Gwent Archives

14/10/2026

Bilingual Post - English below;

Pe baech chi'n edrych trwy gofnodion plwyf Trefynwy, byddech chi'n dod o hyd i gofnod ar gyfer Andrew Davis a Joseph Monmouth. Bedyddiwyd y ddau ym mis Awst 1763, ac mae pob dyn yn cael ei ddisgrifio fel "Dyn du sy'n eiddo i Mr Price." Mae cofnodion pellach ym mis Awst 1772 ar gyfer Henry a Flora "caethweision Capten Hadley, Cwmni Dwyrain India.”

Yn anffodus, ni wyddwn fawr ddim am eu bywydau ac nid ydym wedi gallu eu holrhain ymhellach. Gwyddom mai Joseph Price (1726-1796) yw Mr Price ymhob tebyg. Gweithiodd i Gwmni Dwyrain India fel Tâl-feistr y Llynges a Stôr-geidwad defnyddiau llyngesol. Mae cofeb iddo i'w gweld yn Eglwys Priordy y Santes Fair.

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If you were to look through the Monmouth parish records, you would find an entry for an Andrew Davis and Joseph Monmouth. Both baptised in August 1763, each man is described as “a Black belonging to Mr Price.” There are further entries in August 1772 for Henry and Flora “slaves of Captain Hadley, East Indian.”

Sadly we know little about their lives and have been unable to trace them further. We do know that Mr Price is likely to be Joseph Price (1726 – 1796). He worked for the East India Company to the Office of Marine Pay Master and Naval Store Keeper. A memorial to him can be found in St Mary’s Priory Church.

14/10/2026

13/10/2026

Bilingual post - English below;

Bydd adeilad y Swyddfeydd Cyffredinol/ Archifau Gwent yn ailagor ddydd Mercher 14 Hydref. Cysylltwch â ni cyn ymweld, ar [email protected] neu 01495 766261 os oes gennych ymholiadau. Ymddiheurwn am unrhyw anghyfleustra, a diolch am eich amynedd yn ystod y cyfnod hwn.

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The General Offices/Gwent Archives building will reopen on Wednesday 14th October. Please contact us ahead of visiting at [email protected] or 01495 766261 with any queries. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience during this period.

12/10/2026

Bilingual post - English below;

PWYSIG – oherwydd amgylchiadau nad oedd modd i ni eu rhagweld, mae’r Swyddfeydd Cyffredinol / adeilad Archifau Gwent wedi gorfod cau ar unwaith. Ymddiheurwn am unrhyw anghyfleustra y mae hyn wedi’i achosi, a byddwn yn eich diweddaru unwaith eto’n fuan.

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URGENT - Please be aware that due to unforeseen circumstances, the General Offices / the Gwent Archives building has had to close immediately. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and we will update you again shortly.

12/10/2026

09/10/2026

Bilingual post - English below;

Ar y diwrnod hwn ym 1842, agorwyd Doc Tref Casnewydd. Parhaodd y masnachu i ffynnu a buan y daeth yn amlwg nad oedd Doc y Dref yn ddigon mawr. Yna, adeiladwyd Dociau Alexandra ym 1875. Roeddent yn llawer mwy o faint ac maen nhw’n dal i weithredu heddiw fel doc Casnewydd.

Yn ogystal â chynyddu’r gystadleuaeth, llwyddodd damwain rhwng y ddau gwch Constancia a Primus, ym mis Ionawr 1892, i gyfyngu’r defnydd o Ddociau'r Dref i gychod llai ac, yn bennaf, i fasnachu pren. Gallwn weld adroddiad am y ddamwain hon yn y Pontypool Free Press.

Caewyd Doc y Dref yn y pen draw, a chafodd ei lenwi, ym 1930. Gallwch weld y trawsnewidiad hwn ar y mapiau hyn o'n casgliad. Ar y map o Hydref 1928 mae’r geiriau 'To Town Docks' ar yr afon, ond dydy’r map o fis Medi 1941 ddim yn sôn am y dociau gan eu bod wedi cael eu cau yn y degawd blaenorol.

Mae gennym gasgliad morwrol sylweddol, felly cofiwch bori trwy ein catalogau ar ein gwefan.

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On this day in 1842, the Newport Town Dock was opened. Trade continued to boom and it soon became apparent that the Town Dock was not large enough. The much larger, Alexandra Docks were then built in 1875 – still functioning today as Newport’s dock.

As well as increasing competition, a crash between the two boats Constancia and Primus in January 1892 reduced the use of the Town Docks to smaller boats and mostly the trade of timber. We can see a report on this crash in the Pontypool Free Press.

The Town Dock was ultimately closed, and filled in, in 1930. You can see on these maps from our collection this transition. The map from Oct 1928 marks ‘To Town Docks’ on the river, where as the map from Sept 1941 doesn’t mention the docks as they had been closed the previous decade.

We have a substantial maritime collection, be sure to check our catalogues on our website.

07/10/2026

06/10/2026

Bilingual Post - English below;

Yn 1986, penderfynodd Cyngor Bwrdeistref Islwyn rhoi Rhyddfraint y Fwrdeistref i AS Islwyn, Neil Kinnock a’r ymgyrchydd gwrth-Apartheid o Dde Affrica, Nelson Mandela a’i wraig, Winnie, fel ‘pobl nodedig ac mewn cydnabyddiaeth o hynny gan drigolion Bwrdeistref Islwyn’. Ar adeg o ymdeimlad cryf yn erbyn Apartheid, gan gynnwys boicotio, Islwyn oedd y lle cyntaf yng Nghymru i gynnig yr anrhydedd.

Dywedodd Mr Bob Cooke, arweinydd Cyngor Islwyn, fod y wobr yn dod o le ‘ble dechreuodd y frwydr dros hawliau dynol, fel mudiad y Siartwyr’.

Dywedodd Neil Kinnock, wrth dderbyn yr anrhydedd: ‘Rwy’n hynod o falch o’r fwrdeistref hon am roi rhyddfraint y fwrdeistref i’r Mandelas, gan fod hynny’n dangos yn y ffordd fwyaf eglur posibl nad yw pobl y gymuned hon yn gosod ffin ar ryddid’.

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In 1986, Islwyn Borough Council decided to award Islwyn MP Neil Kinnock and jailed South African Anti-Apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela and his wife, Winnie, the Freedom of the Borough ‘as persons of distinction and in recognition of such by residents of the Borough of Islwyn’. At a time of peak Anti-Apartheid feeling including boycotts, Islwyn was the first place in Wales to offer the honour.

Mr Bob Cooke, leader of Islwyn Council said the award comes from a place ‘where the struggle for human rights, such as the Chartists movement, had begun’.

Kinnock, on receiving the award: ‘I am immensely proud of this borough for awarding the freedom to the Mandelas, for it demonstrates in the clearest possible way that in this community people do not have a limited horizon of liberty’.


Ref: Acc6809

05/10/2026

Discover the hidden history of Llanhilleth Miners Institute

Coming this Tuesday!

Every old building has stories to tell - and Llanhilleth Miners Institute has more than most.

For over 120 years, this incredible building has been at the heart of the community, but how much do we really know about its past?

Join us for Beyond the Pit, a fascinating talk by Bec Howarth from Gwent Archives, as we uncover some of the lesser-known history of the Institute and explore a surprising chapter in its story, when it became a centre for culture, creativity and the arts during the 1920s and 1930s.

If you love local history, heritage and discovering the stories hidden in the places around us, this is one not to miss.

📅 This Tuesday, 6 October | 6.30pm
📍 Llanhilleth Miners Institute
🎟️ Free entry – all welcome!

Come and discover a little more about the history hidden within these walls.

03/10/2026

Bilingual post - English below;

Gwahoddwyd Paul Robeson, a'i wraig, Eslanda, fel gwesteion arbennig i Frenhinol Genedlaethol Cymru a gynhaliwyd yng Nglynebwy ym mis Awst 1958. Yn y Gymanfa Ganu ar 3 Awst, cyflwynwyd Paul Robeson i gynulleidfa fawr o dros 9,000 o bobl gan yr AS lleol, Aneurin Bevan, a chanodd 'John Brown's Body', 'Water Boy', a 'We are Climbing Jacob's Ladder'. Dywedodd Robeson, ag yntau’n fab i weinidog Wesleaidd, a ddaethai o gymuned lle roedd canu emynau yn bwysig, y teimlai ei fod yn rhannu llawer o draddodiadau gyda'r gynulleidfa.

Gan fod hwn yn digwydd cyn agoriad swyddogol yr Eisteddfod, caniatawyd iddo siarad yn Saesneg, gan nad oedd y 'rheol Gymraeg' yn dod i rym hyd nes i'r Eisteddfod ddechrau ar y diwrnod canlynol.

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Paul Robeson and his wife, Eslanda, were invited as special guests to the Royal National of Wales held at Ebbw Vale in August 1958. At the Cymanfa Ganu on the 03 August, Paul Robeson was introduced to a large audience of over 9,000 people by local MP Aneurin Bevan, and he sang ‘John Brown’s Body’, ‘Water Boy’, and ‘We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder’. Robeson said that as the son of a Wesleyan minister coming from a community in which hymn-singing played an important, he felt that he shared many traditions with the audience.

As this took place before the official opening of the Eisteddfod, he was allowed to speak in English, because the ‘rheol Gymraeg’ (Welsh-language only rule) did not start applying until the Eisteddfod began on the following day.