Aberthaw Limeworks

On December the 22nd 1888  

'The Aberthaw Pebble Limestone Company'

 opened the lime works at Aberthaw near the coast of South Wales. 

The owner David Owen was also the  owner of the

  local newspaper 'Western Mail' which still exists today.

Visit Date August 2023

Aberthaw Limeworks

The works were primarily built to utilise the huge number of Limestone Pebbles that had previously been taken inland and were readily available.

The lime produced at Aberthaw was well known before the opening of the lime works and subsequent cement works. Experiments in 1756-7 were undertaken by John Smeaton to test the setting qualities of lime in seawater preparatory to designing and building the Eddystone lighthouse. Although Aberthaw lime was not used in the final construction of this lighthouse the fame it got from its inclusion of testing of materials to be used in the construction and its use in the actual construction of other docks, piers, harbours, ports and other lighthouses naturally led to increased demand which could not be fully met until this major new works was built.

Aberthaw Limeworks

Aberthaw Lime mixed with Pozzolana and fired produced a remarkably hard lime mortar whose quality of setting under water proved invaluable and may have been the forerunner to Portland Cement.

Click any image for a larger view

Aberthaw Lime Works ran until its closure in 1926 and is now a derelict structure.

Click any image for a larger view

The local limestone and brick structure is still largely intact however there has been some work done to preserve what is left and the structure is now a grade II listed building.

Internal image of the building

What we see today are 2 large vertical pot draw kilns that would have held up to 300 tons each and produced 40 tons of lime per day.

A tramway leading to the top of the kilns serviced the lime and coal for the kilns but this has now disappeared.

These wagons with the material would then have been winched to the kiln top by cables via a winding house which also has disappeared.

The lime would have been withdrawn from the bottom of the kilns again by trams and some of the track still exists and can be seen at the base of the kiln.

Base of the kiln showing rail tracks

The surviving remains include roofless stone buildings which would have housed the crushing plant and boilers. 

One of the main buildings

Internal view of one of the main remaining buildings

The square brick chimney can still be seen and is perhaps the most iconic part seen from a distance, alongside this would have been the engine house sadly this has been demolished.

The interior of the kilns is lined with firebrick and iron doors. 

The carefully constructed stone-lined draught tunnels under the kilns can still be seen. 

Interior of kiln

Draft tunnel of kiln

Although this works closed in 1926 cement is still produced in this area about 1km north of the site, at a factory founded in 1914. It receives limestone from an adjoining quarry.

Constructed near the south Wales coast, and despite being surrounded by trees it is still quite a landmark that can be seen from the coast if one walks along the Wales coastal path.

Its location is just east of the now decommissioned Aberthaw power station, whose tall chimney in the distance can still be seen dwarfing the lime works chimney.

Looking out to sea further the cold water inlet from the power station, which looks like something from a Star Wars movie, can be seen just off the coast close by.

Footer:Visit Information: -

Google Reference: -
51.38587662515887, -3.383564003219934


What Three Words reference: -
///faced.denser.booms

OS Details: -
ST 03813 66115 Altitude:38 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is very easy but parking close is not.

The best place for this is to park in the Fontygary holiday park car park (51.38526429361768, -3.365962684286137) This park is open to visitors daily throughout the summer. It also has good facilities including a good restaurant and cafe.

From the car park you can walk down to the beach and then head west along the coast until you see the works and then join the coastal path. This would be a reasonably easy 1.6 km. WARNING: This path way is on the beach so watch for the tide times.

Alternatively go north from the car park to the top road of the park and head west. You then leave the park onto a path and then this leads down to the beach, this can by quite a climb however there are quite steep steps down to the beach but if you are mobile you can achieve this. Follow the coastal path then from the beach. This path is only on the beach for a short distance so the tides do not matter. This is slightly shorter at 1.3 km

On both these walks you will leave the beach at (51.385594477460046, -3.3807672028986824) and cross the concrete wall via the gate.

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St. Dogmaels Abby and St Thomas' Church.

Founded in 1120 on the site of an earlier pre-Norman church, St. Dogmael’s status as a religious centre can be seen in extensive ruins which span four centuries of monastic life. Elements of the church and cloister are 12th century in origin, while the tall west and north walls of the nave are 13th century.

Visit Date September 2023

St Dogmaels Abbey - Infirmary

St Dogmaels story starts long before the abbey was built.

The Abbey was constructed and inhabited by The Monks of Tiron.

St Dogmaels Abbey - Infirmary

The Tironensian Order or the Order of Tiron was a medieval monastic order named after the location of the mother abbey (Tiron Abbey, French: Abbaye de la Sainte-Trinité de Tiron, established in 1109)

St Dogmaels Abbey - Infirmary

The foundation of Tiron Abbey by Bernard of Abbeville was part of wider movements of monastic reform in Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Bernard intended to restore the asceticism and strict observance of the Rule of St. Benedict in monastic life, insisting on manual labour.

St Dogmaels Abbey - The Nave & West Wing

Tiron was the first of the new religious orders to spread internationally. Within less than five years of its creation, the Order of Tiron owned 117 priories and abbeys in France, Britain and Ireland.

St Dogmaels Abbey - The Nave & West Wing

Tiron's influence in Britain was limited. St Dogmaels was the only Tironian abbey to be established in Wales or England, although the house also had daughter priories in Wales and Ireland. A few Tironian abbeys were established in Scotland, but they soon formed their own independent order.

St Dogmaels Abbey - The infirmary

And so in in 1120 on the site of an earlier pre-Norman church, St Dogmael’s status as a religious centre was created.

The Chancel with a Crypt

The monastic vows laid great stress on poverty, chastity and obedience, and these ideals were characteristic of the monastic life, especially in the early years. The abbey would have taken in any pilgrims and travelers requiring hospitality.

The Refectory with the Cloister and Nave in the background

Not all aspects of the monastic life at St Dogmaels continued to flourish, and in later centuries the abbey suffered from a decline in standards as well as in its financial position. In 1402, for instance, at the time of the visitation by the bishop of St David’s, it appears that only 4 monks were left in the abbey and they were of disrepute, it having been noted, "They were gluttonous and one of them named as Howel Lange had been found drunk and because of this and his "evil deeds" he was banned from drinking any alcohol for a year".

The Refectory

After this visit for some time, the abbey saw an improvement in its monastic life but despite this, St. Dogmaels was never raised to the levels seen years before and its life as a monastery was declining again and was ended during the reign of King Henry VIII when in 1536 it took its place with many other places with an income of less than £200 a year.

The North Transept

The assessed annual value of the monastery at the dissolution was £87 8s.6d

St Dogmaels Abbey - The North Transept

Much of the abbey's possessions, including Caldey and Fishguard were leased to John Bradshaw of Presteigne, in Radnorshire. A few years later, in 1543, Bradshaw was able to purchase the properties which he already had on lease. He built a mansion for himself, almost certainly within the abbey grounds, and possibly took stone from the abbey buildings for its construction. It is thought that none of the remains of these buildings can be seen today.

St Dogmaels Abbey - The North Transept

It was reported that by the start of the 17th century, the site was in a ruinous state.

In 1646 the site was bought by David Parry of Neuadd-Trefawr, near Cardigan but he never lived there.

The North Transept, Nave and Guest House

Early in the eighteenth century, a new parish church was erected alongside the old abbey church. A century later, in 1847, this was replaced by St Thomas' Church which now stands on the site.

St. Thomas' Church

The original plans were made in 1847 for a church to cost £600, but the final cost was £1,500. A tower was proposed but funds were insufficient. Daniel Evans of Cardigan superintended the building, and John Davies and John Thomas of Llechryd were the contractors.

St. Thomas' Church

St. Thomas' Church

St. Thomas' Church

1866, a vicarage and its coach house were added with materials from the old abbey buildings.

St. Thomas' Church

In 1934 the remains of the abbey were placed in State guardianship by the Representative Body of the Church in Wales. The site was cleared and the masonry consolidated between 1947 and 1968 and the ruins are now maintained by Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments.

St Dogmael

Finally, Saint Dogmael was a 6th-century Welsh monk and preacher who is considered a saint. His feast day is 14 June.

Saint Dogmael seems to have concentrated his preaching in Pembrokeshire, where there are several churches dedicated to him.

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Google Reference: -
52.080568145326666, -4.680455205913844

Google search term:
St Dogmaels Abbey

What Three Words reference: -
///rescuer.conspire.same

OS Details: -
SN 16401 45858 Altitude:62 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is very easy.

A487 and then B4546 to the Abbey
There is limited parking at the site. (52.08084819413824, -4.679396371342211) and this is not always available especially on Tuesdays when it is the venue for the local market. but a better bet is at the town parking (52.08178485298606, -4.677090769613847) and it is just a short  200 m walk to the Abbey.

There is a great cafe and also museum an the site.

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Ynyscedwyn Ironworks

The site of the Ynyscedwyn Ironworks is a remnant 

of the past and is one of the most iconic sights

in the village of Ystradgynlais near Swansea.

Visit Date March 2023

Click on the any image for a larger view

Ynyscedwyn Ironworks' long history has been traced. Thanks to a find of pig iron it has been able to date iron production here back to 1612.

As you would expect the site has gone through many changes over the centuries.

What we see today is dated from a stone in the base of the wall of the chimney dated 1872 and is what is left of a mill that was constructed then possibly for Steel production. This was never completed and the site shortly after this housed a tinplate works.

Click on the any image for a larger view

By 1837 three blast furnaces were running at the site which increased to 6 by 1853.

by 1854 the Inyscedwyn Ironworks were the largest producer in the country.

However, the glory days of the works were soon in decline after this date and by 1869-70 the works were closed.

Click on the any image for a larger view

It was then that the rolling mill project was started, the remains of which we see today. But they were never completed and work was started converting the site to a tin works.

The tin works consisted of three operating mills from the periods 1889-1903 and 1905-41 before they also went the way of the ironworks.

The site then lay in disrepair until the site was cleared and landscaped in the late 20th century only leaving what we see today primarily the 1872 chimney and the massive arches on either side.

Click on the any image for a larger view

Also on the site, a few pieces of the works are left. A dram or coal cart, the remains of a winding mechanism and the remains of a miner's cage.

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The site of the ironworks is open to the public and a housing estate is close by and also a children's playground is now alongside the historical site.

Footer:Visit Information: -

Google Reference: -
51.7682972861281, -3.7642929522232205

Google search term:
Ynyscedwyn Iron Works

What Three Words reference: -
///glassware.clips.demanding

OS Details: -
SN 78346 09208 : Altitude:230 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is very easy.
From the M4 junction 45 take the A4067 north then the B4559 the site is Situated on grassed site bounded by Glan-Rhyd Road and Pont Aur, just N of Ystradgynlais Hospital.
There is a parking at the site. (51.76851605993839, -3.7649497331170707).









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Tŷ Newydd Burial Chamber.

 

Tŷ Newydd burial chamber although ruined, is still a good example of a megalithic dolmen. 

Set on a natural outcrop it would originally have been covered with a mound or cairn 

now marked out by the small bollards that surround it.

Visit Date May 2023

Click on image for a larger version.

Ty-Newydd has a massive cracked capstone, about 4.0m by 1.8m and up to 1.2m thick, that rests on three of the four remaining uprights. The Capstone is likely to have originally been wider as part of the southern edge has broken off.

The chamber was originally part of a passage grave. One theory is that the tomb was originally similar to Bryn Celli Ddu (the subject of a later blog), with a second chamber joined to the first by a passage, and the entire tomb was covered by a large earth mound which was later removed.

Early reports claim that the second larger chamber existed close by, this has long since been broken up and carried away as has any surface evidence of a covering stone cairn so it is impossible to establish the original layout of the site although several small concrete markers around the chamber hint at the possible extent.

It is said to have once been enclosed by a circular wall about 32m in diameter and this may reflect the form of the cairn.

The huge tilted capstone is split and is now partly supported by brickwork and concrete. This does distract from the natural beauty of this site however one suspects that without this intervention the capstone would now be on the ground.

There is a photo in 'The Ancient Stones of Wales' by Barber and Williams, which purports to show Ty Newydd in 1900, with the capstone resting on 3 uprights, without all the modern brickwork.

The chamber was excavated in August 1935 by Charles Phillips.

There was a lot of charcoal, suggesting evidence of a large fire that formed this thick layer of charcoal as well as a quantity of quartz.

There were no human remains found at the site however the finds included five flint flakes, a burnt flint arrowhead, a small chip from a polished flint axe, and some small fragments of pottery. Phillips believed that the pottery fragments were from the Beaker culture, suggesting a Bronze Age reuse of this earlier Neolithic monument.

More recently, prehistoric artwork termed ‘cup marks’ have been detected on the capstone.

Footer:Visit Information: -

Google Reference: -
53.23592779682485, -4.482380635799995

Google search term:
I have had a few problems with google maps trying to locate the exact place by description so please use the google reference above.

What Three Words reference: -
///overgrown.broke.slings

OS Details: -
SH 34422 73862 Altitude:115 ft

Additional information.

Visiting is relatively easy.
There is a turn off to an unnamed road off the A4080
It traveling north the entrance to the field is on the right hand side and is has a ancient monument signpost and information board.
There is a small layby (53.23661829013594, -4.485084849839341).

There are no facilities here.

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Cenarth Falls

 

Cenarth is a small village on the border of Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire. 

The focus of the village is Cenarth Falls, a series of small waterfalls and pools

 on the river Teifi known as The Salmon Leaps.

Visit Date September 2023

The waterfalls are one of the first real barriers to salmon and seatrout on their way up the Teifi from the sea to spawn.

There has been a mill on the south bank of the river at Cenarth since the 13th century when Cenarth Mill came into the possession of Edward I when he became Lord of the Manor of Cenarth.

The mill holds a secret in its base. There is a trap door in the floor and it is said that the miller would open the door and catch the salmon that were leaping there. The catching of salmon here was illegal but despite this, there was a lot of poaching of the fish, especially at night.

Light round boats, called coracles here in Wales, would often be seen on the river in the autumn nights with their occupants poaching the fish.

As well as the falls at Cenarth the other main feature of this small town is the bridge over the River Teifi at Cenarth that joins two counties, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion and has existed at least since 1188 when it was mentioned in the writings of Gerald of Wales.(a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively).

The design includes two cylindrical holes 6 ft (1.8 m) in diameter, one on either side of the central span. The holes were included in the design while reducing the overall weight of the structure they also allow floodwaters to pass through them, instead of going over the top of the bridge: In these images, the water appears to flow under the southern arch only however, when in full flood the Teifi flows through all three arches.

This feature was used by Edwards's father William, who used six holes in the Old Bridge at Pontypridd to reduce the weight and pressure on the centre section.

Footer:Visit Information: -

Google Reference: -
52.04573152490105, -4.524292938371246


Google search term:
Cenarth Falls

What Three Words reference: -
///shows.riper.correctly

OS Details: -
SN 27008 41592 Altitude:40 ft

Additional information.

Visiting Cenarth falls and bridge is very easy.
There is lots of parking here right on the river bank. (52.04578729006762, -4.525187301082359).


There are shops toilets and a very nice cafe adjacent to the car park other also other amenities close by.

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