Forge Row, Cwmavon
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| Forge Row | |
|---|---|
 Side view from the south | |
  Location in Torfaen | |
| General information | |
| Coordinates | 51°45′11″N 3°03′30″W / 51.752942°N 3.058364°W |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | 1–7 Forge Row |
| Designated | 9 May 1973 |
| Reference no. | 3133, 18586-90 |
Forge Row is a terrace of seven, originally twelve, cottages build around 1804 for workers at a nearby forge in Cwmavon, Torfaen, south east Wales. The cottages have been sympathetically restored. The terrace is regarded as a fine example of early housing for industrial workers in South Wales, and all the cottages are Grade II* listed buildings. The cottages lie to the east of the Afon Llwyd river.
Around 1804 a forge was built at Cwmavon as part of Varteg Ironworks (although the ironmasters of Blaenavon Ironworks also seem to have been involved as the forge was near to the recently completed Blaenavon Railroad).[1][2]
The row was built for the workers at the forge around 1804-6 as twelve tiny cottages, each only the width of a door and window, with an alternating left and right pattern with shared chimney stacks, so they appear as six cottages.[3]
The cottages each had four rooms on two storeys with the front door opening directly into the kitchen/dining room. Unusually for the time there was also a back door. A winding staircase led to the front bedroom which accessed the back bedroom.[4]
The small size of the cottages contrasts with Cwmavon House, which was built a few years later in 1830 for the manager of the forge.[5] Cwmavon house is a two-storey house with four bays and is about 40 metres (44 yd) north of Forge Row and is a Grade II listed building.[3][6]
Occupation
The forge closed in 1840 and many of the workers moved away. In 1852 only six of the cottages were occupied, with an average occupation of 4.3 residents.[4]
The row was later bought by the Varteg Hills colliery, on the west of the valley, for its workers and remained fully occupied for many years.[4] A resident of Cwmavon remembers that in the late 1920s No. 5 Forge Row was owned by Mr Llewellyn, the Sunday school superintendent, who ran the cottage as a small shop selling "household goods such as soap, scrubbing brushes and blacklead along with sweets, cigarettes and paraffin". They also remember that Mr. Humphries, the colliery manager, lived at Cwmavon House.[7]
Decline
In 1975 the last resident was rehoused by the local authority and by 1980 the then owners, the National Coal Board, wanted to demolish the row, but the Torfaen Museum Trust bought the buildings to ensure their survival.[8]