Gilwern
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Gilwern is a village within the
Brecon Beacons National Park Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...
in
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. Historically in
Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...
, it extends to either side of the River Clydach on the south side of the Usk valley. Its position beside the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal led to it being an important industrial centre at one time.


Location

Gilwern is a village historically in Breconshire now in Monmouthshire about west of
Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...
, close to where the A40 trunk road and the A465 Heads of the Valleys road meet. The
River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...
and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal are close to the village. Gilwern Hill lies to the south of the village. It is partly tree-clad and has a mast on top. The name of the village translates from the Welsh ''Y Gilwern'' (from ''cil-gwern'') as "the recess (or bend) of the
alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
s", probably a reference to its position at the point where the
Clydach Gorge The Clydach Gorge (also known as Cwm Clydach) is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach, Monmouthshire, River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and ...
opens out into the Usk Valley and the River Clydach flows into a sharp bend in the
River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...
. The village is within the
Llanelly Llanelly () is a village, Community (Wales), community, and parish in the county of Monmouthshire, South East Wales. It formerly existed in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The population of the community and ward at the 2011 United Kin ...
parish ward of
Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) () is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 and covers the eastern ...
. The church of Llanelly, dedicated to
St Elli Saint Elli was a 6th-century Welsh saint, or possibly two saints. Llanelli in Carmarthenshire and Llanelly in Monmouthshire are both named after Elli. There are traditions about a male saint Elli and a female saint Elli, and there are depiction ...
, is on the hillside above the village, and parts date back to the 12th century.


Notable people

* Francis Jayne (1845–1921), academic and
Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
from 1889, born in Pant-y-beiliau * James Edmunds (1882–1962), a Welsh trade unionist and politician. * Mansel Thomas OBE (1909–1986), a Welsh composer and conductor, died in the town


Industrial history and attractions

The local area has a history of
iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
and lime production. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, which has a wharf at Gilwern, was built to transport
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
,
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
and iron products from the surrounding area using a network of tramways and railroads. The Clydach Railroad and the Llam-march Tramroad both serviced the wharf with materials gathered and produced further up the
Clydach Gorge The Clydach Gorge (also known as Cwm Clydach) is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach, Monmouthshire, River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and ...
. Both are still visible, the former being a road and the latter a footpath between Gilwern and Clydach. The canal crosses the River Clydach on the Gilwern Aqueduct, an embankment over 90 feet high, just next to Gilwern Wharf. The former Navigation Inn and the Towpath Inn stand on either side of the canal just beyond the aqueduct.


World's Widest Pre-Cast Concrete-Spanned Bridge

Gilwern's precast-concrete arched bridge, on the A465, ('Head of Valleys Road'), between Gilwern and
Brynmawr ; ; ; ) is a market town, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at ...
, is made of 70 individual units. The bridge structure is believed to be the widest-spanned, pre-cast concrete arched bridge in the world. It has 70 pre-cast units, each weighing 27.5 tons. Its approximated measurements are a total length of 173.4 ft.; a height of 20.6 feet; and a span of 95.9 feet. Three local residents were the first to drive over the bridge when it was formally opened, replacing a former junction, at 14.30 hrs., on Thursday, January 26, 2018. The precast arch over the canal on the
Heysham Heysham ( ) is a coastal village in the Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. It is a ferry port, with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland, and the site of two nuclear power stations. History Of historic ...
to
M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
Link Road was the previous record holder. The Usk Valley Walk passes through Gilwern.


References


External links

{{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire Brecon Beacons River Usk