Dam and floodgates at old tinplate works, Kidwelly.

The dam and floodgates at old tinplate works, Kidwelly.

There has been a tinplate works on the banks of the Gwendraeth Fach at Kidwelly since 1737, and, after a long and chequered history, the mills finally rolled for the last time in 1941. Before the advent of steam engines, a large waterwheel was used to power the rolling mills,and to give a reliable water supply a dam was built across the river, which is still very much in evidence today.

Gearing for flood gates at tinplate works, Kidwelly.

The difficulty in maintaining this water supply is shown in the complexity of the dam and its flood-gate arrangements and a walk along the path at the top of the dam will still show you the gearing mechanisms that were needed to operate the gates. Historical records show a separate lease for an area of land upstream was needed to allow for the formation of a lake, yet even so their were times when the works were closed in summer for lack of water. The Gwendraeth Fach was also liable to flood and the river is still tidal at this point so a combination of high rainfall and a spring tide could possibly have flooded the works itself.  A few years later however, with the invention of the steam engine, all this engineering became unnecessary.

Today the pool in front of the dam has been re-named Gwenllian Pool, in keeping with the marketing of  present day  Kidwelly. It is a place noted on many angling websites and no doubt also provides an irresistible temptation to the local youngsters on hot days, despite the "No Swimming" signs put up nearby.

An excellent account of the tinplate history of Kidwelly is given here.