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Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen is a post-medieval industrial monument in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference GM420. The site occupies ground underlain by the Pennine and South Wales Lower Coal Measures Formation, a geological sequence deposited during the Westphalian period that comprises mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete. This varied stratigraphy made the locality particularly valuable for iron production, providing both the iron ore and fuel necessary for smelting.
The blast furnaces represent the industrial development that exploited these mineral resources from the post-medieval period onwards. The combination of accessible ironstone and coal deposits in the bedrock beneath the site made Banwen an economically attractive location for iron-working enterprises. The furnaces would have processed local ore using charcoal or coke derived from the coal seams present in the Lower Coal Measures.
Today the remains survive as substantial archaeological evidence of Wales's iron-working heritage. The site's preservation under Cadw protection ensures that this important record of industrial innovation and resource exploitation in the Welsh landscape is maintained for future study and understanding of the region's economic and social history.
Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference GM420. View the official record →
Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen is a post-medieval industrial monument in Wales, protected by Cadw under reference GM420.
Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen 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 Furnaces at Banwen 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 GM420.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Remains of Venallt Ironworks (5.5 km), Pentreclwydau Colliery (5.7 km), Carn Cornel Round Cairn (6.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Remains of Blast Furnaces at Banwen'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 Furnaces at Banwen 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.