/l6oloeeqcry !BUlsnpu! rol uollrlcossv r a , -t \f ; t .Ff iF I S, rt ri I, .i ilt' -t L a a ar- AUISM@N! d@ ESN@HUSAA@d V s 3'Mn rsvs-Hlnos ro A0()'rosvHcuv lVIUISNONI 3t{l or f olnc v coLTEllTS lnttdtEtion 1 GLAMORGAN COAST GC USK U40 CARDIFF CF 7 NEWPORT NP 27 AFON LLWD AL ,14 TAFF T 11 RHYMNEY BH 30 WYE & MONNOW ws0 RHONDDA IB 19 EBBW EB 3 MONMOUTHSHIBE CYNON TC 21 SIBHOWY S 36 COAST MC 56 ELY EL 2 Brccknock & Aberyavenrry lndex To Sites 58 OGMORE o n Canal Tramroads 38 Futhet Reading 60 This booklet covers lhat part of south eastWales between the Ogmore and the Wye. The contents, with afew exceptions, have been grouped in tothe river valleys that geographically dominate the area. Sites are arranged running up lhe valleys in geographical order The aim has been to convey a representative cross-section o, the unique heritage oi this area, but constraints of space rule out anything approaching a comprehensive list. Sites are identified by the initial letter lor the valley, followed by a number. A variety ol reasons has intluenced the selection ol sitesi some are typical, others are unusual and some simply because they are open to the public or have easy access. Some sites maynotbe listed with the accepted presentdayWelsh spelling but are listed using the name that their owners knew them as. Against most siles is a symbol denoting access, thus: * Can be viewed from lootpath. road, railway or wateMay which may pass through or near the site. This should not imply there is permission to wander anywhere at will. O Open to the public, often with visitors' facilities r On private land. Seek permission for a visit. d5 Working site. Permission must be soughtfor a visit. Nole: the inclusion of sites in the gazetteer should not imply automatic public access. Whenever in doubt, it is always courteous to ask permission to enter a site unless ii is clearly open to the public. This booklet has been published to mark the Annual Conference of the Assocation for lndustrial Archaeology held in Cardiif September, 2003. PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR INDUSTRIAL ABCHAEOLOGY 2OO3 Whilsl we have attempted to ensure that the details in this Guide are corect at the lime of going to press, neilher lhe aulhors nor the publishers can accept liability for any loss or damage resulting from inaccurary Maps, wher6 indicated, are r€produc€d from the Ordnance Surv€y map wfi the p€mission ol OrdrEice Sutuey, on behal ot Her M46sty's Stationary Offce: @ Crown Copyright MC 10002672: 2OO3 ABBREVIATIOiIS BAC Brecknock & Abergavenrry Canal MIF Mertlryr Tramroad Brcc Blaenavon kon & Coal Co NA&HR Newporl, Abergavenny & Herelord Rly B&MB Brecon & Menhyr Raitway PC&NR Pontypridd, Caerphilly & Newport Rly EH Barry Baihay PD Powell Duffryn CB Cardill Railway RT Rumney Tramroad DL&PR Dufiryn Llynv & Porthcawl Raiway RF Rhymney Baiiway GCC Glamorganshire Canal (Company) SWVR Soulh Walos N.iine[al Bailway GWB Groat Westem Raiway SWR Soulh Wales Railway LNWR London & Nonh Weslern Bailway TICC Tredegar lron & Coal Company lVcK&H McKenz e & Hol and TVE Taff Vale Extension Railway t\,{cc f.4onmouthshrrc Canal (Company) Taff Vale Railway MR(&CC) [4onmouthshire Baitway (& Canal Co) VNR Vale of Neath Railway MT&AB [.{erthyr, Tredegar & Abergavenny Rly VGB Vale of Glamorgan Railway COVER IILUSTRATION: Tr€moda Steeh/vorks, Cardiff, before closure tsEN 0 9528930 6 1 lsrll oqt olur aJ6 lup^I rlpey{ pau.roorqsnur slelllo lnq :saprsllrq Adus ouoE saJplJal lo souuls^llPcuoeqc tsnl lo ^palsrsuoc stuauaNas aql p parnboJ fulsnpur sallltr3el Po J -lauuoc aparg ol pue 'sauunuruJoc /' au rol aphord^uea pup s]alJo^uey! asnoq ol dn / al6 sluauoluas ^ 'uouPu prllsnpur lsrll oql aq ol uJEp e I 6uw6 'tr8t Iq a.rnlncu6e ur leql popaocxo futsnpur ur uolelndod aql lo uoruod -od aql'aloq/"l8 sE sopM ul tueura ou.r ,noqe aql pue 'arnllnc ladeqc 'uorpcnpa{as p sanE^ aql ul 6uo.rls funluac quaalauru aql to pua aql lun ouDiBads-qslaM 'padola ap sselc-ouqrc a^rculsrp v plal]e raqlnl uo4 uaql 'sapM prn./ uro4 uorlerorul tlllM ',ulPllj8^laoos lo ^ ^a6le| Ued laqp Fourp ueql lalsel r ar6 uorclndod aq1 uJooq lpoc uJPals aql6uunp slalp lp{uac aql ul uaql^ue 'sIalFA aql lo spesH oql4Prcdsa 'dojcno aqt lo stculsrp ouqeuJuor aql uodn lsru 'p€sncol^asuolur se^ luauJdop^3c rrr\op apBdn uo63J or.ll pouJnl qum/!,\ plauLlJ s.plauPoJ ol.lllo uolelrotdxa uoppns 3ql paPlndod seM luo aloqM aql lsotlle saunluoc l.]]uaaFuru pue quaauqs a$ arolaq 'suocPe8 uoca.r8 e[]l puP spuPldn ue6rourel0 aql ol aiM alll slueq rq ^asJPds ]o aql pue puueqc lolsrJS aqt uJo4 ourqclo]ls 'fuoulol poue lo Eo.rP uP se^ srql 'sapM lsEa-qros p Aalcos pup adPcspuel oql lo uoueu-r.lolsuErl E a^orp'Eoc puE uor 'sluBr6 pulsnpur orv\l asoql 'Poc lo suodxa puo,v\ lle lo p]ll]l auo pocnpord lr funluac q]a0ua/r! aql pacue^pe pup palalpJedun possas ig uaas la a $ o,\ruor lsou-r lsoorel eql lo uorlejuaouoc ue^reo -sod ll funluac qluaalouru aql Ag saruouoca leuoroer pasrppads pd^aqcp aqt lo auo se/'^ saPM qros puE '(apP.rl^lpa fuamo s,plar$or.ls ro fulsnpur Eddoc s,Eosue/t s lo sapr 6urpuPlslno aqt Jo '31!qsecusl ur ouueur-uolloc lo r]louals aql lo )urq0 fiBualur ]elncelcads lo sau.rtauros 'uorlesrElcads leuol6a, uo llrnq se,l^ uornlo^a8 leulsnpul aqf pulqaq asolc uouo aro/v\ sopM qnos spro A aql 'pauoruau] aro,! l?oc ro uo.r lr plrol aql lo spPd IuPU.l ur pue :uoleztPuFnpur lo sppaPur plueuPpunl o/i! aqt 'poc pue uor lo lqonoql no^ salPM rlFos lo lqonoql no^ I 'funluac qlue3lauru prur aql AE uornp^au PuFnpul aql p sasnoqra/v\od aql lo 3uo sE^ saPM Fea-qros UlSnOr{r JO f SnOHUf /t\Od V NOtlCnOOUlNt $uoAuorl Blquelc :9'1 - '-? :-T',t , _.::'i I - I /t&y",,_. v ! .: 1 -lE I -- llr s3tvtr tsvr'Hrnos lo AcoloivHcuv lvtursnoNl 3Hr ol 30tnc v AUISnONI iO iSnOHUl[Od Y recognisable iron or steel town in the world. The small medieval ports of Carditf and Newport expanded into vital mercantile centres. Transport infrastructure was revolutionised by canals and horse-drawn tramroads, and later locomotive railways and floating harbours, opening up the iso- lated uplands to wide markets. A variety of minor industries also operatedr the manutacture of Japan ware started in Pontypool, breweries grew up to sate the industrial population, water supply was improved through heroic reservoirs and aqueducts. All these activities have lett their marks on the labric ol south Wales: in the hybrid dialect of the Valleys, in local politics, and in place names, landscape, sites and buildings. As in all areas where once monolithic industries have fragmented, there have been ambivalent attitudes to preserva- tion. Thewish to maintain monuments to hard labour, strife and eventualdecay as wellas technical brilliance or social achievement has been tempered by the instincts of many to turn their backs upon the past. The bitterness of much ol the inheritance is unmistakable at the Nantyglo round towers, built so that the ironmasters might escape if thet workers turned upon them [E824]. Much was cleared away in understandable disgust, but attitudes have changed, and the indivisibility of south Wales kom its industrial past is now a matter not iust for acceptance but for pride. The inscription as a World Heritage Site of the Blaenavon lnduslrial Landscape in November 2000 crystallised perceptions that the industrial heritage ol Wales canied international significance. Nearly all lhe sites in this guidebook are now officially protected. IRON, STEEL AND TIN PLATE The iron trade ol south-east Wales before the lndustrial Revolution was overshadowed by the explosive growth which followed, but charcoal-fuelled blast furnaces and forges located here from the sixteenth century onwards. lron ore was readily available in the coal measures at the rim ofthe South Wales and Forest of Dean coalfields. All ol the charcoal ironworks were wateFpowered, singleJumace operations. The beslpreserved is the sixteenth-century lurnace at Tintern [W8], fully excavated and displayed. Abercarn Furnace {EB14l is remarkably complete. The early furnaces and forges were distributed widely, the only real cluster being in the Wye Valley, where river navigation allowed connections to the iron trade of the midlands. Most of the earliest sites are lragmentary but the detective work of searching out remains is fascinating. Near Tintern are Trellech Furnace [W14], hidden deep in Woolpitch Woods, and the romantically-lost forge sites of the Angiddy Valley, where ponds, watercourses, cottages and workers' pathways are cir- cumstantial evidence of heat and noise [W6-10]. Many ol the local forges were for the specialist trade of wiremaking, pioneered here in the sixteenth century. The watercourse for Whitebrook wireworks can be followed for a mile [W22]. A burst of new ironworks in soulh Wales from the 1750s translormed the iron trade of Britain. Vast territories rich in coal, ironstone and lime could be leased by single enterprises, and allthe latest methods were applied in a grand, co-ordinated scale. The new generation of works were multi- furnace, cokejired, mainly steam-powered, usually integrated with puddling furnaces to make wrought iron, and vast in scale. Akeady by 1803, C!,farthfa lronworks was the largest in the world, with 2,000 workers. Six blast furnaces can still be seen, together with the waterpower system, tramroads and the former mansion of the Crawshays, now the town museum [t45-50]. Neigh- bouring Dowlais, the first ironworks in the region to adopt coke fuel, eventually overtook Cfarthfa, with 6,000 workers: its site is marked by stables, a blowing house and a fine group of public '1830, buildings [f52-5].