Dowlais

Coordinates: 51°45′31″N 3°20′30″W / 51.7585°N 3.3416°W / 51.7585; -3.3416

Dowlais
Welsh: Dowlais
Dowlais  Dowlais shown within Merthyr Tydfil
Population	6,646 (2001)
OS grid reference	SO075075
Principal area	Merthyr Tydfil
Ceremonial county	Mid Glamorgan
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Merthyr Tydfil
Postcode district	CF48
Dialling code	01685 38
Police	South Wales
Fire	South Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
Welsh Assembly	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
List of places: UK • Wales • Merthyr Tydfil

Dowlais is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. As of 2001, it has a population of 6646.^[1]

Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking; once employing, through the Dowlais Iron Company, roughly 5,000 people, the works being the largest in the world.

Notable buildings

Little remains of the works that once sustained the community throughout the Victorian era until the 1930s, the two notable buildings that remain are the Engine House, now occupied by O.P. Chocolates, which took up the site in 1963, and the stable block which is now sheltered housing.

Dowlais House, which has now been demolished, was once home to John Josiah Guest and Lady Charlotte Guest, and it was at Dowlais House that Lady Guest translated the Mabinogion. The Guest Memorial Library (1863); commissioned by Lady Guest and designed by Charles Barry, still stands.

Sport and leisure

Dowlais is home to rugby union club, Dowlais RFC.

External links

• Old Merthyr Tydfil: Dowlais - Historical Photographs of Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil.
• Photos of Dowlais and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk

References

1. ^ Dowlais Ward 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: National Statistics. UK government. Retrieved 14 May 2009