THE town of Blackwood is celebrating its 200th birthday this year - with the bicentenary being marked in April with a series of talks at a special event at the Miners' Institute.
The event, on Saturday April 4 will involve local historians and people who have researched aspects of of history of Blackwood giving presentations.
Tickets are on sale now and can be bought by calling Blackwood Miner’s Institute on 01495 227206, or by visiting https://bmi.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173600677
Ariel view of Blackwood in 1990
Here - with the help of information provided by Graeme Moore, who will be giving a talk on the developments of Blackwood's infrastructure during the April 4 event - we take a short look back at some of the main events in the town's history.
Schoolchildren pictured in Blackwood High Street in 1920
The town of Blackwood was founded in 1820 by John Hodder Moggridge, who lived nearby after moving from Gloucestershire.
Before Mr Moggridge’s work, there was only a few cottages spread around the area, with the people living in them working on the Sirhowy tramroad and nearby farms.
By 1828, Mr Moggridge had named the town Blackwood and gave a talk to Bristol Philosophical Society where he stated that there were 260 houses and a population of 1,550 in the village.
He also said that there were various shops including a blacksmith, baker, butcher, gardener, glazier, shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, masons, sawyers and tillers as well as two surgeons.
A burial ground was planned for a site north of the village and is thought to be the origins of Myrtle Grove.
Blackwood was also crucial to the Chartist movement and a group of them, led by Zephaniah Williams, joined the November 4 1839 march on Newport’s Westgate Hotel.
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As the village continued to grow and sanitation and drainage were improved towards the end of the 19th Century and the start of the 20th Century, Blackwood grew from a village into a town.
Remnants of the old house and stables on Woodfield Park, which is now a funeral home
It continued to grow, with the Edwardian period seeing a complete remake of the High Street to accommodate the new businesses that were coming up in the area, between 1908 and 1912.
Throughout the 20th Century, Blackwood has seen a wide range of changes, including the removal of the rail road and more regeneration of the High Street as Blackwood became and has remained a focal shopping point of the valley, being one of the most popular destinations for shopping in Caerphilly County Borough.
Manic Street Preachers outside Blackwood Miners Institute in 2011
Right up to today, there is a lot to celebrate about the town, from achievements of local people and businesses to sporting success, community events and educational feats, all of which we will cover in a series of articles.
Let us know your memories of Blackwood down the years. Email your stories and/or pictures to Elizabeth.Birt@newsquest.co.uk
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