Figure 1 – Reconstruction drawing of a prehistoric settlement. Copyright GGAT

Figure 2 - View of the Dowlais Ironworks, Blast Furnace Site c1865 (courtesy of Alan George)

Figure 3 - The Dowlais Iron Company, Sleeper Mill (courtesy of Alan George)

Merthyr Tydfil has a rich historical and archaeological heritage, which is acknowledged by its inclusion within the Register of Historic Landscapes in Wales. Merthyr Tydfil is one of two areas of the industrialised coalfield valleys of South Wales listed among the 36 Welsh landscapes of outstanding historic interest (the other being Blaenavon).

The 'Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme' area covers a total of 400.6ha of land to the east of Merthyr Tydfil on the edge of the unenclosed moorland of Merthyr Common (rising from 340m OD to 450m OD). The geology of the area comprises deposits of the Upper (Pennant), Lower and Middle Coal Measures, which include Shales, Sandstone and reserves of coal and ironstone; partially overlain in places by deposits of Boulder Clay. Overlying the solid geology are generally poor, shallow, and in the main acidic “gley soils” (podzols), creating poorly drained moorland conditions.

The earliest human activity recorded in the area comes in the form of small flint tools and projectile points (arrowheads), discarded during the Neolithic (4500-2500 BC) and Bronze Ages (2500-700 BC). The local environment during the Neolithic period is characterised by the presence of extensive forests. Inroads into the extensive tree cover of the region were first made during the Bronze Age and by the end of the period, the now familiar open moorland landscape with its generally poor degraded soils was established. During the Iron Age (700 BC-AD 43) a settlement was established on the slope of Garth Fawr. The surviving remains include several house platforms located within an embanked enclosure. This important prehistoric settlement has been excluded from the Land Reclamation Scheme and the remains will be preserved in-situ for future generations.

The Romans (AD 43-AD 411) seemed to have by-passed this area, the nearest activity is the Roman fort at Penydarren. During the medieval period (AD 1066-1485) the ownership of the land was in contention between the Welsh Lords of Senghennydd and the Norman family, the de Clares who deposed them. Gilbert de Clare in 1263 came into his inheritance as lord of Glamorgan and one of the greatest landowners in England. In 1267, by imprisoning the Welsh lord of Senghenydd, he pushed the effective frontier of his lordship north of Caerphilly Mountain. At the same time all Norman Lords in Wales were threatened by Llywelyn the Great, who had in 1262 advanced south from his power base in North Wales almost to Abergavenny in Gwent. In 1267 Henry III was obliged to acknowledge Llywelyn as Prince of Wales and a year later, in September 1268, Llywelyn secured northern Senghenydd (Gelligaer). But before this Gilbert had started to build Caerphilly Castle. Construction had begun on 11 April 1268. His mighty new castle had a double purpose, to consolidate his own territorial gains and to act as a stronghold in the face of Llywelyn’s alarming encroachments (Newman 1995, 166-179). De Clare also planted the castle and borough of Llantrisant at the same time, strengthening his position farther westward. The landscape at this time would have mainly been used for agricultural purposes, with farms and a few small settlements. The mineral wealth of this area would have been controlled by the Lords of Senghennydd. It is likely that small-scale coal (and possibly ironstone) extraction on the outcropping seams in the vicinity of Ffos-y-fran was undertaken by local farmers during the later medieval and early post-medieval periods.

During the post medieval period (AD 1485-1901), the landscape gradually changes from agricultural to heavily industrial, as the lords and inhabitants of the area become more aware of the mineral wealth below the ground. The 17th Century saw the start to the leases to land, for the purposes of mining of coal and ironstone, however, they were not specific, covered vast areas of land and also had large timeframes. Mineral extraction before the early endeavours of the Dowlais Iron Company would probably have taken the form of small-scale levels and patch workings. The latter part of the 18th century saw the establishment of the Dowlais Iron Company, who in 1748 were granted a lease to the entire mineral wealth beneath the common of Uwch Caiach for a period of 99 years at a price of £23 (Jones, 2003).

The Dowlais Iron Company was founded by a group of nine men, who entered a partnership, bringing with them money in exchange for shares in the company. Some of the members also had leases to land, with the rights to mine minerals. The Dowlais lease was not one single lease, the works and mineral holdings consisted of 12 leases and subleases, which covered five different areas (Owens, 1975). The Dowlais Iron Company heralded the start of the intense industrial activity within the Ffos-y-fran area, with the intense mining of coal and ironstone. Many pits and levels were sunk into the ground, and around these pits there would probably have been structures containing winding gears, engine houses, chimneys and other structures associated with mining. However, despite these great mineral riches, only the coastal areas could be developed for heavy industry until cheap bulk transport for heavy industrial goods became available. The valley canals, built in the canal-mania years of the 1790s, facilitated large-scale industrial expansion on the shallow mineral deposits available in the Heads of the Valleys region to the north of the county. The resultant need for more intensive systems of upland transport gave rise to the world’s largest system of experimental railways, constructed in the first three decades of the 19th century pioneering features on large overland railways that were to give the world the modern public locomotive railway (Hughes, 1995, 68-79).

The Dowlais Free Drainage System was a unique invention in the 18th and early 19th Centuries, and was a complex system of water collection ditches, canalized natural streams, tunnels and surface reservoirs. The purpose of this system was to collect ground and surface water and channel it to the Dowlais Iron Works, where it was instrumental in the use of steam power at the ironworks. The control of water was a vital enterprise used in steam powered engines, as coolant and also for use in water balance winding gears in the mines. At its height in the 19th century the Dowlais Iron Company was the largest ironworks in the world and its iron was a sort after commodity. In 1843 the Dowlais Iron Company received a large order for iron rails from Russia, initially the quantity was 42,000 tons at £6 per ton. Then in 1844 the Russians placed an additional order for 50,000 tons of rails, which was the single largest order of that type ever placed (Owen, 1975). During this boom period the Dowlais Ironworks had 18 blast furnaces, worked by seven powerful steam engines, they employed 7,300 men, women and children and covered an area of about 40 acres. The consumption of coal reached 1,500 tons weekly and the 18 furnaces produced over 1,700 tons or iron weekly or 88,400 tons yearly (Owen, 1975).

The remnants of this industrial history can be found within the bounds of the 'Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme' in the form of; early Crown Patchworkings (c.17th and 18th Century),shafts, adits and their associated structures, the Dowlais Free Drainage System, as well as tramways and railways, which include railway platforms, culverts and bridges. Several areas of archaeological importance have been excluded from the scheme, including several Scheduled Ancient Monument’s (SAM’s), a listed structure of the industrial age and an Iron Age settlement site.

The archaeological work on site is being carried out by Miller Argent’s own archaeologist and the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd (GGAT). As well as the archaeological work taking place on site, Miller Argent is currently in the process of building a visitor centre. This will provide the opportunity to display some of the archaeological finds found on site as well as facilities, which will benefit the community. Miller Argent are also hoping to create a heritage park in the vicinity of the Sarn Howell Pond and to extend it’s scheduling area to include the surviving industrial features, such as the Bogey Road bridge and aqueducts belonging to the DFDS. Miller Argent and GGAT are currently organising a community project for the summer, in which we hope to involve members of the community in an archaeological excavation. This will allow people to hopefully be involved in many aspects of archaeological excavation and see first hand what is involved. The details of this project will be provided at a later date. 

Chronological periods 

Bibliography

Jones, Judith. 2003. Gelligaer and Merthyr Common: A south Wales landscape past and present. Cardiff: Merton Priory Press.

Owen, John. A. 1975. The history of the Dowlais Ironworks 1759-1970. Newport: Starling Press Ltd.

Newman, J. 1995. The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan. University of Wales Press, Penguin Books: London.

Hughes, S. 1995. Industrial Structures, in Newman, J, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan. University of Wales Press, Penguin Books: London.