The growth of the iron and coal industries made a great impact on the communities of the Varteg area in the 1800s. Homelife and the community became extremely important in these hard times.
When people flooded in to this area to work in the heavy
industry that powered the Industrial Revolution, they needed
somewhere to live.
This walk takes a look at some of the dwellings in the area that
housed the workers and their employers. There are also buildings
that were here before the advent of industry, located in a rare
medieval and post-medieval agricultural landscape with areas of
woodland and scattered post-medieval farmsteads.
By 1840 there were approximately 1,500 people of all ages
working in the Varteg Ironworks, and although no signs of the works
itself are
obvious today, the landscape around the Varteg still bears witness
to the grassed over slag, the waste from the iron-making
processes.
Join in and explore your heritage.
We also want to hear from you! Tell us your stories of Torfaen's past. Share your personal experiences or those of your families and friends that adds to our knowledge of how people lived, their experiences at home or at work or maybe just a funny anecdote about our past.