Parc Bryn Bach, Tredegar
It may be hard to believe that this was once an ugly industrial landscape. Iron ore was being mined here by 1747, at the “patches” where the ore is close to the surface.
The Cefn Rhos and Bryn Oer levels were opened as local iron production increased. Bryn Bach Pond was excavated in 1818 to supply water to ironworks steam engines. Soon the landscape was scarred with patches, bell pits (shallow mines), levels and the Bryn Oer deep mine – each with their waste heaps. The top photo shows landscape, with Dukestown beyond.
Men, women and children extracted the heavy ore. In 1841 a report on children employed in mines said that “patch girls” worked in all weather and as hard as the men, “from whom they differ but little in dress, and quite equal in grossness”. You can read more about them on our page about the patch girls memorial on Commercial Street, Tredegar.
The patches were dangerous. The poet William Williams (‘Myfyr Wyn’) was a 10-year-old boy working underground at Bryn Bach when his father, close by, was killed by a falling rock. William later trained as a blacksmith at the Sirhowy ironworks, as you read on our page about his memorial.
Bryn Bach Pond breached its bank during a storm in 1846, releasing a torrent that swept away bridges, killed two horses and drowned an elderly woman, Ann Hopkins, in her bed.
The “Patches” was a clandestine venue for bare fist fighting: far enough from the police but accessible to devotees. A fight was mainly a trial of strength and could last for hours, or even days, until one fighter conceded. Other events here were barefoot racing, cockfighting and terrier fighting. All attracted high-stakes betting.
Deeper pits and levels replaced mining here, but during the 1926 General Strike some striking workers started working the patches again. One of them was Evan Evans, a Baptist church deacon and organist who was buried alive by a rockfall.
In the 1980s the site was cleaned and landscaped to create a 340-acre park. The park is named after Bryn Bach Farm, which was still an active farm north of the pond in the early 20th century. The aerial photo, courtesy of the Welsh Government, shows the landscaped area and pond in 1999.
Crowds of people visited the park when the National Eisteddfod was held here in 1990. The event left behind the ceremonial Gorsedd stone circle you can see in the park. Follow the link below for details of the nature reserve, facilities and activities at the park.
With thanks to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and the Welsh Government
Postcode: NP22 3AY View Location Map