Nantyglo Round Towers
Encyclopedia
Nantyglo Round Towers are located at Roundhouse Farm, Nantyglo
near Brynmawr
in the borough of Blaenau Gwent
in the South Wales Valleys
. The two fortified towers were constructed in 1816 during the period of national unrest due to high wheat prices
following the end of the Napoleonic wars, by the ironmasters Matthew Wayne (1780–1853) and Joseph Bailey
, beside Nantyglo House or Ty Mawr as barracks for the militia and places of retreat.
They are believed to be the last fortifications of their type built in Britain. One of the towers remains intact today whilst the other is ruinous having been partly demolished in a search for scrap iron in the 1940s. Neither is open to the public though they can be viewed from nearby.
An independent band of iron miners was brought from Wellington Shropshire for the open-cast iron mine beside the towers then called Caban Gwyn. Some lived in houses with their own chapel at Penywain up the top of (now) Pond Road behind Brynawelon and overlooking Nantyglo, the ironworks, the towers and Ty Mawr. Those houses' view of the towers and Ty Mawr is now obscured by a heap of mid 19th century spoil
. Beneath the mine tunnels were constructed linking the houses, the towers, and Ty Mawr.
Nantyglo
Nantyglo is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent.- Places of interest in Nantyglo :...
near Brynmawr
Brynmawr
Brynmawr is a market town in Blaenau Gwent, south Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at 1,250 to 1,500 feet above sea level and nestled at the head of the South Wales Valleys...
in the borough of Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent is a county borough in South Wales, sharing its name with a parliamentary constituency. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and...
in the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
. The two fortified towers were constructed in 1816 during the period of national unrest due to high wheat prices
Ely and Littleport riots 1816
The Ely and Littleport riots, also known as the Littleport riots, began in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, on 22 May 1816, against a background of similar unrest throughout the country following the Napoleonic Wars. A group of 56 Littleport residents met at The Globe Inn to discuss the high...
following the end of the Napoleonic wars, by the ironmasters Matthew Wayne (1780–1853) and Joseph Bailey
Sir Joseph Bailey, 1st Baronet
Sir Joseph Bailey, 1st Baronet was an English ironmaster and Member of Parliament .Bailey was born in 1783 in Great Wenham, Suffolk, the son of John Bailey, of Wakefield and his wife Susannah...
, beside Nantyglo House or Ty Mawr as barracks for the militia and places of retreat.
They are believed to be the last fortifications of their type built in Britain. One of the towers remains intact today whilst the other is ruinous having been partly demolished in a search for scrap iron in the 1940s. Neither is open to the public though they can be viewed from nearby.
An independent band of iron miners was brought from Wellington Shropshire for the open-cast iron mine beside the towers then called Caban Gwyn. Some lived in houses with their own chapel at Penywain up the top of (now) Pond Road behind Brynawelon and overlooking Nantyglo, the ironworks, the towers and Ty Mawr. Those houses' view of the towers and Ty Mawr is now obscured by a heap of mid 19th century spoil
Slag
Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...
. Beneath the mine tunnels were constructed linking the houses, the towers, and Ty Mawr.
