Penwyllt
Encyclopedia
Penwyllt is a Welsh
hamlet
located in the upper Swansea Valley
, to the east of the Black Mountain
.
A former quarry
ing village
, quicklime
and silica brick production centre, its fortunes rose and fell as a result of the industrial revolution within South Wales
. It is now an important caving
centre.
provides it with the basic raw materials structure to be at the centre of the industrial revolution
. The large natural coal fields enclose significant deposits of iron ore and limestone
, 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 of Swansea Valley
where it borders Breconshire. There were also coal deposits below the limestone layer, and the coal which lay underground at Clydach, Ystradgynlais
, and Abercraf became more valuable as the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian era
led to a huge demand for iron and steel, giving the area prosperity.
in the industrial processes in the lower Swansea Valley, taking limestone from the quarries and turning it into quicklime in lime kilns.
Subsequently Penwyllt also supported the Penwyllt Dinas Silica Brick company, 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. A narrow gauge railway, with a rope worked incline
, transported silica sand and stones to the brickworks
, which was adjacent to the Neath and Brecon Railway
(which on 1 July 1922 became part of the Great Western Railway
).
A detailed account of the history of Penwyllt and its industries is provided by Matthews(1991).
(English - Great Forest of Brecon) was enclosed or divided up into fields, and large parts of it became the property of John Christie, a Scottish businessman based in London, who had become wealthy through the import of indigo. Christie developed a limestone quarry at Penwyllt, and decided to develop lime kilns there as well. In 1820 he moved to Brecon
, and developed the Brecon Forest Tramroad
.
The tramroad ran from a depot at Sennybridge
through Fforest Fawr by way of the limestone quarries at Penwyllt to the Drim Colliery near Onllwyn
. A branch served the Gwaun Clawdd Colliery on the northern slopes of Mynydd y Drum and was extended to the Swansea Canal
.
Christie was declared bankrupt in 1827 and most of his assets, including the tramroad, eventually passed to his principal creditor, Joseph Claypon, of the banking house of Garfit & Claypon in Boston, Lincolnshire
..
They quickly sold or leased 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:
created the Dulais Valley Mineral Railway
, to transport goods to the docks
at Briton Ferry
, Neath
built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
. The population of Penwyllt grew on this increased transport ability to over 500 citizens by the 1881 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 the Swansea Vale Railway
to create the Swansea Vale and Neath and Brecon Junction Railway linking the railway fully into Neath
, as well as the South Wales Railway
mainline. An early and unsuccessful purchaser of the new Fairlie
locomotive, when in 1863 the railway reached Crynant
, coal mining quickly expanded. 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
The passenger station at Craig-y-nos/Penwyllt was in part funded by opera singer Adelina Patti
, who lived at and extended Craig-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 own railway carriage, which she could request to go anywhere within the United Kingdom
.
and Llanwern
, Penwyllt declined.
By 1870 the seven blast furnace
ironworks
of Ynyscedwyn had only one working furnace. Penwyllt was in decline from the turn of the century, but World 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, or 'Stump' as it was often known, closed in 1948, and in October 1962 all passenger services were withdrawn by British Railways from Neath 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 it ceased major production and effectively closed..
dating from the days of the Brecon Forest Tramroad
, survives in a derelict state.
The only group of terrace houses still occupied are in Powell Street and form the headquarters of the South Wales Caving Club, and the West Brecon Cave Rescue Team
Beneath Penwyllt and the surrounding area is the extensive limestone cave
system of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu
, part of which was the first designated underground National Nature Reserve
in the UK. A corresponding area on the surface is also part of the National Nature Reserve
, on the slopes of Carreg Cadno
.
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. In 2008 it was again dormant. In 2009 it was operational but at a relatively low level of activity.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
located in the upper Swansea Valley
Swansea Valley
The Swansea Valley , one of the South Wales Valleys is the name often given to the valley of the River Tawe area in South Wales, UK. It reaches southwest and south from the Brecon Beacons National Park down to the city of Swansea. Today, administration of the area is divided between the City and...
, to the east of the Black Mountain
Black Mountain (range)
The Black Mountain is a mountain range in Mid and West Wales, straddling the county boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys and forming the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its highest point is Fan Brycheiniog at 802 metres or 2,631 ft. The Black Mountain also forms a part...
.
A former quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
, quicklime
Calcium oxide
Calcium oxide , commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline crystalline solid at room temperature....
and silica brick production centre, its fortunes rose and fell as a result of the industrial revolution within South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. It is now an important caving
Caving
Caving—also occasionally known as spelunking in the United States and potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems...
centre.
Background
The Geology of South WalesGeology of South Wales
South Wales is an area with many features of outstanding interest to geologists, who have for long used the area for University field trips.This varied and accessible region has provided a written record of geological interest going back to the 1100s when Giraldus Cambrensis noted pyritous shales...
provides it with the basic raw materials structure to be at the centre of the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. The large natural coal fields enclose significant deposits of iron ore and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, each basic to the production of materials via production methods.
The best coal in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
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 of Swansea Valley
Swansea Valley
The Swansea Valley , one of the South Wales Valleys is the name often given to the valley of the River Tawe area in South Wales, UK. It reaches southwest and south from the Brecon Beacons National Park down to the city of Swansea. Today, administration of the area is divided between the City and...
where it borders Breconshire. There were also coal deposits below the limestone layer, and the coal which lay underground at Clydach, Ystradgynlais
Ystradgynlais
Ystradgynlais is a town on the River Tawe in south west Powys; it is the second largest town in Powys, Wales. The town grew around the iron-making, coal-mining and watch-making industries....
, and Abercraf became more valuable as the Industrial Revolution of the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
led to a huge demand for iron and steel, giving the area prosperity.
Industrialisation
Penwyllt developed primarily as a result of the need for quicklimeCalcium oxide
Calcium oxide , commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline crystalline solid at room temperature....
in the industrial processes in the lower Swansea Valley, taking limestone from the quarries and turning it into quicklime in lime kilns.
Subsequently Penwyllt also supported the Penwyllt Dinas Silica Brick company, which quarried silica sand at Pwll Byfre from which it manufactured refractory bricks, a form of fire brick
Fire brick
A fire brick, firebrick, or refractory brick is a block of refractory ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. A refractory brick is built primarily to withstand high temperature, but will also usually have a low thermal conductivity for greater energy efficiency...
, at the Penwyllt brick works (closed 1937 or 1939). The bricks were destined for use in industrial furnaces. A narrow gauge railway, with a rope worked incline
, transported silica sand and stones to the brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
, which was adjacent to the Neath and Brecon Railway
Neath and Brecon Railway
The Neath and Brecon Railway linked the Vale of Neath Railway at Neath with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway at Brecon and also via a connection from Colbren Junction, it linked to the Swansea Vale Railway at Ynysygeinon Junction ....
(which on 1 July 1922 became part of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
).
A detailed account of the history of Penwyllt and its industries is provided by Matthews(1991).
Christie
In 1819 Fforest FawrFforest Fawr
Fforest Fawr is the name given to an extensive upland area in the county of Powys, Wales. Formerly known as the 'Great Forest of Brecknock' in English, it was a royal hunting area for several centuries but is now used primarily for sheep grazing, forestry, water catchment and recreation...
(English - Great Forest of Brecon) was enclosed or divided up into fields, and large parts of it became the property of John Christie, a Scottish businessman based in London, who had become wealthy through the import of indigo. Christie developed a limestone quarry at Penwyllt, and decided to develop lime kilns there as well. In 1820 he moved to Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
, and developed the Brecon Forest Tramroad
Brecon Forest Tramroad
The Brecon Forest Tramroad is an early nineteenth century tramway, or rather a network of connecting tramways or waggonways, which stretched across the hills of Fforest Fawr in the historic county of Brecknockshire in south Wales, UK...
.
The tramroad ran from a depot at Sennybridge
Sennybridge
Sennybridge is a village in Powys, Mid Wales, situated some from Cardiff and from Swansea. It lies west of Brecon on the A40 trunk road to Llandovery, at the point where the River Senni flows into the Usk...
through Fforest Fawr by way of the limestone quarries at Penwyllt to the Drim Colliery near Onllwyn
Onllwyn
Onllwyn is a small village in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, near Seven Sisters.-History:First developed by the Romans, local village Banwen is confined to the Roman Road of Sarn Helen. There are two Roman forts and the remains of a Roman Road within the community.Legend has it that St Patrick was born...
. A branch served the Gwaun Clawdd Colliery on the northern slopes of Mynydd y Drum and was extended to the Swansea Canal
Swansea Canal
The Swansea Canal was a canal constructed by the Swansea Canal Navigation Company between 1794 and 1798, running for some from Swansea to Hen Neuadd, Abercraf in South Wales. It was steeply graded, and 36 locks were needed to enable it to rise over its length...
.
Christie was declared bankrupt in 1827 and most of his assets, including the tramroad, eventually passed to his principal creditor, Joseph Claypon, of the banking house of Garfit & Claypon in Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
..
Claypon
Claypon 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 serve a small rural population of the Usk valley to the north.They quickly sold or leased 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
- Twyn-disgwylfa: Built by Joseph 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
- 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
Latter half of the 18th century
On 29 July 1862, an Act of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
created the Dulais Valley Mineral Railway
Neath and Brecon Railway
The Neath and Brecon Railway linked the Vale of Neath Railway at Neath with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway at Brecon and also via a connection from Colbren Junction, it linked to the Swansea Vale Railway at Ynysygeinon Junction ....
, to transport goods to the docks
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
at Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The town encompasses the electoral wards of Briton Ferry East and Briton Ferry West....
, Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
. The population of Penwyllt grew on this increased transport ability to over 500 citizens by the 1881 Census.
After being authorised to extend the railway to Brecon
Brecon
Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...
, it changed its name to the Neath and Brecon Railway. The railway agreed to co-operate with the Swansea Vale Railway
Swansea Vale Railway
|-|colspan="2" width="320"|-History:First opened in 1816 as a tramroad for conveying coal from Scott's Pit, near Birchgrove, to wharves on the River Tawe nearly four miles to the south, the Swansea Vale route grew to become a feeder railway for several mines and metal-working industries in the...
to create the Swansea Vale and Neath and Brecon Junction Railway linking the railway fully into Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, as well as the South Wales Railway
South Wales Railway
The South Wales Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway with Neyland in Wales.-History:The need for the railway was created by the need to ship coal from the South Wales Valleys to London, and secondly to complete Brunel's vision of linking London with...
mainline. An early and unsuccessful purchaser of the new Fairlie
Fairlie
A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended...
locomotive, when in 1863 the railway reached Crynant
Crynant
Crynant is a village in the Dulais Valley, lying between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east and Mynydd y Drum to the north. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, Wales....
, coal mining quickly expanded. At Crynant several new mines were opened including the Crynant colliery, Brynteg colliery in 1904, Llwynon colliery in 1905, Dillwyn colliery, and Cefn Coed
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum is a former coal mine, now operating as a museum. It is located at Crynant near Neath in the South Wales Valleys.-Background:Coal mining in the Neath area began with the development of the port of Neath in the 16th century...
colliery 1930
The passenger station at Craig-y-nos/Penwyllt was in part funded by opera singer Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
, who lived at and extended Craig-y-Nos Castle
Craig-y-Nos Castle
Craig-y-Nos Castle , is a Victorian-Gothic country house in Britain. Built on parkland beside the River Tawe in the upper Swansea Valley, it is located on the southern edge of Fforest Fawr in Powys. The former estate of opera singer Adelina Patti, part of the complex is now used as a boutique...
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 own railway carriage, which she could request to go anywhere within the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
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 TalbotPort Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
and Llanwern
Llanwern
Llanwern is an electoral ward and community in the urban-rural fringe of the City of Newport, South Wales. Llanwern ward is bounded by the M4 and Langstone to the north, Ringland, Liswerry and the River Usk to the west, the River Severn to the south and the city boundary to the east...
, Penwyllt declined.
By 1870 the seven blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
of Ynyscedwyn had only one working furnace. Penwyllt was in decline from the turn of the century, but World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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, or 'Stump' as it was often known, closed in 1948, and in October 1962 all passenger services were withdrawn by British Railways from Neath 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 it ceased major production and effectively closed..
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. Patti Row, a historic block of back-to-back housesBack-to-back houses
Usually of low quality and high density, they were built for working class people and because three of the four walls of the house were shared with other buildings and therefore contained no doors or windows, back-to-back houses were notoriously ill-lit and poorly ventilated and sanitation was of...
dating from the days of the Brecon Forest Tramroad
Brecon Forest Tramroad
The Brecon Forest Tramroad is an early nineteenth century tramway, or rather a network of connecting tramways or waggonways, which stretched across the hills of Fforest Fawr in the historic county of Brecknockshire in south Wales, UK...
, survives in a derelict state.
The only group of terrace houses still occupied are in Powell Street and form the headquarters of the South Wales Caving Club, and the West Brecon Cave Rescue Team
Beneath Penwyllt and the surrounding area is the extensive limestone cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
system of Ogof Ffynnon Ddu
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu is a cave located under a hillside in the area surrounding Penwyllt in the Upper Swansea Valley in South Wales...
, part of which was the first designated underground National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
in the UK. A corresponding area on the surface is also part of the National Nature Reserve
National Nature Reserve
For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...
, on the slopes of Carreg Cadno
Carreg Cadno
Carreg Cadno is a hill five miles northeast of Abercraf in the county of Powys, south Wales. It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park and Fforest Fawr Geopark. Its summit at OS grid ref SN 874161 reaches a height of 538m / 1763 ft above sea level...
.
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. In 2008 it was again dormant. In 2009 it was operational but at a relatively low level of activity.