Abertillery History

Abertillery War Memorial. After the Great War of 1914-1918 and prior to the erection of the War Memorial, the people of Abertillery attended Remembrance Day Services every November 11th at various buildings and locations in the town and surrounding area. The main procession for these services was formed at the Abertillery Drill Hall with a walk to the Parish Church …

The White Horse Inn – Cwmtillery. The White Horse Inn was one of the oldest inns in Abertillery and was situated on Club Row, Cwmtillery where White Horse Court housing complex is today. Both Club Row and the White Horse Inn were built on leasehold from the 21st of December 1842.  Mr Daniel Jones. In the 1840’s Mr Daniel Jones …

The Ivorites Inn – Castle Street Abertillery. The early history of the Ivorites Inn, Castle Street, Abertillery (as seen in the main featured image) is a little unclear. I am not sure when the Ivorites Inn, Abertillery was established though it was mentioned in a report from 1869, the landlord at that time was Mr John Griffiths, it stated in …

The Blue Pilgrims – Blaina. The Blue Pilgrims were a group of philanthropic ladies based in Kent. Their founder was Beatrice Hankey born 1858, she founded the order in 1902. In 1912 the group went to Staffordshire and aided the miners during the strike and throughout the Great War they set up home huts near army barracks for refreshment and …

Duffryn Recreational Grounds – Blaina. The Duffryn Recreation Ground had been a venue for sports since the mid 1850’s though the grounds you see today were laid down by groups of unemployed men working for the council within a scheme funded by various organisations over many years. The scheme also included funding for the Banna Recreation Grounds and the reconstruction …

Abertillery Cycle Track. Cycling in the Abertillery district really took off in the late 1880’s when individuals and groups took to the roads on their bicycles. Retailers in the large towns advertised bicycles for sale and new technology applied at this time made cycling easier and more comfortable. In the late 1880’s bicycle riders were very often caught for not …

The Aerial Railway Cableway – Blaina. Mr John Monks was a contractor and quarry proprietor. He quarried stone to use in his building work and owned quite a few stone quarries in the district. A few of these quarries was along the side of the Arael Mountain above West Side at Blaina. These quarries produced blue pennant stone, the supply …

Mr John Monks – Contractor. Mr John Monks was born in 1852 at Bath, Somerset, England. After the death of his father in 1869 he came to Monmouthshire and entered into the employment of his uncle Mr J. Cox at Crosskeys. He moved to Newport and was employed by Messrs Firbank, Railway Contractors. It was reported he was with this …

The New Road – Abertillery to Crumlin. A new road from Abertillery to Crumlin was first mentioned as early as 1878 but not officially stated as a priority. The New Road Proposal. On Tuesday 2nd of December 1890, the Abertillery Local Board, on behalf of the owners and rate payers of Llanhilleth held a public meeting in the Jubilee Hall …

Old Penybont Road – Penybont Cwmtillery. An image of Old Penybont Road taken from the New Bridge End Hotel, Cwmtillery. In very early reports on this area Old Penybont Road was known as Railway Terrace. Old Penybont Road was on the western side of the valley, from Alma Street to the level crossing at Brynmorgan Terrace. New Penybont Road was …