Blaenavon Iron Works

The only steam many of us experience today comes from a kettle. Over two hundred years ago, cutting-edge technology enabled the power of steam to be harnessed, making Blaenavon possible and taking Wales’s industrial might to a new height.

However, the ironworks is only one part of the story. The surrounding landscape is also revolutionary in its form and function. From mines to train lines you can still trace the routes in and routes out, from raw material to finished product.

Charging to casting. Charging took place at the ‘furnace top’ with coal, iron ore and limestone, before casting the molten metal in the yard below Millions of pounds were made for some.

Millions more can thank Blaenavon’s industrial ingenuity for a lot of what we take for granted today. Whether the workers were as rateful is debatable. Living and working conditions here, while better than most, were more boot camp than holiday camp.