J. C. Edwards became the most successful of the Victorian clay manufacturers that made Ruabon famous as “Terracottapolis.” The firm's works at Pen-y-bont and Tref-y-nant drew on rich local deposits of Etruria marl clay to produce bricks, tiles and decorative terracotta in the distinctive bright red that gave the district its nickname.
By 1896, the Tref-y-nant works alone employed around 270 men operating 29 kilns — an industrial scale that transformed Ruabon from a farming parish into a genuine manufacturing centre within two generations, and gave employment to families across the village and neighbouring Acrefair and Cefn Mawr.
J. C. Edwards worked with the noted designer Lewis F. Day on decorative tile ranges, putting Ruabon craftsmanship at the leading edge of Victorian architectural fashion. Products from the works travelled well beyond North Wales, appearing in landmark buildings including Cardiff's Pier Head building and the Victoria Building at the University of Liverpool — see Ruabon Red Terracotta for more on where the material ended up.
The J. C. Edwards works themselves no longer operate, and little machinery survives on public display, but Ruabon Red brick and terracotta remains visible on buildings throughout the village. Wrexham's local archives and the People's Collection Wales hold photographs and records of the works, free to search online.
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