Hafod | |
---|---|
Location within Swansea | |
OS grid reference | SS660949 |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | SWANSEA |
Postcode district | SA1 |
Dialling code | 01792 |
Police | South Wales |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Hafod is a district of the city of Swansea, Wales, 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 into an industrial heritage site. [1]
The word hafod is a Welsh word referring to the seasonal cycle of transhumance - the movement of livestock and people from a lowland winter pasture at the main residence (Welsh hendre) to a higher summer pasture from roughly May to October. [2]
The western part of Hafod is a residential suburb. In the late 20th century, this was a mostly run-down area of Swansea, with property prices there being some of the lowest in the city centre area. In the new millennium, many properties in the main Neath Road (B4603) and some of the side streets have benefited from council grants to improve the façade of the properties. [3] Beside the River Tawe to the east is a small industrial strip around Morfa Road.
Hafod has a comprehensive school called Pentrehafod School, [4] and a primary school called Hafod Primary school. [5] There used to be junior and senior schools located on the same site but the school was ravaged by fire during the early 1990s. The new primary school was built to replace it and new buildings were constructed within the grounds of Pentrehafod school to cater for the junior and senior pupils. The community sports facility is the Pentrehafod sports hall and pool located in the grounds of the Pentrehafod Comprehensive School. [6] The school is built on what was formerly the waste product dumping ground for the Morris family copper works.
Neath Road is a busy thoroughfare used by buses and cars to travelling between central Swansea and the northern suburbs in and around Morriston and Llansamlet. There is a dedicated express bus route to the east of Neath Road, which is used by buses serving the Landore Park and Ride site and the 'bendy bus' service from Singleton Hospital to Morriston Hospital.
A bypass has been proposed for the community of Hafod for many years. Neath Road which runs through Hafod is a main entry point into the city of Swansea, and yet is a narrow road with terraced housing lining both sides of the street. Plans ratified by the City & County of Swansea in 2006 [7] allow for the redevelopment of the western bank of the river tawe. A new road would be constructed along railway siding to extend the current Morfa Road so that the new road would run from New Cut Road up to the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea 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.
Pontardawe is a town and a community in the lower Swansea Valley. it had a population of approximately 7,172 in the 2021 Census for Pontardawe Parish, and forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot.
The River Tawe is a 30 miles (48 km) 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 Park, before the river turns south and then southwest to its estuary at Swansea. Its main tributaries are the right bank Upper and Lower Clydach Rivers and the Afon Twrch. The total area of the catchment is some 246 km2 (95 sq mi). The Tawe passes through a number of towns and villages including Ystradgynlais, Ystalyfera, Pontardawe, and Clydach and meets the sea at Swansea Bay below Swansea. The Tawe Valley is more commonly known as the Swansea Valley.
Morriston is a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county.
Landore is the name of an electoral ward in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK.
Plasmarl, or Plas-Marl, is a suburban district and historically a village of the City and County of Swansea, Wales. It falls within the old Copper Quarter of Landore electoral ward.
Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centre; Alexandra Road, High Street, Wind Street and the Castle; Parc Tawe; and the Maritime Quarter extending down to the seafront.
The Swansea Canal was a canal constructed by the Swansea Canal Navigation Company between 1794 and 1798, running for 16.5 miles (26.6 km) from Swansea to Hen Neuadd, Abercraf in South Wales. It was steeply graded, and 36 locks were needed to enable it to rise 373 feet (114 m) over its length. The main cargos were coal, iron and steel, and the enterprise was profitable.
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.
First Cymru is an operator of bus services in South West Wales. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup with its headquarters in Swansea.
The Landore viaduct is a railway viaduct over the Swansea valley and the River Tawe at Landore in south Wales. It provides a link between Swansea city center and the West Wales Line to the South Wales Main Line. The valley crossing provides a panoramic view of Landore, Kilvey Hill, the Liberty Stadium and the Swansea Enterprise Park.
The Swansea Enterprise Park is a combined business park, retail park and industrial estate in Swansea, Wales. In 1981 it became the first enterprise zone in the United Kingdom, and the largest. Originally it was named the Swansea Enterprise Zone. The designated area covers parts of the Llansamlet and Morriston wards in the Lower Swansea valley, Wales. The Enterprise Park is the largest commercial district and the largest out-of-town shopping district of Swansea. Major employers at the site include Morganite, Alberto-Culver, Viskase, The Land Registry and Welsh Water.
National Cycle Network, Route 43 is part of the National Cycle Network and the Celtic Trail, which connects Swansea with Builth Wells. Most of the route is still awaiting development. As of June 2006, there is a 13-mile section out of Swansea that is open and signed.
Morfa is a district of Swansea, Wales. It straddles the Bon-y-maen and Landore wards and generally covers the eastern part of the district of Landore.
Landore is a district and community in Swansea, Wales. The district falls in the Landore council ward. A mainly residential area, it is located about 2.5 miles north of Swansea city centre. The north-easterly part of Landore is known as Morfa. There have been a number of new developments in the 21st century, such as the Liberty Stadium, now the Swansea.com Stadium, and the Morfa Shopping Park, which opened in 2005. It had a population of 6,168 as of the 2011 UK census.
Bon-y-maen is the name of an electoral ward in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK.
Vivian & Sons was a British metallurgical and chemicals business based at Hafod, in the lower Swansea valley in Wales. The firm was founded in 1810, disappearing as a separate entity in 1924. Its chief outputs were ingot and sheet copper, with sulphuric acid and artificial manures as by-products.
The remains of the Hafod-Morfa Copperworks, originally developed by Vivian & Sons, consists of a core Grade II listed building and additional Grade II listed structures on a 12 acres (4.9 ha) site, on the banks of the River Tawe in Hafod, Swansea.
The Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro, or simply the Swansea Bay Metro is a proposed enhancement of railways, buses and active travel around the Swansea Bay and South West Wales areas of South Wales. The project could take up to 10 years to complete.
Hafod History Society publications contained in their Studies in Hafod's History (available from the Distribution Secretary, Hafod History Society) include: