West Glamorgan Archive Service

The West Glamorgan Archives Service is a joint service for the Councils of the City and County of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.

​

The archives in Swansea's Civic Centre hold documents, maps, photographs and recordings on the history of West Glamorgan, which comprises Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, including Gower and the Afan, Neath and Swansea Valleys.

The children from St. Joseph's wanted to learn more about the Hafod and the surrounding area at the time of Copperopolis.

They worked in groups to come up with a number of questions they wanted to find out the answer to:

​

Key question:

​

How did Victorian Swansea shape the Swansea we know today?

​

Who were the Vivians? Did they come from Swansea? (Sophia, Erin)

What was it like to live as Vivian? Where did they live? (Dawid)

Did the streets of the Hafod look different in Victorian times compared with today? (Elisha) 

What were the houses of people who worked in the copperworks like? Who lived in them? Where did they live? How many people lived in one house? (Tomasz, Max)

When were the copperworks in Swansea built? (Woody, Sara, Gabriella)

How much copper was produced each year in Swansea in Victorian times?  (Lilly, Max, Ben) Why did the Victorians produce so much copper? (Nita, Kayden, Dawid)

Where did the copper ore that they used to make copper in the copperworks come from? (Ellie)

How many copperworks were in the Hafod area during Victorian times? (Jakub)

What was it like to work in the copperworks? Was it dangerous?  (Harley)

What were the different jobs of workers in the copperworks? (Rylan)

Where did the people who worked in the copperworks come from? (Alex K, Erin, FM)

How many people worked in the coal mines around Pontarddulais or in the Copperworks in Hafod? (Coady)

Why did only boys work in the mines and copperworks? (Julita)

What buildings from the Hafod copperworks are still here today? (Sophie)

Did people like working in the coalmines/copperworks? (Julia)

How is copper made? How long does it take?(Aiden, Alex)

 

Archives Service focused their information on the following streets:

Vivian Street

Odo Street

Caepistyll Street

Ann Street

Claire Street

Surrounding streets around Hafod Community Centre and St. Joseph’s School. 

 

The staff at the archives were very helpful and knowledgeable and provided the children when they visited detective type tasks, in which they used a variety of artefacts to find the answer to their questions. 

For more information on the work of West Glamorgan Archives please visit:

 

https://www.swansea.gov.uk/westglamorganarchives  

 

​

​

​