© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Cadw
Machen Forge and Tinplate Works is a post-medieval and modern industrial monument located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference GM516. The site represents a water-powered metalworking complex that exploited both the region's rich mineral resources and its reliable water supply. The underlying geology of the South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation—comprising mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete—provided the raw materials essential to such enterprises, whilst the local hydrography supplied the energy needed to drive the forge and tinplate machinery.
The monument exemplifies the industrial heritage of South Wales, where coalfield resources and flowing water combined to support metalworking from the early modern period onwards. The tinplate industry in particular became a defining feature of Welsh industrial production, requiring both heat from coal and mechanical power from water wheels.
Today, the remains of Machen Forge and Tinplate Works survive as physical evidence of this industrial legacy, retaining significant archaeological and historical interest as a testimony to the methods and landscape management practices of water-powered metal production in Wales.
Machen Forge and Tinplate Works is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM516. View the official record →
Machen Forge and Tinplate Works is a post-medieval and modern industrial monument located in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference GM516.
Machen Forge and Tinplate Works dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a water power system. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Machen Forge and Tinplate 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 GM516.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Castle Field Camp E Of Craig-Llywn (4.9 km), Castell Morgraig (6.3 km), Caerffili Mountain Shaft Mounds (6.3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Machen Forge and Tinplate 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.
Machen Forge and Tinplate Works stands on South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.