Former Truck Shop Tondu Ironworks now Foxtroy Residential Home

Cadw's description

Location

On the west side of the community, on the hillside just NW of the former Tondu Ironworks site and the centre of the original ironworkers'settlement.

History

The Company or Truck Shop for the ironworkers was established early and appears on Tithe Map of 1842-3 with only 2 other houses nearby (probably numbers 23 and 26 Derllwyn Road). The truck system obliged workers to purchase goods from the company whose prices were substantially higher than local suppliers. Accounts at the shop were directly debited from wages, credit was recorded in the 'Shop Book' and only any balance remaining was paid in cash. The Tondu Ironworks were founded by Robert Price in 1830s on the land of the former Tondu Farm, beginning production possibly early 1840s and developing fairly slowly through that decade. Truck shop used for a number of purposes since ironworks closed in late C19: stables for colliery horses with hayloft above, left wing a former house; whole property now a nursing home with an added wing to rear. Late C20 changes to exterior include modern glazing and door openings.

Exterior

Built of coursed ironstone rubble with generous provision of tooled ashlar dressings; Welsh slate roof with overhanging eaves and decorative bargeboards; stone stacks to front and yellow brick to rear; blue brick ridge tiles. Plan is of a central 7 bay main frontage, which is double pile, and two gabled wings breaking forward at each end; these have a side elevation of 3 bays ending in a single bay cross wing rear left and cross gable rear right. Main frontage has continuous voussoir band across range of windows on each storey, formerly 6/6 pane sashes now replaced though glazing pattern retained; stone sills, tooling to all edge stones. Each bay has a giant recessed round headed ashlar and rubble blind arch in which are set at first floor level round headed multiipane windows with replaced glazing, square headed to ground floor. Bay left appears unaltered but right formerly had double doors; central door to main frontage a later creation. Side windows just have tooled voussoirs.

Interior

Interior converted into residential nursing home.

Reason for designation

Listed as the main non-industrial building of the Tondu Ironworks, and the founding core of the mid C19 housing development accommodating the ironworkers, also for group value with surrounding early housing, numbers 23, 26 and the slightly later 27 Derllwyn Road.