I have seen something today that is truly amazing. It doesn't happen very often, so I have a great deal to tell you about. I went to the old Ironworks located in the town of Blaenavon. Blaenavon has been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. This puts it in the same league as The Great Wall of China, the Acropolis, the Auschwitz concentration camp, and the Grand Canyon. Why does it deserve such a honor? Because it is the most intact and best example of a 19th century iron furnace left in the world. What's more, this is the location in 1878, Sir Sidney Gilchrist Thomas perfected the Bessemer process.

Sir Bessemer's process had been patented in 1855 and it did make steel incredibly cheap. The one thing it couldn't do was remove phosphorous from the steel. Phosphorous, often found in European pig-iron, weakens steel and therefore needs to be removed. Sir Thomas was convinced that this was possible and he discovered a way to do it in 1878. He chose Blaenavon because his cousin was a chemist for the ironworks which was located here and was keen on his ideas. The cousin's name was Percy Gilchrist and the two of them sold their patents to Andrew Carnegie for over £250,000.

Why does this matter? Because cheap steel is directly responsible for the industrial revolution. Steel is incredibly lightweight and strong, which makes it an ideal building material. When it became possible to make it cheaply and rapidly, the world changed overnight. Airplanes, automobiles, skyscrapers, ocean liners, etc suddenly became economically feasible. Hence, this is where the industrial revolution was perfected.

The ironworks are also a miracle. Seeing the engineering genius that went into their design is a priviledge that I do not know how to describe. This building on the left housed the pig-iron pits from in front of the furnace. There are four furnaces on site. If you remember blogging about the Steven's furnace at Caledonia park, you'll know what I'm talking about. The process is similar, but the ones here are about four times the size of that one. Very impressive

This miracle is barely mentioned at the site. There is a marker to Sir Thomas which you can see in the photo above. His workshop has now been turned into a parking lot. I'm not sure if anyone there, other than the guides, understand the significance of what occurred here.