Draft:Brecon Ironworks

  • Comment: The advice given in the previous decline was not taken, and this still does not read at all like an encyclopedia article. Remsense ‥ 论 06:56, 28 November 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: Reads like an essay. We can't say "something is likely" and then not have a source; this line should probably be removed. External links in the body of the article should also be removed, and replaced with wikilinks to other articles on Wikipedia where appropriate. Utopes (talk / cont) 12:24, 15 August 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: You cannot cite Wikipedia as a source on Wikipedia.
    Unless citing a specific online resource, citations must be precise with full bibliographical detail. See WP:OFFLINE for advice.
    If the items listed under 'External links' are the sources to which the 'Notes' refer, please list them under 'Sources' instead.
    Explanatory notes can be listed under 'Notes', if they serve no referencing purpose.
    For general advice on referencing, see WP:REFB. DoubleGrazing (talk) 14:17, 28 July 2024 (UTC)


Brecon Ironworks, which was totally demolished[1], was situated one mile north of Brecon, in a ravine on the east bank of the River Honddu. It comprised a charcoal-fired furnace and forge and were erected in 1720[2] by Benjamin Tanner, a local ironmonger, and Richard Wellington, the owner of Hay Castle[3]. In 1753 the ironworks was sold to John Maybery[4], an ironmaster from Pipton, Brecknockshire, where his family owned an iron forge[5].

The supplies for the Ironworks

The ironworks was built on the site of a former fulling or tucking mill[6] that processed woven cloth which was produced by local farmers. Ironstone for the works was obtained from the top of the Sirhowy Valley[7], and iron ore and limestone were obtained from Hirwaun[8] The ironstone from the Sirhowy Valley was loaded onto mule teams[9] which were driven eastwards, down into the Usk Valley and, following the river, northwards into the town. From Hirwaun, the iron ore was transported on the backs of horses and mules[4], over the mountain track of the Bannau Brycheiniog and down into the town.

The ironworks was charcoal-fired. Initially the charcoal was produced from the adjacent woodlands. However, insatiable supplies of charcoal were needed.[4] Consequently, charcoal was later produced from wood which was obtained from the surrounding area[10], including Llangammarch and Llanwrtyd.[11]

The leases for the Ironworks

In 1723, Tanner and Wellington took out a lease for the land from Edward Jeffreys, a barrister of the Inner Temple, who lived locally in the Priory, Brecon[6], in the grounds of what became Brecon Cathedral. Two new leases were later granted. In 1750, William Tanner, the son of Benjamin Tanner, with the consent of both his father and Wellington, assigned their interests in the works to Thomas Daniel and Richard Reynolds, two iron merchants and dealers from Bristol. Then, in 1753, a lease for the land was granted to Thomas Maybery, the son of Thomas Maybery, who owned Powicks (present-day Powick) Forge, on the River Teme in Worcestershire.[4] Maybery did not take out the lease for himself but for his son, John, from Aberlonvey (present-day Three Cocks or Aberllynfi), who owned a forge there.

The demise of the Ironworks

The ironworks does not seem to have existed after 1780.[6] Competition occurred from the multiple furnaces which sprang up in the South Wales Valleys, which were located close to copious supplies of coal, from which they produced coke as a fuel[12], and which became 'the foremost producers of iron in the world'[13]. However, the ironworks was instrumental in the creation of a tangible legacy for Welsh industrial history in the form of the Maybery Papers.

The Maybury Papers

The Maybery family

John Maybery married Anne, the eldest daughter of John Wilkins, the-then Deputy Prothonotary of The Crown for the Brecknock Circuit, and Sibyl, his wife, with whom he lived in the Tower of the Priory, Brecon. In 1757, he took out a lease from Lord Windsor to build an ironworks at Hirwaun.[10] In 1760, upon the death of Lord Windsor, he took out, with John Wilkins, his brother-in-law, and Mary Maybery, his mother, a lease from Lady Windsor for the same land.

John Maybery died in 1784. He left two sons, Thomas and Arthur Henry Augustus[14], both of whom followed their uncle in entering the legal profession. Thomas, his eldest son, succeeded William Wilkins, as Prothonotary for the Brecknock Circuit and Arthur Henry Augustus, his second son, became the head of Maybery, Williams, and Cobb, the Brecon firm of solicitors[15].

The origin of the Maybery Papers

The 'Maybery Papers' originated in Brecon but are now held in the National Library of Wales. They came to the attention of John Edward Lloyd, the eminent historian of Wales, around the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth century.[16] He recounted that he had come into the possession of a collection of ‘tens of thousands’ of documents about the South Wales iron works that he described as having been undisturbed for forty years.[16] Lloyd identified the owner of the collection as 'Mr A. Maybery, of The Priory, Brecon'.[17]

Lloyd attributed the origin of the collection of papers to the Brecon firm of solicitors of 'Walter and John Powell'. He explained that the firm:

‘had the privilege of being largely employed and trusted by the chief Ironmasters, with the result that in the course of years a mass of documents relating to the South Wales Iron Works accumulated in their offices, and passed on to successive members of the firm … Eventually in 1860, every member of the firm having retired or died, the contents of the office became the property of Mr A. Maybery by descent …’.[16]

Lloyd reported that the condition of the papers ‘was such as to make it a risk to health to make among them even a search of a few hours’ duration.’ [16] Nevertheless he examined and reduced them ‘to some kind of order’.[16] Eventually he reproduced what he considered were the most important papers in his 1906 book ‘The early history of the old South Wales iron works (1760-1840)’.

Lloyd's book documents the histories of multiple industrial locations in South Wales. It comprises thirty-one chapters, which are divided into two divisions, a Western division and an Eastern division.

The locations in the Western division comprise Brecon Furnace and Forge and Aberlonvey Forge; Hirwain Iron Works; Dowlais Iron Works; Cyfarthfa Iron Works; Plymouth Iron Works; Pendyarran Iron Works; Neath Abbey Works; Afon, Ynis y Penalwch, Ynis y Gerwn and Dylais Forges; Ynis y Cedwyn Furnace; Melin Griffith Iron Works; Treforest Works; Aberaman Iron Works; Aberdare Iron Works; Abernant Iron Works and Gadlys Iron Works.[18]

The locations in the Eastern division comprise Bute Iron Works; Union Iron Works; Tredegar Iron Works; Sirhowy Ironworks[19]; Ebbw Vale Iron Works; Abercarne Iron Works; Blaen Afon Iron Works; Nant y Glo Iron Works; Beaufort Iron Works; Clydach Iron Works; Llanelly (or Clydach) Forge; Llangrwyney Forge; The Forge or Trostre Forge; Abbey Tintern Iron Works; Monmouth Forge and New Wear Forge[20].[21]

Originally coal was used to enable iron production. Then, with the discovery of the huge size of the South Wales Coalfield, iron production was superseded by coal mining. [22] Consequently, the ironworks ceased production and, like the Brecon Ironworks, were demolished. The remains of Blaenavon Ironworks, Clydach Ironworks and Sirhowy Ironworks exist as physical reminders of the Industrial Revolution.

Notes

  1. ^ Van Laun 1976, p. 9.
  2. ^ Lloyd 1906, p. 1.
  3. ^ Owen 1911, p. 286.
  4. ^ a b c d Lloyd 1906, p. 2.
  5. ^ Jones 1898, p. 405.
  6. ^ a b c Jepson 1997.
  7. ^ Jones 1969, pp. 27–28.
  8. ^ David Watkin Jones (1874: 204), bardic name Dafydd Morganwg, documented: 'in 1666 one "Mayber" built a small charcoal-fired furnace in a remote place near Llygad Cynon [the source of the River Cynon], in the parish of Penderyn' (Morganwg 1874).
  9. ^ Jones 1969, p. 28.
  10. ^ a b Minchinton 1961.
  11. ^ Swedish economist Johan Lundstrom observed: 'the longest distance over which wood was transported to the Brecon furnace was ten miles, the average about five, while the range was two and one-half to ten.'(Lundström 1969, p. 10)
  12. ^ Rehder 1987.
  13. ^ Shore 2017, p. 9.
  14. ^ Lloyd 1906, p. 3.
  15. ^ The firm of Maybery, Williams, and Cobb succeeded that of Powell, Jones, and Powell, which in turn had succeeded that of Walter and John Powell.
  16. ^ a b c d e Lloyd 1906, p. iii.
  17. ^ Lloyd 1906, p. vi.
  18. ^ Lloyd 1906, pp. 1–128.
  19. ^ Shore 2017.
  20. ^ The New Wear Forge was located on the Monmouthshire bank of the River Wye, at the boundary across the river between Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, below Symonds Yat and opposite, on the other bank, The Doward. The only map in which New Wear appears is in Black & Black 1856, p. 384.
  21. ^ Lloyd 1906, pp. 129–208.
  22. ^ Atkinson & Baber 1987.

References

  • Atkinson, Michael; Baber, Colin (1987). The growth and decline of the South Wales iron industry. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0953-4. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  • Black, Adam; Black, Charles (1856). Black's Picturesque Guide Through North and South Wales (Sixth ed.). North Bridge: The Authors. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  • Jepson, Ursula (1997). "The Brecon Ironworks". Brycheiniog. 29: 47-52.
  • Jones, Oliver (1969). The early days of Sirhowy and Tredegar. Risca, Newport: The Starling Press. p. 27-28.
  • Jones, Theophilus (1898). A history of the county of Brecknock Containing the chorography, general history, religion, laws, customs, manners, language, and system of agriculture used in that county. Volumes 1-2. Brecknock: Edwin Davies.
  • Lloyd, John (1906). The early history of the old South Wales ironworks, 1760 to 1840. The Bedford Press: London.
  • Lundström, Johan (1969). The History of the Söderfors Anchor-Works. Translated by Hedia, Lars-Erik. Boston, Massachusetts: Kress Library of Business and Economics, Harvard University Business School.
  • Minchinton, W.E. (1961). "The place of Brecknock in the industrialization of South Wales II. Iron and Tinplate". Brycheiniog. VII: 7-29.
  • Morganwg, Dafydd (1874). Hanes Morganwg. Aberdare: The Author.
  • Owen, Matthew (1911). The Story of Breconshire. Cardiff: Educational Publishing Co.
  • Rehder, J.E. (1987). "The change from charcoal to coke in iron smelting". Historica/ Metallurgy. 21 (1): 37-43.
  • Shore, Leslie M. (2017). The Tredegar Company. Lydney, Gloucestershire: Lightmoor Press. ISBN 9781911038-20-7.
  • Van Laun, John (1976). The pattern of industry in the National Park. Brecon: Brecon Beacons National Park Committee. ISBN 0905293002.


Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.