Blaenavon
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|---|---|
 Blaenavon War Memorial and Workmen's Hall | |
  Blaenavon Location withinTorfaen | |
| Area | 17.83 km2 (6.88 sq mi) [1] |
| Population | 6,055 (2011)[2] |
| • Density | 340/km2 (880/sq mi) |
| GSS code | W04000760 |
| OS grid reference | SO 255 095 |
| Community |
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| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PONTYPOOL |
| Postcode district | NP4 |
| Dialling code | 01495 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
| 51°46′25″N3°04′58″W / 51.77363°N 3.08278°W /51.77363; -3.08278 | |
Blaenavon (Welsh:Blaenafon) is atown andcommunity inTorfaen county borough,Wales, high on a hillside on the source of theAfon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county ofMonmouthshire and thepreserved county ofGwent. The population is 6,055.
Parts of the town and surrounding country form theBlaenavon Industrial Landscape, selected as aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in2000.
Blaenavon literally means "head of the river" or loosely "river's source" in theWelsh language. Blaenavon grew around anironworks opened in 1788 by theWest Midlands industrialistThomas Hill and his partners, Thomas Hopkins and Benjamin Pratt. The businessmen invested £40,000 into the ironworks project and erected three blast furnaces. Hopkins, as a result of operating the Cannock Wood Forge, Staffordshire, was in contact with skilled and experienced ironworkers, and managed to persuade many of them to migrate to Blaenavon to help establish the new ironworks. In 1836Robert William Kennard formed the Blaenavon Coal and Iron Company, which subsequently bought the Blaenavon Ironworks.
Blaenavon House, a mansion constructed in 1798 by Thomas Hopkins, was repurposed as a hospital in 1924, supported by the subscriptions of local iron and coal workers. In the 1940s the hospital site was given by the then owners of the site, theNational Coal Board, to the UKMinistry of Health; it was run as acottage hospital until 1985. When the hospital closed the building was sold by the local authority and refurbished as a nursing home for the elderly. In 1995 the building was listed as a Grade 2listed building. Following the closure of the nursing home in 2007, the building was left empty. It was badly vandalised and stripped of its lead work, slate roof and original interiors, and was placed on the Buildings At Risk register. In 2016 a fire caused severe damage to the ballroom wing and adjoining extension. The House was sold in 2017 to private owners and is currently undergoing restoration as a family home once again.
TheMunicipal Offices in Lion Street were the home of Blaenavon Urban District Council until local government reorganisation in 1974.[3]
Blaenavon is acommunity represented by Blaenavon Town Council and is anelectoral ward ofTorfaen County Borough Council. Blaenavon istwinned withCoutras in France.[4]
The town lies near the source of theAfon Lwyd river, north ofCwmbran.
The population of Blaenavon has declined gradually at each ten-year census since the closure of theironworks in 1900. It had fallen to 8,451 by 1961 and fell more rapidly after closure of thecoal mine in 1980. Part of this decline was not emigration but a decrease in birth rate.[5]
The Blaenavon Coal and Iron Company developed the Big Pit coalworks with adjoining steel works particularly for rail manufacture.[6] The steel-making and coal mining industries followed, boosting the town's population to over 20,000 at one time before 1890.[7] Since 1988, part of this site has been theBig Pit National Coal Museum.[8]
Government, publishers and mainly Welsh writers sought in 2003 to attract more visitors by introducing Blaenavon as Wales' second "book town" (the first beingHay-on-Wye on the English border). However, the project did not succeed.[9] This can be attributed to a combination of the town's remote location and the established competition from Hay. Many thriving community groups serve and improve the town, including Future Blaenavon, which has helped to create a community garden at the bottom of the town.
Parts of the town and surrounding country form theBlaenavon Industrial Landscape, selected as aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in 2000. Attractions in the town include theBig Pit National Coal Museum (an Anchor Point of theEuropean Route of Industrial Heritage),Blaenavon Ironworks,[10] thePontypool and Blaenavon Railway and Blaenavon World Heritage Centre. The town has a male voice choir, a town band, and many historical walks through the local mountains.
A railway viaduct was constructed in 1790; the structure disappeared and was unearthed in a 2001 episode of the archaeology television programmeTime Team.[11] ThePontypool and Blaenavon Railway is a scenic attraction rich in geological and historical interest. Blaenavon lost both of its passenger railway stations —Blaenavon High Level station closed in 1941, and the last train from Blaenavon (Low Level) (toNewport viaPontypool Crane Street) ran in April 1962. The lower line had already been closed for more than a year before theBeeching Axe took place. The lower line's passenger service was among many in Gwent (Monmouthshire) whichMinistry of Transport de-classified papers reveal were axed because of rail congestion in the Newport area following the newly openedLlanwern steelworks.[citation needed]
Following Samuel Hopkins' death in 1815, his sister Sarah Hopkins of Rugeley, who had inherited much money from her late brother, erected Blaenavon Endowed School in his memory. Which has since been permanently closed.[citation needed]
St Peter's Church was constructed in 1804, gifted to the parish by Thomas Hill and Samuel Hopkins.[citation needed]
Blaenavon Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1906. The club closed in 1937.[12]
Notable people born in Blaenavon include the Broadway and film actorE. E. Clive, award-winning mystery writerDorothy Simpson, and international rugby union playersMark Taylor,Ken Jones (also an Olympic athlete),John Perkins, Chris Huish,Terry Cobner andColin Evans (rugby)
Nick Thomas-Symonds, elected MP for Torfaen in 2015, was brought up in the town.
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