Blaenavon History: What Makes a World Heritage Site?
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Peter Nisbet
Apr 17, 2013, 1:50:06 AM4/17/13
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Peter Nisbet
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Article Title: Blaenavon History: What Makes a World Heritage Site?
Author: Peter Nisbet
Word Count: 820
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=899865&ca=Advice
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=899865
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=899865
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Blaenavon history is well recorded - up to a point, because the bulk of the published history of Blaenavon focuses on its development into one of the major iron towns in the world during the 19th century.
Very little has been published since 1900, when Blaenavon, like many industrial towns in Wales, faced a great deal of upheaval and changes to its social structure and ultimate fortunes. This is epitomized by the fact that Blaenavon once boasted two busy passenger railway stations, and now has none.
Blaenavon is situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It lies at the head of the Afon Llwyd (Grey River) Valley lying between the Coity and Blorenge mountains, although more toward the Blorenge side (pronounced like 'orange'). It lies six miles north of Pontypool and seven west of Abergavenny, and was fairly isolated, sitting halfway up a mountain, when its rich mineral deposits were regarded as an opportunity by a team of Northern Englishmen who decided to make use of them.
This is not intended as a discourse on Blaenavon history, but more on how circumstances can easily lead to a once vibrant town into decline, and how the people of such a town can decide to pull it back up again by its bootstraps to become a vibrant community once more.
During the 18th and 19th centuries Blaenavon grew into one of the most significant iron and steel production areas in the entire world, and even now its ruined though regenerated ironworks is still the best preserved and largest of its kind in Europe. The town's one remaining coal mine, Big Pit, is the National Mining Museum of Wales, enabling visitors free access to guided tours underground, showing them the type of work and hardships faced by those that mined the coal that once fed the furnaces and their fireplaces.
However, Blaenavon history is not just about its iron, since it was here that the production of high quality steel by the Bessemer Process was finally made possible. The phosphorus present in iron had hitherto rendered steel a tough but brittle metal that was easily fractured. It was in Blaenavon that the tests were carried out by Gilchrist Thomas that finally enabled phosphorus-free iron to be produced, paving the way for steel with real toughness to be produced in Blaenavon and all over the world - a genuine Blaenavon world first of which most of Britain is unaware.
The remains of the forges, the slag heaps of coal residues and iron ore and the various horse-drawn tramways over the surrounding countryside all contributed to the industrial landscape of Blaenavon and its environs being awarded the accolade of being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2000 because of its significance to the iron and steel industry during the 18th and 19th centuries.
But what of the 20th century? What of Blaenavon history during the two World Wars, and what of its people as the demand for Blaenavon steel dropped and its production became the domain of the massive steel plants of Europe, the USA and Asia? Blaenavon's story then becomes a different one: one of resilience, community spirit and a strong desire to retain its place as a leader of industry in Wales and the UK.
After all, Big Pit produced coal until February 1980, so industry did not just die out suddenly. The town was home to many refugees from the main Luftwaffe targets during World War II, and the people of Blaenavon worked hard to keep their proud town playing its part in producing the coal, iron and steel needed by Britain and many other parts of the world into the 20th century. Blaenavon even had its own brickworks.
When the iron works ceased production in 1904, it was seen as the beginning of the decline, production being transferred to the newer plants of nearby Forgeside. However, it was not until the 1960s that the old ironworks finally closed. Since then it has been earmarked for demolition, saved by the local council and then refurbished into a magnificent tourist attraction. Blaenavon railway is being refurbished by a group of volunteers, and the entire area is in the process of regeneration with help of local councils and local people.
So, what makes a World Heritage Site? Certainly, it takes a man-made wonder such as the Taj Mahal or the Great Wall of China, but it also takes the efforts of ordinary people such as you and me to make a difference, and get their own beloved town back on the map where it belongs. Blaenavon history offers a living example of what can be done if people put their mind to it, and it could be done anywhere - with ordinary people that have the will to do so!
About The Author: For more information on Blaenavon and its history, visit http://www.blaenavonhistory.com where you will find information on Blaenavon history from 1901-1951 in a new book titled Funeral to Festival
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=899865
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Peter Nisbet
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=899865
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=899865
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Blaenavon History: What Makes a World Heritage Site?
Author: Peter Nisbet
Word Count: 820
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=899865&ca=Advice
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=899865
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=899865
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Blaenavon history is well recorded - up to a point, because the bulk of the published history of Blaenavon focuses on its development into one of the major iron towns in the world during the 19th century.
Very little has been published since 1900, when Blaenavon, like many industrial towns in Wales, faced a great deal of upheaval and changes to its social structure and ultimate fortunes. This is epitomized by the fact that Blaenavon once boasted two busy passenger railway stations, and now has none.
Blaenavon is situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It lies at the head of the Afon Llwyd (Grey River) Valley lying between the Coity and Blorenge mountains, although more toward the Blorenge side (pronounced like 'orange'). It lies six miles north of Pontypool and seven west of Abergavenny, and was fairly isolated, sitting halfway up a mountain, when its rich mineral deposits were regarded as an opportunity by a team of Northern Englishmen who decided to make use of them.
This is not intended as a discourse on Blaenavon history, but more on how circumstances can easily lead to a once vibrant town into decline, and how the people of such a town can decide to pull it back up again by its bootstraps to become a vibrant community once more.
During the 18th and 19th centuries Blaenavon grew into one of the most significant iron and steel production areas in the entire world, and even now its ruined though regenerated ironworks is still the best preserved and largest of its kind in Europe. The town's one remaining coal mine, Big Pit, is the National Mining Museum of Wales, enabling visitors free access to guided tours underground, showing them the type of work and hardships faced by those that mined the coal that once fed the furnaces and their fireplaces.
However, Blaenavon history is not just about its iron, since it was here that the production of high quality steel by the Bessemer Process was finally made possible. The phosphorus present in iron had hitherto rendered steel a tough but brittle metal that was easily fractured. It was in Blaenavon that the tests were carried out by Gilchrist Thomas that finally enabled phosphorus-free iron to be produced, paving the way for steel with real toughness to be produced in Blaenavon and all over the world - a genuine Blaenavon world first of which most of Britain is unaware.
The remains of the forges, the slag heaps of coal residues and iron ore and the various horse-drawn tramways over the surrounding countryside all contributed to the industrial landscape of Blaenavon and its environs being awarded the accolade of being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2000 because of its significance to the iron and steel industry during the 18th and 19th centuries.
But what of the 20th century? What of Blaenavon history during the two World Wars, and what of its people as the demand for Blaenavon steel dropped and its production became the domain of the massive steel plants of Europe, the USA and Asia? Blaenavon's story then becomes a different one: one of resilience, community spirit and a strong desire to retain its place as a leader of industry in Wales and the UK.
After all, Big Pit produced coal until February 1980, so industry did not just die out suddenly. The town was home to many refugees from the main Luftwaffe targets during World War II, and the people of Blaenavon worked hard to keep their proud town playing its part in producing the coal, iron and steel needed by Britain and many other parts of the world into the 20th century. Blaenavon even had its own brickworks.
When the iron works ceased production in 1904, it was seen as the beginning of the decline, production being transferred to the newer plants of nearby Forgeside. However, it was not until the 1960s that the old ironworks finally closed. Since then it has been earmarked for demolition, saved by the local council and then refurbished into a magnificent tourist attraction. Blaenavon railway is being refurbished by a group of volunteers, and the entire area is in the process of regeneration with help of local councils and local people.
So, what makes a World Heritage Site? Certainly, it takes a man-made wonder such as the Taj Mahal or the Great Wall of China, but it also takes the efforts of ordinary people such as you and me to make a difference, and get their own beloved town back on the map where it belongs. Blaenavon history offers a living example of what can be done if people put their mind to it, and it could be done anywhere - with ordinary people that have the will to do so!
About The Author: For more information on Blaenavon and its history, visit http://www.blaenavonhistory.com where you will find information on Blaenavon history from 1901-1951 in a new book titled Funeral to Festival
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=899865
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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