Sirhowy () is a village in the

Sirhowy Valley The Sirhowy Valley ( ) is an industrialised valley in the eastern part of the Valleys region of Wales. It is named from the Sirhowy River () which runs through it. Its upper reaches are occupied by the town of Tredegar within the county borou ...

() and the county 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 ...

. It is located north east of

Tredegar Tredegar (; ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the Industrial R ...

, north west of

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 ...

, and north west of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

. The A4048 runs near the village.

Tourism

The area is also known as a popular rock climbing site due to the geology of the area offering "one of the best chunks of quarried sandstone in the area". UK Climbing describe this as providing a "brilliant line-up of fingery wall climbs" and "plenty of excellent (slightly) easier climbing on some of the best rock around."

History

The Gwent Heritage voluntary group have extensively documented the history of the area as far back as its mining establishment. The group's branch meets regularly to contribute to the collection of materials covering the region. The

Sirhowy River The Sirhowy River () is a river in Wales and a tributary of the Ebbw River. Sources The Sirhowy River has its source on the slopes of Cefn Pyllau-duon above Tredegar. After flowing through Siôn-Sieffre's Reservoir it turns south through Tred ...

flows past the west of the village.

Ironworks

The ironworks established in the village were first established in 1778 operated by William Borrow, Rev. Matthew Monkhouse and Richard Fothergill and are of regional and national significance, and are well preserved. It supplied first Tredegar Ironworks and later Ebbw Vale Ironworks with pig iron. In 1818 the works were acquired by James Harford of Harford, Partridge and Co. of Ebbw Vale. By 1877 it was overproducing iron and was partly demolished, however it continued to produce coke until 1905. The remains of the site include the three masonry arches, furnace base, waterwheel tunnel, and other earthworks. It is a scheduled monument listed by Coflein and Visit Wales and is open to visitors.

Present day

Facilities in Sirhowy include a Tai Calon Community Housing centre named Star Centre,

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

funded Flying Start hub, one pub, one restaurant, an IndyCube co-working space, and two garages.

Transport

Rail

The village was formerly served by the defunct Sirhowy railway station. The village is now a 40-minute walk from

Ebbw Vale Town railway station Ebbw Vale Town railway station () serves the town centre of Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, Wales, serving as the terminus of the Ebbw Valley Railway. History The origins of the Ebbw Valley Railway can be traced to the wooden tramways and waggonway ...

. From there services run to and from Cardiff Central. In 2021 services will also run to Newport.

Bus

The village is served by several bus stops providing services to various locations as listed below. * X4 (Cardiff to Brynmawr/Abergavenny) * E11 (Ebbw Vale to Tredegar) * 97 (Ebbw Vale to Peacehaven)

Governance

Sirhowy is covered by an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of the same name, though this covers a far larger area to the northwest of the village. The population of the ward in 2011 was 5,630. The ward's Councillors are Brian Thomas (

Ind Ind or IND may refer to: General * Independent (politician), a politician not affiliated to any political party * Independent station, used within television program listings and the television industry for a station that is not affiliated with ...

, Sirhowy), Malcolm Cross ( Lab, Sirhowy), and Tommy Smith ( Lab, Sirhowy). The area is represented in the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

by Alun Davies ( Labour) and the Member of Parliament is Nick Smith (Labour).

References

External links

Photos of Sirhowy and surrounding area on Geograph

Sirhowy Woodlands website
{{authority control Villages in Blaenau Gwent Tredegar