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Pontypool (Welsh: Pont-y-pŵl) is a town that is home to approximately 36,000 people. Since 1996 it has been located in the County Borough of Torfaen. Before 1996 it was located within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire until 1974 and then in the preserved county of Gwent between 1974 and 1996. In 1894 Pontypool ceased to be a "township" within the parish of Trevethin and became an urban district and a civil parish named Pont-y-pŵl (the Welsh equivalent). In 1935 Pontypool Urban District expanded when the neighbouring urban districts of Abersychan and Panteg were abolished. In addition to Abersychan, Panteg and Trevethen, Pontypool also includes several smaller districts: Griffithstown (including Sebastopol), Cwmffrwdoer, Pontnewynydd, Penygarn, Wainfelin, Tranch, Brynwern, Blaendare and New Inn. (Those in italics have been redirected here.)
[edit] HistoryThe town is situated on the Afon Lwyd river on the eastern edge of the South Wales coalfields and grew around industries including iron and steel production, coal mining and the growth of the railways. A rather artistic manufacturing industry which also flourished here alongside heavy industry was japanning, whereby metal plate could be treated in a way that generated a lacquered and decorative finish. For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Pontypool. [edit] Research Tips
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