Burials, Cemeteries & Graveyards
Prior to The Civil Registration Act of 1837 Burials for this particular area of Monmouthshire would have been recorded in Bishops Transcripts known as (BT’s). The Transcripts from each Parish were sent to the Bishop of the Diocese, in our case the Bishop of Llandaff, Glamorgan from the year 1725. The majority of these BT’s are now kept at The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
The Act of 1837 and the introduction of printed ledgers allowed the registration of deaths and burials to be accurately recorded as apposed to the haphazard methods previously used which sometimes incorporated loose- leaf papers and parchments. These preserved Burial Registers can be viewed at the County Record Office at Cwmbran. There is an on-going project to microfilm ALL the Parish Burials and much of this has already been achieved and is available to be viewed.
Cemeteries were formed by local authorities to ease the overcrowding of church and chapel graveyards that had grown along with the population of the district. The three main cemeteries involved in our area of expertise are those at Panteg, New Inn, Pontypool; Varteg Road, Blaenavon, and Llantarnam at Cwmbran.
Panteg Cemetery on the side of the Monmouthshire Canal was opened for business in 1906 and until quite recently was deemed to be near capacity. Rumours are that land adjacent to the cemetery was being sought and if this was not possible another sight somewhere within Torfaen would have to be found.
Varteg Road Cemetery, Blaenavon was created just at the outbreak of World War One in 1914 and is situated on the outskirts of the town of Blaenavon perched on the hillside overlooking the town.
Llantarnam Cemetery, Cwmbran can be found on the Llantarnam road to Newport from Cwmbran town. This particular graveyard is the oldest of the three and its first customers took residence there in 1895.
Transcriptions by E.G.G.R.A. of Local Cemeteries:
Panteg 1906 to 1978
Blaenavon 1914 to 2000
Llantarnam 1895 to 1990