Gwent Record Office
Serving Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen
The Gwent Record Office was established in 1938 as the Monmouthshire Record Office, serving the ‘old’ county of that name. In 1974, following local government reorganisation, it became the Gwent County Record Office. Further local government changes in 1996 divided the county of Gwent into five unitary authorities. The Gwent Record Office now serves the areas covered by these authorities: Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Caerphilly County Borough Council, Monmouthshire County Council, Newport City Council and Torfaen County Borough Council.
Latest News
The Gwent Record Office will be moving to Ebbw Vale in 2011. The renovation of the old Steelworks General Offices building for public and administrative use continues, and work has now started on the new extension for the strongrooms and work rooms. There will also be a change of name, to Gwent Archives. For further information, visit the Gwent Archives| page of the website.
Change in Opening Hours
In early 2011 the Gwent Record Office will be moving to its new home in Ebbw Vale. Before the move there is an enormous amount of essential work to do behind the scenes. To enable us to complete this and to ensure that the new service is ready to open as soon as possible after the move, the Gwent Joint Records Committee has resolved that the Record Office should reduce its opening hours to 3 days per week.
From 1st December 2009 the opening hours will be:
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Wednesday - 9:30 to 5:00
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Thursday - 9:30 to 5:00
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Friday - 9:30 to 4:00
When the office reopens as Gwent Archives in 2011 these opening hours will be considerably extended.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Gary Tuson, County Archivist
Gwent County History
The third volume of the Gwent County History series, The Making of Monmouthshire, 1536-1780, was launched on March 13th 2009 at Pontypool Museum. The volume, edited by Madeleine Gray and Prys Morgan, is published by the University of Wales Press and is available in hardback, price £65.
This book is the authoritative history of Gwent and Monmouthshire, from the creation of the county in Henry VIII's reign to the rise of industrial south Wales in the late eighteenth century, its society, economy, protestant and catholic religion, its major families, the civil war, its Anglo-Welsh culture and the beginnings of tourism.