This dramatic watercolour shows a typical south Wales ironworks at dusk or night. Banks of blast furnaces can be seen on both sides of the Ebbw Fach river with early terraces of workers' housing close by. It was painted when south Wales was just beginning to dominate the international rail trade, and was published as an engraving in Gastineau's 'South Wales Illustrated' in 1830. The ironworks at Nantyglo, which was famous for its bar iron production, features in Alexander Cordell's famous novel 'The Rape of the Fair Country', set shortly before and after the date of this watercolour.