Gwent

I

Introduction

Gwent, former county, south-eastern Wales, bounded on the north-east and east by the English counties of Hereford and Worcester and Gloucestershire respectively, on the south by the estuary of the River Severn, on the west by the Welsh counties of South and Mid Glamorgan, and on the north-west by the Welsh county of Powys. It had an area of 1,376 sq km (531 sq mi). The administrative centre of Gwent was Cwmbrân.

Gwent was formed in 1974 by the amalgamation of most of the historic county of Monmouthshire with the county borough of Newport, and part of the former county of Breconshire. It ceased to exist on April 1, 1996, when it was divided into five new local government areas. This was the result of administrative changes implemented under the Local Government Act 1994, which provided for the replacement of the two-tier system of county and district councils introduced in 1974 by a single-tier system of unitary authorities. Monmouthshire was resurrected as a county, albeit smaller than before, and Newport as a county borough. The districts of Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen were also made county boroughs, while Islwyn district was combined with the adjacent district of Rhymney Valley in Mid Glamorgan to form the new county borough of Caerphilly.

II

Land and People

The River Usk divided Gwent roughly into two. To the west was a landscape of mountains and steep, V-shaped valleys. This mountainous area, which occupied about one quarter of the county is underlain by coalfields. Geologically, most of the rest of Gwent was made up of old red sandstone. In the south-east of the county was the valley of the River Wye. The coastal plain is low-lying, and in parts naturally marshy. A huge sea wall, first built by the Romans, provides protection.

Around two thirds of Gwent’s population lived in the western, urbanized third of the county. At 2 per cent, the proportion of Welsh speakers in Gwent was the lowest in Wales. Historically, Monmouthshire was linked to England for centuries, and many of the inhabitants of the eastern border area still identified with that country. Eastern Gwent was predominantly rural, a prosperous agricultural area popular with tourists. The main urban centres of Gwent were Newport (1996 estimate, 136,789), Pontypool (1991, 35,564), Cwmbrân (1991, 46,021), the former mining and steel centre of Ebbw Vale (1991, 19,484), Chepstow (1991, 9,461), Abergavenny (Welsh, Y-Fenni, population, 1991, 14,092), Monmouth (1991, 7,246), and Blaenavon (1991, 6,066). In addition to the county council based in Cwmbrân, Gwent had five district councils: Blaenau Gwent, centred on Ebbw Vale; Islwyn; Monmouth, covering the east of the county; Newport; and Torfaen, which included Cwmbrân and Ponytpool.

III

Economy

The presence of iron ore, coal, lead, limestone, and plentiful water-power led to the early industrialization of the western valleys and attracted thousands of immigrants from other parts of Wales and England. By the end of the 19th century some of the earliest sites, like those at Blaenavon, were already obsolete. Coal and steel, however, continued to be the mainstay of the region's economy well into the 20th century—although by the 1930s such traditional industries were beginning to decline. This decline, which accelerated after the 1970s, created widespread unemployment in the west of the county. Newport, Pontypool, and Cwmbrân were important manufacturing centres of Gwent. From the 1970s industry began moving into the fertile area east of the River Usk.

Agriculture was also important to the economy of Gwent, with market gardening around Newport, dairying in the Usk valley, and sheep farms on the uplands; there was also some mixed and beef farming. Forestry and tourism both contributed to the economy.

IV

History

The Romans occupied the area of Gwent during the sixth decade of the 1st century ad. Apart from the sea wall, the legacies of their occupation are to be found at Caerleon, where there is a completely excavated amphitheatre and the remains of the Roman fort; and at nearby Caerwent, where there are the remains of one of the few Roman towns to be built in Wales. The area became known as Gwent after the departure of the Romans in about ad 400. The Normans conquered Gwent in the late 1060s, and built castles at Abergavenny, Caerleon, Chepstow, Monmouth, Newport, and Usk. Gwent was heavily involved in the uprising led by the nationalist leader Owen Glendower (Welsh, Owain Glyndŵr) in the early 1400s. While he was Prince of Wales, Henry V helped suppress Glendower's forces. The eastern part of Gwent was renamed Monmouthshire under the Act of Union of 1536 between England and Wales.