Chimney Stack - Aberdulais Tin Plate Works
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Chimney Stack - Aberdulais Tin Plate Works by Mick Lobb as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
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Image: © Mick Lobb Taken: 30 Sep 2011
The River Dulais runs through a gorge formed by glaciers during the last ice age. Sinkholes were formed by water flowing beneath the glacier and these can still be seen at the site. The falls gave rise to the foundation of one of Britain's oldest industrial sites with corn milling, dying of wool, copper smelting and tin plate making all conducted here over hundreds of years. The first copper smelting works in Wales opened at Aberdulais in 1584. All of this was possible because of the presence of water that could be utilised in its basic form or as a source of power together with availability of other raw materials such as coal and iron. Copper was ‘imported’ across the Bristol Channel from Cornwall.. The natural beauty of the area was appreciated long ago even causing complaint that "A natural cascade called Dyllais was destroyed by an agent to Lord Jersey, the proprietor of the estate, in order to build a few cottages and the lock of a canal. The rock down which this beautiful cascade had flowed from the time of the flood and which has created a scene universally admired was blown up with gunpowder by this man." (Captain R.H. Gronrow 1820) Now a National Trust property, the remains of the tin plate industry site and falls are held in trust for all to enjoy.
Image Location
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