Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
Aneurin Bevan Commemorative Stones Photograph
Region ID | AH | |
Work ID | 277 | |
Manual Reference | BLGW001 | |
Title | Aneurin Bevan Commemorative Stones | |
Stonemason | Janes, Albert C. | |
Date of design | 1971-72 | |
Year of unveiling | 1972 | |
Unveiling details | Unveiled on 14th October 1972 | |
Road | A4047 | |
Precise Location | Waun-y-Pound. Moorland overlooking main road | |
A to Z Ref | ||
OS Ref | SO153108 | |
Postcode | ||
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | Not listed | |
Duty of Care | Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council | |
Commissioned by | The Bevan Memorial Fund | |
Notes | ||
Four large stones from Trefil quarry. The central stone is greater in size and elevation. From the site of the monument can be seen the three towns of Rhymney, Tredegar and Ebbw Vale which Nye Bevan represented as the constituency of Ebbw Vale. | ||
The stones were erected to mark the spot where Nye Bevan held open air meetings to speak to his constituents. The monument was devised by Michael Foot, Bevan's political successor and biographer, and his wife Jill Craigie together with Ron Evans (political agent of both Bevan and Foot) and Eugene Cross, a founder of the Ebbw Vale Labour Party. The stones were provided by British Steel from their Trefil quarries. | ||
Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960) was born in Tredegar. He was elected to Tredegar Urban District Council in 1922 and became the Labour MP for the Ebbw Vale Constituency in 1929, aged 31. He married a fellow Socialist politician, Jennie Lee and edited the left wing newspaper 'Tribune' from 1942-45. He was elected to the National Executive of the Labour Party in 1944 and became Minister of Health in 1945. He played the leading role in the establishment of the National Health Service in 1946 and set in motion the largest public housing programme ever launched in Britain. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1972 | |
Condition | Good | |
At risk | No known risk | |
Inscriptions | Inscription on smooth stone tablet on front of largest stone: IT WAS HERE / ANEURIN BEVAN / SPOKE TO THE PEOPLE / OF HIS CONSTITUENCY AND THE WORLD The names of Tredegar, Ebbw Vale and Rhymney are inscribed on the other three stones. These represent the three settlements in his constituency. | |
Signatures | ||
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
Largest boulder | Limestone | 270cm high x 270cm wide. Other two boulders are similar shape but smaller |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
Biological growth | Lichen on all stones |
Structural Condition
Structural Condition | Comment |
|---|---|
None | Good condition |
Vandalism
Vandalism | Comment |
|---|---|
None | |
