Cefn Golau Cholera Cemetery

Blipfoto entry
“The older I get the more time I spend just staying alive.”
Dr .Colin Morgan

After a brief stopover for a shearing in anticipation of the forecast heatwave I headed off to Tredegar, for the Blaenau Gwent Heritage Forum talk at Bedwellty House, once home to ironmaster Samuel Homfray. I arrived in plenty of time so headed first to the Cholera Cemetery at Cefn Golau for a short meditation and to get a photo for the day before descending into the valley. Even on a day like today in hot sunshine the wind was howling like a banshee across the exposed mountain tops, where the view goes on for ever on a clear day. The cemetery is resting place for the victims of 19th century cholera epidemics, buried away from the town for fear of infection from a disease that could take lives within hours from onset. Their peaceful rest on the bleak windswept hillside is occasionally broken by the wandering sheep and mountain ponies that use the information boards as scratching posts, although the metal fence around the rather depleted cemetery seems to keep what’s left of the crooked and broken monuments reasonably well protected. Similar cemeteries existed at Merthyr and Aberdare, long since cleared and no others are known to survive, surprising for a site now considered to be of national importance in understanding burial practices and with significant archaeological potential.
After the entertaining afternoon talk about the life and times of a retired local businessman’s non-PC career I decided on a quick wander around the town, which, although looking a bit forgotten in places, still maintains a jewel in the beautiful grounds of Bedwellty House, with its vivid floral displays.
I was interested in seeing progress on a building project I was involved in during the first lockdown, still in progress. I was also delighted to find a neatly ribboned present from ‘the book fairy’ on a windowsill on Queen Victoria Street, inviting me to take it. I have enough reading material for the near future otherwise I’d have accepted the offer, but maybe when I’m in need of fresh inspiration I’ll know where to go.