No. 2 Blast Furnace at former Neath Abbey Ironworks is a Grade II* listed building in the Neath Port Talbot local planning authority area, Wales. First listed on 22 December 2003. Industrial.

No. 2 Blast Furnace at former Neath Abbey Ironworks

WRENN ID
quiet-mantel-sepia
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Neath Port Talbot
Constituency
Neath and Swansea East MP: Carolyn Harris (Lab)
Country
Wales
Date first listed
22 December 2003
Type
Industrial
Address
No. 2 Blast Furnace at former Neath Abbey Ironworks, Dyffryn Clydach
OS grid reference
SS 737 977
Coordinates
51.66435, -3.82621
Source
Cadw listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

No. 2 Blast Furnace at the former Neath Abbey Ironworks is a significant 19th-century structure. This very tall blast furnace is built from rubble Pennant sandstone and has a square plan that tapers as it rises. It is positioned against a rock face, which facilitates the charging process. The furnace stands approximately 19.8 meters high, with a base that measures around 11.6 meters square. The base is currently overgrown but features a large barrel vault on the eastern side, which has a semicircular arch made of a double ring of dressed stone voussoirs. Inside, the structure is supported by massive cast iron beams and contains the remains of a slag notch. At the top of the furnace, there are remnants of a loading arch. Additionally, the rear of the furnace includes a recess and a large chamber carved out of the rock wall, which was used for the tuyere or blast pipes.

Local climate

No. 2 Blast Furnace at former Neath Abbey Ironworks sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,380 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 97% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 96% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 28 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 69% of listed buildings. Of these, 12 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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Nearby listed buildings

  1. No. 1 Blast Furnace at former Neath Abbey Ironworks Grade II* 32 m
  2. Former engine manufacturing building at former Neath Abbey Ironworks Grade II 76 m
  3. Neath Abbey Railway Viaduct (partly in Blaenhonddan community) Grade II 89 m
  4. Neath Abbey Railway Viaduct (partly in Dyffryn Clydach community) Grade II 102 m
  5. The Smiths Arms Grade II 168 m
  6. Forge tramroad bridge at Neath Abbey Ironworks (partly in Blaenhonddan community) Grade II 199 m
  7. Forge tramroad bridge at Neath Abbey Ironworks (partly in Dyffryn Clydach community) Grade II 205 m
  8. Former forge and rolling mill at Neath Abbey Ironworks Grade II 307 m
  9. Church of Saint John the Baptist Grade II 443 m
  10. Clydach Aqueduct on Tennant Canal Grade II 467 m