- Penwyllt
Penwyllt is a Welsh
hamlet located in the upperSwansea Valley , to the east of the Black Mountain.A former
quarry ingvillage and quicklime production centre, its fortunes rose and fell as a result of the industrial revolution withinSouth Wales .Background
The
Geology of South Wales provides it with the basic raw materials structure to be at the centre of theindustrial revolution . The large natural coal fields enclose significant deposits ofiron ore andlimestone , each basic to the production of materials via production methods.The best coal in
South Wales is found in the eastern sections beneath Rhondda Fawr, where the pressure is highest. The greatest deposits of limestone are found above the western section, around the northern section ofSwansea Valley where it bordersBreconshire . There were also coal deposits below the lime layer, and the coal which lay underground atClydach ,Ystradgynlais , and Abercraf became more valuable as the Industrial Revolution of theVictorian era led to a huge demand for iron and steel, and giving the area prosperity [ [http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/ystradgynlais/coalmenu.shtml Victorian Ystradgynlais - coal mining menu ] ] .Industrialisation
Penwyllt developed primarily as a result of the need for quicklime in the industrial processes in the lower Swansea Valley, taking limestone from the quarries and turning it into quicklime in
lime kiln s [http://www.brocross.com/industrial%20history/welsh%20limekilns/powys/craig-y-nos.htm Penwyllt - Craig-y-nos kilns ] ] .Subsequently Penwyllt also supported the Penwyllt Dinas Silica Brick company [ [http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/walespic/penwyllt/030705-3.htm Images of Wales ] ] , which quarried silica sand at Pwll Byfre from which it manufactured refractory bricks, a form of
fire brick , at the Penwyllt brick works (closed 1937 or 1939). The bricks were destined for use in industrial furnaces. Anarrow gauge railway , with a rope worked incline, transported silica sand and stones to thebrickworks , which was adjacent to theNeath and Brecon Railway (which on 1 July 1922 became part of theGreat Western Railway ) [Barrie, D.S.M., A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Vol. 12 South Wales. David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7970-4] .A detailed account of the history of Penwyllt and its industries is provided by Matthews(1991). [Matthews, Helen, (1991), "Penwyllt Village, Growth, Development and Decline", Local History Dissertation, University College of Swansea]
Christie
In 1817,
Fforest Fawr (English - Great Forest of Brecon) was enclosed or divided up into fields, and large parts of it became the property of John Christie, a London businessman. Christie had already developed a limestone quarry at Penwyllt, and decided to develop lime kilns there as well. In 1820 he moved toBrecon , and developed theBrecon Forest Tramroad [Hughes, Stephen, The Brecon Forest Tramroads, RCAHM in Wales, 1990, ISBN 1-871184-05-3] . This network consisted eventually of over 100miles of tracks connecting the farms ofSennybridge and the Fforest Fawr (where Christie wanted to improve the land through application of lime), with the charcoal burning centres and coal extraction below Fforest Fawr, with the lime kiln at Penwyllt and iron works at Ystradgynlais, and theSwansea Canal dock for other industries down stream. Unfortunately, before he could complete the system, he went bankrupt [ [http://history.powys.org.uk/school1/ystradgynlais/gtforest.shtml Victorian Ystradgynlais - The Brecon Forest Tramroad ] ] .Claypon
The Claypon brothers took over Christie's assets, and quickly came to the conclusion that shipping lime, coal, iron ore and quicklime south to the larger industrial premises in the southern Swansea Valley was more productive than trying to create an integrated industry over 100 miles of steep track.
They quickly sold or abandoned the farms and developments north of Fforest Fawr, and concentrated on expanding the lime kilns at or around Penwyllt. In total there were fifteen lime kilns at Penwyllt:
*Penwyllt quarry: two lime kilns created in the railway age by "Jeffreys, Powell and WIlliams", dated 1878
*Pen-y-foel: a bank of four kilns near the Penwyllt Inn erected in around 1863 to 1867 by, it is thought, the Brecon Coal & Lime Co. There is a loading bank for railway wagons in front of the kilns [ [http://www.brocross.com/industrial%20history/welsh%20limekilns/powys/pen-y-foel%20kilns.htm Penwyllt, Pen-y-foel kilns kiln ] ]
*Twyn-disgwylfa: Built byJoseph Claypon between 1836 and 1842, the bank of seven kilns has been largely destroyed by quarry tipping. Only one draw arch can now be seen [ [http://www.brocross.com/industrial%20history/welsh%20limekilns/powys/twyn-disgwylfa.htm Penwyllt - Twyn-disgwylfa kilns ] ]
*Twyn-y-ffald: The 1825 and 1827 kilns built by Joseph Claypon have been largely demolished, although the single draw arch can still be seen [ [http://www.brocross.com/industrial%20history/welsh%20limekilns/powys/twyn-y-ffald.htm Penwyllt - Twyn-y-ffald kiln ] ]Latter half of the 18th century
On
29 July ,1862 , anAct of Parliament created the Dulais Valley Mineral Railway [http://www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives/index.cfm?articleid=13523&articleaction=print] , to transport goods to thedocks atBriton Ferry ,Neath built byIsambard Kingdom Brunel . The population of Penwyllt grew on this increased transport ability to over 500 citizens by the1881 Census .After being authorised to extend the railway to
Brecon , it changed its name to the Neath and Brecon Railway. The railway agreed to co-operate with theSwansea Vale Railway to create the Swansea Vale and Neath and Brecon Junction Railway linking the railway fully intoNeath , as well as theSouth Wales Railway mainline. An early and unsuccessful purchaser of the newFairlie locomotive, when in 1863 the railway reachedCrynant , coal mining quickly expanded [ [http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk/museums/allforcoal.cfm Neath Port Talbot Museum Service - All For Coal ] ] . At Crynant several new mines were opened including the Crynant colliery, Brynteg colliery in 1904, Llwynon colliery in 1905, Dillwyn colliery, and Cefn Coed colliery 1930 [http://www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives/index.cfm?articleid=13542&articleaction=print]The passenger station at Craig-y-nos/Penwyllt was in part funded by
opera singer Adelina Patti , who lived atCraig-y-Nos Castle [http://history.powys.org.uk/history/ystrad/craig1.html] . She built a road from the castle to the station, and a separate waiting room. The railway supplied her in return with her ownrailway carriage , which she could request to go anywhere within theUnited Kingdom .Decline
Penwyllt was created on the back of the industrialisation of the Swansea valley. As the industrialisation declined with reducing economic stocks of coal, iron ore and limestone and the development of new technologies on a larger scale on the coast of South Wales, particularly at
Port Talbot andLlanwern , Penwyllt declined.By 1870 the seven
blast furnace ironworks ofYnyscedwyn had only one working furnace. Penwyllt was in decline from the turn of the century, butWorld War II created the final closure, as the need to scale production upwards for the larger coastal meant the heavily manual process of Penwyllt quarry was uneconomic compared to other British and foreign facilities which could bulk ship by sea.The Penwyllt Inn [ [http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/walespic/penwyllt/030705.htm#page1 Images of Wales ] ] , or 'Stump' as it was often known, closed in 1948, and in October 1962 all passenger services were withdrawn by
British Railways fromNeath and Brecon Railway line. The line north of Craig-y-nos/Penwyllt station closed to Brecon on closure of Brecon station, and by the end of the 1960s the population had fallen to 20 people. The railway line remained open south to Neath until 1977 to serve the quarry, until its closure [ [http://philtpics.fotopic.net/p28819022.html cyn.jpg:: Craig y Nos/Penwyllt Station looking north on 14th April 2006. The Neath & Brecon line to this point lingered on to serve the adjacent quarry until 1977 (officially closed 1981) ] ] .Today
Many of the former industrial buildings, commercial properties and houses of Penwyllt were demolished in the early 1980s, being both beyond economic repair and unneeded. The former pub survives as private accommodation for cavers. The former Craig-y-nos/Penwyllt station survives in good repair as a private holiday cottage.
The only group of former
terrace house s now standing are in Powell Street and form the headquarters of the [http://swcc.org.uk South Wales Caving Club] , and the [http://www.wbcrt.org/ West Brecon Cave Rescue Team] [ [http://swcc.org.uk/cottage/cottage.php SWCC Cottage ] ]Beneath Penwyllt and the surrounding area is the extensive limestone
cave system ofOgof Ffynnon Ddu , part of which was the first designated undergroundNational Nature Reserve in the UK. A corresponding area on the surface is also part of theNational Nature Reserve .The quarry, though not the railway, re-opened in 2007 to provide limestone for the works associated with the new gas pipeline being laid through South Wales.
References
External links
* [http://www.jlb2005.plus.com/walespic/penwyllt/030705.htm An historic and photographic exploration of Penwyllt by John Ball and Venita Roylance]
* [http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/blowup1/6566 1988 Arial shot of Penwyllt quarry and railway at Casglu'r Tlysau]
* [http://swcc.org.uk South Wales Caving Club]
* [http://www.wbcrt.org/ West Brecon Cave Rescue Team]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3864974 Photos of Penwyllt and surrounding area on geograph]
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