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Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery
The story
History of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery
The Cyfarthfa Ironworks were major 18th- and 19th-century ironworks in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South East Wales.
United Kingdom
- Built
- 19th century
- Era
- Baroque
- Country
- United Kingdom
- UNESCO
- —
- Coordinates
- 51.757, -3.390
In depth
The fuller history
Portions of the enormous complex that formed the Cyfarthfa works remain intact today, including six of the original blast furnaces. The furnaces at Cyfarthfa are the largest and most complete surviving specimens of their type anywhere. In 2013, workers building a do-it-yourself store near the site of the old ironworks unearthed a significant portion of the old factory. Found during the excavation were a canal, tram lines and the plant's coking ovens; until the discovery, little was known about how the ironworks prepared its fuel. The structures were razed shortly after the end of World War I.
Key dates
- 1765Category:Industrial buildings completed in 1765
- 1766The construction of the first coke blast furnace began in August 1766.
- 1802Cyfarthfa works became critical to the success of the war effort, so much so that Admiral Nelson paid a personal visit to the works in 1802.
- 1824The buildings were erected in 1824, at a cost of £30,000 (equivalent to £2,104,964.72 in 2007).
- 1902Crawshay Brothers, Cyfarthfa, Limited continued the business until 1902, when the works were sold to Guest Keen and Nettlefolds Limited, the proprietors of the Dowlais Ironworks.
- 1910By 1910, the steelworks had been forced to close again, and while it was briefly reopened in 1915 to aid in the production of materials for World War I, the works closed for the last time in 1919.
Historical summary drawn from Wikipedia. Read the full article.
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