Abertillery
) is a town in the county borough of
Blaenau Gwent and the traditional county of
Monmouthshire in southern
Wales, 16 miles north-west of
Newport, originally on the
Great Western Railway. Its population rose steeply during the period of mining development in the
Rhondda valleys, being 10,846 in the
1891 census and 21,945 ten years later. It lies in the mountainous mining district of
Monmouthshire and
Glamorganshire, in the valley of the
Ebbw Fach, and the population was traditionally employed in the numerous coalmines, ironworks and tinplate works, now mostly defunct. Farther up the same valley are the mining townships of
Nantyglo and
Blaina.
Abertillery has a traditional-style town centre and several small schools. Today, its population numbers around 11,000. Noted for its unspoilt rural scenery, Abertillery neighbours the small districts of
Aberbeeg and
Cwmtillery. This is mainly down large amounts of EU funding which has helped the town transform itself from industrial relic into the clean, modernised area it is today.
A recent
windfarm proposal for the mounside above the community of
Cwmtillery has been withdrawn despite the offer of community-based incentives from the developer. Opposition to the proposal generated support throughout the town, including a group tagged SCAM (Save Coity and Mynydd James), which led to the application being removed with
Blaenau Gwent County CouncilThe town's name is pronounced with the emphasis on the penultimate syllable, ie. it rhymes with "Mary," as in a song made popular by Welsh entertainer
Ryan Davies:
"Blodwen and Mary from Abertillery..."
*
A website dedicate to Abertillery*
A website concerning the neighbouring community of Cwmtillery
