From coal face to bookshelf Print E-mail
Written by Marguerite Shaw, 2004   
Blaenafon in South Wales has risen from the ashes of its industrial past to become that latest literary phenomenon - a book town. Marguerite Shaw has watched the transformation
Blaenafon's name comes from its position at the source of the Afon Lwyd. Blaen means the summit or source and afon means river.

The town (also known as Blaenavon) lies 15 miles north of Newport, South Wales and about 1,500 feet above sea level, and owed its growth to having the raw materials for iron-making - in the late 1700s both iron ore and coal were discovered beneath the nearby mountains.

Industrial entrepreneurs began to exploit these resources, with the result that thousands came in search of work and Blaenafon was born. Life there was not without pain and suffering for the workers in those days.

The town's decline began before the Second World War, with the establishment of steelworks near the coast and the demise of the valley's coal and iron industries. When the New Towns Act of 1949 allowed the development of Cwmbran some ten miles away, Blaenafon's days were numbered. The housing stock was considered substandard: people were to be re-housed and it was understood the old town would vanish.

Although the heart of the town gradually declined, Blaenafon did not quite conform to the planners' strategy. More and more people acquired cars and turned their backs on the local shops in favour of bright new supermarkets and there was a steady decline in the fortunes of Blaenafon's shops, yet the town refused to die.

Boarded-up shops, depressed house prices, rising unemployment and sporadic acts of vandalism did not inspire confidence, but some inborn tenacity and resilience prevented Blaenafon's total demise. Alexander Cordell's novel Rape of the Fair Country drew worldwide attention to the conditions prevailing here in 19th-century industrial Wales, but his books alone could not revitalise the area.

From time to time a glimmer of hope appeared, a new plan to restore the town's fortunes, but little happened. When World Heritage Status was granted in 2000 to the surrounding industrial landscape, it looked set to be put on the map. Yet, despite the proximity of two tourist attractions (Big Pit and the Ironworks) the town itself did not seem likely to prosper from them. Chairman of Blaenafon Traders Association, Barbara Lewis, recalls: "None of our ideas came to much and town-centre properties were not available for the schemes we suggested."

Book towns concept

In 2002 American James Hanna arrived on the scene. Born in Mississippi, he had sold his first book, a Lone Ranger comic, at the age of six. His friend Richard Booth, founder of Hay-on-Wye book town, suggested they might take on some business together. They toured Europe, visiting other book towns and looking for the answer to why book towns succeeded where individual bookshops struggled to survive. In the end it was through meeting Blaenafon traders that James took an interest in this particular town.

Books had figured in Blaenafon's industrial past. The workers paid weekly from their wages to fund the Workmen's Hall. This money went to buying books and established a lending library, which created the means for miners and steelworkers and their children to educate themselves. But no one had thought before of making books the instrument of a town's regeneration.

To the observer, it all seemed to happen overnight. Public meetings, press reports, rumours about how much money each prospective shopkeeper might need to invest, persuasion, consultations with Torfaen councillors... the people of the valley knew it was going on, but they could hardly believe their eyes when one day in May 2003 their favourite café was over-run by a television crew and new shop windows began to take the place of old battered boards along both sides of Broad Street.

June last year saw the official launch, when the whole town joined in a Heritage Festival. Ten bookshops - some run by local residents, others by incomers - opened their doors and Broad Street looked more lively than it had done for years. Pessimists shook their heads - it couldn't last long...

Thanks to James's training and the Internet, the gloomy predictions were short-lived. Christmas was lively and special events were planned throughout 2004, starting in the first week of March to mark World Book Day. Local authors and media personalities were invited to contribute to the literary festival.

"It is good to see this regeneration," says Barbara Lewis, "and we hope other new businesses will be established and will flourish." Morris the Butchers has been in her family for generations. With her husband Wayne she has survived the lean years and is delighted to see trade improve, especially on Saturdays.

Melba Scourfield has lived here all her life. Her parents kept the long-gone White Hart Hotel. "It's lovely seeing so many people," she says. "It has always been a friendly town where people are neighbourly and it was sad to see it go downhill." Melba's husband used to sing with the Blaenafon Male Voice Choir, which is still thriving and much-travelled.

Rosy future

By the end of 2003, every vacant shop had either become a bookshop or was in the process of being renovated in readiness for letting. Some owners of rundown property are hanging on in the hope of a rosy future, for the price of both shops and houses has already risen sharply. Craft shops are opening, cafés are enjoying a boost in trade, new B&Bs are planned and by the time Woman's World comes out, there will probably be about 14 bookshops plus a few other new ventures.

James Hanna was also keen to involve local youngsters in the Blaenafon project. With nothing for them to do in the town, a small number had turned to vandalism, making the town look even more down-at-heel. He enlisted the help of local photographer, Toril Brancher, and with the financial help of Torfaen County Council they handed out disposable cameras and urged them to take pictures. And take pictures they did!

Says Toril: "The cameras and the pictures which we have displayed in bookshop windows have given adults the chance to talk to the kids without the usual criticism. I've been astonished at what they've produced and now people make sure that they look in the windows each time I change the display to see if they feature in them. The vandalism does seem to have decreased, perhaps not just because of the cameras but because there is more pride in the town now." Toril is currently looking for funding so that she can hold an exhibition of the youngsters' photographs.

Says the Mayor of Torfaen, Councillor Doug Davies: "Blaenafon is reborn. I am certain that this upturn in its fortunes can be sustained, serving as an example of what can be achieved when a valley's community embraces opportunities for change and economic development."

Marguerite Shaw has been a member of local WIs since 1985, is a former County Chairman and is currently President of Talywaun & District WI.

Her three Scrapbooks of Abersychan & District were published between 1983 and 1987, after which she wrote her first historical novel, We Shall Sing Again. She set two more novels in the mining communities of the Afon Lwyd valley - Shall We Meet Again and Love Will Come Again.

Finding Blaenafon

Approach by way of the M4, junction 25A westbound; A4042 to Pontypool, then A4043, following Big Pit signs; M4 Eastbound, junction 26.

From the north, take A40 to Abergavenny, B4246 through Llanfoist (over the Blorenge mountain through 'Cordell country').

Car parks in town. As Broad Street is steeply sloping, the less mobile would be wise to have a lift to the top, walk slowly down the town and be picked up at the bottom.

For the cyclist and rambler, access is easy from the south. Sustrans Route 46 runs along the old railway line on the west side of the valley, an unrivalled scenic route with no traffic hassle, all the way from Newport.

For further information visit www.booktownblaenavon.com and www.torfaen.gov.uk or contact Blaenafon Tourist Information Centre - tel: 01495 792615.

Local attractions include Big Pit, the Iron Works, the Garn Lakes with the Blaenafon Railway Society's working line nearby and mile after mile of mountainous walking country. Visit www.world-heritage-blaenavon.org.uk

Blaenafon's bookshops

The Left Bank, 1 Broad Street; Broadleaf Books, 12 Broad St; The Railway Shop, 13a Broad St; Streetezee Town Plans, Market St; Blaenafon Books, 87 Broad St; Corner House Book Gallery, 86 Broad St; Celtica Crafts, 80 Broad St; Browning Books, 33 Broad St; Chatterton's, 35 Broad St; Llyfrau Phillips, 63/4 Broad St; Spirit of the Green, 56 Broad St; Davies Books, Boot Lane.
 
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