The Industrial Heritage of
Industrial Heritage
Steel Making in Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
History of
Ebbw Vale / Glyn Ebwy
Prior to the Industrial Revolution
At the end of the 18th century, the population the
Ebbw Fawr valley was only about 140.
The Industrial Revolution
The founding of the Ebbw Vale Ironworks in 1778
transformed the valley. In 1781, the furnace and ironworks employed around 70
workers. By 1815, the population of the valley had grown to 1200.
The 19th Century
The second half of the century saw Ebbw Vale begin to
take shape. 1853 saw the opening of the Literary and Scientific Institute.
Christ Church was consecrated in 1869.
Conditions for workers in Ebbw Vale gradually
improved, with the working day reduced to nine hours in the 1880s. Also the
hated 'Truck Shops' were abolished in 1872. These were often over-priced
company-owned shops which people were obliged to use, as the company would
allow no other competition. Much of the credit for these improvements lies with
the trade union movement, which was strong in the area.
Sport
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". Support
came from schoolmasters teaching the game as part of the curriculum and from
the clergy who as disciples of Muscular Christianity believed that playing
games helped to give order and moral structure to life within the tightly knit
and drink ridden industrial communities.
The early games were played at 'Dobbs Field' named
after the landlord of the nearby Bridgend Hotel. The Bridgend field as it
became known was owned by Phillips and sons, Brewers, of Station Street,
Newport, who by 1903 were charging £3.50 for a seasons rent. This amount was
increased to £9 in 1904 and the following year to £10.
After the First World War in 1918, the Ebbw Vale Steel
Company created a recreation club buying the Cricket Club assets for £100 but
this organization ceased to exist on 31st March 1923 in the post war
depression. A Welfare Scheme for the town was then created and from this
time the field was known as the Ebbw Vale Welfare Ground, however to honour Sir
Eugene Cross, the influential and longstanding Chairman of the Trustees, the
ground was given its present name in 1973. With the closure of part of
the steelworks in 1977 a public trust was formed in 1981 to succeed the Welfare
Association and this led to Local Authority control in 1987.
Schools
Prior to 1878, when the Briery Hill Schools were
built, schools existed at
The Ebbw Vale Forge School provide education for
children living in Pond Row, Armoury Row, School Row, Forge Row, and Church
Row-now replaced by Holland Street, Alexander Street, Church Street and
Church Crescent. In addition the
settlement of Briery Hill known to Welsh speaking natives as Twyn
Dryseog . The English translation for Twyn is 'Tump' or mound, hence the
traditional nickname for the area.
The Ebbw Vale Forge schools had been built and managed
by the Ebbw Vale Company, owners of the iron work and forges. They provided
very bad accommodation.
An Education Act of 1870 enabled Elementary Schools to
be set up throughout
The 20th Century
Aneurin Bevan was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire on
November 15, 1897. Although not a native Ebbw Valian, he served as the town's
MP from 1929 until his death in 1960. The son of a miner, he went down the pit
himself at the age of 13 and overcome a severe stammer to become chairman of
his local lodge of the South Wales Miners Federation, local Councillor, and eventually
a prominent Government Minister.
His most significant achievement was the shaping of
the National Health Service through unifying the network of local authority and
voluntary hospitals in a single national system. Medical Aid Societies, formed in
the area during the 19th century, provided a model for the National Health
Service.
The Decline of Steel
Steel production in Ebbw Vale was phased out by 1974,
with production transferred to Llanwern, in
Corus at the start of 2001 closed the final bastion of
the industry, to which the people here have depended so much upon. Even so the
town is still an important area for the eastern valley communities and is still
the main Shopping centre. The recent Garden festival site has been redeveloped
into a very picturesque out-of-town shopping centre.
Interesting facts
Steel from Ebbw Vale built the Sydney Harbour Bridge
44000 red engineering bricks from Beaufort support the
The world's first steel rail was rolled at Ebbw Vale
in 1857.
The rails for the
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