Site Record

Iron processing was first recorded on this site in 1817, when local businessman and entrepreneur Edward Rowland established Acrefair or New Ruabon Iron Works. Rowland's business interests made him a key advocate of the Ellesmere Canal when it was first proposed in 1791. The canal connected the industries of north east Wales to crucial markets and created new opportunities for industrial expansion and development.

The Acrefair Iron Works closed in 1822 after five years in production. The freehold for the site was purchased by the British Iron Company in 1825. Following reports of corruption and poor management in the company, the firm reformed as the New British Iron Company in 1843. At this time there were several blast furnaces on the site and a number of rolling mills and forges which produced bar iron.

The iron produced by the New British Iron Company was mostly sold to businesses in Manchester. By 1854, it was producing ten tons of iron per week on average, and about 15600 tons per year. At its peak of operations, the company employed over 1500 people.

Production at the company ceased in 1887. The last blast furnace and pattern workshop were demolished in 1963 and a set of limekilns built into the furnace bank were removed in the early 1980s. The only enduring structural remains of the New British Iron Company are a bank of coke ovens situated close to Lancaster Terrace in Acrefair. These appear on the 1st edition OS map of 1877 and would have supplied coke to fire the blast furnaces. The 2nd edition OS map of 1899 shows the ovens as disused.

RCAHMW, 20th May 2011.