Blaenafon Ironworks: The Furnaces and Stack Square
South Wales, Wales
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Blaenavon Heritage Pioneer
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225
XP
1 day
Blaenafon Ironworks: The Furnaces and Stack Square
225 XP
Blaenafon Ironworks, as Cadw now spells it, was built in 1788–89, and its blast furnaces, cast house and water-balance tower still stand; it was here in 1877–78 that Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and Percy Gilchrist worked out the process that let phosphoric iron ores be used. The ironworkers lived in Stack Square beside the works, now restored to different periods. The town and its landscape became a World Heritage Site in 2000, and the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway runs on the hill above.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Tour Blaenafon Ironworks, built in 1788–1789, with its Grade I listed blast furnaces, cast house and water-powered balance tower
2
of 5
Look at the site where Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and Percy Gilchrist experimented in 1877–1878 with the process that let phosphoric iron ores be used
3
of 5
Walk Stack Square, the workers' cottages restored to different periods
4
of 5
Ride the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
5
of 5
Visit the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre
Tour Blaenafon Ironworks, built in 1788–1789, with its Grade I listed blast furnaces, cast house and water-powered balance tower
Look at the site where Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and Percy Gilchrist experimented in 1877–1878 with the process that let phosphoric iron ores be used
Walk Stack Square, the workers' cottages restored to different periods
Ride the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
Visit the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre
Before you go
From November to March the ironworks opens Friday to Sunday only, and the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway runs at weekends from spring to September, plus Santa specials.
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
Potential total
225 XP
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