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The Remains of Blast Furnace at Melin Court is a post-medieval ironworking site located in Wales. The furnace was constructed to exploit the rich mineral deposits present in the underlying South Wales Upper Coal Measures Formation, which contains ironstone, coal, and other resources essential to iron production. This geological abundance made the South Wales valleys ideal centres for industrial development during the early modern period.
The blast furnace represents the technological advancement of iron smelting during the post-medieval and modern era. Built upon mudstone and siltstone bedrock interspersed with coal seams and ironstone deposits, the site's location was strategically chosen to maximise access to raw materials. The ferricrete and ironstone bands within the Upper Coal Measures Formation provided the ore necessary for sustained industrial operation.
Today, the remains at Melin Court survive as an important testament to Wales's industrial heritage. The site is protected by Cadw, the Welsh Historic Monuments service, under reference GM416, ensuring its preservation as a record of the region's significant contribution to British iron production. The furnace ruins remain embedded within their original geological and landscape context, illustrating the intimate relationship between local geology and industrial enterprise in post-medieval Wales.
Remains of Blast Furnace at Melin Court is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM416. View the official record →
The Remains of Blast Furnace at Melin Court is a post-medieval ironworking site located in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference GM416.
Remains of Blast Furnace at Melin Court dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a blast furnace. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Remains of Blast Furnace at Melin Court 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 GM416.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cwm Pelenna Colliery Ventilation Furnace (4.7 km), Cynon Corn-Drying Kiln (7.1 km), Nant Herbert Camp (7.8 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Remains of Blast Furnace at Melin Court'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.
Remains of Blast Furnace at Melin Court 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.