Ebbw Vale (Welsh: Glyn Ebwy) is at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr river in the traditional county of Monmouthshire in south Wales. It is the largest town in the Blaenau Gwent county borough, with a population of roughly 25,000. It is also the administrative centre of the County Borough Council.
Originally a rather insignificant spot with only about 140 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century, Ebbw Vale—and the whole Valley—was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. The Ebbw Vale Iron Works (later the Ebbw Steelworks) opened in 1778, followed by the opening of a number of coal mines around 1790.
Ebbw Vale hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1958 and the Garden Festival in 1992.
Aneurin Bevan, the father of the National Health Service, stood for election into parliament as Labour Party candidate for Ebbw Vale in 1929.
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Last updated: 10-29-2005 02:13:46
