REVIT Heritage Report.pdf

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Torfaen County Borough Council REVIT: A Review of the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Assets on Brownfield Sites Brownfield areas. These sites all fit, to varying degrees, the definition of Brownfield sites and offer differing opportunities for regeneration. 4.2.2 In Torfaen the two main post-industrial sites which have been identified as case studies in Brownfield development are: • The Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site (WHS), which currently forms the most significant example of industrial heritage-led Brownfield regeneration within the Borough and Wales; and • The former-British Ironworks site at Talywain, which has been identified as having significant potential for heritage-led Brownfield regeneration. 4.2.3 Both the Blaenavon WHS and the British Ironworks site retain a significant number of archaeologically and architecturally important sites and monuments. Many of the industrial structures, as well as the associated features from that era, are well-built and have potential for re-development. However, the industrial remains are also protected by various forms of cultural heritage legislation. 4.2.4 As a result of their under-use, such sites frequently suffer from neglect, weather damage and vandalism, which makes re-development at a later date more costly. In terms of the conservation of historic structures, the loss of the protection from the elements, for instance the roof of a building, is the single most important factor leading to the deterioration of historic features. 4.2.5 Further environmental issues on these are the constraints imposed by the protection of ecological habitats and their landscape value. In addition these sites include the potential for residual contaminants relating to their industrial uses, although both sites largely ceased to function as ironworks over 100 years ago. The British Ironworks Site 4.2.6 The former British Ironworks site is located in the Cwm Afon, known as the Eastern Valley. It was originally opened in 1827 as part of the massive investment and growth in the iron industry in South Wales (See Figure 2). 4.2.7 Although this site has not currently been subject to any significant remediation work or environmental assessment, an outline examination of the site does highlight the potential of the area for sustainable development. 4.2.8 Historically the British Ironworks concentrated on the large-scale production of medium quality forge pig iron and, by 1840, the works had begun to produce iron rails. However, there was no foundry for the production of cast iron. 4.2.9 The British Ironworks, like many other ironworks within the area relied mainly on the local extraction of ironstone, limestone and haematite. Coal and ironstone was delivered via an integrated tramroad system which ran down the hillside to the west of the works. These tramroad and railway lines survive mainly as tracks to the north and southwest of the main ironworks. The finished iron was transported to the Monmouthshire Canal at Pontnewynydd. Coke was also produced at the site from locally mined coal. 4.2.10 By 1883 the British had closed and the buildings were dismantled. After the closure of the works, the area around the works was mined as the Navigation Pit, which was active between 1900 and the 1970s. During the 1940s part of the site was also used as a wagon repair yard by Great Western Railways. 0014021/JM/001 19
Torfaen County Borough Council REVIT: A Review of the Conservation of Industrial Heritage Assets on Brownfield Sites 4.2.11 The cultural heritage of the site has statutory protection including listed buildings and Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs). The protected sites are: • Big Arch bridge, which is a listed structure - Grade II (Record No.14871); • The Cornish Engine House, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (MM216); • The Site Offices quadrangle, which forms a Listed Building - Grade II* (Record No.14870); • Cwmbyrgwm Colliery Chimney, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (MM163); • The Air Furnace within the Site Office Complex, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (MM211); and 4.2.12 The area between Cwmbyrgwm Water Balance and the Chimney, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (MM163). 4.2.13 In addition to these sites the former British Ironworks site retains potential for undiscovered archaeological remains within the site and there are a number of non-statutorily protected sites within it. Many of these sites can be identified from the 1880 Ordnance Survey map (Monmouthshire Sheet 28) or are recorded by Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust within the SMR, including: • the furnaces and the foundations of the casting-house facade area; • the forge and mill; • tramways and railway; • the engine blowing-house; • the brick-works; and • the coke ovens. 4.2.14 The furnace, forge and mill structure consists of a row of six blast furnaces which were built in 1826-7 on an east-west orientation. These structures were erected on sloping ground with a charging-bank constructed to the rear of each furnace; the furnaces and the sloping bank partly collapsed in 1826 due to poor engineering. 4.2.15 The well-built offices and workshops form a group of derelict buildings centred on a quadrangle. They were originally built as a single-storey structure, until the main quadrangle building was extended into a two storey building, probably sometime after 1862. The remains of the air furnace is located against the north-east wall although this has recently been badly damaged by vandalism. 4.2.16 The impressive Cornish pumping-engine house survives as a three-storey sandstone building. This structure was built around 1845, and originally housed a vertical beam-engine used to tackle the problem of underground flooding. 4.2.17 There is also an ashlar masonry chimney structure, dating from 1826, which now only survives at base level. The structure is approximately 2m above present ground level and is about 4.2m square, located 20m north-east of the surviving engine-house. 0014021/JM/001 20
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