Industrial Change in South Wales The Reasons for the Original Location of the Iron and Steel Industry in South Wales

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Industrial Change in South Wales

The Reasons for the Original Location of the Iron and Steel Industry in South Wales

Since it was first established in the 18th and 19th century, the iron and steel industry has changed its location in South Wales.  The earlier location of this industry in the area was along the northern edge of the South Wales coalfield where there were readily obtainable supplies of the raw materials required for iron and steel production.  These are coking coal and blackband iron ore, which were both easily available from the valley floors and sides of the Welsh mountains and were often found within close proximity of each other, meaning the area was very suitable for industrial development.  Also, limestone was required, which could be easily obtained from only a few kilometres north of the site.  For this reason a line of steel towns grew up in the valleys of this area, where the coal could be extracted from under the valley floors and transportation of limestone was much easier.  These included Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil and Ebbw Vale.  By the 1860’s there were over 35 iron and steel works operating in the Welsh valleys.  These industries produced a large amount of steel, which could then be transported overland to ports on the South Wales coast, where it was exported to an expanding overseas market.

However, towards the end of the 18th century the large volume of iron ore that was previously available in the area, began to run out.  In order to keep up production, the northern steel towns were forced to rely upon iron ore imported from elsewhere by sea to the South Wales coast.  The transportation of this bulky, heavy raw material was not only difficult, due to the long, uphill route, but also very expensive, and this cost began to kill the industry in the northern steel towns.  

For this reason, by the end of the 18th century, many of the iron and steel industries had moved locations to the South Wales coast.  Because of the huge reliance upon the importing of iron ore from abroad, this was the most economically viable location for the manufacturing industries.  As well as the close proximity to the point where the iron ore arrived, the location also possessed plentiful flat land for the easy construction of integrated steel works, easy transportation of coal downhill to the coast from the South Wales coalfield and plentiful water required for the cooling process in the steel works.  The deepwater ports along the coast were also beneficial, as they were needed for the bulk carriers, which were used for the carrying of the iron ore.  Therefore steel works developed in towns such as Port Talbot and Llanwern.

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What Evidence could be used to show that Manufacturing Decline has Taken Place in the Area?

Evidence for de-industrialisation of the steel industry in the South Wales region can be found by looking around the old industrial towns in the surrounding area where the iron and steel industry were once pervasive.  Large numbers of old factories, once used by the steel industry in the area are now empty and unused, providing evidence that these industries are no longer profitable and have declined in South Wales.  There is also a large amount of dereliction due to a loss of ...

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