GGAT 121: Iron Production - Forges in Glamorgan and Gwent February 2013 A report for Cadw GGAT report no. 2013/004 by Richard Roberts BA (Hons) Project no. GGAT 121 The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd Heathfield House Heathfield Swansea SA1 6EL GGAT 121: Iron Production - Forges in Glamorgan and Gwent CONTENTS ........................................................................................... Page Number SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 3 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 4 2. PREVIOUS SCOPING .............................................................................................. 6 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................... 7 4. SOURCES CONSULTED ....................................................................................... 11 5. RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 12 6. SITE VISITS ............................................................................................................ 19 7. GAZETTEER .......................................................................................................... 21 8. SELECTED FIGURES AND PLATES ................................................................... 36 9. RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................... 44 10. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 45 11. BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................. 46 Appendix I Summary of Stage 1 Appraisal ................................................................. 48 Appendix II Other Data ............................................................................................... 54 Appendix III Polygon Data .......................................................................................... 57 Appendix IV Threats and Recommendations .............................................................. 58 Figures Figure 1: Distribution of all protected and unprotected forge sites assessed (8 sites: PRN labelled) ..................................................................................................... 14 Figure 2: Early post-medieval forge sites assessed (8 sites: showing Overall Significance)…………………………………………………………………… 18 Figure 3: Site visits for the Medieval and early post-medieval forge site project (7 sites: showing location)………………………………………………………… 20 Figure 4: PRN 00572m Tair-gefail Forges, Pont-y-gwaith (c. NGR ST08009766) with 1st edition OS map background………………………………………………… 36 Figure 4a: PRN 00572m Tair-gefail Forges, Pont-y-gwaith (c. NGR ST08009766).. 37 Figure 5: PRN 01216w (SAM GM497) Clydach Upper Forge, Swansea (NGR SN68700195) with 1st edition OS map background…………………………… 38 Figure 5a: PRN 01216w (SAM GM497) Clydach Upper Forge, Swansea (NGR SN68700195)………………………………………………………………….. 38 Figure 6: PRN 02480g Llanelly Forge (NGR SO23551405) with 1st edition OS map background…………………………………………………………………….. 39 Figure 6a: PRN 02480g Llanelly Forge (NGR SO23551405)……………………… 39 Tables Table 1. Early post-medieval forge sites (8 PRNs) assessed as part of the current study…………………………………………………………………………… 12 Table 2. Results of assessment: early post-medieval forge sites (8 PRNs)………… 16 Table 3. Early post-medieval forge sites selected for field visits (7 sites)………….. 19 Table 4. Stage 1 Appraisal of Medieval and early post-medieval forge sites: 50 sites, including 48 PRNs, 15 NPRNs and 3 additional sites (pre-fixed by IPF)……... 48 Table 5. Summary of NMR sites (15 NPRNs) appraised (information courtesy of the RCAHMW)…………………………………………………………………….. 54 1 GGAT 121: Iron Production - Forges in Glamorgan and Gwent Table 6. GGAT 121 Polygon information for forge sites & related features (8 sites) 57 Table 8. GGAT 121 Site specific threats and recommendations…………………… 58 Plates Plate 1. PRN 00572m Tair-gefail Forges, Pont-y-gwaith: site of small rectangular structure/building (1m scale), view to E ……………………………………… 40 Plate 2. PRN 00572m Tair-gefail Forges, Pont-y-gwaith: detail of N-S aligned wall and angle of structure/building (1m scale), view to E ………………………… 40 Plate 3. PRN 01216w (SAM GM497) Clydach Upper Forge: forge site, view to N .. 41 Plate 4. PRN 01216w (SAM GM497) Clydach Upper Forge: anvil and hammer beds, view to NE …………………………………………………………………….. 41 Plate 5. PRN 02480g Llanelly Forge: interior face of dam, E end of Forge Pond, view to ESE …………………………………………………………………………. 42 Plate 6. PRN 02480g Llanelly Forge: arched opening at top of forge building wall forming NE side of dam, E end of Forge Pond (1m scale), view to NE ……… 42 Plate 7. PRN 02480g Llanelly Forge: dam wall with sluice and feeder for forge (1m scale), view to SW …………………………………………………………….. 43 Plate 8. PRN 02480g Llanelly Forge: dam and E wall of forge building, showing evidence of demolished wall to left (1m scale), view to SW ....………………. 43 2 GGAT 121: Iron Production - Forges in Glamorgan and Gwent SUMMARY Following on from a scoping project conducted in 2010 which reviewed the need to assess various classes of site dating to the Medieval and post-medieval periods, a project examining early forge sites in Glamorgan and Gwent has been undertaken by the Glamorgan - Gwent Archaeological Trust with grant aid from Cadw. The project used a two stage approach of appraisal followed by detailed assessment on a final selection of sites. The project entailed a desktop appraisal of some 50 medieval/post-medieval forge sites, included 3 forge sites not previously recorded on the Historic Environment Record (HER). The appraisal identified sites considered destroyed, poorly located, dating to the post-1750 period, and sites identified as rural Blacksmith’s workshops or smithies, and made a selection based on these findings. In this way 8 sites were selected and further assessed in detail against set criteria. Of the 8 sites assessed, three were considered to be of National significance, all existing Scheduled Ancient Monuments, one site was considered to be of borderline National Significance, and a further site was of potential borderline Regional Significance. Recommendations for further work, primarily survey and conservation have been made. Recommendations for consideration for protection will be made in a separate report. 3 GGAT 121: Iron Production - Forges in Glamorgan and Gwent 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Background Southeast Wales has a rich heritage of Medieval and post-medieval sites. Many of the larger, upstanding monuments have been designated scheduled ancient monuments, but the vast majority of sites have not been classified and the condition of most is unknown. These sites are vital to our understanding of the Medieval and post- medieval periods. The forge (the hearth used for forging), forms part of the apparatus of iron production along with bloomeries and charcoal blast furnaces, and for this reason is to be frequently found in close association with the latter. Two kinds of hearth are known at forges, the finery and the chafery or string furnace. The finery was used for the smelting of pig iron, whilst the chafery was used to heat and hammer out molten slag and draw the bloom out into a bar and to produce what is known as ‘bar iron’. Whilst the distinction made between the term ‘forge’ and furnace/bloomery, can be based on the process of using of hammers (including water-powered trip hammers) to modify wrought iron into bar iron, it should be noted that the term forge has been used for certain types of bloomeries (e.g. ‘Catalan Forges’), and that there is frequent cross-over in the use of the terminology at iron production sites. The term ‘forge’ can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, though the term smithy is more commonly used. The exact distinction between the types of forge sites noted on the HER had not been investigated, nor dully established prior to the current study. Unlike Charcoal Blast Furnaces in Wales (cf. Riden 1993), apart from perhaps a few exceptions (e.g. Clydach Forge, Llanelly, that at Aberdulais, Neath, and others in the Wye Valley) forges in southeast Wales had previously received little or no study, and no previous heritage audit project has been undertaken. As features integral to the understanding of iron production techniques and their development, these sites are potentially of particular significance, especially where they survive in relation to surviving related features, e.g. charcoal blast furnaces, bloomeries, and wheel pits. The aim of this project was to use the HER, NMR, secondary sources and field visits to assess the potential for enhancing the schedule of ancient monuments with Forge sites of the medieval and post-medieval periods. This site type is currently under- represented on the schedule of ancient monuments. A second objective was the updating of HER records. The HER contains records of forge sites, but their quality is variable, with many records containing minimal amounts of information.1 This project involved initial desktop appraisal of the information on the HER, and readily available secondary sources (including the rapid comparison of features identified on modern mapping/digital aerial photographs and the 1st edition/other