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.