15832

 

II  

Designated  

26/09/1994  

15/06/1999  

Henllys Vale Colliery Limekilns  

 

Carmarthenshire  

Quarter Bach  

Swansea  

Ystradowen  

276254  

213763  

 

Situated on the W bank of the Afon Twrch, some 1.4 km N of Brynhenllys Bridge, reached by long track or by riverside path.  

Industrial  

 

Very large bank of lime kilns associated with the quarries on the Black Mountain behind, to which it was linked by tramway incline. Probably dating from the 1880s, it became part of the Henllys Vale Colliery which began in 1898 and operated as an anthracite drift mine until 1915. The owners were initially the Black Mountain Anthracite Co, later the New Henllys Anthracite Co. Ltd. Most of the colliery buildings were demolished in the 1950s, but the surviving chimney and limekilns were restored as part of the land reclamation scheme c1986.  

Bank of four limekilns built into the hillside in coursed rubble limestone with brick drawing arches. The kiln bank is unusually large, about 10m high, and well preserved. It seems to have been built in two parts, the more northerly half appears older. It is heavily battered and has a raised band and two drawing arches of different heights. A blocked arch to the right does not appear to relate to a kiln, but the upper N end is very eroded. To the S, slightly set back, the later pair of kilns with more vertical walls and no raised band. This also has two drawing arches to the front, but the left kiln has drawing arches from both the front and the side.  

Impressively tall crucibles, mostly circular and lined in brick approached by brick-arched tunnels of varying length from the front. The most southerly kiln has a square free-standing inner lining at ground level with arches N and S, small arch E, presumably to allow greater access, though the space between the lining and bedrock in some places is very constricted. The brick of this inner lining are coved out to meet the main shaft walls. The second kiln shows more bedrock and rubble stone in the crucible, partly octagonal. The northern pair of kilns have longer brick-vaulted entry passages, some 5m in the left one, and the right one runs in diagonally SW for some 7m, with skew-arch to front.