The village of Troedrhiwgwair was built in the late 1860s to serve the  'Bewellty Pits' and 'Porchin' collieries on the other side of the valley.

When it was built the village was called 'Himalayan Range', and it kept that name until the final decade of the last century. The village then became Troedrhiwgwair, the name taken from that given to the area, and farmhouse, a hundred, or so, years previously.

Most residents worked in the local collieries, or steel works at Ebbw Vale in the next valley. Pressure to move was applied, to villagers, by the local authority in 1972 because of perceived problems with the mountain behind the village. The strain placed on the community caused an haemorrhage of residents over the next decade.

By 1986 there were only thirteen families left in the village and a final, fierce, battle now began with the Blaenau Gwent Council. This went on for two years, ending in a public enquiry, by the 'Welsh Office' in 1988. The final outcome was the demolition of empty properties and the 'pine-ending' and restoring of the houses left.

Although a number of the older residents, who took part in the final struggle, have now died, those left have a stronger bond too the village than ever before. Troedrhiwgwair is now one of the most beautiful parts of Tredegar, with a view of the Sirhowy valley second to none.

The fight for the village was based on the simple premise that in a democratic society  'any family, or individual, has the basic right to live where ever he wants as long as he does not interfere with his fellow citizens'. The village never interfered with any one. In fact, quite the reverse, the local authority tried to impose its discipline on the residents of Troedrhiwgwair.  However, strong resistance from the final thirteen families and their supporters caused the authority to eventually back down. The families have finaly been left to live in peace in the area they love.

The images on this page are of times gone by, when the village was a close and happy community beneath a Welsh hillside, at the top of the Sirhowy valley.