Cwmbran
Cwmbran | |
---|---|
Glyndŵr Road in Cwmbran, photographed in July 2018 | |
Location within Torfaen | |
Population | 48,535 |
OS grid reference | ST295955 |
Community |
|
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CWMBRAN |
Postcode district | NP44 |
Dialling code | 01633 |
Police | Gwent |
Fire | South Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
Monmouth | |
Cwmbran (/kʊmˈbrɑːn, kuːm-/ kuum-BRAHN, koom-; Welsh: Cwmbrân [kʊmˈbraːn], also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to provide new employment opportunities in the south eastern portion of the South Wales Coalfield.
Geography
Comprising the villages of
Sitting as it does at the corner of the
Etymology
The name of the town in Welsh means "valley (cwm) of the crow (brân)",[3]).
Cwmbran was the name of one of several villages located in the valley, which had grown up around the tinplate works of the Cwmbran Iron Company. As the new town of Cwmbran was formed in 1949, the area of the old village became known as Old Cwmbran.
History
Cwmbran was founded in 1949 as a new town,[4] to provide new employment opportunities in the south eastern portion of the South Wales Coalfield, but the area has a long history.
There is evidence that Neolithic and Bronze Age people used the area, with the Iron Age Silures tribe also occupying the region before being subdued by the Roman legions based at nearby Usk and Caerleon.
Around 1179, Hywel, Lord of Caerleon gave a gift of money and land to found the
In 1833 the Ordnance Survey map of Monmouthshire shows Cwmbran as a farm situated in the area now known as Upper Cwmbran, in the valley named Cwm Brân. Cwmbran now covers about 3,000 acres (12 km2) and has a population of around 50,000.
Following some investigation by local residents Richard Davies and Mike Price, the Ancient Cwmbran & The Cistercian project was designed and created by Richard Davies and Torfaens Heritage Officer Claire Dovey-Evans. A £48,000 grant has been provided by the
The Cistercian Way also passes through Llantarnam, Old Cwmbran, Greenmeadow and Thornhill before reaching the ancient chapel of Llanderfel on Mynydd Maen, and then onwards to Twmbarlwm.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Cwmbran was the site of heavy industrial development. Coal and iron ore were extracted on Mynydd Maen, and moved by inclined planes and tramways into the Eastern Valley for use in factories such as the
Following the
Cwmbran was a civil parish and, from 1974, a community in its own right, one of only five in the new district of Torfaen. In 1985 the Cwmbran community was abolished, replaced by Cwmbran Central, Fairwater, Llantarnam, Pontnewydd and Upper Cwmbran.[8]
Economy
The longest established employer in Cwmbran is biscuit maker
Safran Seats Great Britain (formerly Zodiac Aerospace)[11][12] is the current owner of a factory in Cwmbran which employs 1000 people for manufacturing aircraft seats.
Cwmbran Centre
Constructed from 1959 to 1981, the pedestrianised Centre hosts supermarkets, high street retailers, banks, theatre, cinema, bowling alley, restaurants, creche, trampoline park, gym, police station, magistrates court, youth centre, pub, library, arts centre and office space. The 170+ shops can be accessed by the bus station located in the Centre, a train station a few minutes walk north-east or with the 3000 free parking spaces located around the Centre's ring road.
SME-businesses include the Cwmbran Brewery in Upper Cwmbran, which opened in 1996 as Cottage Spring Brewery.[13]
Education
The town has two secondary education schools: Croesyceiliog School and Cwmbran High School. There are numerous primary[14] and nursery schools including a Welsh medium primary school, Ysgol Gymraeg Cwmbrân.
‘Crownbridge Special School’ is located in Cwmbran. Age range - 2–19 years old.
Further education, vocational training and some higher education is provided at Torfaen Learning Zone of Coleg Gwent in Cwmbran centre.
Sport
Cwmbran Stadium is a multipurpose Stadium with an athletics track and 3G Pitch, an eight court sports hall, fitness suite, swimming pool and an indoor bowling rink.
Athletics
Cwmbran Stadium[15] was home to international athletics events in the 1970s and 1980s. British athletics coach Malcolm Arnold used to train some of his athletes at Cwmbran in the 80s and early 90s while he was the Welsh National Coach.
Athletes who trained there regularly under Malcolm include former World 110m Hurdle Champion and World Record Holder, Colin Jackson; Commonwealth 110m Hurdle medallist, Paul Gray; and Nigel Walker who had two sporting careers, first as an Olympic hurdler and then later as a Welsh rugby union international player.
The 1999 World Indoor 400m Champion Jamie Baulch also used the stadium as a regular training track under a different coach. The stadium is also the home of Gwent Hockey Club (men's and ladies).
The town has three
Football
The three main
Rugby union
Separate grounds at Pontnewydd, Croesyceiliog and Glan-Yr-Afon Leisure Centre house the town's three rugby union teams, Cwmbran RFC, Croesyceiliog RFC and Girling RFC.
Although many more of the town's residents support the rugby teams of the older, adjacent town of
Rugby league
Media
The main newspaper in the region is the South Wales Argus and the semi-national Western Mail. The digital edition of the latter is published as Wales Online. The town is served by a local news service, Cwmbran Life,[20] while the BBC also serve the South East Wales region from their base in Cardiff.
A number of online and amateur radio stations operate in Cwmbran. Vitalize Radio operates as the community radio station for Torfaen, originally established in 2014 as Torfonix.[21] There are also the Cwmbran and District Amateur Radio Society, and Able Radio, who support adults with autism and learning disabilities.
Media depictions of Cwmbran
In July 2011, Cwmbran was the setting for
Transport
Rail
Until then, Cwmbran had had no train service for 24 years. Historically Cwmbran was served by two lines and several local stations. The first line was built by the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company and opened in 1852. Much of its route is now under Cwmbran Drive, the A4051. The line that is still in use was opened by the Pontypool, Caerleon and Newport Railway in 1874.
Bus
The town has a comprehensive local bus service from Cwmbran bus station.
Newport Bus operate their 29 & 29A Services from Newport bus station at Friars Walk shopping centre to Cwmbran bus station via Caerleon, Ponthir, Llanfrecha and The Grange University Hospital, With a frequency of 1 bus per hour on both services which in turn has a 30 minute frequency between both services. Stagecoach South Wales operate the majority of services at Cwmbran, including routes from the valleys including Blaenavon, Abergavenny, Pontypool, Blackwood, Varteg, and Hereford, travelling through to the South to Cardiff and Newport.
In early 2019 Stagecoach updated their fleet when they introduced newer model Gold Optare Solo buses for routes 1, 2, 5b/c, 6, 7 and 24. The X24 route to Newport Friars Walk and Blaenavon was upgraded to Stagecoach Gold in 2014. However this has come to an end with the new 'Stagecoach Corporate' livery taking over as the standard livery for Stagecoach South Wales.
Stagecoach also operates routes 11 to Kemys Fawr & 21 to Blackwood (due to be extended to The Grange University Hospital)
Phil Anslow Coaches are a local coach company who also run services in the town. They operate the 63 service to Chepstow, the 24X route to Newport Friars Walk, the 6 service to Ty-Canol & Fairwater, the A3 service to Abergavenny via Pontypool, the 62 service to Coleg Gwent Ebbw Vale campus via Pontypool, and the 68 service to Usk College.
Partner Cities
Bruchsal in Baden-Württemberg, Germany[25]
Notable people
- See also Category:People from Cwmbran
- Sioned Williams (born 1971) – Plaid Cymru member of the Senedd for South Wales West (Senedd electoral region)
- Rorke's Drift veteran, born in Abergavenny, buried in Llantarnam.
- Ivor Bulmer-Thomas (born 1905, died 1993) – former Member of Parliament (MP) and church preservation campaigner.
- Margaret Price (born 1941, died 2011) – opera singer.
- Baroness Kingsmill (born 1947) – Labour life peer, personal injury, trade union and employment law solicitor, and business advisor.
- Green Gartside (born 1955) – singer with Scritti Politti.
- Andy Dibble (born 1965) – professional footballer.
- Lee Dainton (born 1973) – TV presenter, host of Dirty Sanchez.
- Ceri Dallimore (born 1974) – Commonwealth Games gold medal winning markswoman.
- Welsh Rugby Union international.
- Gary Lockett (born 1976) – world title challenging boxer and TV/radio analyst.
- Helen Adams (born 1978) – Big Brother contestant and TV presenter.
- Cardiff City and Wales.
- Jamie Arthur (born 1979) – Commonwealth Games medal winning boxer.
- Rachel Rice (born 1984) – Big Brother'
- Christian Doidge (born 1992) – professional footballer for Hibernian.
- Nick Kenny (born 1993) – darts player and Welsh international.
- Dave Richards (born 1993) – professional footballer for Crewe Alexandra
- Theo Wharton (born 1994) – Cardiff City Academy graduate and Wales youth international.
- Kim & Michael Davies, Robot Wars UK competitors and champions with Panic Attack.
- Newport Gwent Dragons
- Cory McKenna (born 1999) _ Professional mixed martial artist
Notable Sights
- Congress Theatre[26]
- Cwmbran Boating Lake Park
- Cwmbran Leisure
- Cwmbran Town Centre
- Cwmbran Retail Park
- Cwmbran Stadium
- Five Locks along Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal[27]
- Greenmeadow Community Farm
- Henllys local nature reserve
- Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre
- Llanyrafon Manor - Rural Heritage Centre
Bibliography
- Village Publishing (1985). 'The trains don't stop here anymore....' – A pictorial history of Cwmbran from the 1930s to the present day. Village Publishing. ISBN 0-946043-07-8.
- Cwmbran & District Writers (2004). Cwmbran – And other Routes as the crow flies. ISBN 1-872730-34-5.
- Philip Riden (1988). Rebuilding a Valley. Cwmbran Development Corporation. ISBN 0-9510548-1-3.
References
- ^ "Cwmbran Community Council - Cyngor Cymuned Cwmbrân". cwmbran.gov.uk.
- Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru". geiriadur.ac.uk.
- ^ "Cwmbran Regeneration". Torfaen County Borough Council. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "BBC – South East Wales – Uncovering history of a new town". 3 September 2009.
- ^ "History of Cwmbran Works 1800-1969". Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
- ^ "Why Cwmbran". Archived from the original on 17 March 2012.
- ^ "The Torfaen (Communities) Order 1985" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 1 February 1985. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "Burtons Foods Ltd, Cwmbran, Gwent on MacRAEs Blue Book UK Industrial Directory". Archived from the original on 6 October 2011.
- ^ "Wagon Wheels". Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ "EU clears merger of French aerospace suppliers Safran and Zodiac". Reuters. 21 December 2017 – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ "Cwmbran airline seat firm Contour sold to Zodiac". BBC News. 13 December 2011.
- ^ "Cwmbran Brewery". www.quaffale.org.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ^ "Geograph:: Ysgol Gymraeg Cwmbrân (Primary School) © Roger Cornfoot". www.geograph.org.uk.
- ^ "Geograph:: Cwmbran Stadium © David Luther Thomas". www.geograph.org.uk.
- ^ Cwmbranharriers.co.uk,
- ^ "Fairwater Runners Cwmbran". fairwater-runners-cwmbran.org.uk.
- ^ "Griffithstown Harriers running club". Archived from the original on 22 August 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
- ^ "Fire at Cwmbran's Football Factory 'devastates' locals". BBC News. 13 February 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "Cwmbran Life- Read news and features about Cwmbran". Cwmbran Life. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ "Inside the Torfonix studio- a radio station being set up in Cwmbran". Cwmbran Life. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ Sanders, Alison (29 July 2011). "GLC join our Buy Local campaign with rap in praise of Cwmbran". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ^ "Geograph:: Railway station, Cwmbran © Roger Cornfoot cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
- ^ "Geograph:: Hereford train, near Cwmbran © Roger Cornfoot cc-by-sa/2.0". www.geograph.org.uk.
- ^ "Stadt Bruchsal – Partnerstädte". www.bruchsal.de. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ "Video: Shoppers gather to see Prince Edward leave the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran". Cwmbran Life. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal re-opened at Five Locks". South Wales Argus. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2023.