Everything about Tredegar totally explained
Tredegar is a
town in the county borough of
Blaenau Gwent, lying on the
River Sirhowy in the
Sirhowy Valley within the
historic boundaries of
Monmouthshire in south east
Wales.
The historic
Tredegar Iron Works in
Richmond, Virginia,
United States was named in honour of the town.
Early history
In
1778 an
iron furnace was built in Sirhowy by Thomas Atkinson and William Barrow who came to the area from London. Fuel was needed for the furnace so men were employed to dig
coal at Bryn Bach and Nantybwch, the first small scale
coal mining operation in the area.
The furnace failed in 1794. In 1797,
Samuel Homfray, with partners
Richard Fothergill and the
Revd. Matthew Monkhouse built a new furnace, leasing the land from the Tredegar Estate in
Newport. This created the Sirhowy Ironworks that were to become the Tredegar Ironworks, named in honour of the Tredegar Estate at
Tredegar House and
Tredegar Park in Newport,
South Wales.
The Town Clock
One of Tredegar's main attributes is the Town Clock
(External Link
) - dominating
(External Link) the southern part of the town centre. The clock was the idea of Mrs. R. P. Davies the wife of the Tredegar Company who had decided that she wanted to present a "lofty illuminated clock" and it was she who decided that it would be erected in the Circle.
"The clock tower is seventy-two feet high. The foundation is of masonry, on which is surmounted the cast-iron base which has four arms from each corner to a distance of sixty feet at a depth of five feet and six inches below ground level. The pillar is wholly composed of cast-iron, upon a square pediment which in turn, receives a rectangular plinth, and upon this stands a cylindrical column of smooth surface and symmetrical diameter, ornamented with suitable coping on which rests the clock surrounded with a weather vane. The plinth is inscribed on the four aspects, on the south side - Presented to the town of Tredegar from the proceeds of a bazaar promoted by the late Mrs R.P.Davis. Erected in the year 1858. On the West side is effigy of Wellington, with the legend - Wellington, England's Hero. On the North, the Royal Arms of England; and on the east, the name and description of the founder with his crest, - Charles Jordan, Iron Founder, Newport, Mon.
The clock is provided with four transparent faces or dials, each five feet three inches diameter, and these were illuminated originally by gas, but this was later changed to Electricity. The minute hands are each two feet two inches long, and the hour hand one foot seven inches long. The clocks mechanism is a fifteen inch mainwheel strike, with a single four-legged Gravity Escapement driving the four dials. It has a 1 1/4 second pendulum and the bob weighs two hundredweight".
Other information
It is home to
Bryn Bach Park, a
country park.
Tredegar Orpheus
Male Voice Choir will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2009. Originally in Tredegar there were two choirs, a glee party and a small
chapel choir. In 1909, these united under the baton of Mr John Davy Evans, and thus became known as 'The Tredegar Orpheus Male Voice Choir', the name
Orpheus coming from the
Greek god of music.
Local schools
- Two Dame Schools prior to 1828
- The Town School opened in 1837
- Georgetown schools in 1877. First Headmistress in 1878
- Georgetown Senior Boys School in 1904
Links with the Labour Party
Tredegar has strong links with prominent Labour MPs and the history of the
Labour Party and the
Labour Movement in the UK. It was the birthplace of
Aneurin Bevan, who was responsible for the introduction of the British
National Health Service (NHS), and who in the 1920s was involved in the management of
Tredegar General Hospital. It was also the birthplace of former Labour Party leader
Neil Kinnock who attended Georgetown Infants and Juniors. His predecessor as leader,
Michael Foot, was MP for the local constituency -
Ebbw Vale - during his time as party leader. Ironically, Michael Foot's constituency home was Number 10.
Origin of the name Tredegar
The name Tredegar can be explained as
tref deg erw.
Deg erw is
Welsh for "ten acres" or "ten-acre";
tref means "town", although its original meaning was "farm" or "estate".
Alternatively, the second element could be the personal name Tegyr,
lenited to Degyr, with a change to the final vowel in the local dialect. Little is known about Tegyr (the Great). Sir Tegyr was thought important enough to be included – as
Sir Degore – among the twenty-five Knights listed on
King Arthur's Round Table. He appears as King Arthur's cup-bearer in the tale of
Culhwch & Olwen.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tredegar'.
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