Tredegar

Tredegar, once a centre of Industrial Revolution in South Wales, is located on the banks of the Sirhowy River in Monmouthshire. One of the most famous ironworks in Richmond, Virginia, United States, The Tredegar Iron Works, was named after this town in England.

History

Samuel Homfray, who founded the town, needed residential places for their workers. Thus Tredegar was developed more as a need than for any other purpose. Lt.Col. Sir Charles Gould Morgan granted his land on the east side of the Sirhowy river, in 1799 for the building of the iron works company. As a means to develop business,  Homfray married Sir Charles’ daughter Jane and got an extension to the lease. However, The west bank remained undeveloped as it fell under the ownership of Lord Tredegar.

Those who wanted to run their businesses in Tredegar, Homfray sold franchisees to them But in return, he took a percentage from each of them. He also saw to it that his currency did not go to others. For this, he paid in his own currency that could be used only inside the town. In a few years, the parish grew and the mode of transport was fast becoming the horse carriages.

Governance – Facts

• Aneurin Bevan who introduced the system of British National Health Service was born in Tredegar. Aneurin Bevan also used to manage the Tredegar General Hospital.
• Neil Kinnock was born in 1942 in Tredegar. He later went on to become a member of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992. For almost the whole of his early life, he lived in Tredegar.
• Michael Foot, the precursor to Neil Kinnock, was MP for the local constituency, Ebbw Vale
• Once considered to be a Labour Party seat, Tredegar was ruled for a few years by Dai Davies a left-wing independent until the general election of 2010 took place.

 Architecture:

There are two marvels of architecture that worth a see – the Town Clock and the Bedwellty House. The Bedwellty House is famous as it used to be the living place for the founder of Tredegar i.e. Samuel Homfray. A Victorian garden surrounds the house without any gates. The Long Shelter is also a part of the Bedwelity House.

The Town Clock stands in the southern part of the town. The clock was gifted by Mrs R.P. Davies, who was the wife of the manager of Tredegar Ironworks and, who also conceived the idea as well. JB Joyce & Co of Whitchurch, Shropshire were assigned to build this clock. Once this was done, the clock was erected in the Circle according to the instructions of Mrs.Davies.

Riots :

The town of Tredegar is known for three major riots that rocked the town. They occurred in 1868, 1882 and 1911. Each of these riots had a different purpose.

• The 1868 riots took place as the local candidate who was Colonel Clifford, who was considered a favourite, was not elected.
• In 1882 anti-Irish riots erupted in Tredegar. It is so sad that there had been tensions in Tredegar since 1850 regarding the presence of Irish people.different reports from the time tell varying stories but all report one thing as similar, the riots started with the pelting of stones and then spread to the destruction of Irish homes. The Irish were beaten and had to leave Tredegar for safety.To bring normalcy back, troops were summoned from Newport and Cardiff.
• 1911 saw riots returning to Tredegar once again. This time they were anti-Jewish riots. These riots started a process called the pogrom (borrowed from the Nazi dictionary). The pogrom was meant to filter Jews and annihilate them according to the Nazi policies.  Jewish shops were burnt and their property ransacked but no deaths happened in Tredegar.