The Griffiths family, too, were old inhabitants, and had been the smiths and boiler-makers of the works from father to son, even to the third and fourth generation. Production continued up until around 1860, where it was the main point of activity within the gorge. There is a single-arched stone bridge at SO 233137 and SO 255176, the latter being the Llam-march Tramroad and Aqueduct Bridge of 1811 which also carried water from the Clydach to the Clydach Ironworks Rolling Mill via a leat. The Clydach ironworks were situated in the parish of Llanelly, in Breconshire, and cosily nestled in a picturesque corner of the valley, under the shadow of the Gilwern Mountain, about five miles from Abergavenny and four miles from Crickhowell. The industrial town of Brynmawr sits at the head of the gorge and the large village of Gilwern sits at its foot in the Usk valley. Smart’s Bridge was constructed in 1824 to link Clydach Iron Works with sites and routes on the river’s west bank. I myself have seen many a cottage clock. The works were then carried on by the Messrs. Powell until they were closed in 1862. It is a wide open space, where, at one time, coal was sold to purchasers from the country. The area is within the Brecon Beacons National Park close to the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, a World Heritage Site, and not far from Big Pit National Coal Museum. It runs for 5.6 km from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and northeastwards to Gilwern in Monmouthshire. Sited in a beautiful location rich in industrial archaeology, tramroads and pathways, the nearby beech woodlands are some of the oldest in Wales. I'm a paragraph. Clydach County primary school was closed in July 2006 by Monmouthshire County Council because of there were less than 30 pupils and none in years 5 and 6. Reminiscences of the Old Clydach Iron Works and Neighbourhood - By T. Jordan, Govilon. To the best of my knowledge, the Powell’s were the sole proprietors of the works, and the family consisted of four brothers, namely, John, Walter, Charles, and Lancelot, and one sister, who married Dr. Prestwood Lucas, a physician of Brecon, and a. brother of the late well-known and popular Dr. Lucas of Crickhowell, to whose memory is erected a public fountain in the centre of that town. Though the gorge is not included within it, the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, a World Heritage Site, adjoins the area.
These ironworks had a great influence on the industrial and social developments of the surrounding area. They called him the “B____y Scotchman," and gave him a good deal of trouble in the discharge of his duties.
Most of them had been born and brought up in the place. The topography of the Clydach Gorge has been fashioned by the action of the River Clydach, which has created a steep valley, driven through the fringe of the South Wales Coalfield between the North Gwent Uplands and Mynydd Llangatwg (Llangattock Mountain) to the north, and acts as a natural communications route between the upland areas to the west with their rich minera… The settlement of Llanelly Hill occupies the northwest hilltop of the gorge. [citation needed] It has long been an important transport corridor between Abergavenny and the lowlands of Monmouthshire and the northeastern quarter of the South Wales Coalfield. The current (2010) Forgotten Landscapes Project includes both the WHS and the Gorge within a wider area. Historically its main industry was based around the ironworks on the south side of the valley which have long since closed. Folklore has it that Shakespeare was inspired to write his “Midsummer-Night’s Dream” in a cave nearby, having heard the local legends/story of Pwca (Puck in English), Smart’s Bridge – Clydach Ironworks ( Near Clydach Ironworks). The great industry of iron making in South Wales and Monmouthshire is now almost a thing of the past and the famous Iron Kings of the last century, whose names were household words throughout the Principality-the Crawshays of Cyfarthfa, the Guests of Dowlais, and the Baileys of Nantyglo, have long since passed away. The former, who had spent all his life at the works, was quite a genius, knowing all the intricacies of the works and the peculiarities of the old-fashioned machinery by which the Inclines were worked. There are also limeworks. I myself have seen the old weighing-machine which had been used for that purpose, as well as for weighing country produce brought in for the use of the works, such as hay, pit wood, &c. There are still traces of a cluster of old sheds and stables, and at one time the Abergavenny and Merthyr mail coach changed horses there, and there too, stood the little log hut where Molly Dobbs, the Company's post-woman, used to shelter while waiting with the letter-bags for the mail coach as it passed. The cessation of those familiar sights and sounds was looked upon as a great calamity by thousands of working people and so it was, for when the steel-rail trade superseded that of iron, many changes took place, and several important firms declined to go to the enormous expense of changing their plant for the costly one required for the manufacturing of steel rails. The officials under him were all old servants of the company, well tried and trusted. Its nearest neighbours are the village of Gilwern and town of Abergavenny. The railway was constructed in 1862 as a single line, following in part, the line of an earlier tramroad. There are also limeworks. There are, in addition, numerous scheduled ancient monuments within the gorge, representing a history of human occupation from the Iron Age to the Industrial Revolution. Established in the late 18th Century near the site of an earlier works and forge, Clydach Ironworks continued operating until 1884.
Part of the ruins was to be seen in my time and a little lower down again was the old charcoal forge. From Blackrock, the quarry extends along the contours of the gorge above Clydach North (also referred to as Cheltenham). Restored to almost original condition, the bridge now carries pedestrians both to works and surrounding areas. He was a native of Northumberland, and had been recommended to the Company, and engaged by them in 1825.
Davies managed the Old Forge for many years, and Mr. John Reynallt and his brother Charles were at the head of the pattern-makers and carpenters. It's easy. Then again, there was Mr. Robert Smith the mining engineer, though not a native of the place, he served the Company faithfully for many years. The Clydach Gorge (also known as Cwm Clydach) is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach flows to the River Usk. The Ironworks were constructed around 1793–95 after coke had been introduced as a fuel for blast furnaces. It is split by the A465 road (the 'Heads of the Valleys') into North Clydach and South Clydach. The majority of the people on the hills were then best known by nicknames, which were usually selected after a place where they or their forefathers had lived, or worked, or some circumstance connected with their previous history, and prefaced by Twm, Dai or Shoni, Bettws, Shan, or Peggy, and so on. ", After the retirement of the Freres, Mr. Lancelot Powell, one of the owners, and manager of the works, took up his residence at Clydach House, and resided there as long as the works continued. the young people looked up to him as to a father, and called him Y Meister (the master), and many a time did he ride to Crickhowell to speak a good word on behalf of the “Boys” when they had got into trouble, perhaps through a drunken brawl, for drinking bouts frequently ended in a fight, followed by a summons to appear before the magistrates. Constructed by Smart in 1824, it is one of the earliest in the world. Work began in March 1960 and it was opened to traffic in 1962. [7], These limeworks were the first established in the gorge, having started production in 1794/95. [17] Its construction involved considerable cutting and embanking and some sections are built out over the gorge on concrete pillars. [11], Engineered by Thomas Dadford in 1793-4, this tramroad (also sometimes referred to as the Llam-march Railroad) to link the Clydach ironworks with the coalmines and iron ore deposits at Gellifelen and Llam-march. Clydach Gorge or Cwm Clydach has been designated a SSSI. There is a considerable drop in height from Llanelly Hill down to Clydach Ironworks which was not easy to overcome. It includes Smart's Bridge, a cast iron bridge and the remains of a late 18th-century ironworks which are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. [1], The Hanbury family of Pontypool established a furnace and forge here (OS grid ref SO 236140) in the sixteenth century though nothing now remains of them other than parts of the masonry dam of a pool connected with the water power used for the forge. The Merthyr Tydfil to Govilon Turnpike was authorised by Act of Parliament and laid through the valley in 1812–13. Probably few people now know why it is so called. [10], This early railroad was constructed during 1793–4 by the engineer John Dadford. It is a fine old mansion, of the Tudor style of architecture, and was the home of the Freres during their connection with the works, and was also the birth-place of Sir Bartle Frere, afterwards Governor of Cape Colony. Due to this, building began on buildings for settling the workers at the end of the 18th century, increasing house production during the 2nd quarter of the 19th century.
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