Blaenavon Ironworks

The Blaenavon Ironworks started production in 1789 and was to become the first purpose built multi-furnace Ironworks in Wales. At that time it was on the cutting edge of technology. The furnaces were coke fired and the blast provided by a steam engine. Blaenavon is now home to one of the best preserved 18 century ironworks in Europe. It is complete with furnaces, cast houses, a magnificent water balance tower, cupola furnace, calcining kilns and ironworkers cottages. In November 2000, Blaenavon Industrial Landscape was awarded World Heritage Status, at the heart of which is the Blaenavon Ironworks.

An interpretation centre situated in the ironworkers cottages explains the history of ironmaking and also houses two large scale models of the works and the industrial landscape that surrounds it. The site is ideal for those interested in both industrial and social history and a combined visit with the National Coal Museum of Wales (Big Pit) and the Blaeanvon World Heritage Centre will give a total package of how life must have been for ironworkers and miners of long ago.

The site is very popular with schools and colleges for educational visits. A local history display complete with photographs and press reports depict what life and living conditions were like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - a must for the student studying the industrial and social history of a valley town.