Garnddyrys Forge was an iron foundry in Wales that operated from about 1817 to 1860 about 3 km (2 miles) north of

Blaenavon Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community (Wales), community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshi ...

in Wales, lying on a tramroad between Blaenavon and the

Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ( cy, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog) is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, and its present rural ...

. At one time 450 people lived around the ironworks. It became isolated when the railway took a different route to Blaenavon, and was abandoned. Although little now is visible, it is archaeologically well-preserved.

History

In response to a surge in demand for iron during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

the manager of the

Blaenavon Ironworks Blaenavon Ironworks is a former industrial site which is now a museum in Blaenavon, Wales. The ironworks was of crucial importance in the development of the ability to use cheap, low quality, high sulphur iron ores worldwide. It was the site ...

, Thomas Hill II, built what became called Hill's Tramroad from Pwll Du to the

Llanfoist Llanfoist ( cy, Llan-ffwyst) is both a village near Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire, Wales, and the community of Llanfoist Fawr. Llanfoist derives from ''Ffwyst'', an early Christian Welsh saint, although the anglicised version of the church ...

wharf around 1815. This linked Blaenavon via Pwll Du and Garnddyrys to the

. The tramroad passed through the Garnddyrys site in a tunnel. It connected Blaenavon to limestone quarries at Pwll-Du and Tyla. It then ran for north east from Pwll Du round the

Blorenge Blorenge, also called The Blorenge (; cy, Blorens), is a prominent hill overlooking the valley of the River Usk near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, southeast Wales. It is situated in the southeastern corner of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The ...

hill to Llanfoist Wharf. The Garnddyrys Forge was built by Thomas Hill II in 1816–17. The market for iron was very weak at the time, so the investment was unusual. The plans to build the forge in Cwm Llanwenarth on the west branch of the

included replacing a steeply sloped section of the tramroad from Blaenavon by a shallow gradient tramroad along the Pwll Du Tunnel, an extension of an earlier mine tunnel through the hill to Pwll Du. The tramroad brought cast iron from

and took wrought iron from the forge to the Llanfoist wharf. By the 1840s there were about 450 people living around the Garnddyrys Forge. Garnddyrys became isolated in 1854 when the railway reached

. A replacement forge, called Forgeside, was built near the railway in Blaenavon. In 1860 the Garnddyrys works were closed, the forge was relocated to Forgeside, Blaenavon, and the northern branch of the tunnel at Pwll Du was closed.

Recent years

The site was abandoned, and is thus important as an archaeologically well-preserved forge from the early 19th century. In 1970 the foundations of the worker's houses were excavated. The site includes two reservoirs, the sites of waterwheels and reservoirs, and workers' housing.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garnddyrys Forge Industrial Revolution Ironworks and steelworks in Wales 19th century in Wales Blaenavon