South Wales (Welsh:De Cymru[ˌdeːˌkəmri]) is aloosely defined region ofWales bordered byEngland to the east andmid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include thehistoric counties ofGlamorgan andMonmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards to includeCarmarthenshire andPembrokeshire. In the western extent, fromSwansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both south Wales andwest Wales.[1] TheBrecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of south Wales, containingPen y Fan, the highest British mountain south ofCadair Idris inSnowdonia.
A point of some discussion is whether the first element of the name should be capitalised: 'south Wales' or 'South Wales'. As the name is a geographical expression rather than a specific area with well-defined borders,style guides such as those of theBBC[2] andThe Guardian[3] use the form 'south Wales'. TheWelsh Government, in their international gateway website, Wales.com, state that it should always be capitalised; however, they use the term to refer to a tourism marketing area which excludes theSwansea andNeath Port Talbot local authority areas (placing them in 'West Wales').[4] In contradiction, the style guide for the Welsh Government's main website, Gov.wales, uses 'south Wales'.[5] It is always capitalised on motorway signs.
Between theStatute of Rhuddlan of 1284 and theLaws in Wales Act 1535,crown land in Wales formed thePrincipality of Wales. This was divided into a Principality of south Wales and a Principality of north Wales.[6] The southern principality was made up of the counties ofCeredigion andCarmarthenshire, areas that had previously been part of the Welsh kingdom ofDeheubarth ('the southern land'). The legal responsibility for this area lay in the hands of theJusticiar of South Wales based atCarmarthen. Other parts of southern Wales were in the hands of variousMarcher Lords.
The Laws in Wales Acts 1542 created theCourt of Great Sessions in Wales based on four legal circuits. TheBrecon circuit served thecounties ofBrecknockshire,Radnorshire andGlamorgan while the Carmarthen circuit served Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire andPembrokeshire.Monmouthshire was attached to the Oxford circuit for judicial purposes. These seven southern counties were thus differentiated from the six counties of north Wales.
The Court of the Great Sessions came to an end in 1830, but the counties survived until theLocal Government Act 1972 which came into operation in 1974. The creation of the county ofPowys merged one northern county (Montgomeryshire) with two southern ones (Breconshire and Radnorshire).
There are thus different concepts of south Wales. Glamorgan and Monmouthshire are generally accepted by all as being in south Wales. But the status of Breconshire or Carmarthenshire, for instance, is more debatable. In the western extent, fromSwansea westwards, local people might feel that they live in both south Wales andwest Wales. Areas to the north of theBrecon Beacons andBlack Mountains are generally considered to be in Mid Wales. The valleys and upland mountain ridges were once a very rural area noted for its river valleys and ancient forests and lauded by romantic poets such asWilliam Wordsworth as well as poets in the Welsh language, although the interests of the latter lay more in society and culture than in the evocation of natural scenery. This natural environment changed to a considerable extent during the earlyIndustrial Revolution when theGlamorgan andMonmouthshire valley areas were exploited for coal and iron. By the 1830s, hundreds of tons of coal were being transported by barge to ports inCardiff andNewport. In the 1870s, coal was transported by rail transport networks toNewport Docks, at the time the largest coal exporting docks in the world, and by the 1880s coal was being exported fromBarry, Vale of Glamorgan.
TheMarquess of Bute, who owned much of the land north ofCardiff, built a steam railway system on his land that stretched from Cardiff into many of the South Wales Valleys where the coal was being found. Lord Bute then charged fees per ton of coal that was transported out using his railways. With coal mining and ironsmelting being the main trades of south Wales, many thousands of immigrants fromthe Midlands,Scotland,Ireland,Cornwall, and even Italy came and set up homes and put down roots in the region. Very many came from other coal mining areas such asSomerset, theForest of Dean inGloucestershire and thetin mines ofCornwall such asGeevor Tin Mine, as a large but experienced and willing workforce was required. Whilst some of the migrants left, many settled and established in the south Wales Valleys betweenSwansea andAbergavenny as English-speaking communities with a unique identity. Industrial workers were housed in cottages and terraced houses close to the mines and foundries in which they worked. The large influx over the years caused overcrowding which led to outbreaks ofCholera, and on the social and cultural side, the near-loss of theWelsh language in the area.
The 1930s inter-warGreat Depression in the United Kingdom saw the loss of almost half of the coal pits in theSouth Wales Coalfield, and their number declined further in the years followingWorld War II. This number is now very low, following theUK miners' strike (1984–85), and the last 'traditional' deep-shaft mine,Tower Colliery, closed in January 2008.
Despite the intense industrialisation of the coal mining valleys, many parts of the landscape of South Wales such as the upperNeath valley, theVale of Glamorgan and the valleys of theRiver Usk andRiver Wye remain distinctly beautiful and unspoilt and have been designatedSites of Special Scientific Interest. In addition, many once heavily industrialised sites have reverted to wilderness, some provided with a series of cycle tracks and other outdoor amenities. Large areas of forestry and open moorland also contribute to the amenity of the landscape.
Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh:Merthyr Tudful) grew around theDowlais Ironworks which was founded to exploit the locally abundant seams of iron ore, and in time it became the largest iron-producing town in the world. New coal mines were sunk nearby to feed thefurnaces and in time produced coal for export. By the 1831 census, the population of Merthyr was 60,000—more at that time than Cardiff, Swansea and Newport combined—and its industries included coal mines,iron works,cable factory,engine sheds andsidings and many others. The town was also the birthplace ofJoseph Parry, composer of the songMyfanwy.
TheHeads of the Valleys towns, includingRhymney,Tredegar andEbbw Vale, rose out of the industrial revolution, producing coal, metal ores and later steel.
Aberfan: The Merthyr Vale colliery began to produce coal in 1875. Spoil from the mine workings was piled on the hills close to the village which grew nearby. Tipping went on until the 1960s. Although nationalised, theNational Coal Board failed to appreciate the danger they had created. In October 1966, heavy rain made the giant coal tip unstable, resulting in theAberfan disaster. The recent dumping of small particles of coal and ash known as 'tailings' seems to have been partly responsible. A 30-foot-high (9 m) black wave tore downhill across theGlamorganshire Canal and swept away houses on its path towards the village school. 114 children and 28 adults were killed.
TheRhondda Valleys (Rhondda Fach and Rhondda Fawr) housed around 3,000 people in 1860, but by 1910 the population had soared to 160,000. The Rhondda had become the heart of a massive South Wales coal industry.Mining accidents below ground were common, and in 1896 fifty-seven men and boys were killed in a gas explosion at theTylorstown Colliery. An enquiry found that the pit involved had not been properly inspected over the previous 15 months.
Ebbw Vale, the valley of theEbbw River which stretches from the town ofEbbw Vale to Newport, includes the mining towns and villages ofNewbridge,Risca,Crumlin,Abercarn andCwmcarn. TheCarboniferous Black Vein coal seams in the area lay some 900 feet (275 metres) below the surface and the mining activity associated with it was responsible for many tragic subsurface explosions, roof collapses andmining accidents.
Now the Valleys' heavy industrial past is overprinted with urban regeneration, tourism and multi-national investment. Large factory units, either empty or turned over to retail use, bear witness to the lack of success in replacing older industries.
The native language of the majority of people in South Wales was historically Welsh, but is now English. However, there are still significant numbers ofWelsh speakers. In western parts ofGlamorgan, particularly theNeath andSwansea Valleys, there remain significant Welsh-speaking communities such asYstradgynlais andYstalyfera, which share a heritage with other ex-anthracite mining areas in easternCarmarthenshire, as much as with theGlamorgan valleys.
The local slang,dialect and phrases of theSouth Wales Valleys communities have been referred to as 'Wenglish', and are often used with comic effect.[7] The dialect is found in such coastal towns asBarry, as featured in the BBC comedy series,Gavin & Stacey.
Welsh is now a compulsory language up toGCSE level for all students who start their education in Wales. Several secondary schools offering Welsh medium education operate in this area, for exampleYsgol Gyfun Llanhari inPontyclun,Ysgol Gyfun Y Cymmer inPorth in theRhondda,Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun inPenywaun in theCynon Valley,Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw inPontypool,Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni inBlackwood,Ysgol Gymraeg Plasmawr in Cardiff andYsgol Gyfun Garth Olwg inChurch Village.
A significant number of people from ethnic minority communities speak another language as their first language, particularly in Cardiff and Newport. Commonly spoken languages in some areas includePunjabi,Bengali,Arabic,Somali andChinese, and increasingly Central European languages such asPolish.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a vigorous literary and musical culture centred roundeisteddfodau.[8][9][10] Despite a few timid attempts to emulate this literature in English, it can be argued that few writers seem to connect with either the landscape or the literary tradition.[11] The one exception, to some extent, can be considered to be Dylan Thomas.[12]
The South Wales landscape is marked by numerous chapels, places of worship (past and present) of the various ChristianNonconformist congregations. TheBaptist congregation atIlston,Gower, moved toSwansea, Massachusetts,[13] but after the restoration of theAnglican worship with the issue of theBook of Common Prayer in 1662, several "gathered" churches survived belonging to the Baptist,Independent andPresbyterian denominations. In the 18th century members of some of these congregations became dissatisfied with the theological innovations of some trained ministers, and created new congregations such as that atHengoed nearYstrad Mynach.[14] In the same century, churches were sometimes involved in theMethodist movement, especially at Groeswen and Watford nearCaerphilly, which both received frequent visits fromJohn Wesley[15][16] The largest denomination, however, became the Calvinistic Methodists (later thePresbyterian Church of Wales), whose chapels can be seen in many parts.
These were mainlyWelsh-language congregations. Anglicanism in South Wales became autonomous from theChurch of England with theWelsh Church Act 1914, but the immediate demise of the denomination feared at that time has not taken place in theChurch in Wales.[17][18] There are a number ofBrethren Assemblies in Cardiff and in the Swansea area andFree Presbyterian Churches inRhiwderin, near Newport and atMerthyr Tydfil. TheRoman Catholic community, despite systematic persecution, survived in the 17th to 19th centuries, especially inBrecon and among minor gentry such as the Vaughans ofWelsh Bicknor, on the Monmouthshire–Herefordshire border.[19][20] Among members of foreign origin of later urban Catholic congregations were the Bracchi, Italians in the café and catering trades often from Bardi in the Apennines.[21][citation needed]
Post-war diversity has brought mosques, especially in Cardiff and Newport,Sikhgurdwaras, including one on the mountain nearAbercynon and a growing number ofEvangelical andPentecostal congregations. These often add a strongly international element into local life, such as the "Pont" twinning project betweenPontypridd andMbale,Uganda, and the creation of "Fairtrade" relationships with primary producers worldwide.[citation needed]
The former heavy industries of coal and iron production have disappeared since the economic struggles of the 1970s, with the closures of that decade continuing sharply into the 1980s, and by July 1985 just 31 coal pits remained in the region.[22] Further closures left the region with just one deep mine by the early 1990s,[23] and this finally closed in January 2008, by which time it had transferred to private ownership after being sold off by theNational Coal Board.[24]
These industries have since largely been replaced byservice sector industries.
The cities along theM4 corridor are home to a number of high-profile blue-chip companies such asAdmiral Insurance,Legal & General and the Welsh-basedPrincipality Building Society. A large number of telephonecall centres are located in the region and in particular in the Valleys area.Merthyr Tydfil is home to the principal UK call centre for German mobile telephone company,T-Mobile. Many jobs are also provided in small-scale and family businesses.[25]
One site of note on the M4 corridor isPort Talbot Steelworks – the largest steel producer in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe.[26]
The television and film sectors are fast becoming a major industry in South Wales. In 2021, the Welsh screen sector saw a turnover of £575 million.[27] Prominent film studios have been established in Cardiff (Wolf Studios Wales, Seren Stiwdios, Enfys Studios) as well as Bridgend (Dragon Studios) and Swansea (Bay Studios).[28]
Great Western Railway operate services fromSwansea,Cardiff Central andNewport toLondon Paddington withClass 800s.Most services in South Wales are operated byTransport for Wales Rail on theSouth Wales Main Line and associated branches such as theValley Lines.
Radio stations include:
The Welsh national media is based in Cardiff where theBBC andITV have their main studios and offices.
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The rust has gathered on the plough, The tide of Autumn here is high, The hills are at their reddest now ...
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Until the 1890s Courtfield and Welsh Bicknor parish were part of Monmouthshire, and hence in South Wales
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