Bedwellty, Monmouthshire

Several Burgums of the "FF" family tree, lived in the Bedwellty area, in South Wales.

BEDWELLTY was a large parish of several villages in one of the coal mining valleys of South Wales. It stood between the rivers of Rhymney and Sirhowy, about 8 miles south of Tredegar. It included the ironwork towns of Rhymney, Tredegar, Ebbw Vale, and Sirhowy. It was the rich deposits of iron and coal that caused an enormaus growth in the local population in the nineteenth century. The parish also includes the following the villages and hamlets - Argoed, Bar-goed, Blackwood, Briery Hill, George Town, New town, Pen-gam, Pontygof, Eock, and Victoria. Following the establishment of the Bedwellty Poor Law Union in 1849, the Bedwellty Union Workhouse was built in 1852 at Georgetown near Tredegar.

VICTORIA joins Ebbw Vale on the south side of the town. It has a station on the Western Valleys section of the Great Western railway. Situated here were the Baptist, Congregational and Calvinistic Methodist chapels, with Welsh services, and a Wesleyan chapel. The picture (above left) shows the Victoria Iron Works. The picture (above right) shows Victoria with its rows and rows of terraced housing.

"BEDWELLTY, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of Wentllooge, in the county of Monmouth, 7 miles to the W. of Pont-y-pool. Newport is its post town. It is situated in a hilly district between the river Rumney, on the W., and the Sirhowey on the E., and contains the chapelries of Rhymney and Tredegar, the latter being now a market town, and the hamlets of Ishlawrcoed, Mamhole, and Uwchlawreoed. The district is rich in iron and coal, and is the seat of an extensive iron manufacture, giving employment to above 1,300 hands. Between 3,000 and 4,000 persons are engaged in the great ironworks and collieries in the vicinity."
[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)

FAMILY living at Bedwellty were as follows - Marriage 1856 DEC 1856 (MC 11a/109). Martha Burgum married Frederick Milner at the Parish Church at Bedwellty on 24th December 1856.Fred was working as an accountant, Matilda was a dress maker. Both were living in Victoria.

REGISTRATION DISTRICT NOTES Bedwellty was initially in the Registration Disrict of Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire from 1837-1958. It was removed from the Abergavenny registration district on 1st July 1861 and became a registration district in its own right. It was abolished on 1st April 1974 to become part of the Blaenu Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil registration districts. Abergavenny registration district was abolished 1st January 1959 to become part of the Pontypool registration district.

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