Cadw funds restoration of Merthyr’s industrial heritage
Industrial Heritage in Merthyr Tydfil
(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 12, 2001 ) Cardiff, Wales, UK
Cyfarthfa Ironworks, Merthyr Tydfil, at one time the largest ironworks in the world, is to receive grant aid worth £60,000 from Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, the National Assembly agency responsible for protecting and promoting Wales’ built heritage.
The grant will go towards preserving a blast furnace recently identified at the site, home to some of the best surviving nineteenth-century furnace structures in the world, and subject of a major consolidation project by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.
The Cadw grant complements funds already invested by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, the Welsh Development Agency, and the European Regional Development Fund, at Cyfarthfa Ironworks, a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Ironmaster Richard Crawshay built seven furnaces at Cyfarthfa between 1786 and 1814, creating a fully integrated ironworks, which quickly became the largest in the world. Crucially, Crawshay adopted Henry Court’s pioneering puddling process, a method of refining crude ‘pig’ iron into usable wrought iron.
In the 1880s, the original furnaces were replaced with more modern furnaces, built for a steelworks on the site which continued in operation until 1926. The older furnaces were used as a charging bank for the new freestanding blast furnaces, and were forgotten when the rest of the works was eventually demolished.
As a result, the furnaces survive almost intact to full height, with many of their internal features complete. The labyrinths of blast passages beneath the furnaces, which helped raise internal temperatures to 1500 degrees centigrade, will be opened to the public in the near future, while in the longer term it is hoped to develop a visitor centre on the site.
Consolidation work at Cyfarthfa has already been undertaken, with traditional furnace repair methods used to restore and stabilise collapsing arches. Under the direction of structural engineers Frank Haywood Associates, a number of skilled local masons have been employed by the contractor, Capps and Capps.
Cadw has also announced a separate grant of just over £35,000 to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council for the repair of a quarry tram road and an artificial watercourse (leat), which fed waterwheels for blowing the furnaces and turning the rolling mills at Cyfarthfa. This ‘Gurnos leat’ was constructed along a river cliff on the Taff Fechan in the 1790s. The water fed the ornamental lake in front of the Crawshay family home, Cyfarthfa Castle, before being carried across the valley to the Ironworks.
Dr Peter Wakelin, Cadw’s Inspector of Industrial Monuments, explains, “Cadw is responsible for all aspects of Wales’ historic environment, from medieval castles and abbeys to industrial sites such as Cyfarthfa, and we are delighted to support this important project.
“Cyfarthfa Ironworks stand both as a monument to the technology and innovation of the Industrial Revolution and as a memorial to the thousands of workers who slaved in the works and who contributed to Merthyr’s domination as the earliest and most important iron town in the world.”
Ends
Editor’s notes
In 1750 Merthyr was a small village, yet less than a hundred years later it was the largest town in Wales.
Between the 1790s and 1830 Cyfarthfa was the world’s biggest ironworks, before being overtaken by neighbouring Dowlais Ironworks.
At its peak, Cyfarthfa employed thousands of workers, producing 29,000 tonnes of iron per year. One of its the main products was iron rails, used to build new railways throughout Britain and the rest of the world
In 1844 Merthyr was producing the equivalent of a¼ of the iron output of the entire United States. It was described by the King of Saxony, on a visit to the area at the same time, as the ‘Fiery City of Pluto’ on account of the clamour of the rolling mills and hammers and the flames which lit up the sky.
Cyfarthfa Ironworks, Merthyr Tydfil, at one time the largest ironworks in the world, is to receive grant aid worth £60,000 from Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, the National Assembly agency responsible for protecting and promoting Wales’ built heritage.
The grant will go towards preserving a blast furnace recently identified at the site, home to some of the best surviving nineteenth-century furnace structures in the world, and subject of a major consolidation project by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.
The Cadw grant complements funds already invested by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, the Welsh Development Agency, and the European Regional Development Fund, at Cyfarthfa Ironworks, a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Ironmaster Richard Crawshay built seven furnaces at Cyfarthfa between 1786 and 1814, creating a fully integrated ironworks, which quickly became the largest in the world. Crucially, Crawshay adopted Henry Court’s pioneering puddling process, a method of refining crude ‘pig’ iron into usable wrought iron.
In the 1880s, the original furnaces were replaced with more modern furnaces, built for a steelworks on the site which continued in operation until 1926. The older furnaces were used as a charging bank for the new freestanding blast furnaces, and were forgotten when the rest of the works was eventually demolished.
As a result, the furnaces survive almost intact to full height, with many of their internal features complete. The labyrinths of blast passages beneath the furnaces, which helped raise internal temperatures to 1500 degrees centigrade, will be opened to the public in the near future, while in the longer term it is hoped to develop a visitor centre on the site.
Consolidation work at Cyfarthfa has already been undertaken, with traditional furnace repair methods used to restore and stabilise collapsing arches. Under the direction of structural engineers Frank Haywood Associates, a number of skilled local masons have been employed by the contractor, Capps and Capps.
Cadw has also announced a separate grant of just over £35,000 to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council for the repair of a quarry tram road and an artificial watercourse (leat), which fed waterwheels for blowing the furnaces and turning the rolling mills at Cyfarthfa. This ‘Gurnos leat’ was constructed along a river cliff on the Taff Fechan in the 1790s. The water fed the ornamental lake in front of the Crawshay family home, Cyfarthfa Castle, before being carried across the valley to the Ironworks.
Dr Peter Wakelin, Cadw’s Inspector of Industrial Monuments, explains, “Cadw is responsible for all aspects of Wales’ historic environment, from medieval castles and abbeys to industrial sites such as Cyfarthfa, and we are delighted to support this important project.
“Cyfarthfa Ironworks stand both as a monument to the technology and innovation of the Industrial Revolution and as a memorial to the thousands of workers who slaved in the works and who contributed to Merthyr’s domination as the earliest and most important iron town in the world.”
Ends
Editor’s notes
In 1750 Merthyr was a small village, yet less than a hundred years later it was the largest town in Wales.
Between the 1790s and 1830 Cyfarthfa was the world’s biggest ironworks, before being overtaken by neighbouring Dowlais Ironworks.
At its peak, Cyfarthfa employed thousands of workers, producing 29,000 tonnes of iron per year. One of its the main products was iron rails, used to build new railways throughout Britain and the rest of the world
In 1844 Merthyr was producing the equivalent of a¼ of the iron output of the entire United States. It was described by the King of Saxony, on a visit to the area at the same time, as the ‘Fiery City of Pluto’ on account of the clamour of the rolling mills and hammers and the flames which lit up the sky.
Contact Information:
Cadw - Welsh Historic Monuments
Rhodri Ellis Owen
Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
Cadw - Welsh Historic Monuments
Rhodri Ellis Owen
Tel:
Email us
This is a press release. Press release distribution and press release services by EmailWire.Com: http://www.emailwire.com/us-press-release-distribution.php.
|
Private Equity, Angel Investing
Equity Alliance / Private Equity, Angel Investing, / IPO, Venture Capital & IR services / Equity Alliance International Equityallianceir.com Penny Stocks to Watch Sign up for hot penny stock picks Gains of 500%+ possible! Premiumstockpicks.com/landing/ Your text Ads & PR Text Ads plus unlimited press releases, One release featured/Day for only $575 per month. Read more on Text Ads & PR Your text Ads Here! Text Ads are only $289 per month. Ads are placed same day. More on Text Ads Advertising |