Some Formal History of Blaenafon
Blaenafon
industrial history dates to 1782 when three industrialists named Hill,
Hopkins and Pratt opened the first coal mine. Their attentions, however,
were focused on iron making and in 1789 production started at the North
Street Furnaces.
This was the
first purpose built multi-furnace ironworks in Wales. North Street was on
the cutting edge of technology. Charcoal had been replaced by coke and
steam generated blast replaced waterpower. The original forge at Cwmavon
was moved in 1817 to Garndyrus and in later years to Forgeside. In 1836
the Blaenavon Coal and Iron Company was formed with a London Financier, R
W Kennard at its head. In 1856 Henry Bessemer invented the Bessemer
Converter enabling steel to be made in large quantities, but only from low
phosphoric ores.
Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and his cousin Percy Gilchrist
carried out experiments at Blaenavon and in 1878 solved the problem.
Their patents were later sold to the American industrialist, Andrew
Carnegie.
Sidney Gilchrist died at the age of 35 years as a result of his
experiments. The following 40 years was a period of prosperity. However,
by 1914, partly as a result of mismanagement, the Blaenavon Company was in
decline. Steelworks moved closer to the sea for obvious reasons and in
1938 the last Blaenavon furnace was dismantled.
From the
mid 18th century it was realised that the raw materials for making iron
lay close to what was later to become the South Wales Coalfield. These
materials lay in abundance and were soon exploited on a grand scale. A
great number of ironworks were soon erected with supporting
infrastructures. People came from near and far knowing that there was
work available. One can only imagine the anxieties of these people when,
after their rural background, they are faced with towering furnaces and
the hustle and bustle of industry. South Wales was soon to become the
iron, steel making and coal mining centre of Britain. The advent of the
20th Century saw the decline of these industries and all reminders of them
were soon obliterated with landscaping replacing slag tips and modern
industrial estates replacing historic structures. There was little to
remind us of the industrial might that was South Wales. However,
Blaenavon and the surrounding area has retained much of its industrial
past. The North Street furnaces and cast houses are almost intact as is
the water balance tower. The ironworker's cottages still remain. Big
Pit, now the National Mining Museum of Wales and numerous listed buildings
in the town bear testimony to the past. The landscape includes such
features as adit mines, bell pits and scouring - all features of early
iron ore extraction. Hill's Tramroad can still be walked, part of which
is a tunnel more than a mile long used to transport materials and yet to
be re-opened. Other features include inclines, limestone quarries, works
reservoirs, the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal and the wharf at
Llanfoist.
06-Apr-2009 
