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For Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive, see Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick was a British nationality inventor, mining engineer and builder of the first working railway steam locomotive....


Penydarren Ironworks was the fourth of the great ironworks
Ironworks

An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelting and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e....
 established at Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
 in South
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....
 Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
. It was built in 1784 by the brothers Samuel Homfray
Samuel Homfray

Samuel Homfray , was an England industrialist during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, associated with the early iron industry in South Wales....
, Jeremiah Homfray, and Thomas Homfray, all sons of Francis Homfray
Francis Homfray

Francis Homfray was an England industrialist and one of the founders of the iron industry in South Wales.Homfray, whose family were originally from Yorkshire, had been successful in the iron trade in Coalbrookdale, Staffordshire, and made his home at Wollaston Hall, Worcestershire....
 of Stourbridge
Stourbridge

Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historic counties of England part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, West Midlands, Norton, West Midlands, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, West Midlands and Wollescote....
. His father (also Francis) for a time managed a nail warehouse there for Ambrose Crowley
Ambrose Crowley

Sir Ambrose Crowley III was a 17th century England ironmaster....
. Most of the family were involved in trade as ironmaster
Ironmaster

An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
s or ironmonger
Ironmonger

Today, the term Ironmonger refers to a retailer of iron goods. This has often been expanded to include consumer goods made of aluminium, brass, or other metals, as well as plastics....
s (in this context meaning a manufacturer of iron goods).

Because the owners of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks
Cyfarthfa Ironworks

The Cyfarthfa Ironworks was a major 18th century and 19th century ironworks located in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales....
 dominated the management of Glamorganshire Canal
Glamorganshire Canal

The Glamorganshire Canal was a canal in Glamorgan, South Wales, United Kingdom, running from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff. Construction started in 1790, and the 25 miles of canal was fully opened by 1794....
, the other Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
 ironworks built a tramroad to Abercynon
Abercynon

Abercynon is a community and a small village in the Cynon Valley, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales. As a community it contains the villages of Ynysboeth, Carnetown, Tyntetown and the village of Abercynon and has a population recorded as 6,428 in 2001....
 bypassing the upper sections of the canal.






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Encyclopedia


For Trevithick's Pen-y-darren locomotive, see Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick was a British nationality inventor, mining engineer and builder of the first working railway steam locomotive....


Penydarren Ironworks was the fourth of the great ironworks
Ironworks

An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelting and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e....
 established at Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
 in South
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....
 Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
. It was built in 1784 by the brothers Samuel Homfray
Samuel Homfray

Samuel Homfray , was an England industrialist during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, associated with the early iron industry in South Wales....
, Jeremiah Homfray, and Thomas Homfray, all sons of Francis Homfray
Francis Homfray

Francis Homfray was an England industrialist and one of the founders of the iron industry in South Wales.Homfray, whose family were originally from Yorkshire, had been successful in the iron trade in Coalbrookdale, Staffordshire, and made his home at Wollaston Hall, Worcestershire....
 of Stourbridge
Stourbridge

Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historic counties of England part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, West Midlands, Norton, West Midlands, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, West Midlands and Wollescote....
. His father (also Francis) for a time managed a nail warehouse there for Ambrose Crowley
Ambrose Crowley

Sir Ambrose Crowley III was a 17th century England ironmaster....
. Most of the family were involved in trade as ironmaster
Ironmaster

An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
s or ironmonger
Ironmonger

Today, the term Ironmonger refers to a retailer of iron goods. This has often been expanded to include consumer goods made of aluminium, brass, or other metals, as well as plastics....
s (in this context meaning a manufacturer of iron goods).

Because the owners of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks
Cyfarthfa Ironworks

The Cyfarthfa Ironworks was a major 18th century and 19th century ironworks located in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales....
 dominated the management of Glamorganshire Canal
Glamorganshire Canal

The Glamorganshire Canal was a canal in Glamorgan, South Wales, United Kingdom, running from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff. Construction started in 1790, and the 25 miles of canal was fully opened by 1794....
, the other Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. It is often referred to simply as 'Merthyr'....
 ironworks built a tramroad to Abercynon
Abercynon

Abercynon is a community and a small village in the Cynon Valley, in Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales. As a community it contains the villages of Ynysboeth, Carnetown, Tyntetown and the village of Abercynon and has a population recorded as 6,428 in 2001....
 bypassing the upper sections of the canal. This "Penydarren Tramroad" (more correctly, the Merthyr Tramroad) was used for a trial of the first railway steam locomotive
Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a locomotive powered by steam. The term usually refers to its use on railways, but can also refer to a "road locomotive" such as a traction engine or steamroller....
, built by Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick was a British nationality inventor, mining engineer and builder of the first working railway steam locomotive....
. This successfully hauled wagons but was so heavy that it broke many rails. The engine was then used for other purposes as a stationary engine.

The business was financed by William Forman of the Tower of London
Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London , is a historic monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames....
, who provided all the capital, partly on mortgage but taking a share in it himself. Samuel Homfray left the business in 1813. In 1819, the partners were William Forman and William Thompson of London. William Forman offered the works for sale in 1859, and the Dowlais Iron Company
Dowlais Ironworks

The Dowlais Ironworks was a major ironworks and steelworks located at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Founded in the eighteenth century, it operated until the end of the twentieth century, at one time in the nineteenth century being the largest steel producer in the world....
 bought the mineral ground. The works were used intermittently by various others until 1883. Some remains of the works can still be seen.

Further reading

  • L. Ince, The South Wales Iron Industry 1750-1885 (1993), 57-60 79-80 etc.
  • G. Rattenbury and M.J.T. Lewis. Merthyr Tydfil Tramroads and their Locomotives (Railway & Canal Historical Society, 2004).


External links

  • - Historical Photographs of Penydarren.
  • - Historical Photographs of Penydarren Ironworks.
  • - Historical Photographs of the 'Penydarren Locomotive'.