Blaenavon Ironworks

Southeast Wales


When it was completed in 1789, this ironworks was among the most advanced in the world. Today the site is one of the best preserved of all its Industrial Revolution contemporaries, with a motion-activated audiovisual display within the hulking remains of one of the blast furnaces serving to rattle the ravens that now call it home. Also on display are the ironworkers' tiny terraced cottages, furnished as they would have been at different points in history.

Blaenavon Ironworks' three huge coal-fired blast furnaces were provided with air by a steam engine, making them much more powerful than older, smaller furnaces fired with charcoal and blasted with air from waterwheel-powered bellows. Within a few years of construction it was the world's second-biggest ironworks, after Cyfarthfa at Merthyr Tydfil. Innovation and development continued here until 1904, when the last furnace was finally shut down.

You can follow the whole process of production, from the charging of the furnaces to the casting of molten iron in the casting sheds. The surrounding hillsides are pitted with old tramlines, mines, tunnels and 'scouring' sites, where water was released from holding ponds to wash away topsoil and expose ore seams.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Southeast Wales attractions

1. Blaenavon World Heritage Centre

0.24 MILES

Housed in an artfully converted old school, this centre contains a cafe, a tourist office, a gallery, a gift shop and, more importantly, excellent…

2. Big Pit National Coal Museum

0.75 MILES

Fascinating Big Pit provides an opportunity to explore a real coal mine and get a taste of what life was like for the miners who worked here from 1880 to…

3. Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway

0.98 MILES

Built to haul coal and passengers, this railway has been restored by local volunteers, allowing you to catch a train from the town centre to Furnace…

4. Blorenge

2.42 MILES

Of the three mountains encircling Abergavenny, Blorenge (561m) is the closest to town – the round trip is only 5 miles – but it is a steep and strenuous…

5. Abergavenny Museum & Castle

4.26 MILES

Abergavenny castle's keep was converted into a hunting lodge during the Victorian era and now houses a small museum. It tells the history of the castle…

6. Tithe Barn

4.38 MILES

The large blocky building next to the church is the former abbey's 12th-century tithe barn, the place where people brought their obligatory contributions…

7. St Mary's Priory Church

4.41 MILES

Although you wouldn't guess it from the outside, this large stone church has been described as the 'Westminster Abbey of South Wales' because of the…

8. Sugarloaf Vineyards

4.53 MILES

Established in 1992, this vineyard on the northwestern edge of town produces a variety of white and red wines, including an award-winning sparkling. You…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "wales/blaenavon-blaenafon/attractions/blaenavon-ironworks/a/poi-sig/1221080/1303334",
      "destination": "Southeast-Wales",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Wales",
      "region": "Southeast-Wales",
      "position": "superzone"
    }