"It is said that more beer was lost (wasted) when the furnaces, coal mines and iron-ore undertakings were being worked, especially at the start of the month, and on pay Saturday Night, than is being drunk now." (Unknown Author. 'A Glance at the History of Llwydcoed' Translated by D Williams and D L Davies.)

Rees Hopkin Rhys - was one of the most influential men in the development of local government in Aberdare and the surrounding area. Born in Llwydcoed in 1819, where he lived most his life at Plasnewydd, he became a respected mineral agent at an early age, but was blinded at the age of 28 whilst conducting experiments with gun cotton.
After his blindness he devoted much of his energy to public life. A member of the Merthyr Tydfil Board of Guardians for 53 years, he also served on the Aberdare Board of Health from 1854 and was elected the First Chairman of Aberdare Urban District Council on its inception in 1895.
He played an important role in setting up the Industrial School in Trecynon for pauper children. As a member of the Aberdare Board of Health he worked tirelessly to improve public health in the district, promoting the need for a clean water supply and an adequate sewerage system.
In 1881 the Merthyr Board of Guardians presented him with a bust of himself which can now be seen in the Cynon Valley Museum.

During the Twentieth Century the industrial base of Llwydcoed began to change. The Ironworks had closed some time earlier in 1875. In 1919 Ysguborwen Colliery closed and the Dyllas Colliery finally closed during the 1920's. However, in 1906 the Tanybryn Brickworks opened on the site of the Aberdare Ironworks and the brickworks remained open under a number of different owners until December 1981. In the late 1940's the coal reserves of the area were exploited again when the Bryn Pica opencast site was opened.

By 1823 three furnaces were in production at each site and the firm produced 12,571 tons of iron in 1830.
In 1846 the partners of the company had recourse to use the Court of Chancery to settle a dispute amongst themselves. The dispute between Henry and Mary Scale on the one hand and Rowland Fothergill on the other was settled when the Court of Chancery ordered that the business should be sold. Following this dispute a new Aberdare Iron Company emerged that was headed by the Fothergill family. The Aberdare ironworks at the time consisted of three blast furnaces with two engines and two large waterwheels providing the blast, along with mine kilns and workshops.

Right: The Aberdare Ironworks in the 1880's shortly after it's closure in 1875. The site buildings are still in a good condition at this date and the three blast furnaces can be seen in the centre of the photograph.

Up to this date the Aberdare Iron Company had not produced wrought iron at their ironworks but this changed following the takeover by the Fothergills, who built puddling furnaces at Abernant Ironworks and modernised both the works. Output appears to have continued to increase and by the mid 1860's the company had become one of the major suppliers in the wrought iron rail trade. In 1872 the company was supplying rails worldwide, including to New Orleans, New York and Montreal. This success, however, disguised some serious problems at the Aberdare Iron Company. In 1875 following the end of the demand for wrought iron rails the company collapsed suddenly.