Welsh Journals

Bedwellty is a very large parish mostly mountainous land and containing within its borders the recently formed towns of Tredegar, Rhymny and Ebbw Vale. The parish has now been subdivided for ecclesiastical and other purposes but before the subdivision comprised 16,056 acres of land and 188 of water, comprising that part of the county between the Ebbw Fawr and the Glamorganshire boundary and stretching from Rhymny in the north to within a short distance of Pont Llanffraith in the south. The meaning of Bedwellty is somewhat doubtful but is generally considered to be from Bedw geltydd, birch wood cliffs. The old parish was divided into the hamlets of Islaw'rcoed, Uwchlaw'rcoed and Manmoel, the former being the southern part near the church and Uwchlaw'rcoed being the most northerly part, while Manmoel was all that part between the rivers Ebbw and Sirhowy. The population has been as follows: Year No. of inhabitants Islaw'rcoed Uwchlaw'rcoed Manmoel 1801 619 1811 632 1,230 2,728 1821 978 1,764 3,640 1841 22,413 1881 37,151 1891 38,953 The rateable value of the whole parish in 1815 was £ 4,967 and in 1891 £ 109,603. Tredegar, Rhymny and Ebbw Vale are each separate places with ecclesiastical boundaries and governed by urban councils. The parish of Bedwellty as it now exists contained 4,728 inhabitants in 1891. The bridge at Pengam was built before the year 1704. On 23 August 1704 Watkin Meredith overseer of the highways for the hamlet of Dislawrcoed was paid on account 18s. towards the reparation of Pont y manpengam. The bridge at Pontgwaith haiam was built in 1740. On 27 May 1740 John Edmund agrees to make that bridge, 10 feet in breadth, and the weir Bedwellty 100 yards above the said bridge, for the sum of £ 19 15s. The bridge called Pont ynys y pool was agreed to be made at the price of £ 14, 9 feet in breadth and side walls 2 feet high; 21 May 1735 Pont Ebbw bridge had been a wooden one. On 8 Jan. 1732 John Edmund agrees to make a bridge 10 feet broad with side walls 3 feet high for £ 23 10s., he to have the old timber.' Plas Bedwellty The oldest house and chief estate in the parish was what is now known as Plas Bedwellty. Its proper name is Rhos Newydd. Sir Rowland Morgan of Rhos Newydd, younger son of Edmund Morgan of Penllwyn, was knighted in 1603 and his descendants were here until the latter part of the eighteenth century when it was purchased by John Hodder Moggridge. How it came to change its name I know not. There is nothing of interest about the place now and it bears the appearance of an ordinary farm house. The Moggridge family sold it about 1890 to Thomas Jones. Maesrhyddid Maesrhyddid has until recently been occupied by an ancient family who have continued their male descent in the same place for many generations. Conan ap William was living here in 1561 when he married Dassy daughter and coheir of William ap Gruffydd ap Llewelyn.2 His descendant Edmund ap William or Williams was the father of two sons, the younger of whom Henry was father of the late distinguished soldier, Major General Sir Edmund Keynton Williams, K.C.B. He entered the army in July 1799 being then 17 years and 9 months old as an ensign in the 4th or Kings Own Regiment of Foot and served through the whole of the Peninsular War taking part in all the principal engagements of that war. The late Mr. Edmund Davies Williams of Maesrhyddid dying unmarried, the estate descended to his nephew Mr. Llewelyn Brewer whose mother is a sister to Mr. Williams.