Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a deserted iron mining village and adjacent mining earthworks, probably dating to the 18th or 19th century. The village was recorded in about 1879 as abandoned. It probably grew up around the early 19th century as a squatter settlement on the common, permitted by the Lord of the Manor in order to provide labour for the isolated upland iron ore mines. As many as a hundred people may have lived in the village. The foundations of at least fifteen cottages and outlines of gardens nestle under quarry faces and former spoil tips in irregular pattern. Several paths criss-cross the area between the cottages and the mines.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of 18th or 19th century iron working and other industrial practices. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structure itself may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques. An iron forge may be part of a larger cluster of monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.