Cold-roll Engine-house at former Kidwelly Tinplate Works

Cadw's description

Location

Situated at NE end of Kidwelly Industrial Museum site, which is some 2km NE of Kidwelly, in Gwendraeth Fach valley.

History

1919 engine-house built to contain the massive horizontal engine that drove the cold-rolls at the tin-plate works. In the cold-rolls the iron plates were rolled cold to take out unevenness and burnish the surfaces before being taken for dipping in molten tin.

Exterior

Red brick with slate roof. W side has door, three blocked large doors and one further door. Roundel in each gable end. Arched entry in N gable end, two cambered-headed windows in S end. Eight windows in rear wall, 4 blocked. Later C20 lean-to roof over cold-roll machines outside to W.

Interior

White rendered walls, 7 steel roof trusses. Massive machinery made by Cole, Marchant & Morley of Bradford Yorks. Horizontal tandem compound engine powering one very large 5.5m (18') flywheel to left from which 15 steel hawsers drive three large wheels in sequence to right, a donkey-engine started first wheel which in turn drove the next three, that provided motive power for the cold-rolling outside. Overhead gantry rails.

Reason for designation

Listed as part of the only tin-plate works in Britain, and Graded II* for the surviving machinery.