Coal being added to a blast furnace at Govan Iron Works, Glasgow, c1880. Coal was the fuel that powered factories during the Industrial Revolution. Image caption, The Newcomen steam engine was ...

Prof Geraint Williams says blast furnace closures were a "turning-point" for the birthplace of the industrial revolution Prof Geraint Williams from Swansea University said the end of blast furnace ...

"Blast furnace steelmaking dates right back to the industrial revolution and the Victorian period, and the whole reason steelmaking and metal smelting takes place in Wales is because of coal.

Swansea University history expert Prof Louise Miskell, from Port Talbot, said: "Blast furnace steelmaking dates right back to ...