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Torfaen
Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-west and north-west. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire, and between 1974 and 1996 was a district of Gwent, until it was reconstituted as a principal area in 1996. Etymology Torfaen (meaning "breaker of stones") is an old name for the river – today called Afon Lwyd ("grey river") – which flows through the county borough from its source north of Blaenavon southward through Abersychan, Pontypool, and Cwmbran. The last three towns mentioned are a contiguous urban area. History The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent. It covered the whole area of three former districts and two parishes from another two districts, which were all abolished at the same time: * Blaenavon U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torfaen County Borough Council
Torfaen County Borough Council () is the governing body for Torfaen, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. History The borough council was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as a lower-tier district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ... council with borough status. Gwent County Council provided county-level services for the area. The county council was abolished in 1996 and Torfaen became a Local government in Wales, principal area with county borough status, with the council taking over the functions previously performed by the county council. Borough status allows Torfaen to give the chair of the council the title of mayor. However, the council discontinued the role of mayor in 2018. A presiding member role has been created instead to chair meeti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abersychan
Abersychan is a town and community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, and lies within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Abersychan lies in the narrow northern section of the Afon Lwyd valley. The town includes two schools; Abersychan Comprehensive School and Victoria Primary School; together with various shops and other amenities including Abersychan Rugby Club. Abersychan was the birthplace of the politicians Roy Jenkins, Don Touhig and Paul Murphy (MP for Torfaen); and of the rugby footballers Wilfred Hodder, Candy Evans and Bryn Meredith. History Like many of the 17th century isolated agricultural hamlets in the forested South Wales Valleys, Abersychan became a thriving industrial centre in the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly for iron production. After the discovery of iron stone locally, the principal ironworks were built by the British Iron Company in 1825, served mainly by the LNWR's Brynma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd river in the county borough of Torfaen. Located at the eastern edge of the South Wales coalfields, Pontypool grew around industries including iron and steel production, coal mining and the growth of the railways. A rather artistic manufacturing industry which also flourished here alongside heavy industry was Japanning, a type of lacquer ware. Pontypool itself consists of several smaller districts, these include Abersychan, Cwmffrwdoer, Pontnewynydd, Trevethin, Penygarn, Wainfelin, Tranch, Brynwern, Pontymoile, Blaendare, Cwmynyscoy, New Inn, Griffithstown and Sebastopol. History The name of the town in Welsh – ''Pont-y-pŵl'' – originates from a bridge ('pont') associated with a pool in the Afon Lwyd. The Welsh word ''pŵ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaenavon
Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. The population is 6,055. Parts of the town and surrounding country form the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. History ''Blaenavon'' literally means "head of the river" or loosely "river's source" in the Welsh language. Blaenavon grew around an ironworks opened in 1788 by the West Midlands industrialist, Thomas Hill, and his partners, Thomas Hopkins and Benjamin Pratt. The businessmen invested £40,000 into the iron works project and erected three blast furnaces. Hopkins, as a result of operating the Cannock Wood Forge in Rugeley, Staffordshire, was in contact with skilled and experienced ironworkers, and managed to persuade many of them to migrate to Blaenavon to help establi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (born 26 May 1980) is a British academic, barrister and politician who has been Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade since 2021. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Torfaen (UK Parliament constituency), Torfaen since 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015. Thomas-Symonds served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2020 to 2021, and held several junior shadow portfolios from 2015 to 2020. Prior to his election to Parliament, he was a Equity (law), chancery and commercial barrister at Civitas Law. He is also the author of ''Attlee: A Life in Politics'' and ''Nye: The Political Life of Aneurin Bevan''. Early life and education Thomas-Symonds was born in County Hospital, Torfaen, Panteg Hospital, Griffithstown, Torfaen, and was brought up in Blaenavon. His father was a steelworker and industrial chemist, and his mother was a secretary. He attended St Feli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , 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 Old Cwmbran, Pontnewydd, Upper Cwmbran, Henllys, Croesyceiliog, Llantarnam and Llanyrafon, its population had grown to 48,535 by 2011. This makes it the sixth largest urban area in Wales. Sitting as it does at the corner of the South Wales Coalfield, it has a hilly aspect to its western and northern edges, with the surrounding hills climbing to over . The Afon Llwyd forms the major river valley, although the most significant water course is probably the remains of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal. To the east of Cwmbran the land is less hilly, forming part of the Usk valley. Etymology The name of the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afon Lwyd
The Afon Lwyd or Afon Llwyd ( en, 'grey river') is a long river in south-east Wales which flows from its source northwest of Blaenavon, through Abersychan, Pontnewynydd, Pontypool, Llanfrechfa and Cwmbran before flowing, at Caerleon, into the River Usk, which subsequently flows into the Bristol Channel to the south of Newport. The river was severely affected by pollution from industry and mine discharge, and fly tipping, but during the 1980s efforts were made to improve water quality and improve fish stocks. To aid this, the Environment Agency Wales built a fish ladder at Pontymoile in 2010 enabling fish to ascend past the weir there. By late 2011 it was claimed that the river was in its cleanest state since medieval times. Historically the river has also been known as the Torfaen – meaning 'breaker of stones' – which gives some indication of the force of the river during surges. Although this name is no longer in use for the river, it is still in common use as the nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynne Neagle
Lynne Neagle MS (born 18 January 1968) is a Welsh Labour & Co-operative politician. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales, Neagle has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the constituency of Torfaen since the Senedd was established in 1999. Background Neagle was educated at Cyfarthfa High School, Merthyr Tydfil, and the University of Reading, where she read French and Italian. She is a former Voluntary Sector Carer and Careers Development Officer. Neagle was also a research assistant to Glenys Kinnock MEP from 1994 to 1997. Political career Neagle was elected to the Senedd in 1999 as a Labour candidate to represent Torfaen. Ahead of the 2011 elections she was adopted as a Labour & Co-operative candidate. Personal life Neagle is married to Huw Lewis Huw Lewis (born 17 January 1964) is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2013 to 2016. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Lewis represented the Merthyr Tydfil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with other towns and large villages being: Caldicot, Chepstow, Monmouth, Magor and Usk. It borders Torfaen, Newport and Blaenau Gwent to the west; Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the east; and Powys to the north. Historic county The historic county of Monmouthshire was formed from the Welsh Marches by the Laws in Wales Act 1535 bordering Gloucestershire to the east, Herefordshire to the northeast, Brecknockshire to the north, and Glamorgan to the west. The Laws in Wales Act 1542 enumerated the counties of Wales and omitted Monmouthshire, implying that the county was no longer to be treated as part of Wales. However, for all purposes Wales had become part of the Kingdom of England, and the difference had little practical effec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwent (county)
Gwent is a preserved county and former local government county in southeast Wales. A county of Gwent was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972; it was named after the ancient Kingdom of Gwent. The authority was a successor to both the administrative county of Monmouthshire (with minor boundary changes) and the county borough of Newport (both authorities which were legally part of England until the Act came into force although considered jointly with Wales for certain purposes). Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, the county of Gwent was abolished on 1 April 1996. However, the name remains in use for one of the preserved counties of Wales for the ceremonial purposes of Lieutenancy and High Shrievalty, and its name also survives in various titles, e.g. Gwent Police, Royal Gwent Hospital, Gwent Wildlife Trust and Coleg Gwent. "Gwent" is often used as a synonym for the historic county of Monmouthshire – for example the Gwent Family History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monmouthshire (historic)
, Status= Historic county Ceremonial county (until 1974) Administrative county (1889–1974) , Start= 1535 , Origin= Laws in Wales Act 1535 , Motto= Faithful to both (Utrique Fidelis) , Image= Flag adopted in 2011 , Map= , HQ= Monmouth and Newport , Replace= Gwent, Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Monmouthshire County Council'' , Government= Monmouthshire County Council (1889–1974)Newport County Borough Council (1891–1974)Cardiff County Borough Council (part) (1938–1974) , Code= MON , CodeName= Chapman code , PopulationFirst= 98,130Vision of Britain â€1831 Census/ref> , PopulationFirstYear= 1831 , AreaFirst= , AreaFirstYear= 1831 , DensityFirst= 0.3/acre , DensityFirstYear= 1831 , PopulationSecond= ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Government In Wales
Since 1 April 1996, Wales has been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas ( cy, Awdurdodau unedol), styled as counties or county boroughs ( or ) for local government purposes. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highways. Below these there are also (in most, but not all, parts of the principal areas) elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The last set of local elections in Wales took place in 2022, with the next due to take place in 2027. The monarch appoints a lord lieutenant as a representative in each of the eight preserved counties of Wales, which are combinations of principal areas retained for ceremonial purposes. Subdivisions of Wales created for such purposes as the organisation of the National Health Service and the provision of police a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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