Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - The River Ely Iron Ore Wharf . . .

The wars of the early nineteenth century against the French increased the need for armaments and the demand for iron products. In 1802, Admiral Horatio Nelson visited the Cyfarthfa Ironworks to view iron for naval cannon and shot being produced.

The Lancaster Gazette [1344] of 13th November 1824 reported : -

On Saturday the 23rd ult. the sloops "Anna Louisa," of Cardigan, and the "Jane," of Aberystwyth, both laden with iron from Cardiff, bound for Liverpool, struck upon the Swilly rocks, where they remain, with but little hope of their being ever got off.

Investment in the industry continued and technical innovation evolved from the investment in the iron and steel industry of Merthyr. Also, by the 1830's, the development of the railway systems throughout South Wales and beyond spurred the continued growth of the industry particularly for steel rails and iron railway chairs, etc. Progressively, the canal became acutely congested.

The Taff Vale Railway opened in April 1841 to the designs of Isambard Kingdom Brunel which cut journey times between these ironworks and Bute Docks, Cardiff, to hours rather than days by canal.

By 1857, the furnaces in South Wales produced nearly 1m tons and local supplies of iron ore were insufficient to meet demand. Ore was imported from the Basque region of northern Spain to fill the gap.

The ironworks of Merthyr are over 25 miles from Cardiff, hence, the cost of shipping from ports such as Bilbao to Cardiff (568 nautical miles) and the transfer of the ore from vessels via railway to the iron-works, plus the transportation of finished items back to Cardiff for export, was a significant labour intensive and thus, costly process.

The iron could be cast in 'green-sand' moulds or 'puddled' to produce wrought iron. Cast iron has a high carbon content, is strong in compression but relatively weak in shear or tension, hence, it had severe limitations in its structural application and could be liable to sudden failure under heavy loaded conditions, point-loads or impact.

Wrought iron, on the other hand, exhibited much improved physical properties but required skilled manipulation in a 'puddling' (or reverbatory) furnace. Normally two operators with 'Herculean exertion' worked a single 'heat' which lasted 1½ hours!