Blaenau Gwent is a county borough at the head of the south Wales valleys. It covers 42 square miles (109 km2), had a population of 66,904 at the 2021 census, and is run from Ebbw Vale.
The name means “the uplands of Gwent”. It is the smallest Welsh principal area by population after Merthyr Tydfil, and the most heavily built up part of it sits along three narrow valley floors.
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Status | County borough (principal area) |
| Area | 42 sq mi (109 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 66,904 |
| Density | 614 people per km2 (1,593 per sq mi) |
| Welsh speakers | 6.2% (2021 census) |
| Largest town | Ebbw Vale (Glynebwy) |
| Other main towns | Tredegar, Abertillery, Brynmawr |
| Highest point | Coity Mountain, 578 m (1,896 ft) |
| Council | Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council |
Towns and Villages in Blaenau Gwent
The borough has 48 named towns, villages and communities. Because the valleys are so tightly built, many of the names below are distinct hillside communities rather than free-standing villages: Rassau, Garnlydan and Willowtown all sit within a mile or two of Ebbw Vale centre.
- Aberbeeg
- Abertillery
- Beaufort
- Beaufort Hill
- Blaina
- Briery Hill
- Brynithel
- Brynmawr
- Carmeltown
- Cefn Golau
- Coedcae
- Cwm
- Cwmtillery
- Dukestown
- Ebbw Vale
- Garn Fach
- Garnlydan
- Georgetown
- Glandwr
- Glyncoed
- Hilltop
- Llanhilleth
- Mountain Air
- Nant-y-bwch
- Nantyglo
- Newchurch
- Newtown
- Pant y Pwdyn
- Pen-y-Bont
- Penrhiwgarreg
- Pont-y-Gôf
- Rassau
- Scwrfa
- Sirhowy
- Six Bells
- Swffryd
- Tafarnaubach
- Tredegar
- Trefil
- Troedrhiwgwair
- Twyn Cynhordy
- Ty Llwyn
- Tynewydd
- Victoria
- Waun-Lwyd
- Waundeg
- Willowtown
- Winchestown
Geography
Three valleys run north to south through the borough: the Ebbw Fawr through Ebbw Vale and Cwm, the Ebbw Fach through Brynmawr, Nantyglo, Blaina and Abertillery, and the Sirhowy through Tredegar. The ridges between them rise to open moorland.
Coity Mountain, at 578 metres, is the highest ground. The northern boundary follows the escarpment above Brynmawr into Powys and the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Caerphilly lies west, Torfaen and Monmouthshire east, and Merthyr Tydfil to the north-west.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 66,904 residents, down on 2011 and well below the borough’s mid-twentieth-century peak. Density is high for a rural-looking county at about 614 people per square kilometre, because almost everyone lives on the valley floors.
Welsh is spoken by 6.2% of residents aged three and over, the lowest share of any Welsh local authority. The figure reflects nineteenth-century in-migration to the ironworks and collieries from England and Ireland.
Ebbw Vale is the largest town, followed by Tredegar, Abertillery and Brynmawr. Blaina, Nantyglo, Cwm and Six Bells are the next tier of settlements.
Economy and Local Life
Iron and coal built every town here, and both are gone. The Ebbw Vale steelworks, once the largest in Europe, closed in 2002; the site is now The Works, a mixed development with a college, health centre, housing and the Gwent Archives.
Public services, retail and light manufacturing are the main employers today. Household incomes are among the lowest in Wales, and the borough has been a focus of Welsh Government regeneration spending for two decades.
Local life centres on the market towns. Tredegar’s Bedwellty House and Park, the Big Arch at Abertillery and the Guardian memorial above Six Bells, marking the 1960 colliery disaster that killed 45 men, are the landmarks people give directions by.
History
Before the 1780s this was thinly settled sheep country in the north-west corner of historic Monmouthshire. Ironworks at Sirhowy, Tredegar, Nantyglo and Ebbw Vale drew thousands of workers within a generation, and coal followed.
Aneurin Bevan was born in Tredegar in 1897 and represented Ebbw Vale in Parliament from 1929. The Tredegar Medical Aid Society, which pooled workers’ subscriptions to pay for doctors, was the model he cited when he founded the National Health Service in 1948.
The present county borough was created in 1996 from the Blaenau Gwent district of Gwent, itself formed in 1974.
Getting There
The A465 Heads of the Valleys road crosses the north of the borough, linking Abergavenny to Merthyr Tydfil and the A470. The A467 runs down the Ebbw Fach valley and the A4048 down the Sirhowy.
The Ebbw Valley railway reopened to passengers in 2008 after 46 years. Trains run from Ebbw Vale Town and Ebbw Vale Parkway down the valley to Cardiff, calling at Llanhilleth. Cardiff Airport is about 40 miles south-west and Bristol Airport about 45 miles east.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Blaenau Gwent?
66,904 at the 2021 census, in an area of 42 square miles.
What is the largest town in Blaenau Gwent?
Ebbw Vale, which is also the council’s base. Tredegar, Abertillery and Brynmawr follow.
How many villages are there in Blaenau Gwent?
This directory lists 48 named towns, villages and hillside communities.
Which county was Blaenau Gwent in?
Historic Monmouthshire. It became part of the county of Gwent in 1974 and a county borough in its own right in 1996.
How many people in Blaenau Gwent speak Welsh?
6.2% of residents aged three and over at the 2021 census, the lowest proportion in Wales.