History

Kilgetty Ironworks was planned from 1846 by the Pembrokeshire Coal and Iron Company. Four, or possibly six, furnaces were anticipated. The works commenced production in 1849 with two furnaces, only one of which was then brought into blast. A year later production was halted due to an explosion. Grove Colliery was opened in 1856 to supply coal. Success was only moderate, and by 1861 the Company was in difficulties; in 1863 it was acquired by C H Vickerman and a brief period of prosperity commenced. In this heyday the works were pictured by M S Whatley. The furnaces were blown out in 1867, and Vickerman contemplated selling. For this purpose an inventory of the works was drawn up in 1872; James Carlton and the Bonville's Court Coal and Iron Company purchased them and brought in new investment. In 1873 a furnace was again in blast, but was blown out again a year later at a time of trade depression. The new owners went into liquidation in 1876 and the works closed in 1877. Vickerman, the main creditor, was able to buy the works back at a modest price. In 1888-9 the plant was dismantled and sold, but the buildings remained in workshop or storage use.

The Engine House contained the blowing engines for the furnaces. They were described in the 1872 inventory as two vertical blast engines, each with a 16 ft (4.87 m ) flywheel, fitted to work together or separately. No. 1 had a 34" (86 cm) steam cylinder and a blowing cylinder of 64" (1.63 m) with a 7 ft (2.73 m) stroke. No. 2 had a 30" (76 cm) steam cylinder and a blowing cylinder of 58" (1.47 m) also with a 7 ft (2.73 m) stroke. The inventory also mentions a third engine: this was a beam engine with a steam cylinder of 24" (61 cm) and a 5 ft (1.52 m) stroke. This smaller engine was evidently sited in the annexe to the main building, at the NE corner. Its beam probably pivoted on the W wall of the annexe. The Engine House as it appears in Whatley's painting in 1865 already included the annexe.

Whatley's painting indicates that the boiler house raising steam for these engines was in close proximity to the N.

The House evidently remained in use for some purpose after the final removal of the engines in c.1889. Some of the apertures are blocked and the void for the flywheels is partly filled in masonry. It lost its roof at a date after 1906.

Exterior

Engine House about 7 m wide by 15 m long with an annexe at its NE corner about 4 m by 5 m. Irregularly coursed local sandstone masonry with dressings of limestone in the main part and of brick in the annexe. Some timber lintels have been restored in concrete. The beam wall runs across the centre of the main part. To its W side were the blowing cylinders. There is a low level aperture in the W wall for the air main to exit. Some holding-down bolts survive at the N side of the building to the W of the beam wall. The flywheels were to the E of the beam wall, but the space for them is partly blocked by a mass of later masonry.

The window and door openings of the original part are round-headed. The E elevation is treated as the front, with projecting voussoirs at the imposts of the arch and a projecting keystone. At high level in the E elevation there is a roundel window of about 1 m diameter, with a projecting voussoir at each of the four cardinal points. The quoins are regularly coursed in limestone. Round arched dressings in side walls, similarly detailed, and aligned for symmetry.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as the Engine House of Kilgetty Ironworks, a rare and fine example of the type and part of a remarkable surviving industrial group.

Scheduled Ancient Monument Pe 418.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29485744

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
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  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
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