About South East Wales (Regional Guides)

South East Wales encompasses many smaller counties that once formed the larger county of Glamorgan. These now include: Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan. The most easterly county in.
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Born near Abergavenny , Williams continued the earlier tradition of writing from a left-wing perspective on the Welsh industrial scene in his trilogy " Border Country " , "Second Generation" , and "The Fight for Manod" He also enjoyed a reputation as a cultural historian. The National Museum [of] Wales was founded by royal charter in and is now a Welsh Government sponsored body. In April , the attractions attached to the National Museum were granted free entry by the Assembly, and this action saw the visitor numbers to the sites increase during — by Aberystwyth is home to the National Library of Wales , which houses some of the most important collections in Wales, including the Sir John Williams Collection and the Shirburn Castle collection.

Many works of Celtic art have been found in Wales. A number of illuminated manuscripts from Wales survive, of which the 8th-century Hereford Gospels and Lichfield Gospels are the most notable. The 11th-century Ricemarch Psalter now in Dublin is certainly Welsh, made in St David's , and shows a late Insular style with unusual Viking influence.

The best of the few Welsh artists of the 16th—18th centuries tended to leave the country to work, many of them moving to London or Italy. Richard Wilson —82 is arguably the first major British landscapist. Although more notable for his Italian scenes, he painted several Welsh scenes on visits from London. By the late 18th century, the popularity of landscape art grew and clients were found in the larger Welsh towns, allowing more Welsh artists to stay in their homeland. Artists from outside Wales were also drawn to paint Welsh scenery, at first because of the Celtic Revival.

Then in the early 19th century, the Napoleonic Wars preventing the Grand Tour to continental Europe, travel through Wales came to be considered more accessible. An Act of Parliament in provided for the establishment of a number of art schools throughout the United Kingdom and the Cardiff School of Art opened in Graduates still very often had to leave Wales to work, but Betws-y-Coed became a popular centre for artists and its artists' colony helped form the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art in Christopher Williams , whose subjects were mostly resolutely Welsh, was also based in London.

Stephens and Andrew Vicari had very successful careers as portraitists based respectively in the United States and France. Many Welsh painters gravitated towards the art capitals of Europe. However, the landscapists Sir Kyffin Williams and Peter Prendergast lived in Wales for most of their lives, while remaining in touch with the wider art world. Ceri Richards was very engaged in the Welsh art scene as a teacher in Cardiff and even after moving to London. He was a figurative painter in international styles including Surrealism.

Towns and Villages in South East Wales

The Kardomah Gang was an intellectual circle centred on the poet Dylan Thomas and poet and artist Vernon Watkins in Swansea, which also included the painter Alfred Janes. South Wales had several notable potteries , one of the first important sites being the Ewenny Pottery in Bridgend , which began producing earthenware in the 17th century. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in George which then represented the Kingdom of England and Wales. The daffodil and the leek are also symbols of Wales.

The origins of the leek can be traced to the 16th century, while the daffodil became popular in the 19th century, encouraged by David Lloyd George. The Prince of Wales' heraldic badge is also sometimes used to symbolise Wales. The badge, known as the Prince of Wales's feathers , consists of three white feathers emerging from a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the German motto Ich dien I serve.

Several Welsh representative teams, including the Welsh rugby union, and Welsh regiments in the British Army the Royal Welsh , for example use the badge or a stylised version of it. The Prince of Wales has claimed that only he has the authority to use the symbol. Land of My Fathers is the National Anthem of Wales, and is played at events such as football or rugby matches involving the Wales national team as well as the opening of the Welsh Assembly and other official occasions.

More than 50 national governing bodies regulate and organise their sports in Wales. Although football has traditionally been the more popular sport in north Wales , rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The five professional sides that replaced the traditional club sides in major competitions in were replaced in by the four regions: Cardiff Blues , Dragons , Ospreys and Scarlets. Wales has had its own football league , the Welsh Premier League , since Rugby league in Wales dates back to The Crusaders competed in the top level Super League competition from — A professional Welsh League existed from to Wales has produced several world-class participants of individual sports including snooker players Ray Reardon , Terry Griffiths , Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens.

Wales also has a tradition of producing world-class boxers. Wales has hosted several international sporting events. All Welsh television broadcasts are digital. The last of the analogue transmitters ceased broadcasts in April , and Wales became the UK's first digital nation. BBC Cymru Wales is the national broadcaster. Its output was mostly Welsh-language at peak hours but shared English-language content with Channel 4 at other times. Since the digital switchover in April , the channel has broadcast exclusively in Welsh.


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Their remaining output is commissioned from ITV and independent producers. Several regional radio stations broadcast in Welsh: Most of the newspapers sold and read in Wales are national newspapers available throughout Britain, unlike in Scotland where many newspapers have rebranded into Scottish-based titles. The Western Mail is Wales' only national daily newspaper. Magazines published in Welsh and English cover general and specialist subjects. Cambria , a Welsh affairs magazine published bi-monthly in English, has subscribers in over 30 countries.

Although both beef and dairy cattle are raised widely, especially in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales is more well known for its sheep farming and thus lamb is the meat traditionally associated with Welsh cooking. Traditional dishes include laverbread made from laver Porphyra umbilicalis , an edible seaweed ; bara brith fruit bread ; cawl a lamb stew ; cawl cennin leek soup ; Welsh cakes ; and Welsh lamb. Cockles are sometimes served as a traditional breakfast with bacon and laverbread. Although Wales has its own traditional food and has absorbed much of the cuisine of England, Welsh diets now owe more to the countries of India , China and the United States.

Wales is often referred to as "the land of song", [] and is notable for its harpists, male choirs, and solo artists. The principal Welsh festival of music and poetry is the annual National Eisteddfod. The Llangollen International Eisteddfod echoes the National Eisteddfod but provides an opportunity for the singers and musicians of the world to perform.

Traditional music and dance in Wales is supported by a myriad of societies. The Welsh Folk Song Society has published a number of collections of songs and tunes. Traditional instruments of Wales include telyn deires triple harp , fiddle, crwth , pibgorn hornpipe and other instruments. Popular bands that emerged from Wales include the Beatles-nurtured power pop group Badfinger in the s, Man and Budgie in the s and the Alarm in the s.


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Many groups emerged during the s, led by Manic Street Preachers , followed by the likes of the Stereophonics and Feeder ; notable during this period were Catatonia , Super Furry Animals , and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci who gained popular success as dual-language artists. Male voice choirs emerged in the 19th century and continue today.

Originally these choirs where formed as the tenor and bass sections of chapel choirs, and embraced the popular secular hymns of the day. Along with the playhouses, there existed mobile companies at visiting fairs, though from most of these travelling theatres settled, purchasing theatres to perform in. Drama in the early 20th century thrived, but the country failed to produce a Welsh National Theatre company. After the Second World War the substantial number of amateur companies that had existed before the outbreak of hostilities reduced by two-thirds.

Other Welsh actors to have crossed the Atlantic more recently include: Dancing is a popular pastime in Wales; traditional dances include folk dancing and clog dancing. The first mention of dancing in Wales is in a 12th-century account by Giraldus Cambrensis , but by the 19th century traditional dance had all but died out; this is attributed to the influence of Nonconformists and their belief that any physical diversion was worthless and satanic, especially mixed dancing. The Welsh Folk Dance Society was founded in ; [] it supports a network of national amateur dance teams and publishes support material.

Contemporary dance grew out of Cardiff in the s; one of the earliest companies, Moving Being, came from London to Cardiff in As well as celebrating many of the traditional religious festivals of Great Britain, such as Easter and Christmas, Wales has its own unique celebratory days.

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An early festivity was Mabsant when local parishes would celebrate the patron saint of their local church. Commemorating the patron saint of friendship and love, Dydd Santes Dwynwen 's popularity has been increasing recently. It is celebrated on 25 January in a similar way to St Valentine's Day: Calan Gaeaf , associated with the supernatural and the dead, is observed on 1 November All Saints Day. It has largely been replaced by Hallowe'en.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the country. For other uses, see Wales disambiguation. Sovereign state Legal jurisdiction. National Assembly UK Parliament. Wales in the Roman era. Glamorgan and Lower Swansea valley. Local government in Wales. History of local government in Wales. List of settlements in Wales by population and List of towns in Wales.

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Tourism in Wales and Agriculture in Wales. List of universities in Wales and List of further education colleges in Wales. Demography of Wales and Demography of the United Kingdom. Languages of Wales , Welsh language , and Welsh English. Mythology Matter of Britain Arthurian legend Mabinogion. Music and performing arts. National symbols of Wales. List of newspapers in Wales. Wales portal Celtic Studies portal. It seems comparatively late as a place name, the nominative plural Lloegrwys , "men of Lloegr", being earlier and more common. The English were sometimes referred to as an entity in early poetry Saeson , as today but just as often as Eingl Angles , Iwys Wessex-men , etc.

Lloegr and Sacson became the norm later when England emerged as a kingdom. As for its origins, some scholars have suggested that it originally referred only to Mercia — at that time a powerful kingdom and for centuries the main foe of the Welsh. It was then applied to the new kingdom of England as a whole see for instance Rachel Bromwich ed. See also Discussion in Reference The meaning behind the Welsh motto". Retrieved 22 March Retrieved 26 July Retrieved 7 July Retrieved 24 April Retrieved 23 September Retrieved 10 October Henry wrote the same about Wallachia.

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The doggerel verse was composed in English, probably for the benefit of visitors from across Offa's Dyke.

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Archived from the original on 12 September Retrieved 5 October Retrieved 29 November Archived from the original on 28 January But the status of Breconshire or Carmarthenshire, for instance, is more debatable. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people might feel that they live in both south Wales and west Wales. A further point of uncertainty is whether the first element of the name should be capitalized: As the name is a geographical expression rather than a specific area with well-defined borders, style guides such as those of the BBC [3] and The Guardian [4] use the form 'south Wales'.

The South Wales Valleys and upland mountain ridges were once a very rural area noted for its river valleys and ancient forests and lauded by romantic poets such as William Wordsworth as well as poets in the Welsh language, although the interests of the latter lay more in society and culture than in the evocation of natural scenery. This natural environment changed to a considerable extent during the early Industrial Revolution when the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire valley areas were exploited for coal and iron. By the s, hundreds of tons of coal were being transported by barge to ports in Cardiff and Newport.

In the s, coal was transported by rail transport networks to Newport Docks , at the time the largest coal exporting docks in the world, and by the s coal was being exported from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. The Marquess of Bute , who owned much of the land north of Cardiff , built a steam railway system on his land that stretched from Cardiff into many of the South Wales Valleys where the coal was being found. Lord Bute then charged fees per ton of coal that was transported out using his railways.

With coal mining and iron smelting being the main trades of south Wales, many thousands of immigrants from the Midlands , Scotland , Ireland , Cornwall and even Italy came and set up homes and put down roots in the region. Very many came from other coal mining areas such as Somerset , the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and the tin mines of Cornwall such as Geevor Tin Mine , as a large but experienced and willing workforce was required.

Whilst some of the migrants left, many settled and established in the South Wales Valleys between Swansea and Abergavenny as English-speaking communities with a unique identity. Industrial workers were housed in cottages and terraced houses close to the mines and foundries in which they worked. The large influx over the years caused overcrowding which led to outbreaks of Cholera , and on the social and cultural side, the near-loss of the Welsh language in the area.

The s inter-war Great Depression in the United Kingdom saw the loss of almost half of the coal pits in the South Wales Coalfield , and their number declined further in the years following World War II. This number is now very low, following the UK miners' strike —85 , and the last 'traditional' deep-shaft mine, Tower Colliery , closed in January Despite the intense industrialisation of the coal mining valleys, many parts of the landscape of South Wales such as the upper Neath valley, the Vale of Glamorgan and the valleys of the River Usk and River Wye remain distinctly beautiful and unspoilt and have been designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

In addition, many once heavily industrialised sites have reverted to wilderness, some provided with a series of cycle tracks and other outdoor amenities.

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Large areas of forestry and open moorland also contribute to the amenity of the landscape. Merthyr Tudful grew around the Dowlais Ironworks which was founded to exploit the locally abundant seams of iron ore , and in time it became the largest iron producing town in the world. New coal mines were sunk nearby to feed the furnaces and in time produced coal for export. By the census, the population of Merthyr was 60,—more at that time than Cardiff, Swansea and Newport combined—and its industries included coal mines , iron works , cable factory , engine sheds and sidings and many others.

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The town was also the birthplace of Joseph Parry , composer of the song Myfanwy. The Heads of the Valleys towns, including Rhymney , Tredegar and Ebbw Vale , rose out of the industrial revolution, producing coal, metal ores and later steel. The Merthyr Vale colliery began to produce coal in Spoil from the mine workings was piled on the hills close to the village which grew nearby.

Tipping went on until the s. The industry was by then nationalised, but even the National Coal Board failed to appreciate the danger they created. In October , heavy rain made the giant coal tip unstable. The recent dumping of small particles of coal and ash known as 'tailings' seems to have been partly responsible.

The Rhondda Valleys Rhondda Fach and Rhondda Fawr housed around 3, people in but by the population had soared to , The Rhondda had become the heart of a massive South Wales coal industry. Mining accidents below ground were common and in fifty-seven men and boys were killed in a gas explosion at the Tylorstown Colliery. An enquiry found that the pit involved had not been properly inspected over the previous 15 months. The Carboniferous Black Vein coal seams in the area lay some feet metres below the surface and the mining activity associated with it was responsible for many tragic subsurface explosions, roof collapses and mining accidents.

Now the Valleys' heavy industrial past is overprinted with urban regeneration, tourism and multi-national investment. Large factory units, either empty or turned over to retail use, bear witness to the lack of success in replacing older industries. The native language of the majority of people in South Wales is English , but there are many who also speak Welsh. In western parts of Glamorgan , particularly the Neath and Swansea Valleys , there remain significant Welsh-speaking communities such as Ystradgynlais and Ystalyfera , which share a heritage with other ex- anthracite mining areas in eastern Carmarthenshire , as much as with the Glamorgan valleys.

The local slang , dialect and phrases of the south Wales valleys communities have been referred to as ' Wenglish ', and are often used with comic effect. Welsh is now a compulsory language up to GCSE level for all students who start their education in Wales. A significant number of people from ethnic minority communities speak another language as their first language, particularly in Cardiff and Newport. Commonly spoken languages in some areas include Punjabi , Bengali , Arabic , Somali and Chinese , and increasingly Central European languages such as Polish.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries there was a vigorous literary and musical culture centred round eisteddfodau. The south Wales landscape is marked by numerous chapels, places of worship past and present of the various Christian Nonconformist congregations. The Baptist congregation at Ilston , Gower , moved to Swansea, Massachusetts , [12] but after the restoration of the Anglican worship with the issue of the Book of Common Prayer in , several "gathered" churches survived belonging to the Baptist, Independent and Presbyterian denominations.

In the 18th century members of some of these congregations became dissatisfied with the theological innovations of some trained ministers, and created new congregations such as that at Hengoed near Ystrad Mynach. These were mainly Welsh-language congregations. Anglicanism in south Wales became autonomous from the Church of England with the Welsh Church Act , but the immediate demise of the denomination feared at that time has not taken place in the Church in Wales.