Jewish Communities in
Blaenau Gwent

County Borough of Blaenau Gwent

The former urban districts of Abertillery, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar, in north-eastern part of the valleys of south Wales, were located in the old county of Monmouthshire, which, despite its culturally and historically affinity to Wales, was formally considered part of England. In 1974, as a result of reorganization of local government in Wales, Monmouthshire (together with a few localities from adjoining Welsh counties) was transformed into the new county of Gwent and became officially an integral part of Wales.

These former urban districts, together with the urban district of Brynmawr which had been in the Welsh county of Brecknockshire (also known as Breconshire), became part of the district of Blaenau Gwent, one of the seven local government districts of Gwent.  In 1996, the administrative status of the county of Gwent was abolished and most of the district of Blaenau Gwent became the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, a unitary authority, (remaining within the county of Gwent for purely ceremonial purposes).

The Valleys were traditional mining areas and most of the towns of the region were built up in the second half on the nineteenth century when "coal was king". With the decline of the coal industry and the accompanying steel industry, commencing in the 1930's, many of the towns become economically depressed.

Jewish Communities in Blaenau Gwent