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Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran is a post-medieval and modern settlement that developed in response to the rich mineral deposits beneath the South Wales coalfield. The site lies on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation bedrock, a geological sequence laid down in the Moscovian period that combines mudstone, siltstone and sandstone with seams of coal and ironstone. This varied geology, particularly the presence of ironstone and ferricrete within the measure, made the location economically valuable during the industrial expansion of South Wales. The settlement grew as workers and their families established homes to exploit these mineral resources through mining and associated industries. Now protected by Cadw under reference GM496, the deserted village preserves evidence of the infrastructure, dwellings and social structures that developed around extraction industries. The landscape itself remains marked by the industrial activity that shaped it, with the underlying geology having determined both the historical settlement pattern and the nature of work undertaken there.
Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM496. View the official record →
Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran is a post-medieval and modern settlement that developed in response to the rich mineral deposits beneath the South Wales coalfield. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM496.
Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a settlement. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is GM496.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cefn Merthyr Round Cairns (5.7 km), Dyke 315m E of Tyla-Glas (5.9 km), Coed Cae Round Cairns (6.4 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran stands on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.