( river in
South Wales . It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent
County Borough . The Ebbw Vale/Brynmawr conurbation has a population of roughly 33,000.
Originally a rather insignificant spot with only about 140 inhabitants at the end of the
18th Century , Ebbw Vale — and the whole valley — was transformed by the
Industrial Revolution . The Ebbw Vale Iron Works (later the Ebbw Steelworks) opened in
1778 , followed by the opening of a number of
Coal Mine s around
1790 . At its height (1930s — 40s) the steel works in Ebbw Vale was the largest in Europe, attracting attention from German bombers during
World War II . However the deep valley proved difficult to bomb and the plant survived. Ebbw Vale suffered from the decline of the steel and coal industries and there are now no steelworks or mines left in or around the town. In 2003 work began on demolishing the long-standing steelworks, and currently around one to two miles of the valley stands empty awaiting development. Plans have been made to re-introduce a
Railway Service to the area, bringing a much-needed transport link.
Ebbw Vale hosted the
National Eisteddfod in
1958 and the
National Garden Festival in
1992 .
Aneurin Bevan , the father of the
National Health Service , stood for election into
Parliament as
Labour Party candidate for Ebbw Vale in
1929 , on his death in
1960 he was succeeded as MP by
Michael Foot .
The Ebbw Vale conurbation today is a product of ten areas which grew up as a result of the iron industry or have developed as a result of distinct housing areas they include:
Beaufort ,
Rassau ,
Garn Lydn ,
Hill Top ,
Glyncoed ,
Willowtown ,
Glanarafon ,
Cwm ,
Newtown ,
Victoria and Ebbw Vale itself. In particular Beaufort and Victoria were the two original iron producing areas.
Ebbw vale currently is host to a selection of primary and infant schools, two secondary schools (Glyncoed Comprehensive & Ebbw Vale Comprehensive) both covering a large catchment area. Alongside this there is also the Ebbw Vale campus of
Coleg Gwent , teaching a range of subjects from Mechanics, Media, Humanities to Hairdressing and Beauty. There is also an institute which provides a range of courses for mainly adult learners.
Sport features as one of the prides of the Ebbw Vale area, including a top flight Welsh Premiership rugby union team, that participated in the Celtic League and various European competitions until the restructuring of Welsh Rugby Union that took effect from the 2003-04 season. Also in the town there is a keen interest in cricket (of which the town hosted several Glamorgan County Cricket fixtures until 1996), bowls, swimming, and a large host of football and rugby teams at varying degrees of skill. Eugene Cross Park is the home of both the town's rugby and cricket clubs. However, cricket predates rugby and Ebbw Vale's first recorded match was played against Blaina in 1852. During the 19th century the influx of people from the surrounding counties looking for work in the local iron works and coal mines gave cricket a boost and in June 1879 "a meeting was held at the Institute to form a cricket club in the town".
- Steel from Ebbw Vale built the Sydney Harbour Bridge .
- 44,000 red engineering bricks from Beaufort are said to support the Empire State Building , although this has been contested.
- Southampton Docks stand on the crushed slag (cooled impurities from iron making) from Beaufort Ironworks.
- The world's first steel rail was rolled at Ebbw Vale in 1857.
- The rails for the Stockton And Darlington Railway were made at Ebbw Vale.
''For the Ebbw Vale in Australia, see
Ebbw Vale Railway Station, Queensland .''
