In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Dowlais like this:
DOWLAIS, a chapelry in Merthyr-Tydvil parish, Glamorgan; on the Merthyr-Tydvil and Abergavenny railway, 2¼ miles NE of Merthyr-Tydvil. It contains Heolwermood and Garth; and has a post office‡ under Merthyr-Tydvil. Rated property, £22, 000. Pop., 15, 590. Houses, 2, 980. The property is much sub-divided. Dowlais House belonged formerly to Sir John Guest, Bart.; and is now the residence of G. Clarke, Esq. A vast iron establishment is here, including seventeen furnaces, and huge rolling-mills and forges. Great improvement was made in the sanitary and social condition of the work people by Sir John Guest; and a neat building was erected to his memory, and serves as a library and institution. The chapelry was constituted in 1837. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Llandaff. Value, £150.* Patron, the Marquis of Bute.
Dowlais through time
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Dowlais has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of Merthyr Tydfil. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Dowlais and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Dowlais, in Merthyr Tydfil and Glamorgan | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20251
Date accessed: 22nd May 2013
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