THEOSOPHY

WALES

History of Ebbw Vales, South Wales

The Industrial Heritage of Wales

 

 

Industrial Heritage

Steel Making in Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy

South Wales

 

History of

Ebbw Vale / Glyn Ebwy

 

Return to Homepage

 

 

 

Prior to the Industrial Revolution

 

At the end of the 18th century, the population the Ebbw Fawr valley was only about 140.

 

 

The Industrial Revolution

 

The founding of the Ebbw Vale Ironworks in 1778 transformed the valley. In 1781, the furnace and ironworks employed around 70 workers. By 1815, the population of the valley had grown to 1200.

The 19th Century

 

The second half of the century saw Ebbw Vale begin to take shape. 1853 saw the opening of the Literary and Scientific Institute. Christ Church was consecrated in 1869.

 

Conditions for workers in Ebbw Vale gradually improved, with the working day reduced to nine hours in the 1880s. Also the hated 'Truck Shops' were abolished in 1872. These were often over-priced company-owned shops which people were obliged to use, as the company would allow no other competition. Much of the credit for these improvements lies with the trade union movement, which was strong in the area.

 

Sport

 

Eugene Cross Park is the home of both the town's rugby and cricket clubs. However, cricket predates rugby and Ebbw Vale's first recorded match was played against Blaina in 1852. During the 19th century the influx of people from the surrounding counties looking for work in the local iron works and coal mines gave cricket a boost and in June 1879 "a meeting was held at the Institute to form a cricket club in the town". Support came from schoolmasters teaching the game as part of the curriculum and from the clergy who as disciples of Muscular Christianity believed that playing games helped to give order and moral structure to life within the tightly knit and drink ridden industrial communities.

 

The early games were played at 'Dobbs Field' named after the landlord of the nearby Bridgend Hotel. The Bridgend field as it became known was owned by Phillips and sons, Brewers, of Station Street, Newport, who by 1903 were charging £3.50 for a seasons rent. This amount was increased to £9 in 1904 and the following year to £10.

 

After the First World War in 1918, the Ebbw Vale Steel Company created a recreation club buying the Cricket Club assets for £100 but this organization ceased to exist on 31st March 1923 in the post war depression.  A Welfare Scheme for the town was then created and from this time the field was known as the Ebbw Vale Welfare Ground, however to honour Sir Eugene Cross, the influential and longstanding Chairman of the Trustees, the ground was given its present name in 1973.  With the closure of part of the steelworks in 1977 a public trust was formed in 1981 to succeed the Welfare Association and this led to Local Authority control in 1987.

 

Schools

 

Prior to 1878, when the Briery Hill Schools were built, schools existed at Pontygof, Victoria and Ebbw Vale .The Ebbw Vale Schools were known as the Forge Schools  and were the predecessors of the Briery Hill Schools. They were situated on a site between the northern end of Holland Street and the building now known as the G.P.O. Postal Sorting Office.

 

The Ebbw Vale Forge School provide education for children living in Pond Row, Armoury Row, School Row, Forge Row, and Church Row-now replaced by Holland Street, Alexander Street, Church Street and Church        Crescent. In addition the settlement of Briery Hill known to Welsh speaking  natives as  Twyn Dryseog . The English translation  for Twyn is 'Tump' or mound, hence the traditional  nickname for the area.

 

The Ebbw Vale Forge schools had been built and managed by the Ebbw Vale Company, owners of the iron work and forges. They provided very bad accommodation.

 

An Education Act of 1870 enabled Elementary Schools to be set up throughout England and Wales by locally elected  Church School Boards. Ebbw Vale had developed within the boundaries of four churches. So it's schools came under four different school boards-Aberystruth, Bedwellty, Llangattock and Llangynidir. The last two lay to  the North of the valley and were still  rural to a certain extent.

 

 

The 20th Century

 

 

 

Aneurin Bevan was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire on November 15, 1897. Although not a native Ebbw Valian, he served as the town's MP from 1929 until his death in 1960. The son of a miner, he went down the pit himself at the age of 13 and overcome a severe stammer to become chairman of his local lodge of the South Wales Miners Federation, local Councillor, and eventually a prominent Government Minister.

 

His most significant achievement was the shaping of the National Health Service through unifying the network of local authority and voluntary hospitals in a single national system. Medical Aid Societies, formed in the area during the 19th century, provided a model for the National Health Service.

 

The Decline of Steel

 

Steel production in Ebbw Vale was phased out by 1974, with production transferred to Llanwern, in Newport. This was done without large-scale redundancies.

 

Corus at the start of 2001 closed the final bastion of the industry, to which the people here have depended so much upon. Even so the town is still an important area for the eastern valley communities and is still the main Shopping centre. The recent Garden festival site has been redeveloped into a very picturesque out-of-town shopping centre.

 

 

Interesting facts

 

 

Steel from Ebbw Vale built the Sydney Harbour Bridge

 

44000 red engineering bricks from Beaufort support the Empire State Building

 

Southampton Docks stand on the crushed slag (cooled impurities from iron making) from Beaufort Ironworks.

 

The world's first steel rail was rolled at Ebbw Vale in 1857.

 

The rails for the Stockton to Darlington railway were made at Ebbw Vale.

 

 

 

 

Return to Homepage

 

 

 

 

THEOSOPHY

WALES

                        

 

For more info on Theosophy

Try these

 

Dave’s Streetwise Theosophy Boards

The Theosophy Website that

Welcomes Absolute Beginners

 

Theosophy in Cardiff

 

Theosophy in Wales

 

Wales! Wales! Theosophy Wales

The All Wales Guide to

 Getting Started in Theosophy

This is for everybody not just people in Wales

 

Cardiff Lodge’s Instant Guide to Theosophy

 

Cardiff Theosophy Start-Up

A Free Intro to Theosophy

 

Cardiff Theosophical Archive

 

Cardiff Blavatsky Archive

 

Blavatsky Blogger

Independent Theosophical Blog

 

Quick Blasts of Theosophy

One Liners & Quick Explanations

 

Great Theosophists

 

The Most Basic Theosophy Website in the Universe

If you run a Theosophy Group you can use

this as an introductory handout

 

Theosophy

The New Rock ‘n Roll

 

The Key to Theosophy

 

The Voice of the Silence

 

The South of Heaven Guide to

 Theosophy and Devachan

 

The South of Heaven Guide

To Theosophy and Dreams

 

The South of Heaven Guide

To Theosophy and Angels

 

Theosophy and Help From

The Universe

 

Feelgood Theosophy

Visit the Feelgood Lodge

 

The Tooting Broadway

Underground Theosophy Website

The Spiritual Home of Urban Theosophy

 

The Mornington Crescent

Underground Theosophy Website

The Earth Base for Evolutionary Theosophy

 

__________________________

 

Your Own Theosophy Group Starts Here

A Guide to starting your own Theosophy Group

The Theosophy Wales Guide to

Starting a Theosophy Group

& of course you don’t need to live in Wales

to take advantage of this guide

 

________________________

 

The Theosophy Cardiff

Glastonbury Pages

 

Chalice Well, Glastonbury.

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Chalice Well, Glastonbury,

Somerset, England

 

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Glastonbury Abbey

 

Theosophy Cardiff’s

Glastonbury Abbey Chronology

 

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Glastonbury Tor

 

The Labyrinth

The Terraced Maze of Glastonbury Tor

 

Glastonbury and Joseph of Arimathea

 

The Grave of King Arthur & Guinevere

At Glastonbury Abbey

 

Views of Glastonbury High Street

 

The Theosophy Cardiff Guide to

Glastonbury Bookshops

 

 

_____________________

 

 

Tekels Park

Camberley, Surrey, England GU15 - 2LF

 

 

Concerns about the fate of the wildlife as

Tekels Park is to be Sold to a Developer

 

Concerns are raised about the fate of the wildlife as

The Spiritual Retreat, Tekels Park in Camberley,

Surrey, England is to be sold to a developer.

 

Tekels Park is a 50 acre woodland park, purchased

 for the Adyar Theosophical Society in England in 1929.

In addition to concern about the park, many are

 worried about the future of the Tekels Park Deer

as they are not a protected species.

 

Anyone planning a “Spiritual” stay at the

Tekels Park Guest House should be aware of the sale.

 

There is confusion as the Theoversity moves out of 

Tekels Park to Southampton, Glastonbury & 

Chorley in Lancashire while the leadership claim

that the Theosophical Society will carry on using 

Tekels Park despite its sale to a developer

 

 

Future of Tekels Park Badgers in Doubt

Badgers have been resident

in Tekels Park for Centuries

 

Tekels Park & the Loch Ness Monster

A Satirical view of the sale of Tekels Park

in Camberley, Surrey to a developer

 

The Toff’s Guide to the Sale of Tekels Park

What the men in top hats have to

say about the sale of Tekels Park

to a developer

 

____________________

 

 

Theosophy Wales Centre

The Ocean of Theosophy

By William Quan Judge

 

Theosophy Cardiff Nirvana Pages

 

National Wales Theosophy

Karma Pages

 

Theosophy Wales Vanguard

 

Theosophy Wales Hornet

 

Teozofio Cardiff

Cefpago En Esperanto

 

 

 

Wales Theosophy Links Summary

 

All Wales Guide to Theosophy

 

Instant Guide to Theosophy

 

Theosophy Wales Hornet

 

Theosophy Wales Now

 

Cardiff Theosophical Archive

 

Elementary Theosophy

 

Basic Theosophy

 

Theosophy in Cardiff

 

Theosophy in Wales

 

Hey Look! Theosophy in Cardiff

 

 

Try these if you are looking for a

local Theosophy Group or Centre

 

 

UK Listing of Theosophical Groups

 

Worldwide Directory of Theosophical Links

 

International Directory of 

Theosophical Societies

 

 

 

Google

 

 Web   Theosophy Wales

Google