Charles III
80-476: 51°46′39″N 3°14′26″W / 51.77761°N 3.24069°W / 51.77761; -3.24069 Tredegar ( / t r ə ˈ d iː ɡ ər / ; Welsh: [trɛˈdeːɡar] ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent , in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire , it became an early centre of
160-794: A Breton diaspora within the French borders and in the overseas departments and territories of France ; it is mainly established in the Paris area , where more than one million people claim Breton heritage. Many Breton families have also migrated to the Americas, predominantly to Canada (mostly Quebec and Atlantic Canada ) and the United States . The only places outside Brittany that still retain significant Breton customs are in Île-de-France (mainly Quartier de Montparnasse in Paris), Le Havre and Îles des Saintes , where
240-659: A Plastic Cup and Stationary Bike based on the short story by Stephen King. 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 , connecting Tredegar to Newport Docks through 24 miles (39 km) of tramway. Originally powered by horses, in 1829 Chief Engineer Thomas Ellis
320-492: A few French celebrities such as Marion Cotillard , Suliane Brahim , Malik Zidi , Patrick Poivre d'Arvor , Yoann Gourcuff , Nolwenn Leroy and Yann Tiersen . After 15 years of disputes in the French courts, the European Court of Justice recognized Breton Nationality for the six children of Jean-Jacques and Mireille Manrot-Le Goarnig; they are "European Citizens of Breton Nationality". In 2015, Jonathan Le Bris started
400-578: A group of Breton families settled in the mid-17th century. In the late fourth century, large numbers of British auxiliary troops in the Roman army may have been stationed in Armorica . The ninth-century Historia Brittonum states that the emperor Magnus Maximus , who withdrew Roman forces from Britain, settled his troops in the province. Nennius and Gildas mention a second wave of Britons settling in Armorica in
480-618: A legal battle against the French administration to claim this status. The Breton community outside Brittany includes groups of Bretons in the Greater Paris area, Le Havre , and Toulon . Groups with Breton heritage also live in other countries, most notably in Canada and the United States. In Paris, Bretons used to settle in the neighborhood around the Montparnasse train station, which is also
560-450: A parish population of 1,132 in 1801 had boomed to 34,685 by 1881, in part boosted by the laying of the 24 miles (39 km) 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: Utterly remote at the head of
640-462: 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 ), 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
720-452: A revival. This includes the Tro Breizh , which takes place in the shrines of the seven founding saints of Breton Christianity. The Christian tradition is widely respected by both believers and nonbelievers, who see it as a symbol of Breton heritage and culture . Breton religious tradition places great emphasis on the " Seven Founder Saints ": A pardon is the patron saint's feast day of
800-477: A single four-legged Gravity Escapement driving the four dials. It has a 1¼ second pendulum and the bob weighs two hundredweight". The Tredegar Town Band , which takes part in national competitions, was founded in 1849. Tredegar Orpheus Male voice choir , which takes its name from Orpheus , the Greek god of music, was founded in 1909. Tredegar is home to rugby union teams Tredegar Rugby Football Club who play in
880-454: 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 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
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#1732848162132960-465: A whole is difficult to assess as the government of France does not collect statistics on ethnicity. The population of Brittany, based on a January 2007 estimate, was 4,365,500. There is reason to believe that this number includes the department of Loire-Atlantique , which the Vichy government separated from historical Brittany in 1941. It is said that, in 1914, over one million people spoke Breton west of
1040-508: Is Gallo ; Gallo is spoken only in Upper Brittany, where Breton used to be spoken as well but it has seen a decline and has been less dominant in Upper Brittany since around the year 900. Currently, most Bretons' native language is standard French . Historically, Brittany and its people have been counted as one of the six Celtic nations . The actual number of Bretons in Brittany and France as
1120-642: Is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest tier of local government in Wales . Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England but, unlike English parishes, communities cover the whole of Wales. There are 878 communities in Wales. Until 1974 Wales was divided into civil parishes . These were abolished by section 20 (6) of the Local Government Act 1972 , and replaced by communities by section 27 of
1200-409: 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
1280-416: 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 six inches (152 mm) 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
1360-510: The binioù-kozh . The basic clarinet ( treujenn-gaol ) had all but disappeared but has regained popularity over the past few years. Nowadays groups with many different styles of music may be found, ranging from rock to jazz such as Red Cardell , ethno-rock, Diwall and Skeduz as well as punk . Some modern fest-noz groups also use electronic keyboards and synthesisers, for example Strobinell , Sonerien Du , Les Baragouineurs , and Plantec . Breton cuisine contains many elements from
1440-444: The hanter dro , and the plinn . During the fest-noz , most dances are practised in a chain or in a circle with participants locking pinky fingers; however, there are also dances in pairs and choreographed dances with sequences and figures. Two main types of Breton music are a choral a cappella tradition called kan ha diskan , and music involving instruments, including purely instrumental music. Traditional instruments include
1520-587: The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain . They migrated in waves from the 3rd to 9th century (most heavily from 450 to 600) to Armorica . The region was subsequently named after them, as were the inhabitants of Armorica as a whole. The main traditional language of Brittany is Breton ( Brezhoneg ), spoken in Lower Brittany (i.e., the western part of the peninsula). Breton is spoken by around 206,000 people as of 2013. The other principal minority language of Brittany
1600-760: The Deixonne Law . This law allowed Breton language and culture to be taught 1–3 hours a week in the public school system on the provision that a teacher was both able and prepared to do so. In modern times, a number of schools and colleges have emerged with the aim of providing Breton-medium education or bilingual Breton/French education. There are a number of Breton language weekly and monthly magazines. Newspapers, magazines and online journals available in Breton include Al Lanv (based in Quimper), Al Liamm , Louarnig - Rouzig , and Bremañ . Several radio stations broadcast in
1680-561: The Duchy of Brittany . The first two kingdoms seem to derive their names from the homelands of the migrating tribes in Britain, Cornwall (Kernow) and Devon ( Dumnonia ). Bro Waroc'h ("land of Waroch ", now Bro Gwened ) derives from the name of one of the first known Breton rulers, who dominated the region of Vannes (Gwened). The rulers of Domnonée, such as Conomor , sought to expand their territory, claiming overlordship over all Bretons, though there
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#17328481621321760-723: The Industrial Revolution in Wales . The relevant wards (Tredegar Central and West, Sirhowy and Georgetown) collectively listed the town's population as 15,103 in the UK 2011 census. 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 . Local historian Oliver Jones (1969) writes that, by c.1803,
1840-567: The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 and the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 . Bretons The Bretons ( / ˈ b r ɛ t ɒ n z , - ən z , - ɒ̃ z / ; Breton : Bretoned or Vretoned , Breton pronunciation: [breˈtɔ̃nɛt] ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany , north-western France . Originally, the demonym designated groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain , particularly Cornwall and Devon , mostly during
1920-750: The Tredegar Medical Aid Society in the early 1920s. This society contributed the model which established the British National Health Service . 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" Just north of Tredegar lies the Trefil region. Trefil found new fame in 2005 when it
2000-455: The bombard (similar to an oboe) and two types of bagpipes ( veuze and binioù kozh ). Other instruments often found are the diatonic accordion , the clarinet , and occasionally violin as well as the hurdy-gurdy . After World War II , the Great Highland bagpipe (and binioù bras ) became commonplace in Brittany through the bagado ù (Breton pipe bands) and thus often replaced
2080-463: The parish . It often begins with a procession followed by mass in honour of the saint. Pardons are often accompanied by small village fairs. The three most famous pardons are: There is an ancient pilgrimage called the Tro Breizh (tour of Brittany) which involves pilgrims walking around Brittany from the grave of one of the Seven Founder Saints to another. Currently, pilgrims complete
2160-467: The 1980s, bilingual roadsides have been placed around the department as a way to regain a sense of cultural heritage. From 1880 to the mid-20th century, Breton was banned from the French school system and children were punished for speaking it. This was similar to Britain's enforcement of English, not Welsh, being used in Welsh schools during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The situation changed in 1951 with
2240-512: The Breton language: Arvorig FM , France Bleu Armorique , France Bleu Breizh-Izel , Radio Bro Gwened , Radio Kerne , and Radio Kreiz Breizh . Television programmes in Breton are available on Brezhoweb , France 3 Breizh , France 3 Iroise , TV Breizh and TV Rennes . A fest-noz is a traditional festival (essentially a dance) in Brittany . Many festoù-noz are held outside Brittany, taking regional Breton culture outside Brittany. Although
2320-614: 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 . Oliver Jones also cast doubt on this claim. He commented: 'neither maps nor documents support [Powell] .... Nor does Kettle,
2400-475: The Crown . In Wales, all town councils are community councils. There are now three communities with city status: Bangor , St Asaph and St Davids . The chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title mayor (Welsh: maer ). However, not every community has a council. In communities with populations too small to sustain a full community council, community meetings may be established. The communities in
2480-460: The European mainland, including the areas colonised by the ancestors of the Bretons. In eastern Brittany, a regional langue d'oïl , Gallo , developed. Gallo shares certain areal features such as points of vocabulary, idiom, and pronunciation with Breton, but is a Romance language . Neither language has official status under French law; however, some still use Breton as an everyday language. As of
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2560-655: The Opposition Andrew RT Davies MS ( C ) Shadow Cabinet ( current ) Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP ( L ) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) Principal councils ( leader list ) Corporate Joint Committees Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections (1979–2020) Local elections Police and crime commissioner elections Referendums A community ( Welsh : cymuned )
2640-599: The Sirhowy valley, the town was a man-made hell. Men and children worked killing hours in the smoke and filth of the foundries and were maimed by molten metal. Their only medical help was that administered by the 'Penny Doctor.' Wages were paid in Homfray's private coinage — banks were not allowed in the town — so workers spent their coins in Homfray's shops, buying food at Homfray's prices. Poverty and malnutrition followed and disease followed both. There were several cholera epidemics in
2720-560: 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 . 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
2800-583: 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. 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 hoped
2880-413: 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
2960-421: The boundary between the Breton and Gallo-speaking region—roughly 90% of the population of the western half of Brittany. In 1945, Breton speakers consisted about 75% of the population. Today, in all of Brittany, at most 20% of the population can speak Breton. 75% of the estimated 200,000 to 250,000 Breton speakers using Breton as an everyday language are over the age of 65. A strong historical emigration has created
3040-833: The car crash scene for short film Cow was filmed on the Tredegar bypass. 'Cow' was produced by Gwent Police and Tredegar Comprehensive School to highlight the dangers of texting while driving . The movie was made available online and received widespread attention, featuring on TV news programs, in newspapers and internet forums worldwide. Community (Wales) Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales First Minister ( list ) Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS ( L ) Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS ( L ) Counsel General-designate – Elisabeth Jones Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS ( PC ) Leader of
3120-412: The case would show that people could not profit from illegal dumping. Tredegar has been used for numerous TV and film locations, including The District Nurse starring Nerys Hughes . In 1982, a televised version of the A.J. Cronin novel , The Citadel , was filmed in Tredegar, starring Ben Cross . The series was based partly on Cronin's experiences as a doctor in the town, where he had worked for
3200-560: The circuit over the course of several years. In 2002, the Tro Breizh included a special pilgrimage to Wales, symbolically making the reverse journey of the Welshmen Paul Aurelian, Brioc, and Samson. According to Breton religious tradition, whoever does not make the pilgrimage at least once in his lifetime will be condemned to make it after his death, advancing only by the length of his coffin every seven years. Some pagan customs from
3280-500: 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
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3360-745: The community boundaries within their area every fifteen years. The councils propose changes to the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales , which prepares a report and makes recommendations to the Welsh Government . If the Welsh Government accepts the recommendations, then it implements them using a statutory instrument . For example, in 2016 four new communities were created in the City and County of Cardiff . The legislation surrounding community councils in Wales has been amended significantly in
3440-631: The consortium employed included furnacemen, furnace helpers, smiths, cokers, masons and mule drivers. In 1797, Samuel Homfray , with partners Richard Fothergill and Matthew Monkhouse, built a new furnace, leasing the land from the Tredegar Estate in Newport . This created the new Sirhowy Ironworks , that were in 1800 to become the Tredegar Iron Company , named in honour of the Tredegar Estate at Tredegar House and Tredegar Park in Newport in
3520-440: 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
3600-440: 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 dialect known as Gwenhwyseg , the name was often pronounced as Tredecar (with provection of /g/ to /k/). There was also a shortened form Decar . Tredegar became industrialised because the local availability of easily accessible iron ore and
3680-484: 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 , when Jewish shops were ransacked and the army had to be brought in. Though Jewish businesses and property were attacked, nobody
3760-509: The following century to escape the invading Anglo-Saxons and Scoti . Modern archaeology also supports a two-wave migration. It is generally accepted that the Brittonic speakers who arrived gave the region its current name as well as the Breton language , Brezhoneg , a sister language to Welsh and Cornish. There are numerous records of Celtic Christian missionaries migrating from Britain during
3840-430: 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 fifteen inch (381 mm) mainwheel strike, with
3920-481: The furnace at Pont Gwaith yr Hearn, next to the Sirhowy River, four miles south of Tredegar. The furnace was developed by two Bretons and worked by men from Penydarren , Merthyr Tydfil . 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
4000-517: 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
4080-513: The legacy of these emigrants. The Breton people are predominantly members of the Catholic Church , with minorities in the Reformed Church of France and non-religious people . Brittany was one of the most staunchly Catholic regions in all of France. Attendance at Sunday mass dropped during the 1970s and the 1980s; however, other religious practices, such as pilgrimages , have experienced
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#17328481621324160-586: The main local employers for much of the 19th century. The surrounding 26-acre (11 ha) Victorian garden and park, designed originally as a Dutch garden 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 . One of Tredegar's main attributes is the Town Clock, dominating
4240-462: The management of Tredegar General Hospital . Neil Kinnock , 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. His predecessor as leader, Michael Foot , was Labour MP for the local constituency — Ebbw Vale — during his time as party leader. As part of
4320-469: 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
4400-514: 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 , the fourth son of Sir Charles Morgan of Tredegar, had published his etymology of the name of his ancestral home, which he had republished in 1886. He divided his etymology into two parts, about
4480-493: 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 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 describe
4560-479: The old pre-Christian tradition remain the folklore of Brittany. The most powerful folk figure is the Ankou or the "Reaper of Death". There are four main Breton dialects: Gwenedeg ( Vannes ), Kerneveg ( Cornouaille ), Leoneg ( Leon ) and Tregerieg ( Trégor ), which have varying degrees of mutual intelligibility. In 1908, a standard orthography was devised. The fourth dialect, Gwenedeg, was not included in this reform, but
4640-456: 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. Bedwellty House is a Grade II listed 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 , whose Iron and Coal Works were
4720-524: 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
4800-571: The retinue of William the Conqueror. Following his service at Hastings, he was rewarded with large estates in Yorkshire . At the time of his death, he was by far the richest noble in England. His manorial holding at Richmond ensured a Breton presence in northern England. The Earldom of Richmond later became an appanage of the Dukes of Brittany. Many people throughout France claim Breton ethnicity, including
4880-420: The river was owned by Lord Tredegar , 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
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#17328481621324960-487: The same Act. The principal areas of Wales are divided entirely into communities. Unlike in England, where unparished areas exist, no part of Wales is outside a community, even in urban areas . Most, but not all, communities are administered by community councils , which are equivalent to English parish councils in terms of their powers and the way they operate. Welsh community councils may call themselves town councils unilaterally and may have city status granted by
5040-636: The second wave of Breton colonisation, especially the legendary seven founder-saints of Brittany as well as Gildas . As in Cornwall, many Breton towns are named after these early saints. The Irish saint Columbanus was also active in Brittany and is commemorated at Saint-Columban in Carnac . In the Early Middle Ages , Brittany was divided into three kingdoms— Domnonée , Cornouaille (Kernev), and Bro Waroc'h ( Broërec )—which eventually were incorporated into
5120-463: 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
5200-521: The southern part of the town centre. The clock was made by JB Joyce & Co of Whitchurch, Shropshire 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. "The clock tower is seventy-two feet high. The foundation is of masonry, on which
5280-472: 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
5360-483: 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
5440-619: The terminus of the Paris- Brest railway. Famous Breton Americans and Americans of Breton descent include John James Audubon , Jack Kerouac , and Joseph-Yves Limantour . From 1885 to 1970, several thousand Bretons migrated to the United States, many of them leaving the Black Mountains of Morbihan . In June 2020, a replica of the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in Gourin , Morbihan, to celebrate
5520-409: The three natural resources which enabled iron production: 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 [alternatively 'Hearn'] ('the bridge iron works'), four miles south of Tredegar, as 'one of the oldest places on
5600-409: The town in the 19th century, and a dedicated cholera burial ground was established at Cefn Golau . Tredegar has strong links with prominent Labour MPs and the history of the Labour Party and the Labour Movement in Britain as a whole. It was the birthplace of Aneurin Bevan , who was responsible for the introduction of the British National Health Service (NHS), and who in the 1920s was involved in
5680-415: The traditional dances of the fest-noz are old, some dating back to the Middle Ages , the fest-noz tradition is itself more recent, dating back to the 1950s. Fest-Noz was officially registered on Wednesday, December 5, 2012, by UNESCO on the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity." There are many traditional Breton dances, the most well-known being gavottes , an dro ,
5760-551: The urban areas of the cities of Cardiff , Swansea and Newport do not have community councils. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census , there were 869 communities in Wales. 84 percent, or more than 730, have a council. They vary in size from Rhayader with an area of 13,945 hectares (34,460 acres) to Cefn Fforest with an area of 64 hectares (160 acres). They ranged in population from Barry with 45,053 recorded inhabitants to Baglan Bay with no permanent residents. The twenty-two principal area councils are required to review
5840-481: 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) (italics in original) The previous analysis is supplemented by the fact that company's buildings appeared on the 1832 Ordnance Survey map as 'Tredegar Iron Works'. Jones didn't state when
5920-615: 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. 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 . This is below the county 's figure of 5.5% of 67,348 (3,705 residents) who can speak, read, and write Welsh . The town
6000-670: 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 to meet the LNWR . The railway declined with the industrial works, and Tredegar railway station closed with the Beeching Axe in 1963. The closest railway stations now are in Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Abergavenny. The proposed South Wales Metro includes
6080-554: Was constant tension between local lords. Bretons were the most prominent of the non-Norman forces in the Norman conquest of England . A number of Breton families were of the highest rank in the new society and were tied to the Normans by marriage. The Scottish Clan Stewart and the royal House of Stuart have Breton origins. Alan Rufus , also known as Alan the Red, was both a cousin and knight in
6160-465: Was included in the later orthographic reform of 1941. The Breton language is a very important part of Breton identity. Breton itself is one of the Brittonic languages and is closely related to Cornish and more distantly to Welsh . Breton is thus an Insular Celtic language and is more distantly related to the long-extinct Continental Celtic languages , such as Gaulish , that were formerly spoken on
6240-406: Was killed in this riot. Samuel Homfray 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 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
6320-512: Was nationalised in 1946, becoming part of the National Coal Board . The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond , Virginia , United States was named in honour of the town. Samuel Homfray , 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
6400-752: Was used as a location for the alien Vogon homeworld in the film of Douglas Adams 's book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . 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 universe, Trefil has featured as the Ood home planet and in The Sarah Jane Adventures . On 13 May 2008
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