Ebbw Vale: Steel Town in Blaenau Gwent at the Head of the Valley
Ebbw Vale (Glyn Ebwy in Welsh) sits at the northern end of the Ebbw Fach valley in Blaenau Gwent, one of the South Wales Valleys. The population is around 18,000. The steelworks, established in the late eighteenth century and expanded massively in the twentieth, dominated the town. At its peak, the works employed over 14,000 people. The steelworks closed in 2002, and the site has been redeveloped with housing, retail (the Works shopping centre), and a new campus of Coleg Gwent. The 1951 Festival of Britain chose Ebbw Vale as the site for a series of associated events, recognising the town's significance as a working community.
Aneurin Bevan, the architect of the National Health Service, served as MP for Ebbw Vale from 1929 until his death in 1960. Michael Foot succeeded him and held the seat until 1992. The Heads of the Valleys Road (A465) passes just to the north, and a new railway line connecting Ebbw Vale to Cardiff reopened in 2008 after decades of closure. The surrounding hills are steep, and the town has the enclosed feel characteristic of the valley heads. For adult companionship, the same criminal law applies in Wales as in England.
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Ebbw Vale (Glyn Ebwy in Welsh) sits at the northern end of the Ebbw Fach valley in Blaenau Gwent, one of the South Wales Valleys. The population is around 18,000. The steelworks, established in the late eighteenth century and expanded massively in the twentieth, dominated the town. At its peak, the works employed over 14,000 people. The steelworks closed in 2002, and the site has been redeveloped with housing, retail (the Works shopping centre), and a new campus of Coleg Gwent. The 1951 Festival of Britain chose Ebbw Vale as the site for a series of associated events, recognising the town's significance as a working community.
Aneurin Bevan, the architect of the National Health Service, served as MP for Ebbw Vale from 1929 until his death in 1960. Michael Foot succeeded him and held the seat until 1992. The Heads of the Valleys Road (A465) passes just to the north, and a new railway line connecting Ebbw Vale to Cardiff reopened in 2008 after decades of closure. The surrounding hills are steep, and the town has the enclosed feel characteristic of the valley heads. For adult companionship, the same criminal law applies in Wales as in England.
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