page_title: Rheola House
section_title: Industrial activity
hierarchical_section_title: Rheola House / Industrial activity
caption_attribution_description: English: Rheola House, in the Neath valley, South Wales, with wooded hillside beyond. This is a photo of listed building number 11771.
context_page_description: Rheola House is a Grade II* listed country house between Glynneath and Resolven, in the Neath valley, South Wales. Designed by John Nash, it was built between 1812 and 1814 for Nash's cousin, John Edwards. It passed through inheritance to members of the Edwards, Vaughan, and Lee families, until in 1939, with the house becoming run down, it was bought by an aluminium company for use as offices, and part of the land was put to industrial uses. In 2012 an application was made for housing on the industrialised area, to enable restoration of the house and a leisure complex to sustain the estate. The application was granted in 2014.
context_section_description: With the rise of industrialisation and coalmining along the Neath valley, it no longer suited its role as a fashionable and picturesque residence. In the 20th century Rheola was the home of Col J. Edwards Vaughan at least until 1926. In 1939 the estate was bought by the British Aluminium Company,  who used the house as offices, and built an aluminium smelting plant on a large plot between the house and road. Aluminium smelting requires large amounts of electricity, and the original plan had been to use locally produced electricity, generated with local coal supplies. However World War II broke out before the generators were imported from Switzerland, so the smelting plant attempted to run using national grid electricity, and this was discontinued by 1943. The factory was then in use as a strip mill. The industrial activity had involved an area of hardstanding covering almost 10 hectares (25 acres), which then was used for screening coal from the nearby coalmines. By 1981 it had ceased to be needed for coal screening, and the estate was sold to local construction and demolition company RM Rees. The industrial buildings were used for architectural salvage and a weekly market. The house was in serious decline, as were the grade II listed stables and coach house.
caption: Rheola House in 2016, following removal of the industrial buildings.
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