Ebbw Vale (English) or Glyn Ebwy (Welsh) is situated at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr river. It is the largest town in the Blaenau Gwent County Borough with a population of roughly 25,000. It is also the administrative centre of the County Borough Council.
Originally a rather insignificant spot with only about 140 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century, Ebbw Vale - and indeed the whole Valley - was transformed by the opening of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works (later to become the Steelworks) in 1778. This was followed by the opening of a number of coal mines around 1790.
