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Banwen Iron Works is a scheduled monument about 2km south east of Coelbren. The main remnants of the works lie at low level on private land between a public footpath and the south bank of Afon Pyrddin. It is part of Ton-Pyrddin Farm - which is immediately to the west - and should only be accessed with the owner's permission.

The riverside remains are comprised of two blast furnaces, an engine house which powered them and a retaining wall creating the charging bank which gave access to fill the furnaces from the top.

CADW are currently interested in opening the site to the public and may fund the careful removal of the trees that grow through the masonry and shroud the site.

According to "The Archaeology of an Early Railway System: The Brecon Forest Tramroads" ...
In the 1840s Rowland Browne published a prospectus for the Banwen Iron Company. The iron works described would have six blast furnaces. By 1846 he had scraped together just enough investors to get the company registered and then start construction. Production started around 1848.
The company miraculously failed to produce the tiny amount of iron required to meet the conditions of the lease and thus went into receivership. Financial irregularities from the start plus a conflict of interests for Browne left the shareholders out of pocket and ownership of the lease conveniently reverting to Browne himself.
In 1852 the works were sold to James Henty who produced little iron and then in turn sold to Llewellyn & Son in 1861. Iron production ceased for good in 1862.
Only two of the proposed six furnaces were ever built, the second of which was not even fully completed within Browne's disastrous tenure.