Pontypool (Welsh: Pont-y-pŵl [ˌpɔntəˈpuːl]) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales.

[3][republished census data verification needed] It is situated on the Afon Lwyd river in the county borough of Torfaen.

Located at the eastern edge of the South Wales coalfields, Pontypool grew around industries including iron and steel production, coal mining, and the growth of the railways.

Abersychan, Cwmffrwdoer, Pontnewynydd, Trevethin, Penygarn, Wainfelin, Tranch, Brynwern, Pontymoile, Blaendare, Cwmynyscoy, Talywain, Garndiffaith, Pentwyn, and Varteg.

Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the metallurgical and extractive industries of the area, along with the development of the canals and railways, provided the impetus to the expansion of Pontypool and its surrounding villages and communities.

The wider technological developments of the Tudor period, such as the utilisation of blast furnaces to produce iron, allowed for the greater exploitation of the mineral resources of south Wales.

[7] Hanbury acquired leases and rights to utilise the raw materials of the wider area, including a large expanse of woodland to produce charcoal and some 800 acres of land to extract coal and iron-ore at Panteg, Pontymoile and Mynyddislwyn.

[6] Major John Hanbury (1664–1734) acquired a reputation as an industrial pioneer and through the endeavours of Hanbury and his leading agents, Thomas Cooke, William Payne and Thomas Allgood, significant developments within the British tinplate industry were made in Pontypool, including the introduction of the world's first rolling for the production of iron sheets and blackplate at the Pontypool Park works in 1697.

[9] There was a growing demand for these artistic, luxury products and Allgood's sons, Edward and Thomas, established a japanworks in Pontypool, which was producing large quantities of Japanware by 1732.

[10] The brothers produced a range of products, including decorative bread baskets, tea trays, dishes and other items, and were renowned for their high quality work.

[11] From the mid to late eighteenth century, as the industrial revolution took hold, there was a massive expansion in the economic development of south Wales.

[12] Whilst Pontypool was not as competitive as some of the larger ironworks towns, it retained a niche in the metallurgical market, producing specialist tinplate.

The twentieth century witnessed a decline in the heavy industries of south Wales and this had a direct impact on the economy of Pontypool and its district.

However, as the focus of industry and investment became increasingly centred on Pontypool, the town began to emerge as a focal point for the wider, scattered community.

The development of industrial works and employment opportunities near the emerging town also precipitated the building of dwellings along the Afon Lwyd to provide housing for the workforce.

Trade and commerce also developed and Pontypool, largely due to the endeavours of the Vaughan family, acquired a strong reputation for clock-making during the eighteenth century.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, a small town had clearly developed, providing employment, housing and a commercial role, also serving as an important local centre for the surrounding hamlets.

[16] By the time Archdeacon William Coxe visited Pontypool at the dawn of the nineteenth century, the town had some 250 houses and a number of thriving shops and businesses, catering for a population of approximately 1,500 people.

The school's origins date back to the early seventeenth century when William Jones, a wealthy merchant, left a considerable fortune to the Company of Haberdashers to provide charitable and educational services in Monmouth.

Redevelopment programmes in the latter half of the century resulted in the demolition of old streets and historic buildings, as well as the creation of new road networks to relieve the increased pressure of vehicular traffic.

A network of tramroads was established throughout the Pontypool area to connect sites of extraction to the centres of the production and subsequently to export, and market routes.

[23] Pontypool Park House was sold to the Sisters of the Order of the Holy Ghost in 1923, who utilised the building as a girls' boarding school.

The legendary 'Pontypool Front Row' in the 1970s, of Bobby Windsor, Charlie Faulkner and Graham Price was immortalised in song by Max Boyce.

The club's contribution to Wales was seen again in 1983, when Pontypool's "forward factory" produced five of the Welsh pack in the Five Nations Championship.