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367:. The River Alyn flows in from the north-west corner of the site and follows the western side of the valley. The river originally meandered through the centre of the valley but it was diverted as part of the early construction works. The river was canalised and given steep concrete sides and a concrete base. The middle section of the river is culverted underground for two sections. The site is now home to 7
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Research has shown that whilst the attrition rate of certain building types has been quite high across the site, there is no other CW production, storage and assembly site surviving within the UK in such a complete and readily understandable state. This makes the Valley Site as a whole a place of
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The site occupies around 35 hectares of the Alyn Valley, to the south of the village of
Rhydymwyn (centred on SJ 205 668). Once part of the extensive Gwysaney Estate, the Parish of Rhydymwyn was established in 1865. Lead mining in the area is known to have been extensive, and a foundry associated
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From the mid-1960s the site was used by various governmental departments, its major function being a buffer storage depot to supply emergency rations and foodstuffs, and associated facilities such as mobile bakeries and canteens. In 1994 the site was closed, and a programme of demolition was
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was built on the site of the old gatehouse. The site covers 86 acres (350,000 m) to the south of the village in a U-shaped valley. The site was once the home to ancient lead mines and a 19th-century metal foundry. The western side of the site is semi-ancient deciduous
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Over 100 specialised buildings were constructed across the site, linked by an extensive rail network established around a spur off the
Chester to Denbigh mainline. Other major landscaping undertaken at this time included the canalisation and culverting of the
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M.S. Factory, Valley has not been used since the mid-1990s. In the preceding postwar period many of the buildings were still in use, mainly as a buffer storage depot, but some were demolished because they were considered dangerous. The site has become a
275:. These stores were mostly based on the reuse of existing government-owned sites and buildings; and the former M. S. Factory, Valley was adapted to become one of these storage sites. It became a bulk storage depot for emergency supplies.
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In 1940–1959, it was involved in either the manufacturing, assembly or storage of chemical weapons, or mustard gas in bulk containers. During 1947–1959 the tunnel complex held the majority of the country's stock of mustard gas.
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undertaken. This involved the dropping of buildings onto their footprints, and the rubble being mounded over with topsoil. Several major structures, and many ancillary buildings, still survive across the site.
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with nearby mines is depicted on several early maps for the area. Following the closure of the foundry land use on the site was largely agricultural in character. However, in 1939 the land was purchased by the
114:, and was associated with the development of the Atom Bomb. In the immediate Post-War period the site was used to store German nerve gas, and it was not until the 1950s when Britain relinquished its
229:, at a cost of £150,000 and installed in the P6 building at Valley. Test equipment was installed in the P6 building at Valley and experiments continued until 1945 when the equipment was moved to
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In the late 1930s the
Chamberlain Government planned that the United Kingdom should be in a position at the beginning of any war to retaliate in kind if the Germans, as expected, used
118:(CW) capability that the site as a chemical storage facility was defunct. However, the site remains on the international Chemical Weapons List, and is still monitored as such.
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The surviving buildings are a reminder of a huge building programme that changed the face of
Britain forever and the site remains as unique today as it was at its inception.
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national significance, but of particular rarity and importance are the surviving production buildings, which are, as far as can be ascertained, unique survivals.
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One of the surplus Pyro buildings at Valley (P6) was adapted for the testing of apparatus for uranium isotope separation in 1942 in an early phase of the
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By 1943 there were c. 2,200 people working at Valley. The vast majority were directed to work there by the government and billeted with local families.
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The Valley Site, Rhydymwyn, Flintshire: Historic
Environment Management Plan, Peter Bone, Steve Litherland and Kirsty Nichol, Birmingham Archaeology
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73:. It was later also used in the development of the UK's atomic bomb project. More recently, it became a bulk storage depot for emergency supplies.
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Production was intended of both Runcol and Pyro variants of mustard; records reveal that only the purer and more stable Runcol was made in bulk.
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process would work on an industrial scale to provide enough fissile material to manufacture a cost-effective and timely atomic bomb.
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The site of the Valley Works has now been returned to nature. It attracts a wide variety of wildlife and is now designated as a
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There were 5.2 million munitions manufactured in the war years many of them smoke generators which were heavily utilised from
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approved the sum of £546,000 for initial work on 27 August 1939, and work began in
October 1939 on the storage tunnels in the
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The site covers 86.8 acres (351,000 m), has 7 miles (11 km) of secure fencing and has always been “Secret”
164:, opened in 1941. The government authorised the expenditure of £3,161,671 and ICI's construction fee was £80,000.
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271:, the government decided to set up a system of food and raw material stockpiles to counter the threats of a
137:. In April/June 1939 the Alyn Valley was surveyed by the Department of Industrial Planning on behalf of the
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and is of international importance; for a very brief period it was at the leading edge of nuclear physics.
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Bone, Peter; Litherland, Stephen; Nichol, Kirsty; Pearson, Nigel and Peters, Prof. Timothy (2006).
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The factory eventually cost £3.2 million and ICI received a £60,000 agency fee for its involvement.
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The official opening of the
Rhydymwyn Tunnels took place on Saturday, 22 April 2017 when
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during both world wars, and disruption to transport communications as a result of
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610:"Birmingham Archaeology - The Valley Site, Rhydymwyn, Flintshire, North Wales"
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Cocroft, Wayne D., Thomas, Roger J. C. and
Barnwell, P. S. (Editor) (2004).
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The Valley Site, Rhydymwyn, Flintshire: Historic
Environment Management Plan
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originally approved the sum of £546,000 for initial work on the Valley Site.
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in 1941, the government of the day needed to verify that a cost-effective
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Toler, T. I. J. (Major), (1993). "Poison gas manufacture in the UK", In:
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project before this was moved to
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could be manufactured. This required verification that a
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602:"Rhydymwyn Valley Works: Lifting the lid on secret site"
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Cold War: Building for Nuclear Confrontation 1946–1989
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The Plaque outside the Rhydymywn Valley Nature Reserve
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Government munitions production in the United Kingdom
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Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United Kingdom
145:(ICI) who were tasked with managing this programme.
387:species have nested or been observed on the site.
651:Chemical warfare facilities in the United Kingdom
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287:as outlined on a plaque at the entrance gates.
187:One of the buildings as it is today; used as a
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551:The First Quarter-Century 1926–1952
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671:Grade II listed buildings in Flintshire
547:Imperial Chemical Industries: A History
110:the plant produced ordnance containing
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534:. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military.
479:. Birmingham: Birmingham Archaeology.
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156:hillside, in the Alyn valley close to
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506:Britain & Atomic Energy 1939-1945
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16:Former WWII site in Flintshire, Wales
691:Grade II listed industrial buildings
676:Grade II listed government buildings
553:. London: Oxford University Press.
333:The Rhydymwyn Valley Nature Reserve
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237:, Cheshire. Building P6 is now a
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681:Military installations in Wales
441:Reader (1975), Table 22, p.276.
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696:Manufacturing plants in Wales
635:Report of the Tunnels Opening
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656:Imperial Chemical Industries
542:. - Chapter 5: "Poison Gas".
351:with an understorey of wild
160:. The factory, to be called
143:Imperial Chemical Industries
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701:World War II sites in Wales
604:. BBC Wales. 30 March 2010.
462:Cocroft (2004), pp.215–218.
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586:"WWII secret weapons site"
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129:Chemical weapons programme
530:McCamley, N. J. (2004).
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291:Tunnels Opened to Public
379:/moth and 8 species of
545:Reader, W. J. (1975).
371:species, 8 species of
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532:Disasters Underground
450:Gowing (1964), p.217.
248:Cold War storage site
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631:Established May 2008
219:Metropolitan-Vickers
162:M.S. Factory, Valley
512:Jones, Tim (2001).
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616:on 7 February 2008
516:. Gwasg Helygain.
265:aerial bombardment
231:Didcot and Harwell
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139:Ministry of Supply
92:Ministry of Supply
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215:Manhattan Project
204:gaseous diffusion
55:) Factory, Valley
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620:26 November
588:. BBC Wales
486:. Swindon:
273:nuclear war
252:During the
211:Tube Alloys
200:atomic bomb
196:Maud Report
141:(MoS), and
135:mustard gas
112:mustard gas
71:mustard gas
40: /
645:Categories
637:Daily Post
570:, No. 79.
514:The X Site
504:, (1964).
403:References
303:Statistics
297:Ken Skates
235:Capenhurst
227:Manchester
104:River Alyn
67:Flintshire
25:53°11′06″N
377:butterfly
361:bluebells
357:snowdrops
189:bat house
158:Rhydymwyn
154:limestone
63:Rhydymwyn
28:3°11′20″W
391:See also
369:herptile
349:woodland
322:onwards.
310:Treasury
261:blockade
254:Cold War
239:Grade II
150:Treasury
61:site in
470:Sources
365:orchids
267:during
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353:garlic
342:and a
258:U-boat
57:was a
51:M.S. (
408:Notes
383:. 67
320:D-Day
221:, at
666:Cadw
622:2008
594:2008
555:ISBN
536:ISBN
518:ISBN
492:ISBN
385:bird
373:fish
363:and
308:The
148:The
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381:bat
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