Site Record

The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman's News reported on the 11th September 1896 the “OPENING OF THE PONTYPRIDD GAS- WORKS. The Pontypridd Gas Works which has been p elected by the Pontypridd Urban District Council. at Treforest, at a cost of about £40,000. was formally opened on Wednesday by Councillor P. Gowan, chairman of the Gas Committee, in the presence of several members of the District Council, officials, and the general public. The works are situated alongside the Newport and Caerphilly Railway and occupy a considerable area of land". The telescopic gasometer has a capacity of about 350,000 cubic feet. It is 100 feet in diameter, and has two lifts, 24 feet deep. The retort has four benches and 64 mouthpieces, and will be heated by only one fire, consequently there will be a great saving in coal. The size of the retort house is 115 feet by 64 feet, and there are coal stoves of considerable size adjoining. The gasometer was supplied by Messrs C. and W. Walker, London, the iron work in the retort house by Messrs Dempster, of Newton Heath. Manchester, the retort fittings by Messrs North and Vale, Stourport, and the masonry work was constructed by Messrs Witham Ives and Co., Shipley. The exhausters were supplied by Messrs Waller and Co., London, and the construction of the tower or "scrubber washer was carried out by Messrs Clapham Bros, of Keighley. The works have been erected according to plans prepared by Mr Newbigging. gas engineer. Manchester. The manager of the works is Mr H. Barker.”. 1895 New works designed by Thomas Newbigging on a sloping site and completed 1896. Siding from Alexandra Docks Railway; the Glamorgan Canal was on the other side of the site. "The coal is discharged from railway waggons on an overhead gantry into a coal store beneath, which is capable of holding 1500 tons. Special cannel store for 2000 tons. Oil for CWG discharged by gravity from sidings. Coke elevator to fill railway waggons. A 52,000 cu.ft. CWG relief holder moved from old site by Biggs, Wall, but at least one holder still in use on the old site. (Jnl of Gas Lighting 14-5-1912). In 1898 the engineer/manager of the gasworks was H. Barker and the secretary H. L. Grover; the annual gas production was 57.3m cu.ft. from 2560 tons of coal. In 1952 the “Gas World Year Book”, showed that Penmaenmawr was manufacturing 14 m cu.ft. of gas using CWG plant and purchasing 635 cu.ft. of Coke oven gas. D. Muir was the engineer and manager. In 1974 There was a three-lift column-guided holder in a below-ground tank and a two-lift spiral in a steel tank. A large former horizontal retort house had found new uses and another ex-works building (CWG) still stood between the retort house and the spiral. By 1976 a District Office/Depot had been built. By 1983 both the spiral holder and the CWG house had gone, but the retort house remained. The gasworks were visible on the 1898 to 1993 OS maps. The undertakings records are held at the Glamorgan Archives.