The River Clywedog was the lifeblood of the valley, providing water for farming, power for the waterwheels in various mills and for driving heavy industrial machinery.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries the river powered huge waterwheels which operated massive bellows for blasting air into the blast furnaces at Bersham Ironworks and driving the winding, crushing and pumping machinery in Minera’s lead mines. In addition the River Clywedog powered waterwheels for 17 mills along its length – fulling mills to prepare cloth, flour mills for grinding wheat/barley and fine paper mills. The local population grew dramatically as the Industrial Revolution attracted workers to rapidly developing coal and lead mines, massive limestone quarries, ironworks and lead smelters. This created a huge demand for food which the fertile Clywedog floodplains provided. The rich pastures grew cereals for its new flour mills and fed livestock that provided pork, beef, milk, butter and cheese. Soon additional areas of woodland were cleared for growing more crops. But the advent of steam power in late 19th and 20th centuries meant industries no longer needed to be sited close to the river. This new technology and cheaper imports eventually saw the death of the Clywedog industries. Today the Clywedog Valley has returned to nature and is a place for wildlife and relaxation with the River Clywedog now valued for its beauty and peacefulness. However events happened here which changed the world, perhaps it really does deserve the title; The Silicon Valley of the 1770’s.