Cast House and Foundry, Blaenavon, Torfaen

Coordinates

Latitude: 51.777 / 51°46'37"N

Longitude: -3.0894 / 3°5'21"W

OS Eastings: 324934

OS Northings: 209265

OS Grid: SO249092

Mapcode National: GBR F2.ZB91

Mapcode Global: VH79C.DLLM

Plus Code: 9C3RQWG6+R6

Entry Name: Cast House and Foundry

Listing Date: 9 February 1995

Last Amended: 9 February 1995

Grade: I

Source: Cadw

Source ID: 15296

Building Class: Domestic

ID on this website: 300015296

Location: Situated on the north-western side of the site.

County: Torfaen

Community: Blaenavon (Blaenafon)

Community: Blaenavon

Locality: Blaenavon Ironworks

Built-Up Area: Blaenavon

Traditional County: Monmouthshire

Tagged with: Building

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History

A drawing of 1798 by Sir Richard Coalt Hoare shows a casting house in front of each of the three early furnaces at Blaenavon. They probably date from the erection of the furnaces in 1789. The cast house to furnace No 1 survives together with an adjacent 'Foundry'. This latter building occupies the site of the first engine house (demolished in 1860) and was certainly in place by the date of survey of the 1880 Ordnance Survey map.

Exterior

A pair of single storey, rectangular buildings whose gable end facades are of stone rubble masonry, with brick patching. There are ashlar dressings to quoins and ground floor openings and a stone band course giving pediment treatment; brick dressings to upper level openings. There are the remains of other cast houses to either side.

Cast house:- The main facade has three semi-circular arched ground floor openings springing from square piers. Of the three upper openings, the larger central one has a semi-circular arch and the outer two are ocular windows. The pitched roof is of slate. The base of a cupola furnace stands at the east corner of the building.

Foundry:- At ground level the main facade has three openings with evidence of other blocked openings. The larger central elliptical arch is flanked by a semi-circular arched opening to the south and a rectangular opening to the north. The roof is missing. A cupola furnace and enclosure stand at the east corner of the building.

Reasons for Listing

Part of Scheduled Ancient Monument Mm 200.

Included at grade I as part of this internationally important early coke-fired blast furnace complex.

Group value with other listed items at Blaenavon Ironworks.

External Links

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

Other nearby listed buildings

I Blast Furnaces
Three extant furnaces and the remains of others, stand in a row on the north-west side of the furnace yard, behind the cast houses.
II Storage Shed and attached Chimney
Situated to the south of the cast houses and adjoining the site of the western-most one.
II Calcining Kilns
Situated at the northern edge of the site, above the Blast furnaces.
II Chain Store
Situated at the north-east corner of the site, above the track leading up to the balance tower.
II Pay Office
Situated to the south-west of Stack Square and built against the curtain wall for the site.
I Balance Tower
Situated at the northern end of the Blaenavon Ironworks site and dominating the complex.
II Stack Square
Situated to the east side of the site.
II Gilchrist Memorial
Situated in the Blaenavon Ironworks Museum car park at the north end of Blaenavon town and to the south-west of the Ironworks; reached off North Street.

British Listed Buildings

History in Structure

Cast House and Foundry

A Grade I Listed Building in Blaenavon, Torfaen