| Blaenavon | |
| Welsh: Blaenafon | |
Blaenavon |
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Blaenavon
Blaenavon shown within Torfaen |
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| Population | 6,349 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SO255095 |
| Principal area | Torfaen |
| Ceremonial county | Gwent |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PONTYPOOL |
| Postcode district | NP4 |
| Dialling code | 01495 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Torfaen |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Torfaen | |
| Blaenavon Industrial Landscape * | |
|---|---|
| Country | Wales |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, iv |
| Reference | 984 |
| Region ** | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO |
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Blaenavon (Welsh: Blaenafon) is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people. Blaenavon literally means "front of the river" or loosely "river's source" in the Welsh language.
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Blaenavon grew around an ironworks[1] opened in 1788, part of which is now a museum. The steel-making and coal mining industries followed, boosting the town's population to over 20,000 at one time,[2] but since the ironworks closed in 1900 and the coal mine in 1980, the population has declined.
Attractions in the town include the Big Pit National Coal Museum (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage), Blaenavon Ironworks,[3] the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway, Blaenavon World Heritage Centre, Blaenavon Male Voice Choir and many historical walks through Blaenavon's mountains.
The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway is only a tourist attraction. Blaenavon lost both of its passenger railway stations many years ago with Blaenavon High Level station closing as early as 1941 and the last train from Blaenavon (Low Level) to Newport via Pontypool Crane Street leaving in April 1962. The lower line closed 18 months before the notorious Beeching Axe. It was later disclosed that a number of rail passenger services within Monmouthshire were withdrawn in the early 1960s, not because they were doing particularly badly in financial terms, but because of severe rail congestion in the Newport area due to the amount of traffic coming from the then newly opened Llanwern steelworks.
Attempts have recently been made to turn the town's image around by introducing it as Wales's second "book town" (the first being Hay-on-Wye). However after over a year of attempts to attract visitors the project has not succeeded. This can be attributed to a combination of the town's remote location and the established competition from Hay. There are many thriving community groups within the town, including Future Blaenavon, which has helped to create a community garden at the bottom of the town.
Blaenavon is twinned with Coutras in France.
The Channel 4 archaeology television programme Time Team came to Blaenavon during its February 2001 series to find "The Lost Viaduct" - "the world's first railway viaduct". This had been built in 1790, to be used by horse-drawn wagons to carry coal from the mines. Despite being about 40 metres long and 10 metres high, within about 25 years of its construction it had completely disappeared. But with no records of its demolition, the group was there to see what might remain of this structure. Eventually, during the mid to late afternoon of the final (third) day of the excavation, the team managed to uncover the top of the viaduct, the arched roof of which, under 12–15 metres of rubble and earth, was seemingly still standing. However, because it was so late on their last day, and for reasons of safety, they were unable to dig any further.
International rugby union player Mark Taylor was born in Blaenavon. Ken Jones, rugby and Olympic athlete. John Perkins, capped by Wales at rugby. Terry Cobner, capped by Wales and British Lions at rugby union.