Peckett Works No. 490/1890 was built for the Crawshay Brothers at Cyfarthfa Ironworks, which had been reopened in 1879 after five years of closure. Unfortunately, Cyfartha had been slow to changeover to steel production and despite an investment of £150,000 by William Thompson Crawshay, the reopening in 1882 as a steel production plant came too late to change the factory's fortunes and it closed again in 1910.

In 1915 Cyfarthfa reopened to produce pig iron and shell steel during the First World War but Cyfarthfa finally closed forever in 1919, with dismantling commencing in 1928.