Images of Wales
Monday, 23 February 1998
Swansea's Industrial Heritage
City of Swansea, Glamorgan
Photography by John Ball - 11:45 am, 23rd February 1998
(with Agfa ePhoto-307 digital camera)
Swansea was once the world's greatest copper-making centre. The industry
has now gone, leaving behind a derelict landscape at Hafod on the west bank
of the River Tawe, within a mile of the centre of the city.
Above: Two massive chimneys and a few derelict buildings are all
that remain of this once-great industry.
 
Above: The decaying remnants of these industrial buildings have
been fenced off as they are no longer safe.
 
Above left: This cathedral to the Industrial Age was built in 1860.
Above right: One of the few remaining brick-built furnace chimneys.
 
Above left: A massive iron wheel which formed part of the winding gear.
Above right: A rusting iron ladder, now reaching only to the sky.
Above: Deserted steam loco sheds, once owned by V & S (Vivian & Sons) Ltd.
Above: Much of Swansea's industrial wasteland has been landscaped
into a riverside public amenity. The work undertaken in the Lower
Swansea Valley is said to be one of the greatest land reclamation
projects in Europe.
See the websites of the BBC and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales for further details of the Hafod Copperworks.
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