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Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works and Dam is a post-medieval and modern industrial monument in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference CM291. The works represent the tinplate manufacturing industry that developed in South Wales during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the region became a major centre for tin coating iron sheet. The site comprises the physical remains of production facilities and an associated dam, which would have provided water power and cooling water essential to the tinplate-making process.
The monument sits upon Dinantian limestone bedrock, interspersed with sandstone and argillaceous rocks, which shaped both the site's geology and its suitability for industrial development. This solid foundation supported the heavy machinery and structures required for tinplate manufacture. The landscape around Kidwelly reflects the broader industrial heritage of the Carmarthenshire area, where water access and local resources combined to establish significant manufacturing operations.
The dam forms an integral part of the works' infrastructure, demonstrating how tinplate manufacturers harnessed water resources to power their operations and manage production requirements. Together, the works and dam document an important phase of Welsh industrial history and the technological systems upon which manufacturing depended. The site preserves evidence of the processes and engineering solutions that sustained one of Wales's key industries during the modern period.
Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works and Dam is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference CM291. View the official record →
Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works and Dam is a post-medieval and modern industrial monument in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference CM291.
Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works and Dam dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a tinplate works. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works and Dam 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 CM291.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Spudder's Bridge (2.3 km), Glanstony Aqueduct, Trimsaran (2.6 km), Dome Gunnery Trainer, Pembrey Airfield (4.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works and Dam'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.
Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works and Dam stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.