Octagonal Building at Bersham Ironworks Site

The Octagonal Building at the Bersham Ironworks site is a roughly 8-sided or near-circular structure made of brick and rubble, topped with a pyramidal roof, although the slates were removed at the time of inspection in July 1995. The roof is supported by pentagonal brick piers at each corner. The northwest, east, and south walls feature contemporary brickwork. The south wall includes a relieving arch with later rubble infill below, and the upper part of this wall is open. There is a similar blocked arched opening in the east wall that once provided access to the adjacent fettling shop. The northwest wall is bowed out in its central section. The west side is open, while the southwest elevation, which consists of brick above a rubble base, was likely infilled later and has a small ventilation slit. The north elevation has brick infill on a rubble plinth, with a stone sill at the open upper section. The northeast elevation is blind and brick infilled.

An attached single-storey range has been extensively rebuilt, likely in the late 19th to early 20th century, but it incorporates earlier work between and below the windows in its north elevation. This range features 5-light windows with concrete sills and lintels. In the east bay, which is probably a later extension, the roof is supported by cast-iron Wilkinson pipes, and an A-frame timber truss is exposed in the east gable. There are lean-to extensions to the south.

Internally, the building is now a single space, but excavation in 1987 revealed traces of internal walls that were likely parallel to the external walls and removed to facilitate reuse. The roof has a braced king-post structure, with the king-post located at the intersection of massive cross tie-beams. A cast-iron bracket with a central hole is found at the center of the underside of the post, likely associated with 19th-century agricultural machinery.