Torfaen is a county in South Wales with a population of 91,000, with a land mass of 78 sq miles lying between Newport and Monmouthshire.

The main industry in the area was iron especially for production of weapons during the Napoleonic wars when demand was high. The Hanbury family were famous industrialists and entrepreneurs during the peak of employment in Torfaen.

The main town and administrative centre is Pontypool placed on the banks of the River Afon Llwyd, which has a population of 36,000. Pontypool was heavily involved in the Industrial Revolution with steel and iron extraction, coal mining and the development of the railways. The town gets its name from the bridge placed over swampy pool now in the forge pond.