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Glynneath Gunpowder Works is a post-medieval and modern industrial monument in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference BR230. The site exploits the geological resources of its location, built upon the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation and South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation, Westphalian strata comprising mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete. These deposits provided essential raw materials for gunpowder manufacture and supported the local industrial economy.
Gunpowder works of this period typically occupied riverside or streamside locations, utilising water power for their grinding mills and benefiting from good drainage. The Glynneath works would have required separation of production processes across multiple buildings for safety reasons, as gunpowder manufacture involved hazardous stages combining charcoal, saltpetre and sulphur. The survival of structural remains, earthworks and associated features at the site provides evidence of this important but dangerous industrial heritage.
The monument's designation by Cadw reflects its significance to Welsh industrial archaeology and the history of military and commercial explosives production. Industrial sites of this character are relatively rare survivors, having been frequently demolished, relocated or substantially altered over successive centuries. Glynneath Gunpowder Works thus represents a valuable physical record of post-medieval manufacturing technology and industrial organisation in South Wales.
Glynneath Gunpowder Works is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference BR230. View the official record →
Glynneath Gunpowder Works is a post-medieval and modern industrial monument in Wales, protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw under reference BR230.
Glynneath Gunpowder Works dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a gunpowder works. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Glynneath Gunpowder Works 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 BR230.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Foel Chwern Round Cairn (4.6 km), Craig y Bwlch round cairn (5.4 km), Tarren y Bwlch round cairn (5.9 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Glynneath Gunpowder Works'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.
Glynneath Gunpowder Works stands on Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.