are responsible for the destruction of the Earth, in order to facilitate an interga ...
homeworld in the film of
Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...
's book ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...
''. In 2011, the Trefil Region was once again used as a filming location for a major Hollywood production when parts of a sequel to ''Clash of the Titans'' was filmed there. In the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' universe, Trefil has featured as the
Ood The Ood are an alien species with telepathic abilities from the long-running science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future (circa 42nd century). The Ood are portrayed as a slave race, natura ...
home planet and in
The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC s ...
. On 13 May 2008, the car crash scene for short film ''
Cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...
'' was filmed on the Tredegar bypass. 'Cow' was produced by Gwent Police and Tredegar Comprehensive School to highlight the dangers of
texting while driving Texting while driving, also called texting and driving, is the act of composing, sending, or reading text messages on a mobile phone while driving, operating a motor vehicle. Texting while driving is considered traffic safety, extremely dangerous ...
. The movie was made available online and received widespread attention, featuring on TV news programs, in newspapers and internet forums worldwide. On 25 January 2010, the independent movie A Bit of Tom Jones? premiered at
Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leice ...
, London. Filmed in and around Tredegar, using local people and professional actors, the film was funded by local businesses. The ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' episode
The Hungry Earth "The Hungry Earth" is the eighth episode of the Doctor Who (series 5), fifth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on 22 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Chris Chibnall, who had ...
was filmed in Bedwellty Pits in 2010. In 2018, the news of Blaenau Gwent film Academy (based in Tredegar's Little Theatre) was set to adapt the Stephen King's short story 'Stationary Bike' spread literally around the world, all of which would be filmed in Tredegar and the nearby
Trefil Trefil is a small village in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. It lies at the top of the Sirhowy Valley, near to Brecon Beacons National Park. It is three miles northwest of Tredegar. With one public house, The Top House, serving ...
region


Notable people

:''See also :People from Tredegar'' *
Anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
, five-piece
melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...
band *
Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...
, Labour statesman, founder of the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
and Member of Parliament for
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 ...
(1929–60) *
Mark Colbourne Mark Lee Colbourne Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 9 November 1969) is a former Welsh people, Welsh paralympic-cyclist, who competed for both Wales and Great Britain. Early life Colbourne was born on 9 November 1969 in Tredegar, Monmout ...
, gold and silver medallist at the
2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...
* Walter Conway, Secretary of the Tredegar Medical Aid Society, the model which established the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
*
George Cording George Ernest Cording (1 January 1878 – 2 February 1946) was a Welsh cricketer. Cording was a right-handed batsman who fielded as a wicket-keeper. He was born at Tredegar, Monmouthshire. Cording made his debut in county cricket for Glamo ...
, cricketer who played as a wicket-keeper for
Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...
*
Vincent Cronin Vincent Archibald Patrick Cronin (Cronogue) FRSL (24 May 1924 – 25 January 2011) was a British historical, cultural, and biographical writer, best known for his biographies of Louis XIV, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great and ...
, historical, cultural, and biographical writer, especially of the
Renaissance period The Renaissance ( , ) is a period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and surpass the ideas ...
* Alun Davies, Labour Assembly Member for the Mid and West Wales region * James Davis, United States Secretary of Labor,
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, founder of
Moose International The Moose Fraternity (formerly The Loyal Order of Moose) is a Fraternity, fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois. Moose International supports the operation of Mooseheart, Illinois, Mo ...
, the Grand Lodge of Moose in Great Britain *
Bradley Dredge Bradley Dredge (born 6 July 1973) is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He has won twice on the tour, the 2003 Madeira Island Open and the 2006 Omega European Masters, both by 8 strokes. He also won the 2005 WGC-World ...
, professional golfer on the
PGA European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
* Jonathan Evans,
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
former Member of Parliament for Cardiff North *
Bert Gray Albert Gray (23 September 1900 – 16 December 1969) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as goalkeeper for various clubs in the 1920s and 30s, including Oldham Athletic, Manchester City, Tranmere Rovers and Chester. For his country, ...
, footballer who played as a goalkeeper for
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...
and the Welsh national team * Mark Jones, dual-code rugby player who played for both Welsh national teams and Great Britain in rugby league * Patrick Jones, poet, playwright, and filmmaker, known for collaborating with the
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...
*
Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...
, Member of Parliament for
Bedwellty Bedwellty () is a small village in Caerphilly County Borough in south Wales. The village stands on a ridge of high ground between the Rhymney Valley, Rhymney and Sirhowy Valley, Sirhowy valleys. The village comprises St Sannan's parish church, ...
and
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 fou ...
(1970–95), Leader of the Labour Party, European Commissioner and Life Peer as Baron Kinnock of Bedwellty. *
Stephen Kinnock Stephen Nathan Kinnock (born 1 January 1970) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberafan Maesteg, formerly Aberavon, since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Minister of State for Care since 2 ...
, Labour Member of Parliament for
Aberavon Aberavon () is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Por ...
(2015 to date), business executive and husband of Danish Prime Minister,
Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...
* Stuart Lane, rugby union player for
Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...
,
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 ...
, and the
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
*
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
, footballer for
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
and Newport County * Douglas McKie (1896–1967) chemist *
Nicki McNelly Nicola McNelly (née Calder; born 1 May 1962) is a British Anglican priest. From 2012 to 2017, she was the Provost of St John's Cathedral, Oban in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Since 2017, she has been Rector of St Cuthbert's Episcopal Church, ...
, Anglican priest, former Provost of St John's Cathedral, Oban * Christopher Meredith, poet, novelist and faculty of
University of Glamorgan The University of Glamorgan () was a public university based in South Wales, that merged with University of Wales, Newport to form the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with ...
*
Tracey Moberly Tracey Moberly (born Tracey Karen Wood, Tredegar, South Wales, 1964; formerly married as Sanders-Wood) is an interdisciplinary artist, author and radio show host, and was also a co-owner of the Foundry in London. She exhibits prolifically and ...
, artist, author and radio show host, best known for her politically focused work * David Morgan, cricket administrator, former
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of the
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
and chairman of the
England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...
and
Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...
* Glyn Parry, historian and faculty of
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...
* Garyn Preen, footballer who currently plays for Merthyr Town *
Berwyn Price Berwyn Price (born 15 August 1951) is a Welsh former international athlete who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics. Biography Price was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, and studied at Lewis School, Pengam and the ...
, gold and silver medallist at the
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
and
1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...
*
Ray Reardon Raymond Reardon (8 October 1932 – 19 July 2024) was a Welsh professional snooker player who dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and claiming more than a dozen other professional titles. Due to h ...
, six-time
World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
-winning snooker player * Moses Russell, football player for
Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...
and the Welsh national team * Nick Smith Labour Member of Parliament for
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 ...
(2010-) *
Jason Strange Jason Strange (born 8 October 1973 in Tredegar, Wales) is a former Welsh rugby union player and now coach. An outside half, he was a prolific goal-kicker. Strange played his club rugby for a number of clubs in Wales including Pontypridd RFC, Ebb ...
, rugby union player for many clubs, currently at
Ebbw Vale RFC Ebbw Vale Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales. The club play in the Super Rygbi Cymru and act as a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. History Evidence of rugb ...
* Philip Weekes, mining engineer and manager of the
National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...
's South Wales coalfields *
Bryan White Bryan Shelton White (born February 17, 1974) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, White released his self-titled debut album that year. Both it and its follow-up, 1996's '' Between Now ...
, former mayor of Tredegar and senior member of the Loyal Order of Moose in Great Britain * Arthur Henry Williams, trade union organiser and Member of the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
for
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
*
Denzil Williams Denzil Williams (born 17 October 1938) is a former Wales international rugby union player. He was capped 36 times for Wales between 1963 and 1971, including Wales' first overseas tour in 1964. He played in the Welsh rugby team's first match outs ...
(born 1938), Rugby Union player for
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 ...
and the
British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
* Phil Williams, scientist and
Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
Assembly Member for the South Wales East region (1999–2003) *
Cliff Wilson Clifford Wilson (10 May 1934 – 21 May 1994) was a Welsh people, Welsh professional snooker player who reached his highest Snooker world rankings, ranking of 16 in Snooker world rankings 1988/1989, 1988–89. He was the 1978 IBSF World Snooke ...
, World Amateur Championship-winning snooker player *
Nicky Wire Nicholas Allen Jones (born 20 January 1969), known as Nicky Wire, is a Welsh musician, best known as lyricist, bassist and secondary vocalist of the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Prior to the group, Wire studied politics ...
, lyricist, bassist and occasional vocalist of the
Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...


Twin towns

Tredegar has been twinned with
Orvault Orvault (; Gallo: ''Orvao'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is the fourth-largest suburb of the city of Nantes, and is adjacent to it on the northwest. Population The population of Orvault is increasi ...
in south-east
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
since 1979.


See also

* Bedwellty Union Workhouse *
Cefn Golau Cefn Golau Cholera Cemetery is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is situated on a narrow mountain ridge in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent between Rhymney and Tredegar in South East Wales. The Welsh name 'Cefn Golau' means 'hill of light'. ...
*
Tredegar Iron and Coal Company : ''For the ironworks in the US state of Virginia, see Tredegar Iron Works.'' Tredegar Iron and Coal Company was an important 19th century ironworks in Tredegar, Wales, which due to its need for coke became a major developer of coal mines and p ...
* Tredegar Medical Aid Society


References


External links


Tredegar town websiteMonumental Inscriptions for TredegarAerial photograph of Tredegar in 1999Tredegar Town CouncilRed&White Services Ltd
{{authority control Towns in Blaenau Gwent