Bute Town (Welsh: Drenewydd "New Town") is a village in the county borough of Caerphilly, near Rhymney, in Wales. Locally, Bute Town is spoken and written as a single word, Butetown.

Bute Town
Bute Town is located in Caerphilly
Bute Town
Bute Town
Location within Caerphilly
OS grid referenceSO 104 092
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTREDEGAR
Postcode districtNP22
Dialling code01685
PoliceGwent
FireSouth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Caerphilly
51°46′26″N 3°18′00″W / 51.774°N 3.300°W / 51.774; -3.300

History

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Throughout the 18th century, portions of land entered the estate of the Scottish Bute Estate, of which the area around Bute Town was one, and so the village was named after the Marquis of Bute.[1] The area was developed into a "model village" to house local ironworkers in the 1830s and consisted of three rows of 16 houses each, for a total of 48 residences.[2] The village's population fluctuated, and in the 19th century between 195 and 430 people lived there.[1]

The village reached a peak in population in 1871, when the Rhymney Valley transitioned from iron production to coal mining and when a growth in railroads in the area brought a spike in workers to the town.[1]

Bute Town has been a Conservation Area since October 1972, and all of the buildings are on the statutory list of buildings of architectural or historic interest.[3]

The Doctor Who episode "The Crimson Horror" filmed on location in Bute Town in July 2012, starring Matt Smith at the Eleventh Doctor, Jenna Coleman as companion Clara Oswald and also the late Dame Diana Rigg and her daughter Rachael Stirling, in their first and only time acting together.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Bute Town". www.butetownhistory.info. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  2. ^ "SO1009 : Butetown - Y Drenewydd, Rhymney". www.geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Bute Town Conservation Area Appraisal & Conservation Area Management Plan: Supplementary Planning Guidance to the LDP". Caerphilly County Borough Council. March 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Doctor Who Series 7: Diana Rigg Filming Pics". SFX. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2013.