Beaufort Ironworks was located towards the head of the Ebbw Valley, on the north and east banks of the river Ebbw. Founded from 1779 by the Kendall family on land leased from the Duke of Beaufort, it was one of the oldest ironworks on the 'Heads of the Valleys', on the northern outcrop of the South Wales Coalfield. Beginning with a single furnace in 1780, by 1830 there were four in operation producing 7,276 tons of iron annually. In 1833 the works were taken over by the Bailey brothers as an extension of their Nantyglo operations, to supply pig iron to the puddling furnaces and rolling mills. During the following decades further developments took place, and by 1870 the site comprised 14 furnaces, 67 puddling furnaces and four rolling mills. In 1871 ownership of the Beaufort and Nantyglo Ironworks was transferred to the Blaina Iron & Coal Co.
The works closed in 1873 following serious losses incurred during the great strike of that year combined with declining market conditions. The first-edition Ordnance Survey map of 1880 portrays the works as 'Disused'. Some traces appear on the second-edition map of 1901 but as no furnaces are shown demolitions must have begun early. The entire area has since been developed and is now occupied by the Glyncoed district, between Beaufort and Ebbw Vale; little trace of the former works has survived.
Sources:
L.Ince, The South Wales Iron Industry 1750-1885 (1993).
GGAT, South-east Wales Industrial Ironworks Landscapes Report, 62-3.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort,_Blaenau_Gwent

RCAHMW, 11 January 2016