Remains of Yorkshire Imperial Metals Hafod Works, Landore - 3058971 15c2be51

The remains of the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks, originally developed by

Vivian & Sons Vivian & Sons was a British metallurgical and chemicals business based at Hafod, in the lower Swansea valley. The firm was founded in 1810, disappearing as a separate entity in 1924. Its chief outputs were ingot and sheet copper, with sulphuric ac ...

, consists of a core Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and additional Grade II listed structures on a site, on the banks of the

River Tawe The River Tawe (; cy, Afon Tawe ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Pa ...

Hafod Hafod is a district of the city of Swansea, in South Wales, U.K., and lies just north of the city centre, within the Landore ward. Hafod is the home to the Hafod Copperworks, founded in 1810 and closed in 1980 which is now being developed i ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

History

The Hafod works was founded in 1810 by the

Cornishman The Cornish people or Cornish ( kw, Kernowyon, ang, Cornƿīelisċ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons w ...

John Vivian. During the 19th century, this was the largest copper works in the world, employing over 1,000 people. The rival Morfa works was established in 1835 by Williams, Foster & Co., and the two adjacent sites combined in 1924 under Yorkshire Imperial Metals. Swansea was core to the global copper industry, and by 1823 10,000 of Swansea's 15,000 residents were supported by the copper industry. By 1883 there were 124 works including 12 copper works in the Lower Swansea Valley. But as raw geological resources had waned in South Wales, it became more economic to produce copper elsewhere. In 1971 the Lower Swansea Valley Project had started to transform the most derelict industrial landscape in Britain, resulting in the closure of the rolling mills in 1980. The former rolling mills were converted into the Landore Collection Centre, part of

Swansea Museum The Swansea Museum in Swansea, Wales, UK is the oldest museum in Wales, created for and by the Royal Institution of South Wales in 1841 to house its collections and provide research and learning facilities. History Swansea Museum is the oldes ...

Reclamation and regeneration

In 2010, the local authority discussed plans to have the site re-developed where the listed buildings would be preserved and new uses would be given to heritage buildings. The 2010 development plan included a new hotel, restaurant and new housing. In 2011, the local council named

Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

as a development partner of the site, who are evaluating the possibility of developing academic facilities at the site. Public grants of £540,000 were awarded for the preservation and renewal of the site. Stage1 commenced in October 2013, clearing overgrown vegetation and undertaking essential preservation works. In 2019, plans to re-develop the Morfa side of the site into a distillery and visitors' centre for the Penderyn brand were approved, with construction due to begin at the end of 2019, and the centre to open in 2022. The project was part-funded by a £3.75m National Lottery

Heritage Fund Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

grant. Other parts of the copper works have also been worked on; the Musgrave Engine House and Vivian Engine House were made safe with the hope of further restorationand the Morfa Bascule Bridge which served the site is planned to be returned to working condition.

References

External links

*
The Hafod-Morfa Copperworks websitePhotos of Hafod and surrounding area on geograph.org.ukSwansea Council - A Short History of the Hafod CopperworksWales Online - Time Team’s discoveries to boost revamp of Swansea’s historic copperworks
* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-12241228 BBC News - Swansea University chosen as Hafod copper site partnerbr>BBC News - Call to save Swansea's Hafod copperworks siteSwansea University - A World of Welsh CopperVideo of Hafod-Morfa Copperworks from 2016
{{coord, 51.6376, -3.9353, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title History of Swansea Museums in Swansea Grade II listed buildings in Swansea Local museums in Wales Industry museums in Wales Rolling mills Copper industry