wisdom and walks

The Industrial Revolution

The problem is where to start. Is it with the revolution in transport? Or the pioneering advances made in the production of iron and steel? Or the mining of the 'Black Gold' that fuelled Britain and the world? The Industrial Revolution swept through the Valleys like nowhere else. Merthyr Tydfil was known as the 'iron capital' from Aberdeen to Argentina. Mighty new forces were unleashed here, served by tightly knit communities bonded by a unique culture. The heavy industry of old is long gone. But not everything disappears. What remains is that strong, resonant sense of identity - and a clutch of fascinating heritage sites that include coal mines, canals and blast furnaces, monuments to a vanished age. World Heritage Blaenavon – along with places like the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China - is a World Heritage Site. It’s no less than it deserves, for the town was once at the cutting edge of the iron and coal industries. For an overview of it all walk across the windy moors above Blaenavon. Better still, explore the blast furnaces at Blaenavon Ironworks, some of the best preserved in Europe. And go underground at the Big Pit National Mining Museum. It’s for real. Big Pit was a working colliery until 1980. What’s more, you’ll be guided by an ex-miner (and, we guarantee, be entertained and enlightened along the way). The story continues to unfold. May 2008 sees the official opening of Blaenavon’s new World Heritage Centre, which gives a complete picture of the town’s vital historic role.

www.world-heritage-blaenavon.org.uk

Ironheart

Merthyr Tydfil and metal were synonymous. First it was iron. Then came steel. It’s difficult to exaggerate Merthyr’s importance. In its rip-roaring heyday it was the largest town in Wales. Merthyr iron went into the rails that crossed the plains of South America and the Siberian steppes. And talking about rails, Merthyr was home to the first steampowered railways. Staying on track, just north of the town centre there’s the Brecon Mountain Railway, a scenic narrow-gauge line running into the foothills of the Brecon Beacons. Merthyr’s blast furnaces also created vast wealth - as you’ll see at Cyfarthfa Castle, the former home of an all-powerful ironmaster that’s now a museum and art gallery. To witness how the other half lived go to Chapel Row, a terrace of ironworkers’ cottages. Number 4 was the birthplace of the great composer Dr Joseph Parry, whose tear-jerking hymn Myfanwy is a staple of all self-respecting male voice choirs. Take a look inside - it has been returned to the 1840s when Joseph was a child.

www.museums.merthyr.gov.uk

Gold and Diamonds

‘‘Black Gold’ or ‘Black Diamonds’ were the currency of the Rhondda Valleys. At one time countless coal mines populated the Rhondda Fawr (big) and Rhondda Fach (little) valleys. That bygone era lives on at the Rhondda Heritage Park near Pontypridd. Based at an old mine, it’s an entertaining and eye-opening insight into everything from mining disasters to the role of women in the Valleys (a feisty subject that deserves a museum just to itself). There’s also a thrilling trip to ‘pit bottom’ and simulated coal truck ride.

www.rhonddaheritagepark.com

Happy Anniversary

Tredegar’s clocktower is made of iron. Not surprising really, considering that the town was founded on ironmaking. This elegant 72ft/22m tower dominating the centre of town is 150 years old in 2008 - so come along and wish it Happy Birthday. Tredegar is also proud of its associations with Aneurin (Nye) Bevan and another important birthday - this time a 60th. Born in Tredegar in 1897 to a poor mining family, Bevan rose to become a leading post-war politician. His great legacy is the National Health Service, which came into being on 5 July 1948. Thanks again Nye. The Changing Cynon Valley Call into the Cynon Valley Museum and Gallery, Aberdare, and take an interactive ‘Footprints through Time’ journey to see how life has changed here over the last few hundred years. Housed in a 19th century ironworks, there’s also a decidedly 21st century gallery displaying some of the best contemporary Welsh art, craft and design.

www.cvmg.co.uk

The Heroes

The industrial revolution changed the landscape of South Wales physically and politically. Coal mines, iron and steel works turned lush green valleys into stark black hills, and rivers to red iron ore tea. And although the boomtowns of South Wales lined the pockets of the rich mine and works owners, it did very little to improve the lot of the working people. There were many heroes, and although the rivers and valleys have once more been restored to their unspoilt former glory, the names and deeds are recalled with pride today and at many places you will still get a real sense of these historic and heroic times.

Revolution Heroes

Would you die for what you believed in? More than twenty men died in Newport in 1839, fighting for The People’s Charter, which called for votes for all men and a secret ballot.

The story of Chartism is the story of real people: husbands, sons, wives and mothers, caught up in a passionate campaign for parliamentary reform, a campaign which changed, and continues to change, basic human rights across the world.

The South Wales Chartists had many heroes. John Frost, who had the vote, risked personal ruin as he campaigned for the right to vote for all men. He was sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered for his part in the Chartist march in Newport on November 4th 1839, but his sentence was commuted to transportation to Australia. Nineteen year old George Shell, a cabinet maker from Pontypool who joined the marchers, died after he was shot by a soldier. Other unknown heroes who died in the rising are buried in unmarked graves in

St Woolos Cathedral. But the principles they fought for have been accepted as the cornerstone of our modern democracy.

Welsh Miners - unsung heroes

Learn more about the unsung heroes of the industrial revolution – the Welsh miners who toiled beneath the ground to extract the precious ‘Black Gold’. The Rhondda Heritage Park provides a first hand experience of working at the Lewis Merthyr Colliery or you can travel 300 feet underground and see what life was like at the coal face at Big Pit National Coal Museum. There are many other museums dedicated to telling the story including Pontypool, Blaenau and Ebbw Vale, where you can see the complete archive of steel making.

Ty Mawr and the Roundhouse Towers, Nantyglo

The foundations of Ty Mawr Mansion, built in 1816, act as a reminder of the wealth and power of the ‘Masters’ of the iron industry. The towers at Roundhouse Farm nearby (please view from the road) were built as a fortress to protect the ironmaster Crawshay Bailey in the event of a workers’ uprising.

Richard Trevithick - inventor of rail travel

Richard Trevithick, a Cornish engineer, paved the way for George Stephenson and the age of railways. On 21st February 1804, Trevithick ran a steam engine from Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon, 25 years before Stephenson’s Rocket. It pulled 10 tons of iron and about seventy impromptu passengers jumped on for the ride which was the first train journey in the World! This route is currently being developed as a walking trail.

The nearby Brecon Mountain narrow gauge railway – one of the Great Little Trains of Wales – offers an unmissable opportunity to visit Brecon Beacons National Park via a steam locomotive!

Dr William Price

Close by in Pontypridd, local man Dr William Price hit the headlines during the 19th century with the cremation of the dead body of his baby son. His trial for the crime marked the legalisation of cremation in Britain. He was an outstanding doctor, political radical and eccentric Druid. The remarkable Round Houses built by him still overlook Treforest, and his statue stands in the Bull-ring at Llantrisant.

Sidney Gilchrist Thomas

The groundbreaking development at Blaenavon, a World Heritage Site, made steel widely available. Sidney Gilchrist Thomas developed a process of converting iron into steel in the 1860s at the historic ironworks site. By means of today’s cutting edge technology visitors will learn exactly how the ironworks became such an integral part of the industrial economy of Britain.

Guto Nyth Bran - the fastest man of his time

Although not an integral part of the industrial revolution, Gˆuto – born in 1700 – was a significant hero of the Valleys. Guto, was a legendary runner whose fame is commemorated with a 5km road race in Mountain Ash on every New Year’s Eve, (Nos Galan in Welsh).

A mystery runner lights up the sky with a torch heralding the unforgettable sight of a full road race taking place on a cold December night. Guto died in the arms of his true love in 1737 after winning a 12 mile race in just 53 minutes.

Trail of Light

The Trail of Light

Content to come. 

Places of Interest

Search this section for a relevant place of interest.  These are listed alphabetically by the nearest town. More details will be added throughout the year.