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The Nantyglo and Blaina Ironworks Co, Ltd.
Nantyglo & Blaina Ironworks
The ironworks at Nantyglo were first erected by Messrs Hill, Harford and Co. in 1795. Archdeacon Coxe remarks in his "Historical Tour through Monmouthshire" (1799) that there were two furnaces, several forges, a steam engine and necessary buildings and machinery for smelting and forging iron ore. They were finished in 1795 but discontinued after working a year.
The Nantyglo District formed part of "Lord Abergavenny's Hills" which were leased to Thomas Hill of Stourbridge, co. Worcs., Thomas Hopkins of Rogely co. Stafford and Benjamin Pratt of Great Whitley, co. Worcs. in 1789. In 1811 Messrs Hill and Hopkins sublet to Joseph Bailey and. Matthew Wayne, both of Cyfarthfa, co. Glam., a portion of this land together with the Nantyglo Works, then consisting of two blast furnaces and one steam engine with the workmen's houses etc. and described as being in a dilapidated state. Power was also given to Bailey and Wayne to erect and set up engines and machines for working the mines and to erect such buildings, forges and other works as they should think fit for the purpose of carrying on the ironworks. In 1820 Wayne retired from the partnership and Crawshay Bailey, Joseph's brother, took his place. Under the management of Joseph and Crawshay Bailey the ironworks flourished. New leases of the Nantyglo District and the ironworks were obtained from Lord Abergavemy in 1856 and 1859 and Messrs Bailey continued to operate the works profitably, until 1871 when they were sold to the Nantyglo and Blaina Ironworks Co. Ltd. for £300,000.
The Beaufort Ironworks were built by the Kendalls who obtained a lease of lands in the parishes of Llangattock and Llanelly in co. Brecon from the Duke of Beaufort in 1779. Powers were granted to erect furnaces and other buildings and to dig for coal and iron ore etc. In 1833 Joseph and Crawshay Bailey purchased the Beaufort Works for a sum of £45,000.
The exact date of the foundation of the Blaina Ironworks is not known but in 1823 George Jones of Wolverhampton leased certain lands in the parish of Aberystruth together with the mines of ironstone and iron etc. with the power to work them. In 1827, Jones formed a partnership with John Barker also of Wolverhampton, but this was dissolved in 1835. In 1839, John Russell of Pontymister and Thomas Brown of Blaina were in occupation of the works which were eventually sold to the Nantyglo and Blaina. Ironworks Co. Ltd. in 1873.
The Nantyglo and Blaina. Ironworks Co. Ltd. continued the works but became increasingly financially involved and ultimately in Nov. 1873 the Beaufort works were closed followed in March 1874 by the closure of the Nantyglo works. In order to meet the pressing demands of their creditors the whole of the machinery, engines, railways etc. and every bit of iron that could be found was sold so that by 1878 the works were entirely dismantled and only the dilapidated buildings left standing.
A three months strike of workmen in 1873 added to the existing financial difficulties which the partial drowning of the pits in 1872 had done nothing to help. These difficulties the Company planned to offset by taking advantage of the current high price of fuel and by stopping the manufacture of finished iron at the Nantyglo works thereby releasing for sale a considerable quantity of coal. The production of iron was to be continued at the Blaina works where the cost of manufacture was made much cheaper by the use of small coal not suitable for the market.
In 1874 the Directors of the Company resigned leaving the Company in great financial difficulties but the new board of directors negotiated a £30,000 overdraft which, together with £20,000 owed by the previous board, was secured by a mortgage of the property of the Company.
The plan to increase the sale of coal ran into difficulties due to the fact that the coal was virtually unknown at home and abroad and the Company possessed no means of delivery. Agents were appointed in London, Liverpool and Newport and orders were placed for the use of railway trucks.
Steps were taken to improve the Blaina works where it was planned to build new coking ovens to replace the extravagant system of coking in the open. It was also planned to substitute steam power for the water balance system at the pits. The further capital for this purpose was provided by the shareholders of the Company and although this enabled the Company to improve its financial position it did not eradicate previous losses. The Company hoped to recoup some of these losses by increasing the sale of coke the quality of which it was intended to improve by introducing a system of washing the small coal before coking.
In 1875, too, the locomotive expenses had been cut by the construction of a railway line from Blaina to Coalbrookvale which it was intended to complete to Nantyglo,
A depression in the iron trade in 1874 and 1875 led to a collapse of iron manufacturing in 1877, a loss which the Company was unable to offset by the sale of coal because of the increasing competition from French and Belgian coalfields for the French and other Continental markets, and also because of the distance of the Company from the London market.
The Beaufort pit was closed late in 1876 and the Nantyglo pit in November 1877. The Blaina pits continued to be worked and other pits were sublet to numerous small colliery proprietors. The Company now adopted the policy of developing their property by subleasing but retaining their freehold property. By the end of 1878 the subletting of opened collieries was completed and by 1880 the Company was merely operating as landlords and not manufacturers. The improved financial position of the Company as a result of the rents and wayleaves accruing from these dealings enabled the Company to considerably reduce its mortgage debt to £161,000 by 1881.
During 1880 the various lessees continued to improve their properties. The Blaina Furnace Company put a second furnace in blast and built thirty new coke ovens. Two Companies for the manufacture of tin plate, a new industry in the valley, were enlarging their works and in 1881 the Blaina Iron and Tin Plate Co. were employing 1300 persons. The Nantyglo Tin Plate Co. also continued to enlarge during 1881. Improvements were made at the various collieries and the output of coal was increasing yearly - from 441,851 tons in 1878 to 861,904 tons in 1881.
So rapid was this expansion of industry that cottages for the workpeople became scarce and plans were made to meet the demand, at the same time a large number of dilapidated cottages were being sold to their occupiers who were expending considerable sums of money in their repair.
Source: Gwent Record Office
Archival Note: Most of the records in this collection (D.397) relate to the acquisition of lands by the Baileys but the activities of the Nantyglo and Blaina Co. Ltd. are also recorded. See also D.390 (G.R.O.) reports etc. Nantyglo and Blaina Ironwrks Co. Ltd and D.7 (G.R.O.) Lord Abergavenny's Mss.
