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Pontypool, Monmouthshire

Historical Description

Pontypool, a town, the head of a poor-law union, petty sessional division, and county court district, and an ecclesiastical parish in Monmouthshire. The town stands on the river Avon Llwyd, near the Monmouthshire Canal, 8 miles N by W of Newport, and 160 by railway from London. It is in the parish of Trevethin; originated in extension of Trevethin village, about a mile to the N; was one of the earliest seats of the iron trade, with iron-smelting works by means of charcoal in 1560; and attained celebrity also in the time of Charles I. for the manufacture of japanned wares, known long as Pontypool wares. The latter trade has long been extinct, but the iron and tinplate works are carried on very extensively, and there is a large trade in coal from the neighbouring coal mines. Pontypool is partly situated on a steep acclivity, amid a mountainous country, and is now a well-built town, with well-paved streets and good shops, and has an abundant supply of excellent water. It has a head post office and three stations (Crane Street, Clarence Street, and Pontypool Road) on the G.W.R. It is governed by an urban district council of eighteen members. The town-hall is a fine edifice in the Italian style, and was opened in 1856; petty sessions and county courts are held here. The police station adjoins the town-hall. A new market-hall was opened in 1894, which with its site cost £20,000. A public recreation ground was opened in 1893. There are two banks and an assembly-room. St James' Church is a stone edifice, and was restored in 1877. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Llandaff. Patron, the Vicar of Llanover. The whole of Pontypool is in the ecclesiastical district of Treve. The parish church of St Cadoc is in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Llandaff. St James' is a church without the cure of souls. There are Roman Catholic, Baptist, Congregational, Free and Primitive Methodist, Presbyterian, and Wesleyan chapels. The Baptist Theological College was founded at Abergavenny in 1807, and removed to Pontypool in 1836; it was enlarged in 1857, and again in 1882, but was removed to Cardiff in 1893. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and fairs on 2 and 22 April, 5 July, and 10 Oct. A weekly newspaper is published. The workhouse is at Griffiths Town. Pontypool Park, the seat of the Hanbury family, is on an adjacent eminence, contains some family portraits and some Murillos, and stands in a beautiful park with noble views. Population of the town, 5842.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyMonmouthshire 
Civil parishTrevethan 
HundredAbergavenny 
Poor Law unionPont-y-Pool 
Registration districtPontypool1894 - 1974

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Pontypool from the following:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online: