Gwent Archives ( Welsh: ''Archifau Gwent'') is the local records office and

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

centre, based in

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

for the historic county of

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 ...

. It covers the modern local authority areas of

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...

Caerphilly County Borough Caerphilly County Borough () is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Newbrid ...

, Newport and

Torfaen Torfaen (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Newport, Wales, Newport to t ...

Background

Monmouthshire Record Office was established in 1938 at the Shire Hall in Newport. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, it became the Gwent County Record Office and moved to the newly built County Hall in

Cwmbran Cwmbran ( ; , 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 counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was ...

. In October 2011 the record office moved from Cwmbran to a newly developed site in Ebbw Vale and was renamed Gwent Archives.

Location

The Gwent Archives are housed in the Grade II* listed office buildings of

Ebbw Vale Steelworks Ebbw Vale Steelworks was an integrated steel mill located in Ebbw Vale, South Wales. Developed from 1790, by the late 1930s it had become the largest steel mill in Europe. It was nationalised after World War II. As the steel industry changed to ...

. The red brick building with its tall clock tower was built in 1915/6 for the Ebbw Vale Iron and Steel Company. In 2009 plans were approved for architects Stride Treglown to convert the building into a headquarters for Gwent Record Office, with a new extension, exhibition and educational facilities. The building was finished off with a bilingual poem specially written by the

National Poet of Wales The post of National Poet of Wales () was established in May 2005 by Academi, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Writers, now known as Literature Wales. The current holder of the position is Hanan Issa, who was appoi ...

Gillian Clarke Gillian Clarke (born 8 June 1937) is a Welsh poet and playwright, who also edits, broadcasts, lectures and translates from Welsh into English. She co-founded Tŷ Newydd, a writers' centre in North Wales. Life Gillian Clarke was born on 8 ...

, which is partially reproduced on the facade of the new extension.

Holdings

Gwent Archives has two main strongrooms with 6 miles (10 km) of shelving, containing records going back as far as the 12th-century. The new wing has a double roof to help keep a stable temperature and environment. The Ebbw Vale Steelworks Archive Trust, a voluntary group which preserves the history of the industry in the area, is also based at the Archives.

References

External links

*
Gwent Archives Collection
{{Authority control Archives in Wales Gwent (county) History of Monmouthshire Organizations established in 1938 Grade II* listed buildings in Blaenau Gwent