MM197

Old Furnace Blast Furnace  

14/02/1977  

Designated  

Monmouthshire  

Tintern  

351370  

200293  

Industrial  

Blast Furnace  

Post Medieval/Modern  

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. The monument comprises the remains of a 17th century industrial blast furnace. The furnace was built in the mid-17th century, with the first record of it in use in 1665, and was built to supply osmond iron to the Tintern wireworks. The scheduled area contains the remains of the furnace, casting house, charging house, water wheel pit, blowing house and launder supports. The furnace was built up against a steep slope to allow it to be filled from the top. The interior of the furnace is visible and is constructed from sandstone that has become fire-blackend and partly vitrified. It is circular, 3.5m high and 2.5m in diameter. On the NW side of the furnace, located above the height of the stack, are the remains of the charging house. On the SW side of the furnace are the remains of the casting house. This was a rectangular building, measuring roughly 12m NE/SW by 6m, the walls of which survive to a maximum height of 2.5m. In the NW corner of the casting house is a tunnel with an arched roof, 1.5m high and 0.8m wide, which is now blocked. On the NE side of the casting house are the remains of the blowing house, the walls of which survive to a maximum height of 0.8m. The remains of the wheel pit for the water wheel that would have powered the bellows are located to the NE of the furnace and the blowing house, while the remains of the launder supports run W from the wheel pit towards the leat. The furnace went out of use in 1828. The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance and illustrate our knowledge and understanding of the development of the iron industry in Wales. It retains significant archaeological potential, with the strong possibility of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A blast furnace may be part of a larger cluster of industrial monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value. The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.