![Aberthaw Cement Works1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Aberthaw_Cement_Works1.jpg)
Aberthaw Cement Works are
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...
works in the
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...
near the village of
East Aberthaw
Aberthaw ( cy, Aberddawan) is an area containing the villages of East Aberthaw and West Aberthaw, on the coast of South Wales about west of Barry. It is home to Aberthaw Cement Works, Aberthaw Lime Works, and Aberthaw Power Station, a coal powe ...
in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
History
The
Blue Lias
The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassi ...
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
of Aberthaw was a source of hydraulic lime from early times, and it was made famous when it was selected by
John Smeaton
John Smeaton (8 June 1724 – 28 October 1792) was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the fi ...
for the construction of the
Eddystone Lighthouse
The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located on the dangerous Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 ...
but various records of Aberthaw Blue Lias limestone's processing are not consistent. Evidently, limestone pebbles from Aberthaw's coastline were transported inland for burning at other limekilns but much was shipped across the Bristol Channel from the Port of Aberthaw, for burning at Three Kilns, Cleeve Hill, near Watchet, Somerset. One historical account states that John Smeaton used Watchet's burned lime which was shipped to Millbay, Plymouth for his Eddystone lighthouse construction in 1756. It was not until 1888 that a (pebble) limeworks and kilns, were constructed alongside Pleasant Harbour, East Aberthaw but that works, which had become rail-served by 1892, closed in 1926. It is on record that geologically, the limestone seam at Aberthaw runs under the Bristol Channel and is also present at Watchet.
The Aberthaw and Bristol Channel Portland Cement Company was established in 1912 by the Beynon family. The site at Aberthaw was chosen as it was near the necessary raw material, limestone and coal from the
South Wales coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espe ...
which was needed to heat the
kilns
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay in ...
. The works started in 1914 with two small wet process kilns with a production capacity of 120 tonnes per day each. The first consignment of cement left Aberthaw works by rail in 1914. A third wet kiln was ordered in 1913 and erected in 1916 during the first World War, and a fourth kiln was added and running by June 1958. This brought clinker capacity to 1200 tonnes per day.
In 1967, Kiln 5 () was installed. This was a much more efficient dry process kiln. The wet process kilns were decommissioned in 1974, and Kiln 6 - also a dry kiln - () was started in 1975. Kiln 6 remains in operation today.
In 1919 the company took over the nearby Aberthaw and Rhoose Point Portland and Lime Company.
Blue Circle
Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...
bought the two sites at
Aberthaw
Aberthaw ( cy, Aberddawan) is an area containing the villages of East Aberthaw and West Aberthaw, on the coast of South Wales about west of Barry. It is home to Aberthaw Cement Works, Aberthaw Lime Works, and Aberthaw Power Station, a coal po ...
and
Rhoose
Rhoose ( , cy, Y Rhws from "the moor") is a village and community near the sea (the Bristol Channel) in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, near Barry. The wider community includes villages and settlements such as Font-y-Gary, Penmark, East Abert ...
in 1983. In 1987, Rhoose Works closed and was later completely demolished. The former Rhoose works kiln firing fuel had gone from coal to oil, then gas. The same applied to Aberthaw but reversion to coal came in 1979 but Aberthaw plant was authorised to burn whole tyres as fuel from 2013, with no impact on the environment.
Lafarge
La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to:
People
* Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer
* Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge
* Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...
Cement UK bought Blue Circle industries PLC in 2001, creating the largest cement maker in the world.
Cement from the site is carried to destinations by Road and Rail (rail services being provided by Freightliner heavy haul and Colas Rail over the
Vale of Glamorgan Line
The Vale of Glamorgan Line ( cy, Llinell Bro Morgannwg) is a commuter railway line in Wales, running through the Vale of Glamorgan from Barry to Bridgend, via Rhoose and Llantwit Major.
Route
The Barry branch starts at Cardiff West and ru ...
).
In July 2020, it was observed that Aberthaw cement in bulk was being shipped in large consignments by PCA rail tank wagons equipped for pressure unloading at destination, thus considerably reducing the number of bulk cement road tankers on the highways.
Watercolour artist
Thomas Frederick Worrall
Thomas Frederick Worrall (1872–1957) was a Staffordshire-born manual worker and talented watercolourist. He lived for a time in Lancashire and in the upper Calder Valley area of Yorkshire but spent most of his adult life in Barry, Vale of Gla ...
worked for a few years at the cement works from when it was first opened.
[See birth certificate of Bessie Worrall: Births in the sub-district of St Nicholas, in the county of Glamorgan no. 360, 1913, showing the occupation of Thomas F. Worrall as time keeper in cement works]
See also
*
Aberthaw
Aberthaw ( cy, Aberddawan) is an area containing the villages of East Aberthaw and West Aberthaw, on the coast of South Wales about west of Barry. It is home to Aberthaw Cement Works, Aberthaw Lime Works, and Aberthaw Power Station, a coal po ...
*
Aberthaw Power Station
Aberthaw Power Station refers to two decommissioned coal-fired and co-fired biomass power stations on the coast of South Wales, near Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. They were located at Limpert Bay, near the villages of Gileston and West Aberth ...
*
Aberthaw lime works
Aberthaw Lime Works is a derelict structure, located on the South Wales coast, between Fontygary Bay and Aberthaw Power Station. The structure is a Grade II Listed Building. The structure is considered a listed building because it is a well pres ...
References
External links
Environment Agency record of proposal to use Meat & Bone meal as a power source
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in the Vale of Glamorgan
Cement companies of the United Kingdom