Any Old Iron.

We went out to get the paper and get some inspiration for today's blip. J came up with the great idea to drive to Tondu ,where my Nan and Grampa lived. Just a short walk from their house is an old iron works.
Parc Tondu, home to the remains of the most complete Victorian Ironworks in Britain.
The Tondu Ironworks was started in 1838 for the production of rails and sheet iron.
One of the reasons why an ironwork was established at Tondu was that the raw materials were all available locally. Iron ore came from the Maesteg area, coal came from local pits and limestone from quarries near the coast.The materials were bought by the Dyffryn Powell Llynfi Railway; firstly by horse drawn railway and later by steam powered railway.
The Calcining Kilns - Iron ore was roasted with coal in the calcining kilns to make it suitable for the blast furnaces. ( this is the building on the right hand side of the photo )
Charging area and lift tower- Iron ore, coke and limestone were brought to this area, lifted to the top of the blast furnace by the lift tower and tipped into the mouth of the furnace. There is large circle on the floor which shows where the furnace once stood ( this is not in the photo )
The Engine House-This building once contained the blowing engines that pumped air into the furnace in order to sustain the high temperature reactions necessary to release iron from iron ore. ( this is on the left of the photo)
I don't know why i hadn't thought of blipping this before, as it is only about 4 miles away from our house.