Nantyglo

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 4,635.

Places of interest

Parc Nant y Waun is a nature reserve incorporating 22 hectares of grassland, mires and reservoirs which was officially opened in 2007. Home to many wildlife species, it includes a picnic area, outdoor classroom and an angling club. Wesley Methodist Church was built in 1825.

Notable people

Nantyglo & Blaina Town Council

Nantyglo & Blaina Town Council is made up of 16 elected members representing the coummunities of Nantyglo and Blaina, elected for 4 years.

The last set of elections took place on 3 May 2012

The current political makeup of the Council for 2012-2017 is as follows:

The town council owns and operates Salem Chapel on High Street, Blaina. The council are currently undertaking the renovation of the chapel to convert it into a museum and tourist attraction to display the religious, industrial and political history of the communities. Even though the main focus is on the Chartist movement, where many of its leaders came from and was from where the march on Newport began the chapel will still be used as a place of worship for the community.

The Town Council holds numerous annual events such as the ARC Awards to award people in the community who has achieved so much for the good of the community and/or the people in the area. Also the Council holds the annual School Sports Event.

The Council's Civil head is the Town Mayor who chairs the meetings of Council, the Town Mayor is supported by a Deputy Town Mayor who are both appointed annually from amongst Councillor's (usually from the majority group). At the annual meeting of Council the Council appoints a Leader of the Council who is the leader from the ruling majority group, currently Cllr Derry Tucker is the Leader of the Council and Leader of the majority (Labour Party) group.

The Council also has numerous committees under various remits such as Finance, Highways, Planning to name a few. The committees are headed by Councillor's appointed to act as the Chair of the committee.

The Council's day-to-day running is under taken by the Town Clerk, Chief Finance Officer / Responsible Finance Officer and the Assistant Town Clerk who provides the clerical, financial and legal advice.

Nantyglo Ironworks

During the middle of the 19th century, Nantyglo was one of the most important iron producing centres in the world.

In March 1811 Matthew Wayne (1780–1853) furnace manager at Cyfarthfa and Joseph Bailey, nephew of Richard Crawshay of Cyfarthfa, together purchased the lease of the existing but long stopped ironworks at Nantyglo.

They were so successful in reviving the works that by 1820 Matthew Wayne was able to sell-out and set up his own business at the Gadlys, Aberdare and Joseph's brother, Crawshay Bailey, took Wayne's place in the Nantyglo ironworks partnership.

Turning Nantyglo into one of the great ironworks of the kingdom the two brothers, by 1827, had seven blast furnaces operating at Nantyglo and added the nearby Beaufort Ironworks to their business in 1833 putting their sister's son, William Partridge (1800–1862) in charge.

Joseph Bailey, whose wife had died in 1827, remarried in 1830 and retired from personal direction of Nantyglo to live at Glanusk Park Crickhowell and manage his very extensive landed estates.

Crawshay Bailey continued to live at Ty Mawr, Nantyglo, and ran the iron-works. In the 1840s he retired to Llanfoist House, Abergavenny, leaving direction to his nephew, Joseph's son, Richard Bailey (1816–1853) who died in Dijon France and was succeeded by his younger brother Henry, described in 1868 as managing partner.

At their height c.1844 the Baileys employed 3,000 men and 500 women and children in their ironworks and coal mining operation.

The Bailey interests disposed of the Nantyglo works by 1869-70.

Round towers

After the Battle of Waterloo and the final defeat of Napoleon there was a general slump in iron manufacture, although Nantyglo was the only ironworks which actually increased its exports, and the high cost of wheat caused acute unrest throughout the country. Fearful of unrest (which did not eventuate) Matthew Wayne and Joseph Bailey had built two fortified towers, the Nantyglo Round Towers in 1816.

Link with Chartism 1839

Zephaniah Williams (1795–1874) a Master Collier and innkeeper, keeping the Royal Oak Inn at Nantyglo, from where he used to pay his colliers, was a free thinking man in religious matters and the local Working Men's Association met at his home. Williams emerged as a natural leader during the Chartist movement in south east Wales. Along with John Frost and William Jones, he led a large column of men from the Nantyglo area to march south on the Westgate Hotel, Newport, site of what is sometimes regarded as the greatest armed rebellion in 19th century Britain.

For his part in the 1839 Chartist Newport Rising at Newport, Monmouthshire he was convicted and deported to Australia. He died there a prosperous man in 1874.

International links

Nantyglo has close links with its twinned sister city of Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania.