An essay to compare the World Heritage sites of Blaenavon and Ironbridge Gorge.
Blaenavon was created a World
Heritage Site in the year 2000. With its ironworks, mining museum,
Victorian town and industrial landscape, it tells the story of the
Industrial Revolution in South Wales. Ironbridge Gorge is a similar
site and it was designated a World Heritage site slightly earlier in
1986. Ironbridge was one of the first group of seven sites in the
United Kingdom to be awarded the status. It is recognised for the
area's contribution to the birth of the Industrial Revolution,
becoming the most technologically advanced area in the world by the
end of the eighteenth century.
Nothing existed in Blaenavon
before the opening of the ironworks in 1789, except for scattered
farmsteads. My relative, James Scourfield, deacon of Horeb Chapel in
Blaenavon and contributor to the Chapels Heritage Society gives a
glimpse in his writing as to how the area looked in the early days
before the town's evolution.
“Bethlehem Chapel – In
1840 they moved to the present site in Broad Street, though at that
time there was no street there, the location being a very pretty
area of green fields with a running brook, the Nantfechan”.
The ironworks evolved during
the 18th and 19th centuries and was the site of
furnaces, casting houses, calcining kilns, a water balance tower and
houses for workers. It was one of the largest ironworks in the world
and by the time of it being awarded World Heritage status, one of the
best preserved. The landscape itself was used in its construction, a
sloping hillside was cut back to form a cliff and the furnaces built
right next to it. This enabled workers to introduce raw materials
into the furnaces from the higher ground. The casting houses were
built directly in front and into these the molten material was tapped
off into moulds. (heritagetrail.co.uk)
Combine this then with Big Pit,
one of the last deep mines in the area complete with surface
buildings and preserved industrial landscape that produced all the
raw materials required to produce iron, transport it, via the network
of iron rails, to the canal to be shipped all over the world and it
can be plainly seen that Blaenavon holds unique elements that tell
the social, economic and technological history of industrialisation
through coal and iron. (Blaenavon.co.uk)
Similarly, Ironbridge is
also concerned with coal and iron making. It contains all the
elements that contributed to the development of industry in the area,
from mines to transport systems, remains of mines, spoil heaps,
foundries, workshops, iron masters and workers housing, public
buildings as well as its own industrial landscape in the Severn
Gorge.
Blaenavon town is an authentic
Victorian town that emerged and evolved due to the surge in migrant
workers attracted by employment in the iron works and mines. The
town records the story of the types of people who moved there, from
the iron master's house to the buildings the iron masters had built,
schools for example, churches and workers homes. From the types of
chapels, in its beginnings, Blaenavon hosted both English and Welsh
speakers. Business people were attracted to the area opening shops,
public houses and hotels. The human experience of industrialisation
is experienced here through capitalism, technological growth, the
rise of trade unions, political parties, education, choirs and sports
clubs. (blaenavon.co.uk)
Unlike Blaenavon, the open
air Victorian town museum of Blists Hill in Ironbridge is perhaps
more similar to that of the National Museum of Wales, in St Fagans.
The site incorporates monuments and reconstructed buildings based on
local examples. So as not to compromise authenticity though, the
visitor is made aware as to the relationship between the original
buildings and those which are not historic. The museum attempts to
recreate the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian town with
costumed guides trained in the history of whatever profession they
are re enacting. In contrast, Blaenavon has no need to use actors
when visitors are taken on the underground tour of Big Pit, as all
the guides are ex miners. It would be difficult though to reproduce
a experience similar to the one at Blists Hill on a permanent basis
in Blaenavon town, as the town is still lived in and worked in.
There are though, re-enactment weekends, such as the world war 2
event held at the ironworks in 2013.
The industrial landscape
surrounding Blaenavon shares as much historical importance as that of
the town and works. This is a landscape that has been shaped by the
hands of generations of men, women and children digging for the coal,
iron and limestone needed to produce iron as well as building and
operating the transport systems needed to carry the end product to
the outside world. The speed at which the landscape was transformed
can be seen in the disappearance of Blaenavon viaduct. It was built
around the year 1790, illustrated by Sir Richard Colt-Hoare around
1801 but had disappeared off maps by 1815. It was re-discovered in
2001 by Channel Four's Time Team, under around fifty feet of rubble.
(industrialgwent.co.uk)
The mountains north of the
ironworks are littered with man made features – scouring, adit
mines and shaft mines are all visible as well as sites of tramways,
ponds and reservoirs. All these features are also relatively stable
and well persevered and protected from erosion due to gradual re
vegetation and from human destruction with policing. A landscape
crime officer has been appointed in order to keep the land free from
fly tipping and off road biking. Visitors can enjoy walks around
this industrial landscape passing not only the remnants of mining but
sites of prehistoric interest, something that the site at Ironbridge
does not offer. Combined with amazing views of the surrounding
countryside that inspired author Alexander Cordell and his novel,
'Rape of the Fair Country', Blaenavon is also a perfect place for
photography and observing wildlife, such as at the Garn Lakes Nature
Reserve.
The site of Ironbridge is defined
by a steep sided gorge which contains similar features to those at
Blaenavon – mining areas, old pathways, canals and railways.
According to the diary of Abiah Darby, the second wife of Abraham
Darby II, Coalbrookdale, as with Blaenavon, was a very rural
community when Abraham Darby I founded his ironworks in 1709.
(ironbridge.org.uk).
After mining ceased, areas were
largely left to regenerate naturally. In 2009 a light detection and
ranging survey was carried out around the wooded slopes of the gorge.
The aim was to map the landscape beneath the canopy. Results found
sites of former bell pits, quarries, buildings and charcoal hearths.
The survey also showed rails of an inclined plane. (forestry.gov.uk)
The land at Ironbridge does not have the same level of stability as
at Blaenavon due to previous mining. The iron bridge itself has
suffered cracking in recent years by the shifting riverbank.
(dailymail.co.uk) Underground sensors are in place to detect
movements in the earth and local people are encouraged to report
changes in embankments or cracks in paths. (bbc.co.uk)
By the end of the 19th
century and the beginning of the 20th century, Ironbridge
suffered a decline in industry resulting in the neglect of some
buildings due to a decrease in prosperity. However in recognition of
the value of the site investment reversed this. A similar scenario
was playing out in Blaenavon. The ironworks closed by the 1900's,
the town suffered poverty, unemployment and a lack of investment in
the 1920's and 1930's. A forecast in 1943 anticipated that Blaenavon
should be abandoned and indeed it began, with the residents of
Pwlldu. Here was once a thriving village that had over three hundred
residents, two pubs, two chapels a school and shop. By the 1960's
though, it was declared a slum area and resulted with the residents
being moved to Govilon, their homes demolished – but many local
people saw a future in Blaenavon's past. Big Pit, originally
Kearsley's Pit had been sunk in 1860, deepened in 1880, and closed
in 1980 with the loss of two hundred and fifty jobs but re-opened in
1983 as a museum, becoming instantly popular. As for the ironworks,
many saw it as an eyesore but some individuals, such as Richard Keen
saw its potential and did everything he could to make others see that
potential as well. He attended meetings with councillors to try and
persuade them of the importance of the ironworks. When one
councillor wanted to eradicate the lot, calling it a 'symbol of
subjection', he carried on undeterred to ensure its survival. The
results of his hard work was the granting of World Heritage status.
(BBC Wales in the 80s)
If Ironbridge celebrates the
birth of the Industrial Revolution and iron masters then Blaenavon is
a monument to the working classes. Both sites are very similar but
is there anything they can learn from each other?
The Ironbridge Gorge museums
attract around 545,000 visitors per annum whereas Blaenavon
Ironworks, part of CADW, in 2014 attracted 22.069. (Freepressseries)
However it has to be taken into account that this figure is spread
over ten museums, further research would have to be undertaken to
ascertain whether these visitors went to all the attractions, or
just one or two. Big Pit is part of the umbrella group National
Museum Wales which recorded 1.75 million people visiting its sites in
2013. (bbc.co.uk) They attributed the best ever visiting figures to
free entry to all its museums plus support from the Welsh government.
Again, further research would be needed to discover how many of the
1,75 million visited Big Pit.
By contrast, Ironbridge Gorge is
an independent charitable trust that is reliant on earning it income,
mostly by charging admission to all but one of its sites, the iron
bridge itself. It also relies on retail sales, conferencing,
banqueting, tenanted properties and grants. It does not offer free
admission to its sites but visitors can buy an annual ticket at a
discounted price that allows them to visit all the Ironbridge museums
at any time during the year, thus ensuring that all attractions are
advertised and visited. (Ironbridge.org)
Commercially, I think that
Blaenavon could learn much from the museums at Ironbridge.
Ironbridge relies on generating its own income in order to survive.
Blaenavon, with the backing of organisations such as CADW and the
National Museum Wales doesn’t have to do this and although it is
unlikely that funding from these organisations would stop any time
soon, Blaenavon could be in danger of becoming complacent about its
future.
The area that could learn the
most is the heritage town. Tourists visit Big Pit and the ironworks,
but there is nothing to attract them to the town which boasts many
historic buildings in it own right such as the Workmens Hall.
Blaenavon Renewal Area was declared in February 1999 (Toraen.gov) and
around £12 million was spent improving access and parking to the
town, restoring Victorian shop fronts and refurbishing housing.
Buildings once derelict were brought back into use and sites once
no-go areas made more attractive, but all of this is of little
consequence if visitors are not being drawn into the town to begin
with. More custom needs to be brought to local retailers along with
better advertising that covers all of the attractions in Blaenavon
and maps that link all the attractions to the town.
More retailers could be an asset
to Blaenavon. While the book town idea was not the success
envisaged, it did encourage other businesses to set up in the town,
such as the Blaenavon Cheddar Company. Established in 2006, the
company prides itself on the fact its cheeses are hand made at its
shop in Broad Street and on the promotion it carries out at various
community events advertising Blaenavon. Their Pwll Mawr cheddar is
matured at the bottom of Big Pit and can be bought at their gift
shop, an example of one link between business and attraction linking
up to benefit each other and the town. In return for selling its
cheeses the Blaenavon Cheddar Company advertises other Blaenavon
attractions on its website. (Blaenavon cheddar co.)
One building in particular lets
the heritage town down and that is the iron masters house, Ty Mawr.
It was a nursing home until 2006 but as part of the original World
Heritage bid it would benefit the town if it could be restored and re
opened as a further attraction. The house and grounds lie in a
derelict state yet it is an integral part of the Blaenavon story in
the same way the homes of the Darby families are in Ironbridge. This
mansion shows the ironmaster of Blaenavon, Samuel Hopkins first
concerns during the founding of the ironworks. While the poor
workforce lived in bricked up viaduct arches as per his orders,he
built himself a comfortable home, a visible contrast which at the
moment the visitor cannot see.
To conclude, not having visited
Ironbridge, I can only presume that when visiting a site such as
Blists Hill Victorian town, there cannot be the same sense of loss
and sadness that can be felt when walking the streets of Blaenavon.
After all, prior to 1983, this was a working town much like any other
in South Wales. The loss of industry brought poverty, the effects of
which are still within living memory. Blaenavon became a boarded up
town that no one wanted to visit. When comparing Blaenavon and
Ironbridge it seems that on first impressions, Blaenavon is the poor
relative of Ironbridge. When compared to such sites as the Pyramids
you wonder why this tiny mining town is a heritage site at all. That
said, the people of Blaenavon have a lot of pride in their town and
their history and when you delve deeper into the story of Blaenavon
you realise why. Blaenavon may not have the theme park feel of Blists
Hill Victorian town, but its story is just as important. Here in the
landscape and buildings at Blaenavon is captured a moment in time,
when the world changed from rural to industrial. Its World Heritage
status gave it an initiative to move on from that and create a future
from the past. It is therefore important for Blaenavon to look to
this future as well as to preserve the past by promoting everything
it has to offer as one visitor experience. Visitors need to be
encouraged to visit all the attractions and see the site as a whole
not just the ironworks and Big Pit. Businesses should be
encouraged to the town while at the same time visitor numbers need to
increase. Businesses have failed because not enough people are going
into town. The future success and prosperity of the town will depend
on this as well as raising future generations to have the same pride
in the history of Blaenavon while giving them the incentives to want
to live in Blaenavon and stay there.
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