Clydach Upper Forge was possibly built in the late eighteenth century by Richard Parsons, the ironmaster of Ynysgedwyn to convert pig-iron produced there. The huge reservoir is still visible although it is full of colliery waste. The thick squat masonry dam (NPRN 704) is very similar to that at Llandyfan and the Lower Clydach River runs through it. The river passes through the wheelpit and directly onto the floor of the forge. A complex of anvil and hammer beds are visible in the shallow river bed, and the circular tailrace culvert (NPRN 705). The Upper Forge fell out of use after 1866.

Source: A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of the Swansea Region, by Stephen Hughes and Paul Reynolds, AIA, 1989

RCAHMW, 8 September 2011