Cannop Foundry, Cinderford, Gloucestershire : Level II Building Recording

On April 25th 2007, Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried out a programme of building assessment and recording at Cannop Foundry, Valley Road, Cinderford, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (NGR: SO 650 138). The work was commissioned in advance of the proposed redevelopment of the site, which will involve demolition of all the former
foundry buildings. The site was originally constructed for the “The Bilson Gas Light Co.” in the 1880s before being vacated in the 1940s and Cannop Foundry acquiring the
site in 1957. There are eight buildings surviving, some of which have acquired major extensions during the life of the foundry. They range from small stores to very large brick and stone built workshops, of which three were originally part of the earlier gasworks. One of the workshops was constructed using coursed limestone blocks for the first 3 m of height with later brick courses added to increase the height and rebuild the gables. The second workshop was built using only brick with a series of 20 round topped windows along the top of each side. The larger workshops display signs of continuous adaptation and alteration over their working life. Their original roofs have been replaced with steel roof trusses and asbestos sheeting, probably during the same time as the extensions were added. The majority of the extensions and the wooden sectional stores were added in the 1960s
and 1970s.