Ironworks

For artifacts or architectural features made of iron, see ironwork.

Ironworks at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, England

An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the plural of ironworks is ironworks.

Ironworks of various sorts have existed for centuries – the first ironworks in America were established on the James River as early as 1619 – but they became a central part of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century when advances in smelting technology permitted the casting and smelting of iron on a truly industrial scale.

Notable ironworks include:

• Bath Iron Works
• Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd
• Tredegar Iron Works
• Cyfarthfa Ironworks
• Dowlais Ironworks