About

Pontypool (pop 36,000) is situated on the Afon Llwyd river in the county borough of Torfaen. Located on the edge of the South Wales coalfields, Pontypool is regarded as an industrial town with former industries including iron and steel production, coal mining and the growth of the railways.

Pontypool town centre has the usual high street shops, a great indoor market and an historic park right in the middle of town! Pontypool Park is home to a dry ski slope, a shell grotto and the Folly Tower.

The town grew principally from the manufacture of iron. Although iron was made from 1425 in Pontymoile, now a suburb of Pontypool, Pontypool grew only when Richard Hanbury bought land locally during the Elizabethan period in 1588 and constructed an ironworks. The Hanburys pioneered the production of iron Pontypool Japan-ware with its decorated, lacquered style.

The Hanbury family lived in what was to become Pontypool Park, and much of the town's history comes from this family of industrial pioneers. The Napoleonic Wars were kind to the Hanburys, with increased prosperity due to the demand for munitions and armaments. With this increased wealth, Capel Hanbury Leigh extended Pontypool Park House between 1779 and 1840. Highly elaborate, wrought iron gates can be seen at the entrance to the park. These were made in the 1720s and remodelled in 1835 by Thomas Deakin. They were a gift to Major John Hanbury (1664-1734) by the Duchess of Marlborough.