Newport City suburbs, The Industrial Archaeology and History

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Coedkernew and the SW Uskmouth and the SE Bassaleg, Rogerstone and the NW Caerleon, Ponthir and the NE

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Newport City Centre Rural Monmouthshire from the Usk to the Wye

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South West Newport - Coedkernew
Pencarn Lane and Green Lane
Pencarn, Green Lane, 175107	Pencarn Lane, 60030	Pencarn Lane boundary post	Pencarn Lane, Iron Fairy
Pencarn Lane, Iron Fairy	Pencarn Lane, machines	Pencarn Lane, machines
Cleppa Park house and long barrow - ST 2752 8512
Cleppa Park house	Cleppa Park house	Cleppa Park house	Cleppa Park house
Cleppa Park house	Cleppa Park long barrow	Cleppa Park long barrow	Cleppa Park long barrow
Cefn Logell fish pond - ST 2737 8510 Later used as a reservoir
Fish pond dam	Fish pond island	Fish pond island	Fish pond valvehouse
Fishpond valvehouse, August 2008	Fishpond valvehouse, August 2008
Pen-Sidan-Fach - ST 2675 8533
Pen-Sidan-Fach	Pen-Sidan-Fach	Pen-Sidan-Fach	Pen-Sidan-Fach
Pen-y-lan gun emplacement - ST 2628 8532 A Second World War gun emplacement and searchlight battery
Pen-y-lan gun emplacement	Pen-y-lan gun emplacement	Pen-y-lan gun emplacement	Pen-y-lan gun emplacement
Pant-yr-eos reservoir and tramway - ST 2535 9166
Pant-yr-eos reservoir was proposed in 1871 by the Newport and Pillgwenlly Waterworks Co and completed by 1878 using stone from a quarry below the Risca to Twmbarlwm lane (ST 2496 9187). An incline ran down from the quarry to the dam construction site. The trackbed of the incline is faint but can be traced. The company became part of Newport Corporation in 1888. See links in the 'Sources' at the end.
Halfway point looking up	Halfway point looking down	Towards the top looking up	The top looking up
Culvert under the tramway	Pipeline along the tramway
Tramway incline foot	Tramway incline foot	Tramway incline foot	Tramway incline top

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South East Newport - Uskmouth
Uskmouth
Alpha Steelworks wharf	Alpha Steelworks	Alpha Steelworks	Uskmouth Power Station

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North West Newport - Tredegar Park, Bassaleg and Rogerstone
Tredegar Park and Pye Corner
Tredegar Park Forge - ST 2811 8640 Tredegar Park Tramroad - ST 2843 8662 The Tredegar Park Forge and its' tramroad are a little-known feature next to the very famous 'Golden Mile'. The forge was established in 1690 and owned by the Harfords of Melingriffith in 1791 until closure in 1822. A leat following the route of the current dock feeder fed a waterwheel powering beehive furnaces. The tramroad ran along the causeway over the river on a wooden bridge and up to the Sirhowy Tramroad or possibly on to the canal. The current 1870 stone and iron bridge replaced the original but used the same wooden pile foundations. More information is in this article by OHIHS member, Robin Williams
Tredegar Park Tramroad	The river bridge	The river bridge	The river bridge
The river bridge	The river bridge	The river bridge trackbed	The river bridge trackbed
The river bridge plaques	The river bridge plaques	The river bridge plaques
The tramroad towards the Forge	The tramroad towards the Forge	The tramroad towards the Forge	The Forge end of the tramroad
The tramroad towards the river	The causeway stone embankment
Towards the Sirhowy Tramroad	Towards the Sirhowy Tramroad	The bridge under the GWR	The bridge under the GWR
Pye Corner Paddy Murphy visited some inaccessible parts of the Pye Corner bridge and found a post marking the start of the 'Golden Mile' through Tredegar Park, the bridge builders plate and some sleepers from the Sirhowy or MRCC tramroad.
Park Mile Railway marker	Pye Corner bridge plate	Sirhowy Tramroad sleepers	Sirhowy Tramroad sleepers
Bassaleg and Rhiwderin
Tredegar Park derelict bridge	BMR Bassaleg Viaduct	BMR Bassaleg Viaduct	BMR Bassaleg Viaduct
BMR Bassaleg Viaduct	BMR Bassaleg Station	BMR Bassaleg Station	Bassaleg Station signs
BMR Bassaleg sidings hut	BMR towards Bassaleg station	BMR towards Rhiwderin station	BMR towards Rhiwderin station
BMR towards Rhiwderin station	BMR towards Bassaleg station	BMR bridge into Alcan works	BMR bridge into Alcan works
Rhiwderin Subway	Rhiwderin Subway	Rhiwderin level crossing
Rogerstone
Alcan works, Rogerstone	Alcan works, Rogerstone	Alcan works, Rogerstone	Rail bridge from the GWR
Coils being loaded into furnaces			Rail entrance to power station

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North East Newport - Caerleon and Ponthir
Caerleon (or Porthmawr) Tramroad - ST 3407 9028
Tramroad wharf - ST 3407 9028 You can just make out the remains of the wharf here, the final terminus of the Caerleon Tramroad. The tramroad passed between the river and 'The Hanbury Arms'and along the lane between the new apartments to meet the main road at the sharp bend. It then, rather obviously, went up 'Tram Lane', across the main Usk road and under the railway to Caerleon Ironworks. Tramroad milepost - ST 3309 9058 The only surviving milepost from the Caerleon Tramroad is in front of the school on the main road through the village. It was dredged from the Afon Llwyd close to where it would have stood beside the tramroad. Caerleon Forge and Ironworks - ST 3688 9158 Originally opened in the 1750s, the Caerleon Forge and Ironworks has been used since the 1940s by various light engineering companies. The remaining buildings are corrugated iron but still worth a look. The leat can be seen next to the main road. Ponthir Road bridge - ST 3329 9205 Ponthir Road bridge was built to cross the GWR mainline when it opened in the 1870s. Two small arches crossed the tramroad and the works leat as well. The leat used the lower, Southern arch and the tramroad used the other. The tramroad arch was used for some kind of experiments in the 1960s and 70s using a small headframe. To the South, the tramroad disappears into the works yard but the leat is still present next to the main road as it gets closer to the works. To the north, the course of the tramroad and original turnpike road can be seen going through the field in front of the old farmhouse.
Caerleon Tramroad milepost	Caerleon tinplate works	Ponthir Road Tramroad bridge	Ponthir Road Tramroad bridge
BTC gate notice plate
Ponthir Tinplate Works - ST 3250 9262
The site of Ponthir Tinplate Works has reverted to agricultural use, a modern barn having been erected on top of the massive foundation walls. The tree-lined Southern boundary of the field is the course of the tramroad to the riverbank but no trace remains of the river bridge. In the field, parallel to the tramroad, are two depressions which were the outlet leats. To the North, beside the lane, the stonework of the inlet leats is very well preserved up to the site of the weir. The works were established around 1758 and generally continued in use until being marked 'disused' on the 1920 OS map, for many years owned by the Jenkins family. Originally connected to the Caerleon Tamroad, a siding was laid into the works from Ponthir Station from around 1875. According to the 1881 Census, my Gt. Gt. Grandfather worked here and lived in Laburnam Cottages on the main road.
Ponthir Tinplate Works, 1882	Ponthir Tinplate Works, 1920	Ponthir Tinplate Works, 1912	Ponthir Tinplate Works, 1912
Mill race from the river	Mill race from the river	Mill race from the river	Mill race from the river
Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works
Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works
Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works
Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works	Ponthir Tinplate Works gate	Rail fencepost
1881 tinplate workers cottages	Course of the Caerleon Tramroad	Course of the Caerleon Tramroad	Course of the Caerleon Tramroad
Site of Ponthir Station	GWR, Tinplate Work to right	Ponthir Stationmasters House
The Star Brick and Tile Co Ltd - a brickmaking empire
The Star Brick and Tile Co Ltd began life in 1881 at Llantarnam Road, Cwmbran and by the end of the 1930s the new site at Penrhos, Caerleon had been built and they had acquired Russells brickworks, Waunfawr, Risca and the Allt-yr-yn brickworks in Newport. Tunnadine's brickworks, Malpas Road, Newport and Graig brickworks, Morriston, Swansea had joined the empire in the late 1950s. Meanwhile in England, Neal and Co. Ltd were producing bricks at Heather, Leics and by 1903 they had changed the company name to the National Brick Co. Seemingly in the 1950s they amalgamated with the Star Brick and Tile Co. Ltd to form the National Star Co. In 1971 the National Star Co was acquired by Butterley Brick / Hanson Plc 1973 seems to be the end of the Star Brick and Tile Co, although National Star Ltd, Newport continues to be mentioned up until 1978. Towards the end of the Star group in the 1960-70s, bricks were being produced with the generic die "National Star Newport" and small letters to the lower left or right of the stamp to indicate the works of origin. The letter "G" denoted bricks from the Graig Brickworks in Morriston, Swansea, "RC" for Waunfawr, Risca, "L" for Llantarnam, Cwmbran, "M" for Malpas, Newport and "C" for Penrhos, Caerleon which had become the group's HQ on the present day Star Trading Estate.
Penrhos Brickworks - ST 3335 9215 The chimney of Penrhos Brickworks still dominates the surrounding area. The woods to the South conceal a few tramway remains and the ford over the river to the claypits.
The ford to the claypits
'Star' bricks Not surprisingly, there are a great many variations of empire's imprints and these are just the 'STAR' varieties that I know about up to now.
'STAR', type 1	'STAR', type 2	'STAR', type 3	'STAR', type 4
'STAR ENG'		'Star Brick Co'	'Star Brick Co'
'Star Brick Co Newport Mon'	'Star Brick Co Newport Mon'	'Star Brick Co Newport Mon'
'Star Cwmbran'		'Star Caerleon', type 1	Star Caerleon, type 2
'Star Newport', type 1	'Star Newport', type 2	'Star Newport', type 3
'National Star Newport L' (Llantarnam)	'National Star Newport M' (Malpas)

Acknowledgments, sources and further reading.
Thanks to Paddy Murphy, Ian Pickford, Trefor Puw, Richard Paterson, Old Frechevillian for adding to the various brickworks sections. Pant-yr-eos Reservoir - London Gazette entry on proposals Pant-yr-eos Reservoir - London Gazette entry on re-organisation Lawrence Skuse - Welsh bricks and brickworks Penmorfa.com - Welsh bricks and brickworks

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