The village of Hirwaun grew from the need
to provide houses and services for the workers at the Hirwaun
Ironworks that was founded by John Mayberry in 1757. Although
the Works themselves were constructed on the North Bank
of the River Cynon in the Parish of Penderyn, Breconshire,
the village itself grew on the Southern Bank of the Cynon
in the Parish of Aberdare. The River Cynon marking the
boundary between the parishes and, hence, the counties.
The Ironworks had a chequered early history and the development
of Hirwaun was relatively slow. In 1813 the village contained
64 houses near the works, 5 at Penhow and 38 at Coedcae'rfelin.
When the Ironworks were bought by the Crawshay Family in
1819 there followed a short lived period of prosperity, but
this was followed by the depression of 1829 that led to unemployment
and a cut in wages. During the Merthyr Rising of 1831a red
flag was raised at Hirwaun, apparently the first time this
banner was raised in Britain.
Right: High Street Hirwaun
Despite these problems the period that the
Ironworks were owned by the Crawshay Family were the most
prosperous in their history. For much of this time the Ironworks
were managed by Francis Crawshay. Somewhat eccentric, this
ironmaster was well respected by his workers. He is said
to have learnt Welsh and to have foregone living in Ty Mawr,
the large house built in 1784 by Anthony Bacon, instead residing
in a small cottage he had built at Tir Gwyn Bach. He is best
known for his construction of Crawshay's Tower on
the hillside overlooking Hirwaun. The Tower was built circa
1848 and measured 30 feet in height with an internal diameter
of 12 feet. There were three floors with one room on each
floor, one door and six round windows. The Tower fell into
ruin following the departure of the Crawshay Family in 1859.
The opening of the Vale of Neath Railway from Swansea
to Aberdare in September 1851 provided the next impetus for
growth in Hirwaun. The main railway station was built to
the North of the Village in the Breconshire area and this
appears to have stimulated the construction of housing in
that area, probably to house railway workers. St Lleurwg's
Church was consecrated and opened by the Bishop of Llandaff
in July 1858. The chapels such as Nebo, Bethel and Soar that
the earlier, mainly Welsh, inhabitants had used as places
of worship had opened earlier in the 1820's. A Brickworks
also opened near the Station in 1852 and became an important
employer in Hirwaun for many years to come until it eventually
closed in 1973.
With the decline of the Hirwaun Ironworks following their sale by the Crawshay
Family in 1859, the coal industry became the main employer in Hirwaun, and industries
such as the Gloucester Wagon Works opened to support the industry.
Left: Unveiling of the War Memorial January
The remainder of the Nineteenth Century was generally
prosperous for Hirwaun, although in common with the rest
of the South Wales Coalfield the area suffered from the boom
and bust trends inherent in the Coal Industry. Consequently,
when the coal industry went into severe decline following
the First World War Hirwaun suffered the same economic and
social problems as communities throughout the Coalfield.
These hardships were alleviated only by the outbreak of the Second World War,
and in particular by the construction of the Royal Ordnance Factory to the West
of the village, on the site that was later to become the Hirwaun
Industrial Estate.
During the 1960's two blocks of flats were built at Hirwaun
which over a long period provided housing for many people and remained in use
as residential properties until 30th May 2004 when RCT in partnership with the
Controlled Demolition Group raised them to the ground with
Animation images courtesy of John White
Hirwaun Ironworks
Hirwaun Ironworks, which was probably the first coke fired
iron furnace in South Wales, was founded in 1757 by John
Mayberry of Brecon when he leased land for 99 years from
Lord Windsor. The works had a somewhat chequered history,
passing through many changes of ownership, without any of
the owners being able to return a good profit from their
investment.
The problems associated with the Hirwaun Ironworks became quickly apparent when
in 1775 the initial partnership granted the lease to John Wasse and William King.
However, this partnership failed to follow the conditions of the lease and after
William King died insolvent the lease was terminated in 1777.
The next owner of the site was Anthony Bacon of Cyfartha
until his death in 1786. Thereafter the works were left to
his sons Anthony and Thomas, when during their minority the
works were leased to Samuel Glover of Abercarn by the Court
of Chancery. During this period the works were probably producing
about 500 tons of iron per annum.
In 1803 the works passed to a new partnership of Francis William Bowzer, Simon
Oliver, Lionel Oliver and Jeremiah Homfray. Homfray later retired and was replaced
by George Overton. After 1805 this partnership began a program of work at the
site which included the construction of a second blast furnace. Unfortunately,
the construction of a second furnace was not enough to save the works from a
trade depression and the works were put up for sale again in 1813.
Shown right:
The ruins of Hirwaun Ironworks at the end of the Nineteenth Century. The photograph
clearly shows the four blast furnaces and to their right the building which
housed the puddling furnaces and rolling mills.
The next stage in the history of the ironworks
began in 1819 when they were purchased by William Crawshay
of Cyfartha. The period under the ownership of the Crawshay's
was to be the most successful for the Hirwaun Ironworks,
but problems did still arise. In 1820 the two furnaces were
rebuilt and a beam blowing engine was constructed at the
works by the Neath Abbey Iron Company. In 1824 another two
furnaces were built on the site. Output figures increased
dramatically during this period; in 1823 4,160 tons of iron
were being produced, in 1826 the figure was 7,020 tons and
by 1830 this had increased further to 9,370 tons per annum.
During the 1830's and 1840's the ironworks were managed
by Francis Crawshay and much of the output was sent to another
Crawshay works at Treforest where bars and tinplate were
produced. However, the 1850's saw a reduction in the fortune
of the ironworks, and in 1859 the Crawshay Family closed
the works.
The abandonment of the site by the Crawshays effectively meant the end of large
scale iron production at the site. Although attempts were made by various lessees
to make a going concern of the site it continued to decline until it was last
used as a foundry. The site was finally abandoned in 1905.
Hirwaun Coal Industry
The area around Hirwaun and Rhigos has a long
history of iron and coal working, reaching back at least
as far as the Seventeenth Century. The opening of the Ironworks
in 1757 provided further impetus to the industry, as coal
was needed to provide coke for the blast furnaces. The growth
of the sale coal market in the second half of the Nineteenth
Century that provided the spur for the next stage in the
growth of the coal industry in the Hirwaun area. During the
second half of the Nineteenth Century a number of levels
were opened on Hirwaun Common. These were usually short lived
and relatively small concerns.
Among the larger collieries that worked the seams of Hirwaun Common were the
Aberdare-Merthyr Steam Coal Colliery that operated from before 1860 to 1917
and the Bute Colliery. The Bute Colliery operated from before 1850, when it
was owned by the Hirwaun Iron Company, until 1906. In 1883 a boiler exploded
on the surface of the colliery killing one man.
Picture right shows the damages caused by the Bute Colliery boiler explosion
of 1883
In recent years Hirwaun has again risen to prominence
in the annals of coal mining in South Wales following the
events at Tower Colliery in 1994. Faced with closure the
miners opted to buy the colliery themselves. The scheme was
funded by each of the 239 miners at the colliery pledging £8,000
each and on 23rd December 1994 the miners marched back to
the colliery that they now owned. Since then Goitre Tower
Anthracite Ltd. has prospered and now remains the last colliery
working in the Cynon Valley.
Picture left Tyrone O'Sullivan at Tower Colliery
Tyrone O'Sullivan was the National Union of
Mineworkers Branch Secretary during the miner's buyout of
Tower Colliery. An influential leader of the movement to
secure ownership of the Colliery he is now Chairman of Goitre
Tower Anthracite Ltd. He was awarded an OBE in the 1996 New
Years Honours List.
