Cast iron objects could be made by melting pig iron and pouring it into moulds. Cast iron was quite brittle so by heating pig iron until it was red hot and then shaping it with a hammer produced a much stronger material called wrought iron. The extra skill involved in making wrought iron meant that it was more expensive than cast iron.

Most of the work in the foundry involved carrying molten metal, rolling or hammering red-hot iron rods or loading the furnace with iron ore.

The photograph shows iron rolls being worked at Tredegar Iron Works in 1910. All of the jobs were very dangerous, with a risk of being burnt by extremely hot iron.

Boys were often employed in the foundries to undertake the jobs that did not need a large amount of skill. Some of the boys were apprentices, which meant they were learning to become skilled ironworkers.

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