Foreword by Andrew Marvell Chief Executive Welcome to Discovery and Learning. This booklet briefly describes one or two of the projects that the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust undertook last year as well as some of the ways in which we engage with the communities who help us to learn about and protect the historic environment in South Wales. Our first article explains how in conjunction with the other three Welsh Archaeological Trusts and the Centre of Excellence in Mobile Applications and Service (CEMAS) we have developed the Archwilio app that not only allows users to access data about sites recorded on our Historic Environment Records but more importantly also lets them provide new information. The preservation of the historic environment depends on both a consensus of support and an appreciation of value by all of us. One of our articles outlines how a project set up some years ago that supported volunteers in monitoring sites on the coast line threatened by coastal erosion came to its full test after the January storms. Another explains how we have undertaken assessment works to identify sites in South Wales associated with the First World War. Our records contained only a few entries, but now we know of more than 300 sites, and with community support we will be exploring some of these further over the next five years as one of many activities taking place to reflect on the impact of that conflict. Archaeological excavation fascinates. Our work at Cyfarthfa revealed the remains of a uniquely configured coking works that was thought to have been destroyed when the site was redeveloped in the early twentieth century, but which in fact survived in a very good condition. Working with the site developers we were able to record the parts that would be lost and ensure that the remainder was protected for posterity.
I hope that you too can continue to explore and value our shared heritage.
June 2014
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Foreword
Our work at Neath Abbey provided an opportunity for both local volunteers and undergraduate students to learn about survey and recording of standing monuments under the supervision of our professional staff. The 3-D results will inform the plans for improvements in the conservation and accessibility of this iconic monument, but the work implied that parts of the building and history may need to be re-interpreted.
Contents
Contents
Archaeology at your fingertips
Pages 1-4
Arfordir - recent discoveries
Pages 5-8
New Light on Neath Abbey
Pages 9-12
Cyfarthfa Ironworks
Pages 13-16
The legacy of the First World War
Pages 17-20
Discovery and Learning 2014 The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Limited
Discovery and Learning 2014
Discovery and Learning 2014 The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Limited
Discovery and Learning 2014
Archaeology at your fingertips by Charina Jones and Leonora Goldsmith Launched last winter, the FREE Archwilio app for Android Smartphones and Tablets, allows access to over 100,000 archaeological records from the palm of your hand. Whether at home, office or out and about it has never been easier to discover the archaeology of Wales.
‘HIGHLY COMMENDED’ British Archaeological Awards
BEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL INNOVATION 2014
ABOVE: Using the Archwilio app to access archaeological data. A rich store of historical information is now available anywhere at any time.
In conjunction with the Archwilio website (www.archwilio.org.uk), the app provides access to information from the Historic Environment Records of Wales, compiled and maintained by the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts. It has been developed by the Centre of Excellence in Mobile Applications and Services (CEMAS) at the University of South Wales, working with the Trusts. The project was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Currently the app is available for Android smartphones and tablets (version 2.3 or above) and can be downloaded from Google Play (search the store for 'Archwilio' or visit bit.ly/16u0ksw). We are currently looking for funding to further develop the app and to create a version for iOS users.
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Archaeology at your fingertips The app can be used at any location in Wales with a 3/4G connection or access to wi-fi to download 'live' data for surrounding archaeological sites (data charges apply). If you are going out to a more remote location with no data connection, you can simply view the area you intend to visit while you have access to wi-fi and the Archwilio app will store the information for you to view when you are out on your visit.
Users of the app can: Discover Welsh archaeological sites. View site records and images. Save records to view later/off line. Upload site information and photos. Record new archaeological sites.
USER EXPERIENCE Some reviews from GooglePlay store
“Great site guide. Cool app, makes archaeological sites really accessible” “Great app for exploring Wales. Great app when exploring on foot, bike or car. Enables me to expand my knowledge of surroundings” “Great app. I never knew just how much there is to see near me before I started using this. Fab app” “Fab. This is an excellent app. Informative & fascinating. I enjoy walking & this makes my walks even more interesting. It will help answer many questions about what I see around me. Many thanks”
If you encounter something which isn't shown on the Archwilio app then you can make a new record or edit an existing one, take a photograph and upload it and other information directly or when your device is back online.Your information will then be reviewed for adding to the Welsh Historic Environment Records.
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“Engrossing. Love this app which gives me so much info, which in some cases is for sites I didn’t know existed”
Archaeology at your fingertips Quick Tutorial More information about using the app and FAQs can be found at
http://www.cofiadurcahcymru.org.uk/arch/archwilio_pages/english/app.html. On first use of the app quick tutorials will guide you through the main features.
The locations of archaeological sites are displayed against satellite mapping. If GPS is enabled then tapping this icon will centre the map on your current location. Users can pinch the screen to zoom in and out and swipe the screen to move the map to view information on sites that are recorded at different locations throughout Wales. Colour-coded map markers indicating the locations of archaeological sites will appear when you are zoomed in close enough.Tapping a map marker accesses more details, including descriptions, bibliographies and photographs of a site. Long pressing the box allows users to view the full information. For a key to colour codes press ‘Options’ and ‘Map Markers’.
Lists appear when the map markers for multiple sites are tapped. Clicking on an entry brings up the full details.
Tapping this icon allows users to propose a new archaeological site record.The ‘Add Site’ screen allows users to add descriptive details and photographs of the site.
This icon allows users to send us information about an existing site. On the ‘Edit Site’ screen users can send us any comments about a site as well as images of the site.
Once verified the information you provide may be available through the Archwilio app, hence adding to everyone's understanding of the historic environment.
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Archaeology at your fingertips USER CONTRIBUTIONS The app is currently being used by several thousand people. In some cases it is being used as an integral part of a project: such as the GwirVol funded Blaenau Gwent Youth Heritage Project where records of features found during fieldwork, including this hut platform and enclosure near Trefil (PRN 10683g) have been submitted via the app (see photograph right).
The site comprises the remains of an octagonal brick structure with a rectangular annex (PRN10657g). Further rubble possibly associated with the site has been identified to the immediate south (information from B. Taylor 2014, Archwilio app u s e r ) . We a r e c u r r e n t l y investigating the possibility that it may be the remains of a WW2 defensive structure (see photograph left). The site comprises the remains of a findspot where a metal detector identified the remains of a Postmedieval spoon bowl (see photo graph right) dating to the c.15th/16th century and degraded coins, one of which was partially identified as a George 1 farthing (PRN07268w). (information from A. Jenkins 2014, Archwilio app user).
ABOVE: A c.15th/16th century spoon bowl found at Tonna, Neath (shown real size). RIGHT: This complete, gilded general service WW1 cap badge (shown real size) was found at Briton Ferry. Both of these finds are the result of metal detector activities.
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Archwilio app User
In other cases individual users have submitted discoveries.
Barry Taylor
“I have always had an educated layman's interest in local history and knew that there were plenty of sites of historical and archaeological significance in my area. I just never realised that there were so many! When I heard about the Archwilio app I decided to download it and give it a try. I was surprised when I first opened the app to find out just how many sites were within easy reach of my home. I'm currently off work dealing with post traumatic stress disorder, so I have plenty of time to fill. I've been doing a lot of walking with my dogs, and the Archwilio app has helped to give many of my walks purpose and focus that were previously lacking. It has certainly helped play a part in my ongoing recovery from PTSD. Now I use the app to seek out and photograph as many sites as I can, and in turn I upload many of my photos as a way of giving something back. Now I'm getting my eye in, and the lumps and bumps in the landscape are no longer just lumps and bumps to me. Now I understand that they could be the remains of our past!�
Discovery and Learning 2014
Arfordir - recent discoveries by Paul Huckfield The Arfordir project (see http address), funded with grant-aid from Cadw, has been protecting, recording, and promoting the archaeology of the Glamorgan coastal zone for the past five years.Volunteers have been trained to monitor stretches of the coastline and report when coastal erosion has caused damage to existing sites or led to new or potential sites being exposed. Participants have also carried out emergency recording on many sites.
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ABOVE: Map showing key areas investigated by Trust staff and volunteers as a result of the recent storms.
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The exceptional storms last January provided a test of the resilience both of the project and the volunteers. A rapid response was needed so that the impact of the storm damage could be assessed and follow-up actions arranged. Within the safety parameters that the volunteer groups are allowed to work within they were asked to visit their individual stretches of coastline and to record all damage to known or newly exposed sites.
This information was then mapped, to show the areas of coastline that had been covered by the volunteers, as well as areas that had not yet been visited. Where cliffs falls or erosion was recorded Natural Resources Wales was contacted. Particular areas covered were: Sker Beach and Pink Bay, Cwm Nash, Swansea Bay, Rhossili, St Donat's Beach, Whitmore Stairs, East Aberthaw, Penarth Beach, and certain stretches of coastline - Sker Beach to Nottage, Gileston to Summerhouse Point, Sully to Swanbridge, Ogmore-bySea to Nash Point.
http://www.ggat.org.uk/arfordir/index.html 5
Arfordir - recent discoveries At Rhossili the fierce storms had eroded the base of the dunes, causing a large section of the dune face to collapse. This landslip had the potential to reveal and possibly destroy remains of the medieval village and associated church, which lie buried on the cliff above. Trust staff and an archaeologist from the National Trust, who own the site, visited it to ascertain the potential threat to the archaeology. Cadw was also informed as the sites are Scheduled Ancient Monuments. The Trust first excavated the buried remains of the medieval house and church in 1980. The site has been monitored over the past thirty years. Previously the erosion risk to the remains was considered to be medium term, but this now needs to be re-evaluated and appropriate remedial actions implemented. BELOW AND RIGHT: The effects of the recent storms have seriously eroded parts of the dunes at Rhossili, posing a real threat to the archaeological remains of the medieval village and church above (above right).
http://www.ggat.org.uk/arfordir/index.html 6
Arfordir - recent discoveries One of the most common discoveries has been the number of wrecks exposed along the Glamorgan coastline. These vessels reported by the volunteers have ranged from small wooden skiffs and barges (at Kenfig and East Aberthaw) to the largest and most impressive an iron-hulled vessel located at Whitmore Stairs (between Cwm Nash and Nash Point,Vale of Glamorgan). The exposed remains measure around 70m in length and 32m in width, though the wreck's debris has been found over a much larger area.
LEFT AND ABOVE: The recent storms have exposed many wrecks along the Glamorgan coastline, ranging from a wooden barge at East Aberthaw (left) to the iron-hulled vessel located at Whitmore Stairs (above).
A search of the Maritime database maintained by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales identified three previously recorded wrecks in the immediate area of location of our vessel, the Glenieuse (NPRN 240816), the Elizabeth (NPRN 274057), and the Ben-y-Gloe (NPRN 273908). Both the former are listed as wooden vessels and could be discounted; leaving just the Ben-y-Gloe, which is recorded as an iron-hulled, full-rigged ship. This fitted well with the visible remains. RIGHT: The wreck of the Ben-y-Gloe, her back broke, lies forlornly on the sands at Nash. The plundering of the vessel, carried out allegedly by some local people, was widely condemned. The photograph below right shows how she looked exposed after the recent storms.
Built in 1886 the ship was undertaking her maiden voyage from Penarth when she was caught in a particularly severe gale. She finally washed onto Nash Sands just after midnight on 15 October 1886 and broke in two. The story goes that the crew managed to scramble from the rigging onshore and walked to Marcross and sought shelter at an inn, but hospitality was refused because they had no money to pay. The master left the ship around 2.30am and when he reached the inn was able to confirm that shelter, food and drink would be paid for. The following morning, when they returned to the ship, they found it looted (Edinburgh Evening News Tuesday 9th November 1886). Newspapers in both Scotland and South Wales condemned the actions of the innkeeper and local people who had allegedly engaged in the pillaging.
http://www.ggat.org.uk/arfordir/index.html 7
Arfordir - recent discoveries Perhaps unsurprisingly the storm also exposed individual finds. On Swansea Bay a large ship's wheel was discovered by members of the 'Swansea Flat' Arfordir Group. The wheel was recovered in order to attempt to ascertain its provenance and registered with the Marine and Coastguard Agency Receiver of Wrecks. An extremely well preserved 'Deadeye' was also recovered from the bay.
RIGHT: Samples of finds from Swansea Bay. A ship’s wheel (above left and right) discovered by the Swansea Bay Arfordir Group and a very well preserved ‘Deadeye’ (above middle). The recent storms also revealed these horse hoof prints perfectly preserved in the peat beds of Sker Beach (above right).
The removal of sand on Sker Beach revealed more of the peat beds that the Trust had first recorded during 2007. On the upper peat bed the remains of cloven hooves and horse hooves can clearly be seen, these are more than two thousand years old as the peat bed has been scientifically dated to late Iron Age. ABOVE RIGHT: Evidence of cloven hoof prints (above far right) and horse hoof prints (above right), at over two thousand years old they stand as evidence of past land usage (scales 1m).
Finally one particularly unusual find was made at Swanbridge near Penarth. Here an old iron safe had washed up, but unfortunately it was unmarked and also empty!
http://goo.gl/mEOfWE 8
Discovery and Learning 2014
New Light on Neath Abbey by Edith Evans and Rowena Hart Neath Abbey is one of the most important and best preserved monuments in South Wales and is a guardianship site under the management of Cadw. Cadw have plans to conserve the monument and display it better, Swansea University have been working on the documentary history of the abbey and its possessions. The Neath Antiquarian Association also have a long standing interest in the site as they were responsible for the clearance of the site before it passed into state care.
Neath Abbey
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ABOVE: Aerial view of Neath Abbey. ABOVE RIGHT: Removing loose rubble from the site in 1928. RIGHT: This skeleton plan is part of the framework on which a 3D photographic survey will be draped by the university.
Presbytery
North aisle
High Altar
Nave Laybrothers’ Church
South aisle
Following discussion with both parties the Trust proposed a project to record part of the abbey's fabric, and use this information to find out a little more about its history in ways that would involve the local community. This work was supported by grant-aid from Cadw. In June and July we worked with students from both Swansea and Cardiff Universities, members of Neath Antiquarian Society and other volunteers to create a record of the church, the cloister, and the west range where the laybrothers lived.
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New Light on Neath Abbey We carried out a Total Station survey, into which rectified photographs Cadw commissioned in the 1990s will be embedded by Swansea University post-graduate engineering students, and made a written record of all the walls. RIGHT: One of a series of rectified photographs from a survey commissioned by Cadw in the 1990s.
BELOW: Neath Abbey: Northern end of the western faรงade showing the church (left) and the laybrothers range (right).
Looking at every wall so closely produced lots of fascinating riddles: for example why does a large rectangular foundation interrupt the row of arches that separates the presbytery in front of the high altar from the processional aisle to the north as it doesn't appear on any of the previous plans? We already know that the present church was started at the end of the 13th century to replace an earlier one on a slightly different alignment, but it now seems that the door to the cloister in the south aisle was built separately from all the rest. Likewise why are the buildings in the south range of the cloister on the old alignment, when the laybrothers' range to the west, always thought to have been built earlier, follows the same alignment as the new church?
http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/about/news/Neath-Abbey-Hands-on-Heritage-Event/?lang=en 10
New Light on Neath Abbey Also in the laybrothers' range itself it seems that one of the buttresses was hiding evidence to show that the wall on the cloister side had obviously originally been shorter, but which end was the original? At the north end, we know that the plan was modified to split one room into two, and that the vaulted ceilings were reconstructed to fit. But it was a surprise to find the remains of the stairs to the first floor visible in the new dividing wall, and it started us wondering how the laybrothers got upstairs to their dormitory before it was built. LEFT: Students recording walls in the laybrothers range.
We have not been able to work out yet whether these changes were made when the abbey was still in use as a monastery – the usual suggestion is that it might be 14th century, but there is no real evidence – or after the Reformation, possibly when the west range was taken over by metalworkers. We had hoped to be able to find out more about how the building was used by the metalworkers, and perhaps also to find early photographs that showed the smelting furnaces still in position, but none of the photographs had been taken before twentieth century clearance work started.
ABOVE AND LEFT: One of the objectives of the project was to record part of the abbey’s stone and carved detailed structure in the church, cloister and the west range. Shown above and left are typical building details at Neath Abbey (scales 1m and 2m).
http://neathabbeysurvey.wordpress.com/ 11
New Light on Neath Abbey It may be necessary to investigate the site further, perhaps through geophysical survey or small-scale excavations to find the answers to some of the questions that the results of our survey now pose.
ABOVE: Students were trained to take part in 3-D Surveying. LEFT: Aerial view of Neath Abbey. BELOW: Neath Abbey Event 2013.
The work was designed to have a variety of outcomes. So in addition to capturing technical data for the future management of the monument, we also provided training and learning opportunities for undergraduates and society members both on and off site. Whilst we were on site we shared the experience through our blog (see http address), and presented initial results to an open day organised by Cadw as part of the Festival of Archaeology (see http address), and through lectures to local societies. As well as producing a technical report we have also captured learning and social outcomes from the participants, and without their efforts we wouldn't have succeeded in raising new light on this important monument.
http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/about/news/Neath-Abbey-Hands-on-Heritage-Event/?lang=en 12
In the summer of 2013 the Trust excavated a substantial part of the coke works at Cyfarthfa Ironworks ahead of construction of a retail development. The ironworks were founded in 1765 and operated initially as a single furnace. In 1783 the owner Anthony Bacon retired and the Crawshay family gained control of the works. With their investment the works flourished so that by 1806 it was the largest ironworks in the world. In the 1880s the ironworks were converted to produce steel, but production had ceased by 1910. The works briefly reopened during WW1 but it closed for good in 1919.
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ABOVE: Second Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1900 with the area of excavation shown in red. The map shows probably the last phase of buildings at Cyfarthfa before the works closed in 1919. RIGHT: Site plan showing the areas of Cyfarthfa Ironworks excavated during the course of the Trusts’ works. The coded key indicates the function of the buildings and features shown. BELOW: Aerial view of the site during the archaeological investigation.
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Discovery and Learning 2014
Cyfarthfa Coke Works by Martin Tuck
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Cyfarthfa Coke Works The principal structures that we uncovered were the coal processing plant, coal storage bins and the coke ovens that were built in the 1880s when the works converted from iron to steel production. Coke was an essential part of the process. These new and enlarged structures superseded the earlier coke ovens when iron was produced, their associated tramlines, and also unexpectedly part of the Cyfarthfa canal that was cut in the 1770s. RIGHT: The Cyfarthfa coke ovens (middle foreground) and the coal processing and washery building (background). In this 1890 photograph can be seen the opposing batteries of coke ovens, coke heaps on the quenching bench and in the centre coke bins, where the coke was shovelled into from the bench.
ABOVE: The coal processing and washery area being excavated by Trust staff (photograph looking north). RIGHT: Part of the coke ovens area being excavated showing to the left, the top of a brick built flue and to the right a series of small, rectangular brick flues (photograph looking northeast).
The canal was originally about 2 miles long and was used to transport coal from various levels along its route which was then delivered directly to the Cyfarthfa coke yard by means of 'Liliputian sized' iron barges known as 'tub boats'. The barges were pulled using manpower with up to 6 barges at a time being conveyed. Trams were used to haul the coal from the canal to the coke yard and from the yard to the blast furnaces. LEFT: Portion of George Yates’ map of Glamorgan, 1799. The Cyfarthfa canal ran southward from the ironworks to Canode Mill (modern day Melin Ganaid). The route was littered with ironstone and coal levels thus affording a plentiful supply of raw materials to Cyfarthfa Ironworks.
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Cyfarthfa Coke Works In its infancy iron-making used large quantities of charcoal, which was produced by burning wood, but as wood became scarcer coke made from coal became the preferred fuel to feed the blast furnaces. Initially this was done simply by burning coal in heaps on the ground, but was then was superseded by using beehive ovens and later again by Welsh or Thomas ovens which were arranged in long batteries. The Thomas oven was an improved design on the Welsh oven and our excavation uncovered oven floors and part of the walling of one of these. LEFT: In this image of Cyfarthfa (probably between 1791-1800) by William Pamplin, you can clearly see, in the middle distance, mounds of smouldering coal. This crude method of extracting gases from coal was widely used before the onset of industrialscale coking works.
By far the greater number of buildings we exposed belonged to the coal washery and the massive coke oven works installed for the production of steel. The washery process, which would have taken place inside a large timber building, used mechanical disintegrators to convert the coal to a smaller size before further reduction to a powder, where it was then stored in coal bins. From the bins it was transported by tram or 'dandies' to the coke ovens. RIGHT: The brick flooring of the earlier Thomas or Welsh coke oven is shown here underlying the later walling of the Coppeé coke ovens (scale 1m).
ABOVE LEFT: Lines of brickwork indicating the substructure and former air channels in the Coppeé coke ovens (photograph looking northeast). ABOVE RIGHT: Brick built flue and surrounding masonry superstructure with the top of a side flue (centre left) entering the main flue (photograph looking west). RIGHT: Trust archaeologists excavating one of the hot air flues of the coke ovens (photograph looking northeast).
The superstructure of the coke ovens had already been demolished in the 1920s, but the remaining masonry structures, brick flues and channels were still impressive in scale. These structures were the subterranean parts of the Belgian designed Coppeé non-recovery coke oven plant that were never intended to have been seen once built. The ovens themselves were about 9m long, just under 0.5m in width, and just over a metre high. At Cyfarthfa these ovens were arranged in two opposing banks each containing 90 ovens. This design layout was never employed elsewhere.
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Cyfarthfa Coke Works The gases generated by the ovens were channelled through the flues below the ovens which resulted in a build-up of residues on the walls and in places the surface of the bricks melted even though they were firebricks. Many of the bricks, which were made in Stourbridge, displayed signs of the intense heat (1000-1100 celsius coking temperatures) that was produced during the process. RIGHT: A hot air flue showing partial blocking of the entrance possibly as a measure for controlling the flow of hot gases (scale 1m).
ABOVE and RIGHT: Vitrification pattern on the brickwork (above) due to the incredibly high temperatures inside the flue chambers (right) (scale 1m). BELOW: The open day at Cyfarthfa was a great success and gave residents of Merthyr and beyond a unique opportunity to view the remains of an iconic symbol of the great industrial age (below right).
The remains were recorded partly by conventional archaeological method, but because of their size and scale we also captured data using laser-scanning techniques. The excavations attracted much public interest and with the support of the developers Hammerson PLC we were able to hold an open day which was very well attended and allowed us to provide an opportunity for the local community and others to see an important part of their rich industrial heritage. Our excavations went down to the formation levels for the new buildings on the site and the greater part of the coke works and earlier remains has been preserved below them.
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Discovery and Learning 2014
The legacy of the First World War by Johnny Crawford As the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War approaches, the Trust, with grant-aid funding from Cadw, has carried out a survey to identify surviving archaeological sites and historic structures that formed part of the Home Front. Until recently the effect of war on the early twentieth century landscape in South Wales has been overlooked, but it is clear that the people of South Wales made a huge contribution to the national war effort, and particularly through industrial output. Although many sites have been destroyed, some important remains have survived.
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We have already recorded over 300 sites that have a strong connection with the Home Front during the First World War These include:Practice trenches outside Monmouth used for training by the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers National Shell Factories in Newport, Ebbw Vale, Cardiff and Swansea Military facilities Military and auxiliary hospitals for treating wounded soldiers
ABOVE: Map of southeast Wales showing the location of over 300 sites associated with the Home Front during World War 1.
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The legacy of the First World War One of the most interesting sites is the National Shipyard No.1 at Chepstow, the construction of which shaped the modern town. In 1917, with millions of tons of merchant shipping being sunk and no ability to effectively counter enemy submarines, the government decided to mass produce pre-fabricated merchant vessels, with Chepstow selected as the site of one of three National Shipyards. Thousands of men from the Royal Engineers and possibly up to 2,000 German Prisoners of War built the shipyard; the six large slipways constructed in August 1917 can still be seen. RIGHT: National Shipyard No.1 as it looked in 1920 (above right) and as it looks in 2014 (below). The six slipways constructed in 1917 can still be seen today, along with several associated buildings.
BELOW: National Shipyard No.1 launched a total of 22 ships between 1917 and 1925, one of which, the ‘War Glory’ is shown below left. The photograph below right shows one of the 6,500 ton ‘N’ Type merchant vessels (shown is No.3) under construction. None though were launched during World War 1.
Skilled workers from Tyneside and the Clyde were employed at the yard, and were housed in specifically constructed 'Garden suburbs' in Hardwick, Bulwark, and Pennsylvania in Sedbury, just over the River Wye. These 'garden suburbs' still retain largely intact street plans. National Shipyard No.1 was the only one of the three yards that actually produced vessels, launching a total of 22 significant ships between 1917 and 1925. Amongst these were six, 6,500 ton 'N' Type merchant vessels, although none of these was launched before the end of the war.
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The legacy of the First World War Another important survival is the National Box and Cartridge Repair Factory at Newport. This was established in early 1917 to sort and salvage ammunition boxes and cartridges from various fronts of the war. It was known colloquially as the 'Box Factory', regardless of what went on there. The factory employed between 3,000 and 4,000 people. As the majority were women a crèche was opened in December 1917. LEFT: The Munitions Crèche building as it looks today (above left) and how it looked on its opening day on the 7th December 1917 (below left).
BELOW: The National Box and Cartridge Repair Factory at Newport, shown in this aerial photograph (below left), was well sited at the South Dock with good rail and sea links. The interior photograph (below right) shows one of the bays in the factory.
Purpose-built on a 13-acre site, the factory was an iron-framed and brick-built warehouse, with a 422,000 square feet capacity. Getting supplies in and then out again to the front was important, so the factory was located on the South Dock next to the sea lock and was well connected to the main railways network. Parts of the building survive today and continue to be used, appropriately, as part of a packaging factory. The Munitions Crèche is also still standing.
National Box and Cartridge Repair Factory
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The legacy of the First World War Not all the works involved had to be built from scratch. Taylor and Sons, an engineering firm established in Briton Ferry before the war, became involved in the production of munitions at an early stage. Comparing a series of photographs of munitions work taken at Taylor's in 1917 with what exists there now suggests that some of the buildings used for munitions production have survived. Taylors were typical of the engineering firms within Glamorgan and Gwent that took on munitions manufacture in support of the government controlled National Shell Factories.
RIGHT: Workers at Taylor and Sons in Briton Ferry gather for a group photograph and proudly display the fruits of their labours in front of them (above right). Munitions work in factories was hard, laborious and dangerous and the ever watchful overseer (left side of middle photograph) ensured that no-one slacked. The work was also done to exacting, precise standards which was checked thoroughly (below right) before being moved on to the next phase of work.
The project will continue to 2018, with different aspects of the Home Front explored each year. In 2014 we will be focusing on the physical legacy of the industrial contribution to the national war effort, and in particular will be carrying out a project with local community support to record part of the National No.1 Shipyard remains.
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