page_title: Tintern
section_title: Brass, iron and wire works
hierarchical_section_title: Tintern / History / Brass, iron and wire works
caption_attribution_description: The village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales viewed from a disused railway bridge (now a footbridge) over the River Wye. At this point, the River Wye is the border between England and Wales. The village is on the west (Welsh) side of the river.
context_page_description: Tintern is a village and community on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about 5 miles north of Chepstow. It is popular with tourists, in particular for the scenery and the ruined Tintern Abbey.
  Modern Tintern has been formed through the coalescence of two historic villages; Tintern Parva, forming the northern end of the village, and Chapel Hill, which forms the southern end. The village is designated as a Conservation Area.
context_section_description: Though it has been suggested that the monks or lay brethren of Tintern Abbey exploited the woodlands and river power for operating iron forges, evidence of this is lacking. Industrial activity began in 1568 when the newly established Company of Mineral and Battery Works built a wireworks. It is possible that brass was made, but the works mainly made iron wire. This was used for a wide variety of industries with essential goods: cards for the woollen industry, nails, pins, knitting needles and fish hooks. The site was convenient, because the Wye offered transportation, the Angiddy stream provided water power, trees in nearby woods were used for charcoal fuel, and the locality provided a ready supply of minerals. The company began letting their works. Farmers of the works in the 17th century included Sir Basil Brooke, Thomas Foley, the important ironmaster and his son Thomas Foley. A blast furnace and forges were built in the valley in the 17th century and operated with the wireworks until the end of the 19th century.  
  For 300 years, the numerous works and forges along the Angidy Valley dominated the village and surrounding communities. A branch from the Wye Valley Railway to the Lower Wireworks by way of a bridge was completed in 1875, but too late to stop them going out of business. In 1878 a new company leased the site to manufacture tinplate although by 1895 it was reported as closed and only some ruins, associated ponds, leats and culverts are now visible. The bridge was used in the early 20th century as a horse-drawn tramway and now carries a tourist footpath to the opposite bank.
caption: River Wye and Tintern Parva
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