Full Report for Listed Buildings
The list description is not intended to be a complete inventory of what is listed: it is principally intended to aid identification. By law, the definition of a listed building includes the entire building (i) and any structure or object that is fixed to the said building and ancillary to it and (ii) any other structure or object that forms part of the land and has done so since before 1 July 1948, and was within the curtilage of the building, and ancillary to it, on the date on which said building was first included in the list, or on 1 January 1969, whichever was later.
Summary Description
Reference Number
9448
Building Number
Grade
II
Status
Designated
Date of Designation
19/05/1981
Date of Amendment
28/11/2003
Name of Property
Former Blast Furnace and attached building
Address
Location
Unitary Authority
Carmarthenshire
Community
Carmarthen
Town
Locality
Furnace Bank
Easting
242076
Northing
220561
Street Side
Location
Situated the lower of the 2 stone buildings in builders merchants down drive off the SE side of Abbey Mead.
Description
Broad Class
Industrial
Period
History
This was part of the iron works established here in 1748 by Robert Morgan, and probably dates from that time. In 1750, about 150 tons of bar iron was produced here. Before 1760 the furnace produced guns and shot for the Board of Ordnance. By 1788, production had risen to 400 tons. Morgan also had tin mills on the site from 1761. The tin works suffered a disastrous fire in 1823 and the works closed in 1826, but resumed production in 1831, and flourished for the remainder of the century, with 5 mills in operation. The works finally closed in 1900, unable to compete following the loss of the American market with the McKinley tarriff.
The blast furnace is shown in a painting of the ironworks in Carmarthen Museum, and illustrated in Lodwick and James. Now part of Jewson timber merchants premises.
Exterior
Blast furnace, square plan with high battered walls of rubble stone laid in regular courses, and furnace arches in SW and SE sides. Attached to SW is former casting shed with stone walls to ground and first floors, second floor of C20 brick with C20 windows, and C20 hipped roof (also over blast furnace). Five windows to second floor, 4 and loading door to first floor, all with concrete lintels and C20 windows. Ground floor has arched doorway to left with stone voussoirs, and 2 windows and door to right, the door against edge of blast furnace.
Interior
Reason for designation
Included for industrial archaeological interest, as remant of a major Welsh iron works.
Cadw : Full Report for Listed Buildings [ Records 1 of 1 ]
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