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Notable Businesses

Iron, Steel & Tinworks

South Wales Iron Works

Cambrian Works

South Wales Foundry

South Wales Tinplate Works

South Wales Steel Works

Old Castle Iron & Tinplate Works

Morewood plant in America

Machynys

Before the Act of Enclosure and the subsequent draining of the marsh land and building of the embankment, Machynys was an island at high tide. When the embankment (bulwark) was constructed in 1808 and 1809 from Penrhyngwyn to Dafen Pill it meant the end of the shipping place at Penrhyngwyn Bank and when the River Dafen was diverted to Machynys Pool the area was an ideal site for a dock.

It was not long before the Llangennech Coal Company chose Machynys Pool as the site for a floating dock.

1834 The floating dock, which was built by the Llanelly Railway & Dock Company was completed by 1834. This was a time of great expansion for South Llanelli and it was not long before small industries arrived to provide services for the larger Copperworks and Railway Company.

1840 Around this time the South Wales Iron Works was established as a general foundry building railway wagons. The South Wales Iron Works, New Dock, is listed in Hunt’s Postal and Commercial Directory of 1849 but it seems to have failed around 1851. When it reopened it was a general iron works, which produced both cast and wrought iron products and, in time, produced iron for the local tinplate works.

1860 Around 1860 the Cambrian Works, which was built without a forge was established on the corner of Dafen Row and Embankment Row and relied on iron that was “bought in”.

1866 By 1866 J Maybery & Sons, described as engineers, iron and brass founders were operating the South Wales Foundry.

1869 By 1869 Edmund Morewood had established galvanising Works at Baglan and Briton Ferry and was a partner in Yspitty Tinplate Works. He formed a partnership with his nephew John Henry Rogers, who had completed his education, and they turned their sights to Llanelli.

1870 Around 1870 Morewood & Rogers purchased the South Wales Iron Works and also decided to buy the Cambrian Works. Morewood & Rogers had been involved in galvanising and probably thought the Cambrian would give them experience of tinplate manufacturing before they embarked upon a large scale investment.

1872 The partnership of Morewood & Rogers opened a 5 mill tinplate department at the South Wales Works. In 1877 John Henry Rogers married into the tinplate business when he married the daughter of Rowland Maclaran (Dafen Tinplate) and the couple settled at Highfield House.

1880 The South Wales Works was going from strength to strength and a steel department was opened in 1880.

1882 By 1882 Morewood’s was the fourth largest tinplate works in the world and in its heyday it employed about 1,200 workers.

1887 Edmund Morewood died and his nephew and partner John Henry Rogers continued to manage the business. With a general improvement in the tinplate trade the South Wales Works added two mills to their plant. By this time many workers had emigrated to America and the emerging tinplate works across the Atlantic was beginning to pose problems for the local industry.

1890 Around 1890, the Cambrian, which had been working as a subsidiary of the South Wales Works, closed.

1991 Locally, from 1872 until 1891, although there were times of depression when thousands of workers were ‘laid off’, overall there was a period of almost continuous industrial growth. John Henry Rogers managing director of E. Morewood and Company, continued to run the vast business enterprises and also developed important business interests in America. It was no surprise that following the McKinley Tariff of 1891 and the resulting depression in the local tinplate trade, John Henry Rogers established tinplate works in America.

1892 Morewood’s opened a tinplate works in Elizabeth Port and a second works in Gas City. The Gas City, Indiana, Trade Directory reported that on June 9, 1892, “Messrs E Morewood & Co., of Wales, chose GAS CITY as the most suitable site for the establishment of an immense tinplate, steel making and foundry plant, after a thorough inspection of all the principal manufacturing towns in the Indiana Gas Field. This firm is the inventor of the improved Tin Plate Machines, by which nearly the entire product of the Welsh mines is now being manufactured. Its principal works have heretofore been located at Llanelly and Swansea, the plant at the former place consisting of 13 mills, and the latter of seven mills. At both these Welsh works the firm has completely appointed Siemen’s Steel Plants, and was for many years the only company of Tin Plate manufacturers making its own steel. The Morewood Tinplate Mill was opened in Gas City, Indiana, on 28 June 1893, and Rogers, who was the Superintendent, is said to have held Church meetings in the annealing room of the factory. He was also said to have been instrumental in establishing the Protestant Episcopal Church in Jonesboro and Gas City, Indiana. Indiana State Gazetteers for 1894-95 record.”

The Morewood Company, Gas City, tin and terne plate manufacturers, with John Henry Rogers President and C M Stuart Secretary. The town of Gas City was described as being three years old. The Morewood Company was said to have the largest plant for the manufacture of tinplate in the United States, which when fully completed would employ over 2,000 workers.

During this period many Welshmen emigrated to America to work in the developing tinplate industry.

1894 The Llanelly Mercury & South Wales Advertiser reported on Thursday 26 April that Messrs Morewood’s Works were shipping out two mills to America for their tinplate works at Gas City, Indiana. The plant has been manufactured at Llanelly. The fact is certainly not encouraging to Llanellyites as it clearly points to a belief by the firm that tinplate making in the States can be made a success either with or without the tariff.

The Cambrian, 3rd April 1894

Western Men Still Out at Llanelly

Some further steps have been taken to effect a settlement of the 36 boxes a day question with the management of the Western Tinplate Works and the whole of the workers were paid off at the offices on Saturday. The month’s notice to terminate contracts at the Old Castle Works expired on Saturday and, as we previously notified, the man were informed that they could continue working on day to day contracts. At the Athenaeum-hall, on Saturday night, a large meeting of tin-plate workers was held at which the following resolution was unanimously passed: Resolved we, the tin-platers of Llanelly, are pleased to find that the manager of the Old Castle Works has decided to re-start working and sincerely hope and respectfully request the manager of the Western Works to allow his employees to re-start working.

1896 A new galvanising plant went into production at the South Wales Machynys Works but the writing was on the wall. Even though Morewood’s was one of the largest and most technically advanced of the local tinplate works, the American development and a galvanizing scheme, at the Machynys Works, strained the financial resources of the company.

1897 The Cambrian reported on 6 April: "A meeting of the workmen of the South Wales Works, Llanelly, was held on Saturday night in Trinity Chapel schoolroom, when Mr Price, deputy-manager was made the recipient of a splendid case of cutlery by his employees as testimony of the high esteem in which he is held by them."

1898 In February the South Wales Works went into liquidation with the loss of hundreds of jobs and when it re-opened some months later, it had been sold to Richard Thomas and Co, and had an entirely new management.

1899 On 22 March 1899 the business interests of E Morewood & Company of Gas City, Indiana, were transferred to the American Tin Plate Company.

1900 Glyncoed, the former home of John Henry Rogers and his family, was offered for sale at the Thomas Arms. Although the bidding reached £3,300, the property was withdrawn when the bidding failed to reach the reserve price. Messrs Roderick & Richards were Solicitors for the Vendor.