Ynysfach Engine House CF48 1AB

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

Ynysfach Engine House

CF48 1AB

This beautifully restored building once housed the beam engine for the blast furnaces of the Ynysfach Ironworks. Built in the early nineteenth century as part of the Crawshay's famous "Iron Kingdom".

Grade II* Listed

History
Engine House, built in 1836 for the adjacent furnaces of Ynysfach Ironworks, a subsidiary of the successful Cyfartha works owned by the Crawshay family. The Ynysfach Ironworks were founded in 1801 when 2 blast furnaces were built to plans by Watkin George, engineer and foundry manager at Cyfarthfa from 1792. In 1836 2 more furnaces were built together with the engine house which replaced an earlier one painted by Penry Williams c1815. The new engine house contained a beam blowing engine made at the Neath Abbey Ironworks. The Ynysfach works closed in 1874 and the engine house fell into disuse. It was restored between 1986 and 1989 and converted to a heritage centre and offices. The building was formerly part of the scheduled ancient monument Gm 331, which was revised to exclude the building following its conversion to a heritage centre and offices. The heritage centre was closed at the time of survey (2002).

Description
Exterior
Blast engine house, 4-storey rectangular building of dressed blue Pennant sandstone with white-ashlared
limestone quoins and dressings and hipped slate roof with deep eaves, in the house-style of the Crawshay
ironworks. Windows have segmental heads with deep voussoirs and dressings, and small-paned replaced sash windows. N elevation has the main entrance through a round-headed arch approached by a modern stair, and one window above. The principal facade, to the E, is 4 bays long with equally spaced windows on 3 storeys, a semibasement with round-headed arches, and cast iron brackets at the N end. The S end, facing the furnaces, has no windows. The W elevation has 6 irregularly spaced windows, cast-iron fittings, and a tall blocked archway at the S end.

Interior
Not accessible. Said to have new floors and partitions inserted, the bob wall for the beam engine passing through the centre of the building, and cast iron brackets for the engine''''s supporting structure and components visible in many places.

Scheduled Ancient Monument - ref 33724

RCAHMW Schedule

Stationary engine house, 4 storeys, roofless. Now in use as a museum.

Williamstown CF47 8PD

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

Williamstown

CF47 8PD

Nos 23 - 30 - Grade II Listed

Stepped terrace of industrial housing set into hillside below Brecon Road; facing SW over River Taff towards site of former Cyfarthfa Ironworks.

History
Built between 1836 and 1851.

Description
Exterior
2-storey rubble fronts, right hand house and middle three rendered. Slate roofs (No 24 modern pantiles), brick stacks (some rendered). Two windows per house, original cambered openings with plain raised surrounds to Nos 23, 24 and three left-hand houses. Sash windows remain to No 23 and left-hand group only, small-pane glazing to No 28. Wide later margins to openings of rendered houses. Central doorways, mostly altered.

Interior
Interiors planned with turning stone stairs flanking chimney-breast in thick party walls.

The plaque reads:

Williamstown Both terraces were erected between 1836 and 1851 for skilled ironworkers employed at the Cyfarthfa works. They are named after ironmaster William Crawshay II.

Wesley Chapel CF47 8UL

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

Wesley Chapel

CF47 8UL

The English Wesleyan was originally built in 1797 and was rebuilt in 1862. The prohibitive cost of repairs led to the chapels closure in 1979.

Grade II Listed

Description
Exterior

1862 date. Imposing 3-bay late classical facade with central pedimented and pilastered bay. Channelled rustication to ashlar ground-floor, cement render above (some detailing simplified). Frieze inscribed "WESLEY CHAPEL". Pilastered, 3-light, stepped centre window with moulded architraves and frond lunettes, marginal glazing-bars. Scallop-shell lunettes over arched ground-floor windows with aprons. Double centre doors under radiating fanlight. Rubble flank elevation with brickwork dressings, slate roof.

Interior

Interior recently subdivided.

War Memorial, Pontmorlais CF47 8UN

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

War Memorial, Pontmorlais

CF47 8UN

Erected in 1930 and signed by L. S. Merrifield; Cast by A. B. Burton of Thames Ditton.

The memorial consists of three magnificent bronze figures; Fate, in the centre with a covered head and spindle in hand, and below, a miner and a mother.

Grade II Listed

History
ca 1930. Bronze figures by L S Merrifield, 1931; cast by A B Burton, founder of Thames Ditton.

Description
Tall Portland stone niche with moulded arched capping, tapering sides and stepped plinth with flanking pedestals. Central bronze, mythological figure of one of the Three Fates bearing (or measuring) the Web of Life. War trophy to swagged pedestal. To sides are standing figures of a miner and a female carrying a child.

Arrangement of curved flight of steps leads down to ca 1930 bronze guardrail with classical torch motif.
Ironwork urns on front wall.

Vulcan House CF47 8LR

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

Vulcan House

CF47 8LR

Grade II Listed

History
Vulcan House was built c1820-30, and is shown on a map of Merthyr Tydfil of 1836. Probably during the 1830s, David John, a blacksmith, mathematician and Unitarian minister, established a foundry there, and it is even possible that the house was built for him: the design, with few windows in the rear wall, is consistent with combined domestic/industrial premises. David John came from St Clears, but was in Merthyr by 1826, when he became minister of the Unitarian church at Twynyrodyn. He was a political radical who espoused the cause of parliamentary reform in the 1830s and was chairman of Merthyr Political Union in 1832. His sons were also reformists and the Johns were key figures in the first generation of Chartist leadership in Merthyr. Matthew John, who worked the foundry at Vulcan House until his death in 1888, was a prominent radical, and had been deputed to take the rioters terms to the garrison at Penydarren House during the Merthyr rising of 1831.

Some alterations and additions to the premises were made c1900, including addition of rear wing to house, and further alterations to foundry wing were made during the C20.

The premises were latterly used as a council depot but were disused and derelict on inspection in July 2006.

Description
Large house in late Georgian style, with long wing attached to rear formerly providing industrial premises. House is rubble-built with brick dressings, but rendered to main elevations. Hipped slate roof with tiled cresting (most slates missing in July 2006). Single brick chimney stack at rear. 3 storeyed, with 5-bay elevation to the street. This is articulated by pilaster strips at angles and raised string-courses to upper storeys. Façade is symmetrically arranged, with wider openings giving emphasis to the central three bays. Central entrance in wide segmentally arched opening with stressed architrave and keystone: this originally contained doorway with flanking side-lights surmounted by radial fanlight, but was blocked on inspection in 2006. Wide flanking windows with shallow arched heads (formerly tripartite sashes with small panes), matched by the three central windows on the first floor. Three semi-circular windows in upper storey (formerly with 4-pane sash windows as centre opening lights). Outer bays on each floor have narrower window openings (formerly with small-paned sashes), except in lower right, which has wide segmentally arched carriage entry to rear yard. To the rear, the original rear wall of the house is largely blank, but has a 2-storeyed brick wing which was added in c1900. (This in turn is partly obscured by flat-roofed C20 additions). Adjoining the house to rear and running parallel with Vulcan Street is a long 2-storeyed works range which probably formed part of the original foundry premises. Partially heavily rebuilt in brick, it nevertheless retains elements of an original early C19 structure, characterised by rubble walling with segmentally arched openings with brick dressings. Cement rendered blank elevation to Vulcan Street.

Vaynor Church - 1870 CF48 2TT

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

Vaynor Church - 1870

CF48 2TT

The original Vaynor Church was built in 874 or 714 but was burnt down during the battle of Maesvaynor which took place in 1291, the church replacing this very early one became dilapidated by 1867 and the Crawshays had a new church built which was completed in 1870. The church is dedicated to St Gwynno.

One of the most remarkable memorials in Vaynor Churchyard is the grave of Robert Thompson Crawshay, known as the ‘Iron King’. It is a slab of stone of immense size, said to weigh 10 tons. He famously had the inscription ‘God forgive me’ on his grave.

Old Vaynor Church – 1295 CF48 2TT

Heritage Plaques

- Structures

Old Vaynor Church – 1295

CF48 2TT

Grade II Listed

History
Remains of medieval parish church of Vaynor, dedicated to St Gwynno, but erroneously said to be dedicated to St Gwendoline. All that survives is the W end with the curious tower with battlemented parapets W and E and pitched roof between, presumably the battlements a C18 or early C19 alteration. The church as photographed in 1865 was a single chamber with S porch. The first church is claimed to have been burnt in 1291 at the battle of
Maesyfaenor, but the evidence for battle and burning is not clear. The church was allowed to decay after the building of the new church in 1870 at the expense of R.T. Crawshay, the remains were repaired in the C20 but are in poor condition again.

Description
W end of demolished medieval church with small tower and sloping roofs each side. Tower has battlemented parapet W and E and gabled tiled roof between. W front has loop in tower, small rectangular opening mid-way and left jamb of a blocked door (shown as arched in 1865 photograph). Tower sides are plain and have slate roofs abutting (continuing pitch of lost main roof). The E side, former W end of nave has corbelled block of masonry high up, purpose unknown, a low W door with cambered yellow brick arch infilled below a taller cambered head with stone voussoirs. Door to right with stone slab lintel into space N of tower with stone steps up to former bell loft.