Abertillery
Encyclopedia
Abertillery is a town in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent
in South Wales
, 16 miles (25.7 km) north-west of Newport
, originally on the Great Western Railway
. Its population rose steeply during the period of mining
development in South Wales
, being 10,846 in the 1891 census
and 21,945 ten years later. Lying in the mountainous mining district
of the former counties of Monmouthshire
and Glamorganshire, in the valley of the Ebbw Fach
, the population was traditionally employed in the numerous coal-mines, ironworks and tin-plate works, now defunct. Further up the same valley are the mining townships of Nantyglo
and Blaina
.
Abertillery has a traditional-style town centre and several small schools. Today, its population numbers just over 11,000 and is thought to be declining. In 2003, Abertillery was found to have the cheapest house
s in the United Kingdom
, according to a survey by the Halifax, with an average price of only £
37,872. Noted for its unspoilt rural scenery, Abertillery neighbours the small districts of Aberbeeg
(Aber-bîg), Llanhilleth
(Llanhiledd), Cwmtillery
(Cwmtyleri), and Six Bells (Chwe Chloch).
Over the past couple of decades the town has been transformed from industrial relic into the clean, modernised area it is today – this has largely been achieved due to large amounts of European Union
Objective One funding which has helped the town remove unsightly reminders of the industrial past. Many of these areas have been utilised as playing fields, business park
s or mixed use land (including the local comprehensive school
).
A recent windfarm
proposal for the mountainside above the community of Cwmtillery
has been revived despite opposition to the initial proposal drawing large support. This included a group tagged SCAM (Save Coity and Mynydd James), which led to the application being removed with Blaenau Gwent County Council before being re-submitted on a much smaller scale. The SCAM group is still active in the opposition to the proposal and holds regular meetings in the local area concerning the subject.
The town's name is pronounced with the emphasis on the penultimate syllable, i.e. it rhymes with Mary, as in a song made popular by Welsh entertainer Ryan Davies
: "Blodwen and Mary from Abertillery..."
The reopening of Abertillery railway station
has been identified as a potential future development of the Ebbw Valley Railway.
According to the 2001 Census
and information gathered by The Welsh Language Board
, 1,146 (9.9%) of Abertillery speaks Welsh.
club Abertillery Town Cricket Club who were formed in the 1880s. The town's rugby union
club is Abertillery Blaenau Gwent RFC
who also formed in the mid 1880s. The town supports two local Saturday football teams – Abertillery Bluebirds
and Abertillery Excelsiors.
with
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in South Wales, sharing its name with a parliamentary constituency. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, 16 miles (25.7 km) north-west of Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, originally on the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
. Its population rose steeply during the period of mining
Mining in Wales
Mining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century....
development in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, being 10,846 in the 1891 census
Census in the United Kingdom
Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
and 21,945 ten years later. Lying in the mountainous mining district
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
of the former counties of Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
and Glamorganshire, in the valley of the Ebbw Fach
Ebbw River
The Ebbw River is a river in South Wales.The main Ebbw River is formed by the confluence of the two minor Ebbw rivers, Ebbw Fach, and Ebbw Fawr ....
, the population was traditionally employed in the numerous coal-mines, ironworks and tin-plate works, now defunct. Further up the same valley are the mining townships of Nantyglo
Nantyglo
Nantyglo is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent.- Places of interest in Nantyglo :...
and Blaina
Blaina
Blaina is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of Monmouthshire.-Notable people:...
.
Abertillery has a traditional-style town centre and several small schools. Today, its population numbers just over 11,000 and is thought to be declining. In 2003, Abertillery was found to have the cheapest house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, according to a survey by the Halifax, with an average price of only £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
37,872. Noted for its unspoilt rural scenery, Abertillery neighbours the small districts of Aberbeeg
Aberbeeg
The small village of Aberbeeg lies in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.Nearby are the villages of Llanhilleth and Six Bells, where the former colliery allowed the whole community to thrive as part of the South Wales coalfield...
(Aber-bîg), Llanhilleth
Llanhilleth
Llanhilleth is a village on the A467 road between Ebbw Vale and Crumlin in Blaenau Gwent, Wales.Two large mounds in the field behind the Carpenter’s Arms are the remains of the medieval Llanhilleth castle which originally had two large, stone-built towers....
(Llanhiledd), Cwmtillery
Cwmtillery
Cwmtillery is a village located in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.-History:...
(Cwmtyleri), and Six Bells (Chwe Chloch).
Over the past couple of decades the town has been transformed from industrial relic into the clean, modernised area it is today – this has largely been achieved due to large amounts of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
Objective One funding which has helped the town remove unsightly reminders of the industrial past. Many of these areas have been utilised as playing fields, business park
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
s or mixed use land (including the local comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
).
A recent windfarm
WindFarm
WindFarm is wind energy software used to analyse, design, optimise and visualise wind farms. It calculates and optimises the energy yield subject to natural, planning and engineering constraints. WindFarm has the wind modelling software MS-Micro integrated. MS-Micro is based on the same...
proposal for the mountainside above the community of Cwmtillery
Cwmtillery
Cwmtillery is a village located in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.-History:...
has been revived despite opposition to the initial proposal drawing large support. This included a group tagged SCAM (Save Coity and Mynydd James), which led to the application being removed with Blaenau Gwent County Council before being re-submitted on a much smaller scale. The SCAM group is still active in the opposition to the proposal and holds regular meetings in the local area concerning the subject.
The town's name is pronounced with the emphasis on the penultimate syllable, i.e. it rhymes with Mary, as in a song made popular by Welsh entertainer Ryan Davies
Ryan Davies
Ryan Davies was a popular Welsh entertainer of the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in the Carmarthenshire village of Glanamman in the Black Mountain, Wales, and was educated in Bangor and at the Central School of Speech and Drama. His first professional appearance was in the National Eisteddfod of...
: "Blodwen and Mary from Abertillery..."
The reopening of Abertillery railway station
Abertillery railway station
Abertlllery railway station was a station which served Abertillery, in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire.-History:Opened by the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company it became part of the Great Western Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the Western Region of British...
has been identified as a potential future development of the Ebbw Valley Railway.
According to the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
and information gathered by The Welsh Language Board
Welsh Language Board
The Welsh Language Board is a statutory body set up by the UK Government as part of the Welsh Language Act 1993. It is now an Assembly Sponsored Public Body...
, 1,146 (9.9%) of Abertillery speaks Welsh.
Sport
Abertillery is home to cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club Abertillery Town Cricket Club who were formed in the 1880s. The town's rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club is Abertillery Blaenau Gwent RFC
Abertillery RFC
Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their web site, they were founded in 1883, though other sources state 1884. Their team colours are green and white and their home ground is Abertillery Park in Abertillery. The club is a member of the...
who also formed in the mid 1880s. The town supports two local Saturday football teams – Abertillery Bluebirds
Abertillery Bluebirds F.C.
Abertillery Bluebirds F.C. are from Sixbells Village outside Abertillery. They were promoted to the Welsh Football League Division Two for the 2010-11 season from Division Three...
and Abertillery Excelsiors.
International relations
Abertyleri is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with
RoyatRoyatRoyat is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.Since Roman times, its thermal springs have made it a spa town, and the remains of the Roman baths are still visible.The population in 1999 was 4,745.-References:*...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...