Editing Cwmcarn

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=February 2018}}
{{More footnotes|date=February 2018}}
}}

{{Infobox UK place
| country                     = Wales
| welsh_name                  =
| static_image_name           = Cwmcarn spring 2004.jpg
| static_image_caption        = Cwmcarn Forest Drive in the spring. Looking towards the Graig.
| constituency_welsh_assembly = 
| official_name               = Cwmcarn
| community_wales             = [[Abercarn]]
| unitary_wales               = [[Caerphilly (county borough)|Caerphilly]]
| lieutenancy_wales           = [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]]
| constituency_westminster    = [[Newport West and Islwyn (UK Parliament constituency)|Newport West and Islwyn]]
| post_town                   = NEWPORT
| postcode_district           = NP11
| postcode_area               = NP
| dial_code                   = 01495
| map_type                    = 
| os_grid_reference           = ST219935
| population                  = 500
| coordinates                 = {{coord|51.6349|-3.1299|display=inline,title}} 
}}
'''Cwmcarn''' is a village situated in the [[Ebbw River|Ebbw valley]] in south [[Wales]], in the [[Historic counties of Wales|historic boundaries]] of [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]]. It grew with 19th-century [[coal mining]], but is now known for its extensive mature forestry and greenery, that attract thousands of visitors and [[mountain biking]] enthusiasts each year. 

== Pre-industrial history ==
Significant settlement at Cwmcarn came with [[Bronze Age]] migration of local tribes from the [[Caldicot and Wentloog Levels|Gwent levels]] to the uplands of [[Mynydd y Grug]], [[Mynydd Machen]] and [[Mynydd Maen]] ([[Twmbarlwm]]) and led to a later [[Iron Age]] (900&ndash;55 BC) [[hillfort]] to be constructed by the [[Silures]] on [[Twmbarlwm]].

[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] forces took control of most of what became the [[Roman Britain|Roman]] province of [[Britannia Superior]] in 43 AD but then took a further 25 years to gain control of the present day South Wales valleys. [[Roman Empire|Roman]] control remained established until [[Roman withdrawal from Britain|full scale withdrawal]] in the 5th century AD when the Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Gwent|Gwent]] and [[Glywysing]] were established. Gwent was defined as the land between the [[River Usk]] and the [[River Wye]] and Glywysing, the land between the [[River Usk]] and the [[River Tawe]]. Cwmcarn, located where the Carn and Ebbw river valleys meet, being situated within the Welsh Kingdom of [[Glywysing]].

The [[Welsh placename]] of Cwmcarn came about in 942 when Llywarch ap Cadogan gave Villa Treficarn Pont ('estate near the bridge over the Carn') to a [[Bishop of Llandaff]] named Wulfrith with King Cadell's guarantee, i.e. the place where the Carn meets the Ebbw (now Cwmcarn).

Following the [[Norman invasion of Wales]] the separate townships of [[Abercarn]], Cwmcarn and [[Newbridge, Caerphilly|Newbridge]] were given a [[manorial]] title of Abercarne. The three townships were also within the boundaries of the ancient parish of [[Mynyddislwyn]] and remained therein up until comparatively recent times.

== Economic activity ==
=== Coal mining ===
Cwmcarn lies at the south-eastern edge of the [[South Wales coalfield]]. The [[Mining in Wales|colliery]] development in the Cwmcarn area started in 1836, when a single shallow, 180&nbsp;ft downshaft, the Abercarn No.6., was sunk into the Rock (or Tillery) seam, for the nearby [[Prince of Wales Colliery Cwmcarn|Prince of Wales Colliery]] at [[Abercarn]] operated by the [[Monmouthshire Iron and Coal Company]]. The second shaft was excavated by the [[Ebbw Vale Steel Iron & Coal Company]] to target the deeper No.4 Steam and Black Vein seams. The colliery was run as an individual unit until it was later acquired by [[Partridge Jones and John Paton and Company]] in 1935. It was closed by the [[National Coal Board]] in November 1968 and the site was cleared after becoming uneconomical to run.

The [[Cwmcarn Forest Drive]] now runs over the shafts of the colliery and a relics of colliery buildings can still be seen on the slope above the old shaft. The present day lake that is stocked by the Cwmcarn Angling Association was originally down stream of the colliery's washery.

=== Manufacturing ===
A telecoms factory located between the [[Ebbw River]] and the A467 road was part of the [[General Post Office|British Post Office]] and [[British Telecom]] before being sold to [[Standard Telephones and Cables|STC plc]], Northern Telecom ([[Nortel]]), and more recently [[Solectron]]. The factory closed during Spring 2007.

== Cwmcarn Forest Drive ==
To the east of the village of Cwmcarn is the popular Cwmcarn Forest Drive, a popular 7 mile drive through hills and forests on the flanks of the mountain of [[Twmbarlwm]] which is operated by [[Natural Resources Wales]]. The area is popular as a tourist site and a location for mountain biking, and has seen significant recent development as the world-class Y Mynydd Mojo [[Downhill cycling|DH]] Track mountain biking trail is attracting an increased volume of visitors. A new £2 million visitor centre has been opened.

In the summer of 2018 the area suffered a spate of extensive fires which were deliberately set and "killed many of the newly-planted saplings on the hillsides."

The area was also a victim of the spread of [[phytophthora ramorum]], which had required the felling of "vast swathes" of larch trees in the area to prevent the disease spreading further.

Natural Resources Wales project manager for Cwmcarn, Geminie Drinkwater, stated in September 2019<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/17889533.cwmcarn-forest-drive---first-stage-restoration-plans-revealed/|title=Cwmcarn Forest Drive – first stage of restoration plans revealed|last=Thomas|first=Nicholas|date=9 September 2019|website=South Wales Argus|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910220153/https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/17889533.cwmcarn-forest-drive---first-stage-restoration-plans-revealed/ |archive-date=10 September 2019 |access-date=9 September 2019}}</ref> that alongside local activist Robert Southall and Friends of Cwmcarn Forest Drive,<ref name=":0" /> they are now "planting countless native trees, to repopulate Cwmcarn's ancient woodland"<ref name=":0" /> and are "looking to improve the forestry and restore it as a tourist hotspot" in conjunction with the local activist group.<ref name=":0" />

==Education==

*Cwmcarn Primary School

{{See also|List of schools in Caerphilly}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080615172854/http://www.mbwales.com/en/content/cms/centres/cwm_carn/cwm_carn.aspx Mountain Biking in Cwmcarn - MBWales]
* [https://cwmcarnunited.rfc.wales/ Cwmcarn United RFC]
{{Caerphilly}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Caerphilly County Borough]]