After driving past this numerous times and seeing a report here a few months back I decided to stop and take a look. Visited with DangerousDave
History
The Hafod Copperworks was established in 1810 by John Vivian and the Morfa works was created in 1835 by Williams, Foster & Co. The two sites were combined in 1924 when they were brought under the control of Yorkshire Imperial Metals, and this large copper works was the last to close in the lower Swansea Valley, shutting its doors in 198O. The surving buildings are the last remaining substantail monuments to the copper industry in the lower Swansea Valley, which was once the centre of the international trade in copper, the world’s first globallly integrated heavy industry.
Then
Hafod Copperworks established in 1810
At the heart of the world’s first globally integrated heavy industry: copper
Copper was at the centre of integrated multinational business networks stretching from Anglesey to Australia and from Cornwall to Chile. Welsh mariners (CapeHorners) circled the globe to ply the world copper trade. Welsh copper was exported to markets across the continents.
In 1883 there were 124 works including 12 copper works in the Lower Swansea Valley.
In 1823, 10,000 ofSwansea’s 15,000 residents were supported by the copper industry.
Copper production at the Hafod-Morfa works stopped in 1980, 19 years after the Lower Swansea Valley Project started to transform the most derelict industrial landscape in Britain.
1 The 1860 Engine House
2 Inside, nothing much remains
3 the main attraction the 1910 engine house with a Musgrove Uniflow Engine.
4 The Engine in 1970
5 And Today
6 Flywheel Which Drove the copper rolls outside
7
8 The Copper Rolls
9 Ropes which would have driven the rolls
10 Flywheel
Sad to see the engine in such a state, hopefully the regeneration project will do something to preserve the site but Im not holding my breath.
History
The Hafod Copperworks was established in 1810 by John Vivian and the Morfa works was created in 1835 by Williams, Foster & Co. The two sites were combined in 1924 when they were brought under the control of Yorkshire Imperial Metals, and this large copper works was the last to close in the lower Swansea Valley, shutting its doors in 198O. The surving buildings are the last remaining substantail monuments to the copper industry in the lower Swansea Valley, which was once the centre of the international trade in copper, the world’s first globallly integrated heavy industry.
Then
Hafod Copperworks established in 1810
At the heart of the world’s first globally integrated heavy industry: copper
Copper was at the centre of integrated multinational business networks stretching from Anglesey to Australia and from Cornwall to Chile. Welsh mariners (CapeHorners) circled the globe to ply the world copper trade. Welsh copper was exported to markets across the continents.
In 1883 there were 124 works including 12 copper works in the Lower Swansea Valley.
In 1823, 10,000 ofSwansea’s 15,000 residents were supported by the copper industry.
Copper production at the Hafod-Morfa works stopped in 1980, 19 years after the Lower Swansea Valley Project started to transform the most derelict industrial landscape in Britain.
1 The 1860 Engine House
2 Inside, nothing much remains
3 the main attraction the 1910 engine house with a Musgrove Uniflow Engine.
4 The Engine in 1970
5 And Today
6 Flywheel Which Drove the copper rolls outside
7
8 The Copper Rolls
9 Ropes which would have driven the rolls
10 Flywheel
Sad to see the engine in such a state, hopefully the regeneration project will do something to preserve the site but Im not holding my breath.
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