Industrial Revolution in Wales
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The Industrial Revolution in Wales was the adoption and developments of new technologies in Wales in the 18th and 19th centuries as part of the Industrial Revolution, resulting in increases in the scale of industry in Wales.
North-East Wales
Flintshire in North-East Wales developed the largest variety of industry in Wales. By the end of the 18th century there were 19 working metalworks at Holywell and 14 pottery works in Buckley. There were cotton mills in Holywell and Mold and there was a growth in the lead and coal industry.[1]
The Wrexham area in the 19th century was highly industrialised. At the peak there were 38 different collieries operating in the area, each producing coal totalling over 2.5 million tonnes annually to the numerous brickworks and steelworks in the area, including Brymbo Steel Works and Shotton Steel Works.[2] In Bersham, near Wrexham there was the Bersham Colliery and Bersham Ironworks. Coke was pioneered for smelting iron rather than charcoal, and the site was a leading ironworks in Europe.[1]
Greenfield, also in Flintshire, is best known for its history of papermaking. A paper mill has been on this site since 1770. The site was chosen due to the constant water flow from the stream which comes from the St Winefride's Well. The speed this site developed was one of the reasons that Greenfield is still linked with the start of the Industrial Revolution. In the mid-19th century, up to 80 businesses had set up in the mile stretch between Holywell and Greenfield. The remains of some can now be seen as conservation and industrial archeological projects have been undertaken in recent years. Among the businesses were a copper mill, a flannel mill, a flour mill, shirt-makers and soft drink works, W Hall & Son (which still exists today). Greenfield was also home to two Courtaulds rayon factories and a sulphuric acid plant from 1936 to 1985.[3]
Dolgellau gold
Gold was found in the
The Clogau Gold Mine was opened to exploit the copper and lead veins in the area north of Bontddu. In 1854, gold was discovered at the mine in a vein of quartz. The main gold-bearing vein was named the "St. David's lode", and in 1860 arrangements were made with the Crown Estate to work the gold commercially. Operations started on 28 August 1860.[6] Clogau produced significant amounts of gold in the 1890s. In 1899, it produced £60,000 worth of gold (equivalent to £7,185,461 in 2021).[7] In 1919, exploration of the mine found new gold veins. A new crushing plant was installed and the mine was re-opened.[8] In 1989 the Clogau Gold Mine was re-opened by William Roberts, founder of Clogau Gold of Wales Ltd. Gold extraction re-commenced between 1992 and 1998, with small-scale mining providing the gold for Clogau Gold jewellery. Mining eventually ceased in 1998 due to high cost of mining and diminishing quantities of gold being found.
South Wales Valleys
In the early 19th century parts of Wales became heavily industrialised.
Glamorgan
Metal industry
From the mid-18th century onwards, Glamorgan's uplands underwent large-scale industrialisation and several coastal towns, in particular Swansea and later Cardiff, became significant ports.[11][full citation needed] From the late 18th century until the early 20th century Glamorgan produced 70 per cent of the British output of copper.[12][full citation needed] The industry was developed by English entrepreneurs and investors such as John Henry Vivian[13][full citation needed] and largely based in the west of the county, where coal could be purchased cheaply and ores imported from Cornwall, Devon and later much further afield. The industry was of immense importance to Swansea in particular; in 1823 the smelting works on the River Tawe, and the collieries and shipping dependent on them, supported between 8,000 and 10,000 people.[14][full citation needed] Imports of copper ores reached a peak in the 1880s, after which there was a steep fall until the virtual end of the trade in the 1920s. The cost of shipping ores from distant countries, and the growth of foreign competitors, ended Glamorgan's dominance of the industry.[13] Some of the works converted to the production of zinc and the Tawe valley also became a location for the manufacture of nickel after Ludwig Mond established a works at Clydach in 1902.[15][full citation needed]
Even at its peak, copper
As well as copper and iron, Glamorgan became an important centre for the tinplate industry. Although not as famous as the Llanelli or Pontypool works, a concentrated number of works emerged around Swansea, Aberavon and Neath towards the late 19th century.[19][full citation needed] Glamorgan became the most populous and industrialised county in Wales and was known as the 'crucible of the Industrial Revolution'.[20][21][full citation needed]
Other areas to house heavy industries include ironworks in Maesteg (1826), tinplate works in Llwydarth and Pontyclun and an iron ore mine in Llanharry.[citation needed]
Alongside the metalworks, industries appeared throughout Glamorgan that made use of the works' output. Pontypridd was well known for the Brown Lenox Chainworks, which during the 19th century was the town's main industrial employer.[22][full citation needed]
Coal industry
The largest change to industrial Glamorgan was the opening up of the
The 1840s saw the start of a dramatic increase in the amount of coal excavated within Glamorgan. Several events took place to precipitate the growth in coal mining, including the discovery of steam coal in the
The richest source for steam coal was the Rhondda Valleys, and by 1856 the Taff Vale Railway had reached the heads of both valleys. Over the next fifty years the Rhondda would grow to become the largest producer of coal of the age. In 1874, the Rhondda produced 2.13 million tons of coal, which rose to 5.8 million tons by 1884.[24] The coal now produced in Glamorgan far exceeded the interior demand, and in the later half of the 19th century the area became a mass exporter for its product. In the 1890s the docks of South Wales accounted for 38 percent of British coal exports and a quarter of global trade.[24][25][full citation needed]
Along with the increase in coal production came a very large increase in the population, as people emigrated to the area to seek employment. In Aberdare the population grew from 6,471 in 1841 to 32,299 in 1851 while the Rhondda grew from 3,035 in 1861 to 55,632 in 1881, peaking in 1921 at 162,729.[26][full citation needed] Much of this population growth was driven by immigration. In the ten years from 1881 to 1891, net migration to Glamorgan was over 76,000, 63 percent of which was from the non-border counties of England – a proportion that increased in the following decade.[citation needed]
Lower Swansea Valley
Coal and metals
Over a period of about 150 years up until the 1920s, the open valley of the
The technologies involved in iron making had already been developed and refined, and skilled craftsmen were readily available to extend the newly developing industry. Swansea was already a town of significant size which could provide the required workforce. The growth of the industry in the Lower Swansea valley itself caused a great expansion in the population of Swansea and nearby Neath. A number of wealthy entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers of considerable ability were drawn to Swansea during this period, which in turn, promoted great innovation in the industrial processes.[citation needed]
Initially the smelting works concentrated on copper. Coal was brought down to them by
Copper
The first copper smelter directly associated was established at
Post-War industry
The period following the
Society
Uprisings
The social effects of industrialisation led to bitter social conflict between the Welsh workers and predominantly English factory and mine owners. During the 1830s there were two armed uprisings, in
Treason of the Blue Books
Partly as a result of these disturbances, a government inquiry was carried out into the state of education in Wales. The inquiry was carried out by three English commissioners who spoke no
Socialism
Socialism gained ground rapidly in the industrial areas of South Wales in the latter part of the century, accompanied by the increasing politicisation of religious Nonconformism. The first Labour MP, Keir Hardie, was elected as junior member for the Welsh constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare in 1900.[36][full citation needed] In common with many European nations, the first movements for national autonomy began in the 1880s and 1890s with the formation of Cymru Fydd, led by Liberal Party politicians such as T. E. Ellis and David Lloyd George.[37][full citation needed]
See also
- History of the Welsh economy
References
- ^ a b "BBC Wales – History – Themes – Chapter 15: The industrial revolution". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
- ^ "Bersham Colliery Mining Museum". Wrexham.gov.uk. Wrexham County Borough Council. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022.
- ^ "House of Commons debate: Courtaulds (Greenfield Plant)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 17 June 1985. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Gwynfynydd Gold Mine". History of Gwynfynydd. Clogau. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ^ "Gold Mining in Wales". PapersPast. 1888. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ^ "Gold in Wales". Monmouthshire Merlin. 20 October 1860.
- ^ "Gold mining in Wales". -Lancashire Evening Post. 23 November 1921.
- ^ "Gold Mining in Merioneth". The North Wales Chronicle. 29 August 1919.
- ^ Williams G.A.When was Wales? p. 183
- ^ Williams G.A.When was Wales? p. 174
- ^ Davies (2008), p.319
- ^ D. Gareth Evans (1989), p.17
- ^ a b D. Gareth Evans (1989), pp.18–19
- ^ D. Gareth Evans (1989), p.18
- ^ Davies (2008), p.169
- ^ History of Pontypridd Rhondda Cynon Taf Library services Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Davies (2008), p.393
- ^ D. Gareth Evans (1989), p.26
- ^ Davies (2008), p.871
- ^ "BBC Wales: South East: Glamorgan". BBC. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ Newman (1995), p.68
- ^ Davies (2008), p.693
- ^ Davies (2008), p.153
- ^ a b c d e f Davies (2008), p.154
- ^ D. Gareth Evans (1989), p.241
- ^ Lewis (1959), pp.229–230
- ^ Copperopolis: landscapes of the early industrial period in Swansea, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. pp 2–11.
- ^ Davies, J A history of Wales p. 533
- ^ Austin 1967, p. 8.
- ^ Davies, J A history of Wales p. 629
- ^ "Coal mine closes with celebration". 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ Davies, J A history of Wales p. 366-7
- ^ Davies, J A history of Wales p. 377
- ^ Davies, J A history of Wales p. 378-82
- ^ Davies, J A history of Wales p. 390-1
- Morgan, K.O.Rebirth of a nation pp. 46–7
- ^ Morgan, K.O. Rebirth of a nation pp. 113–118