Private Content

35 Wonderful Black and White Photos of Life in South Wales in the 1970s _Ha

South Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards to include Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. The Brecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of south Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest British mountain south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia.

These pictures were taken by Robin Weaver during his time as a newspaper photographer in South Wales in the seventies. When he wasn't covering hard news or local events for his paper, Weaver liked to photograph the people and everyday scenes he came across.

Silver Jubilee fancy dress parade, Monmouth, Monmnouthshire

 
To give a portrait of a unique place and time for his first book, A Different Country, he has revisited his old personal negative files. “I believe that old photographs develop a special character. It’s a unique sheen imbued by the passage of time.” Said Weaver. “Looking through these photographs today, four decades later, I find myself not only in a different time, but also in a different country.”

From old terrace houses and corner shops to pancake races and fancy parades, Weaver truly captured the essence of life in the South Wales Valleys at the time. For more details of his book, visit Blurb and Weaver's website.

Corner shop, Dowlais

 

Band members relax at The Miners’ Gala, Cardiff

 

Anti-racism demonstration, Cardiff

 

New Tredegar

 

A corner shop in Splott, Cardiff

 

Bank holiday tug of war competition, Pill, Newport

 

Dog show at the Taf Fechan Hunt Show, Merthyr Tydfil

 

Children playing where old terraced houses have been demolished to make way for redevelopment, Pill, Newport

 

Woodland Terrace, Aberbeeg, Abertillery, Gwent

 

Rogerstone Carnival

 

Waiting for a bus beneath the Duke of Wellington monument in Brecon

 

Army bandsmen feeling the November cold, Remembrance Sunday parade, Monmouth, Monmouthshire

 

Whitsun civic parade, Llanhilleth

 

Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil

 

Flower show, Llanfrechfa

 

Children playing on their way home from school, Rhymney

 

Carnival Queen Competition, Newbridge

 

Mr Parfitt, aged 84, last resident with his wife of old ironworkers’ cottages, Blaenavon

 

Pancake race, Bettws, Newport

 

Women chatting in a street of boarded up houses awaiting demolition, Butetown (Tiger Bay), Cardiff

 

Going shopping in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil

 

Farmers' wives at Abergavenny cattle market

 

Treharris

 

Portland Street, Pill, Newport

 

Picnicking at Barry Show

 

Shocked steelworkers are told that their plant is to be closed, Ebbw Vale Welfare Ground

 

Neighbours in Blaen-y-Cwm, Treherbert, Rhondda Fawr

 

Pill, Newport

 

Hollybush Carnival