About the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks site
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.
Now
- A 12 ½ acre site containing 12 internationally significant industrial heritage buildings or structures
- Part of a revitalised and important natural habitat on the banks of the river Tawe.
- A monument to Swansea’s proud copper industry and a unique site that locates Swansea at the heart of Britain’s Industrial Revolution.
Future
- Restored buildings form part of a vibrant, multi-purpose hub for work, education, leisure, commercial activity and tourism which celebrates the past and looks to the future.
- The site's heritage is preserved and proudly displayed with interpretation trails and a living history laboratory providing opportunities for more visitors to learn about Swansea’s leading role in the industrial revolution and development of the global economy.
- A site that breathes life back into the area, and builds creatively on the proud industrial past.
