Cwmbran is a town located in South East Wales. Historically, Neolithic and Bronze Age people used the area with the Iron Age Silures tribe also occupying the region before being subdued by the Romans.

Around 1179, Hywel Lord of Caerleon gave a gift of money and land to found the Cistercian Abbey at Llantarnam in Cwmbran. After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII the Abbey was closed and was bought by a succession of wealthy landowners.

By the 18th Century the Abbey had passed into the Blewitt family who were to become key figures in the early industrialization of Cwmbran. Brick-making, lime kilns; iron ore, quarrying and coal-mining were established during this period along with a canal to transport goods to the docks at Newport.

In the 19th Century a number of tinworks, coke works and iron foundries were built in the town. However, the depression that followed World War One saw unemployment and poverty sweep through the region. Collieries were closed along with many of the other heavy industries.

One of Cwmbran's most famous residents died in 1932. John Williams, also known as John Fielding, won a Victoria Cross for his actions at the battle of Rorke's Drift, immortalised in the film Zulu. John Williams was buried in the graveyard of St Michael's Church, Llantarnam.

In 1949 the Cwmbran Development Corporation was established to oversee the building a whole 'new town', and construction began in 1951. The population of Cwmbran rose to 33,000 in less than twenty years.

The central retail area was started in 1959 followed by the town's only large residential tower block completed in 1967. The last 'new town' residential estates were completed in the 1980's and the Cwmbran Development Corporation was disbanded.

Employment opportunities have improved steadily throughout the 1990's. Older industrial areas have been turned into centres for modern light industry or thriving retail parks.

The town has grown despite past slumps in the economy and the decline of old industries that have blighted so many other small towns.

Housing continues to be built but abundant parks, woods and fields can still be found in and around the town along with modern sports and leisure facilities.

NB: The Cwmbran Town website is no longer active but we thank the team for their contribution