Newbridge, Caerphilly

The Welsh placename for Newbridge is often incorrectly shown on OS Maps as Cefn Bychan. It is in fact Trecelyn, meaning "the town of the holly trees".[2]

The town is located within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, considered by some to be a part of England until the late 20th century.

In medieval times what are now the separate townships of Abercarn, Cwmcarn and Newbridge were known as Abercarne, a manorial title which goes back to the Norman period. Until quite recently the three townships were also within the boundaries of the ancient parish of Mynyddislwyn.

Newbridge, as its name implies, was the name of land around the "new bridge" built across the Ebbw River towards the end of the 18th century. Newbridge was then a predominantly Welsh agrarian community of rural farms and sheep pasture with a low population.

In the valley, the chief farms were Ty-Llydd, where the new vicarage now stands, Tynewydd, where the Newbridge Hotel stands, Ty-hir, the house which stands next to the Beaufort Arms, and the Newbridge corn mill which stood near the South Celynen Colliery. The road pattern as we know it today did not exist—all activity and commerce took place along the mountain tracks which led over Mynyddislwyn and Mynydd Maen. Adjacent to the tracks were the more prosperous farms, Hyfod Fach, Glanshon and Cillonydd.

Towards the end of the 18th century, Newbridge was established as a farming community around a new bridge across the Ebbw River. Like many towns in the area, it underwent a population explosion and socio-economic change with the arrival of coal mining in the 19th century. The mines attracted workers from the English West Country and West Midlands, Cornwall, Scotland, Mid Wales and further afield. The Celynen Collieries Workingmen's Institute, (the "Stute") and Memorial Hall (the "Memo") together became, like many miners' institutes, the communal heart of the town.[3] The local collieries enjoyed a reputation for highly skilled miners, a productive workforce and non-radical politics, and the community had thriving shops, churches, chapels and sports teams.^[citation?]

Mining eventually ceased in the mid-1980s, after surviving the 1926 general strike, the 1930s Depression and post-war nationalisation, but became unsustainable following the UK miners' strike (1984-1985). The Institute became a drinking club.

Since the end of coal mining, new leisure facilities have been constructed in Newbridge. Residents have also reported the return to the area of birds such as herons, buzzards and kestrels.

After some delays, the Ebbw Valley Railway, originally running from Ebbw Vale Parkway (as of 17 May 2015 extended to Ebbw Vale Town) to Cardiff Central railway station, opened in February 2008. Newbridge is one of 8 stations on the line.

A bridge linking the main town of Newbridge with the school and leisure centre over the Ebbw River was completed at a cost of over £3 million and was opened by Joe Calzaghe and his father, Enzo Calzaghe in November 2009.

Newbridge Rugby Union Football Club plays in the WRU Championship.

Newbridge Cricket Club play on the Welfare Ground and are a South Wales Premier League side, fielding 2 senior sides plus junior sides and a Women and girls side.

Newbridge Town AFC play in the 7th tier of Welsh football, the North Gwent Premier League, and were champions for the 2022/23 season.

Newbridge Boxing Club is the base of Team Calzaghe whose famous member Joe Calzaghe retired in 2009 as an undefeated world champion.

Newbridge Swimming Pool (photo 2007)

Newbridge has a public leisure centre[4] which was opened in January 1997. The complex includes a swimming pool and a fitness suite which was enlarged from one to two floors in 2007. The second floor is a viewing area which looks over the pool.

Newbridge Secondary School (formerly known as Newbridge Comprehensive School and Newbridge Grammar School before that) is located in the town, catering for some 978 pupils aged 11 to 16. Tynewydd Primary School in Greenfield, Pantside Primary School, and Pentwynmawr Primary School cater for 4-11 year olds.

See also Category:People from Newbridge, Caerphilly

Notable people to have grown up in Newbridge include, world-champion boxer Joe Calzaghe CBE; Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown; Steve Strange, frontman of New Romantic band Visage; and Sir Terry Matthews OBE, high-tech entrepreneur and owner of the Celtic Manor Resort. British Lions and Welsh rugby union captain and coach John Dawes OBE is from Chapel-Of-Ease, near Newbridge. Elliot Dee who plays rugby for Wales was born and raised in Newbridge. The Town also hosts a world famous Brass Band Newbridge Celynen Band that over its time has been an award winning brass band and winning many competitions.

• Welsh Coal Mines - all the local pit histories
• Geograph.co.uk
• Caerphilly Council Schools Finder