31-445: Abercraf (also Abercrâf ; or Abercrave ) is a village in Powys , Wales , in the community of Ystradgynlais and within the historic boundaries of the county of Brecknockshire . Between 1965 and 1991, the village was the location of a Royal Observer Corps monitoring bunker, to be used in the event of a nuclear attack. It remains mostly intact. The name Abercraf denotes the area as
62-686: A further 54 enclosures and settlement sites. Powys is served by the Cambrian Line and Heart of Wales line which offer connections to major towns and cities such as Swansea , Wrexham , Shrewsbury , Birmingham , Wolverhampton , Manchester , Cardiff , Aberystwyth , London and Telford . The county used to be served by key railways such as the Mid-Wales Railway , Oswestry and Newtown Railway , Tanat Valley Light Railway , Llanfyllin Branch , Leominster and Kington Railway , Swansea Vale Railway and
93-720: A report by Save the Children . According to the 2011 Census , 5.5% of the county's 67,348 (3,705 residents) resident-population can speak, read, and write Welsh , with 7.8%, or 5,284 residents, being able to speak Welsh. There are three Sports Centres located throughout the Borough offering swimming, sports courts and pitches. The sport centres are operated by Aneurin Leisure. They are located at: Abertillery , Ebbw Vale and Tredegar . There are many sports played in Blaenau Gwent these are
124-568: A time when people first started settling here in Wales, farming and working the land by clearing the heavily wooded mountain sides of the Gwent valleys. The site is also found opposite the huts, so there could be some connection, though we think this burial may even be from a slightly earlier period than that" said archaeologist Ian Fewings. In 2011 Blaenau Gwent had the highest level of severe child poverty in Wales, as revealed in statistical data published in
155-502: Is Coity Mountain at 1,896 feet (578 m). The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent . It covered the whole area of five former districts and a single parish from a sixth, which were all abolished at the same time: Brynmawr and Llanelly had been in the administrative county of Brecknockshire prior to the reforms, whilst the other areas had all been in the administrative county of Monmouthshire . Gwent County Council provided county-level services for
186-513: Is a county and preserved county in Wales . It borders Gwynedd , Denbighshire , and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire , Blaenau Gwent , Merthyr Tydfil , Caerphilly , Rhondda Cynon Taf , and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown , and
217-533: Is a " semé of black lozenges " for the former coal mining industry, while the golden fleece it carries is a reference to the importance of sheep rearing in the county. The county motto is: Powys – the paradise of Wales ( Welsh : Powys Paradwys Cymru ). On 1 April 1974, Powys was created under the Local Government Act 1972. At first, the former administrative counties of Montgomery , Radnor , and Brecknock were districts within it. On 1 April 1996,
248-711: Is now the largest administrative area in Wales by land and area ( Dyfed was until 1996 before several former counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 were abolished). It is bounded to the north by Gwynedd , Denbighshire and Wrexham County Borough ; to the west by Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire ; to the east by Shropshire and Herefordshire ; and to the south by Rhondda Cynon Taf , Merthyr Tydfil County Borough , Caerphilly County Borough , Blaenau Gwent , Monmouthshire and Neath Port Talbot . The largest towns are Newtown , Ystradgynlais , Brecon , Welshpool , Llandrindod Wells and Knighton . Powys has
279-709: Is the region northwest of Welshpool. The county is named after the Kingdom of Powys , which was a Welsh successor state , petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain . Powys covers the same area as the historic counties of Montgomeryshire , Radnorshire , and Brecknockshire . Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire , most of Brecknockshire , and part of historic Denbighshire . With an area of about 2,000 square miles (5,200 km ), it
310-551: The Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway , all of which offered connections to South Wales , Hereford , Oswestry , North Wales and West Wales but have all since closed. The gold in the county coat of arms symbolises the wealth of the area. Black is for both mining and the Black Mountains . The fountain is a medieval heraldic charge displayed as a roundel barry wavy argent and azure. It represents water and refers to both
341-522: The Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire . The Lord Lieutenant of Brecknockshire and Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire were appointed as lieutenants. The present lord lieutenant is Shân Legge-Bourke of Crickhowell . From 2024, Powys would be in the UK parliament constituencies of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe and Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr , both of which extend out of the county. In December 2007, Powys
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#1732876057360372-480: The water catchment area and the rivers and lakes. Thus, the arms contain references to the hills and mountains, rivers and lakes, water supply and industry. The crest continues the colouring of the arms. A tower has been used in preference to a mural crown , which alludes to the county's military history and remains. From the tower rises a red kite , a bird almost extinct elsewhere in Britain but thriving in Powys. The bird
403-591: The 2017 local elections. From 2024, all of Blaenau Gwent would be in the Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney UK Parliament constituency. In February 2020, ancient cairns dated back to 4,500 year-old used to bury the leaders or chieftains of neolithic tribes people were revealed in the Cwmcelyn valley by the Aberystruth Archaeological Society. "It is thousands of years old undoubtedly, and came at
434-561: The Westminster seat for the People's Voice from 2006 – 2010 when he lost his seat in a huge majority to Labour's Nick Smith of 10,516 votes. Alun Davies recaptured the seat for Labour at the Assembly elections in 2011 and then Labour won a landslide victory in the 2012 local elections taking 33 seats out of 42. Plaid Cymru nearly won the seat in the 2016 Assembly election, and Labour lost the council in
465-482: The administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells . Powys is the largest and most sparsely populated county in Wales, having an area of 5,181 km (2,000 sq mi) and a population of 133,891 in 2022. After Newtown (11,362), the most populous settlements are Ystradgynlais (8,270), Brecon (8,254), and Llandrindod Wells (5,602). The county is entirely rural, and characterised by multiple market towns and villages. The Welsh language can be spoken by 16.4% of
496-562: The ancient Welsh Kingdom of Powys , which in the sixth century AD included the northern two-thirds of the area as well as most of Shropshire and adjacent areas now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd during the 1260s. The uplands retain evidence of occupation from long before the Kingdom of Powys, and before the Romans, who built roads and forts across
527-583: The area. There are 1130 identified burial mounds within the county, of varying styles and ages, dating from 4000 BC to 1000 BC, most of them belonging to the Bronze Age . Of these, 339 are scheduled monuments . Standing stones , most again dating to the Bronze Age, also occur in large numbers, 276 being found across the county, of which 92 are scheduled. From the Iron Age , the county has 90 scheduled hillforts and
558-449: The districts were abolished, and Powys was reconstituted as a unitary authority . There was a minor border adjustment in the northeast—specifically, the addition of the communities of Llansilin and Llangedwyn from Glyndŵr district in Clwyd —and with moving the border, so that rather than half of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, all is included. The first Lord Lieutenant of Powys was previously
589-600: The extreme south of the county, in the Upper Swansea Valley 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of the small town of Ystradgynlais . It is situated just outside the boundaries of the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Fforest Fawr Geopark , which lie to the immediate north, east, and west of the village. A small ironworks was established in 1824 by the local coalowner, Thomas Harper. Its purpose
620-469: The furnaces were blown out in 1826 after it was discovered that production costs greatly exceeded the selling price. Coal continued to be worked from the taking; it was still in production in 1841 when the local agent gave a statement to the Children's Employment Commission. The coal pits in nearby Caehopkin ceased production in the 1960s, although the Nant Helen open cast coal mine continues to operate in
651-456: The industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the southwest of Brecknockshire. In Radnorshire, the language survived into the 20th century west of Rhayader with a few native speakers from Nantmel parish surviving into the 20th century too. The 2021 census recorded that 16.4% of the population were able to speak the Welsh language, a decline from 18.6% in 2011 and 21% in 2001 . The county is named after
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#1732876057360682-509: The lowest population density of all the principal areas of Wales. Most of Powys is mountainous, and most roads and railways are relatively slow. Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills: Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around Machynlleth , Llanfyllin and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire, and
713-573: The nearby A4067 Swansea to Brecon road. The Giant is formed from a combination of the natural topography of the mountain and, in the case of the Giant's face, alterations to this topography from disused limestone quarries. The Giant's nose is surmounted by a trig point . 51°48′02″N 3°42′47″W / 51.80056°N 3.71306°W / 51.80056; -3.71306 Powys Powys ( / ˈ p oʊ ɪ s , ˈ p aʊ ɪ s / POH -iss, POW -iss , Welsh: [ˈpou̯ɪs] )
744-408: The new borough. The new borough was named Blaenau Gwent, meaning uplands of Gwent. The name had previously been an alternative name for the ancient parish of Aberystruth which had covered a large part of the area and had its parish church at Blaina . Blaenau Gwent was reconstituted in 1996 as a county borough , taking over the county-level functions from the abolished Gwent County Council. At
775-531: The official Labour candidate, Maggie Jones , by a margin of 9,121 votes. The seat had previously been held by Aneurin Bevan and Michael Foot , and was considered one of Labour's safest. Law died on 25 April 2006 and in the by-election , a former supporter of his, Dai Davies won, running as an independent candidate. Peter Law's widow, Trish Law , won his former Welsh Assembly seat , also running as an independent candidate. In 2007 she retained her seat. Dai Davies held
806-526: The place where the Crâf stream flows into the Tawe . While most etymologies state that the river is simply named for the Welsh word craf (wild garlic), Thomas Morgan defines "cra-af" as "the issuing forth, the channel torn by the impulsive force of the stream, as well as the act of tearing or breaking up any substance" linking its meaning to the words crafu (to scratch) and crafangu (to claw or grip). Abercraf lies in
837-738: The population. The county is predominantly hilly and mountainous. To the west lie the Cambrian Mountains , where the River Severn and River Wye both have their source on the Powys side of the Plynlimon massif; together with their tributaries they drain most of the county. The southern quarter of the county is occupied by the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) national park, and further north are two more upland areas, Mynydd Epynt and Radnor Forest . The only extensive area of flat land in Powys
868-414: The region. Abercraf has a number of public houses , a rugby union club ( Abercrave RFC ), junior/primary school, fire station and a Miners' Welfare Hall, a testament to the village's coal mining past. The Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary lies just outside the village. Abercraf lies beneath the slopes of the miniature mountain of Cribarth , famous for its 'Sleeping Giant' outline, clearly visible from
899-562: The same time Llanelly was transferred to the reconstituted Monmouthshire . The area is now governed by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council , which is a principal council . Blaenau Gwent hit the headlines at the 2005 UK General Election when an independent candidate, Peter Law , won the Westminster seat . He had resigned from the Labour Party after an internal party row following the retirement of incumbent MP Llew Smith , and defeated
930-480: Was awarded Fair Trade County status by The Fairtrade Foundation . Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent ( / ˌ b l aɪ n aɪ ˈ ɡ w ɛ n t / ; Welsh: [ˈbləi.nai] ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales . 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 Tredegar . Its highest point
961-464: Was to exploit two patents granted to Harper and his fellow coalowner, John Christie (also owner of the Brecon Forest Tramroad ) in 1823 (no 4848) and 1824 (no 4909) for the use of the local anthracite coal in smelting. The British Iron Company bought the works in 1825 for £19,541 and at the same time leased minerals on the nearby mountain, Cribarth . The venture soon proved unsuccessful and