Briton Ferry

Coordinates: 51°38′N 3°50′W / 51.64°N 3.83°W / 51.64; -3.83

Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry  Briton Ferry shown within Wales
Population	7,186
OS grid reference	SS735945
Principal area	Neath Port Talbot
Ceremonial county	West Glamorgan
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEATH
Postcode district	SA11
Dialling code	01639
Police	South Wales
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Aberavon
List of places: UK • Wales • Neath Port Talbot

Briton Ferry (Welsh: Llansawel) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The town encompasses the electoral wards of Briton Ferry East and Briton Ferry West.

Briton Ferry is on the mouth of the River Neath where it enters Swansea Bay and was the first river crossing along the Roman road that followed the coastline along that part of South Wales. The river crossing was by ferry boat some 2 miles (3.2 km) from the bridge across the River Neath at Neath. At certain low tides it was possible to walk across the river via a ford (crossing) close to the ferry route using stepping stones.

There are remains of ancient stone age settlements on the hills above Briton Ferry. The town was part of the Briton Ferry Estate^[1], which was part of the land of Margam Abbey.^[2]

Industrial development

The industrial revolution brought factories such as the Albion Steel Works, the English Crown Spelter Works and the Baglan Bay Tinplate Works were built on land close to the River Neath and the new South Wales Railway,^[3] built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In 1840 an area of about 750 acres (3.0 km²) of land in Cwmavon was leased for 99 years to John Vigurs and subsequently passed to Wright, Butler & Co. Ltd, then to Baldwins Ltd. The terraces of houses built on this land were sublet for the remainder of the term of this lease in 1897 and 1898 - but many were declared unfit for habitation in the 1930s and resultantly demolished^[4].

The industrial development and industrialisation attracted other railways, including the Neath and Brecon Railway, the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway, and the South Wales Mineral Railway^[5] with its cable powered incline.

Briton Ferry floating dock

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In the 1850s the newly formed Briton Ferry Floating Dock Company purchased land from the Earl of Jersey to build the Briton Ferry Docks. The unique structure had a floating caisson designed by Brunel's father, Sir Marc Brunel. The company later went bankrupt and was taken over as a going concern by the Great Western Railway. After World War II many warships were scrapped here. "Giants Grave" is a folk song written by Huw Pudner and Chris Hastings about the shipbreaking industry at the Briton Ferry Docks. The chorus says "And me and my old pals With our hammers and spanners We'd take out the fittings We'd work until late From Lisbon to Lagos From Belfast to Boston We'd salvage the cable Steel rivets and plate"

The Mouchel phenomena

In 1875 the French-born engineer Louis Gustave Mouchel established himself in Briton Ferry and quickly became involved in a number of successful enterprises. His consultancy company was directly responsible for introducing ferro-concrete to Britain, with the claimed first entirely ferro-concrete building in the UK constructed for the Weaver and Co mills in neighbouring Swansea.

So important was Briton Ferry for trade with France that Mouchel was, from 1879 to his death, French Consular Agent to 'Briton Ferry,Talbot,Porthcawl and Neath Abbey'.

Deindustrialisation

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The industrial revolution brought much expansion to Briton Ferry that included iron works, steel works, tinplate production and engineering. Production generally lasted until the 1970s. In 1951 as industry began to dwindle, portions of the estate were sold to the Principality Property Co., Estateways Builders, John Oliver Watkins, the City & Provincial Housing Association and Gwalia Land & Property Developments Ltd.

Modern development

A new bridge across the River Neath was completed in 1955 and a second one, built to carry the M4 Motorway, was completed in 1993.^[6] The main line railway still passes through but the industries have closed resulting in Briton Ferry being a dormitory suburb of the new Neath Port Talbot County Borough.^[7]

The sailing ships with destinations all over the world that used to berth in Brunel’s magnificent ports have disappeared as has the docks, which is now filled in with only a few remains to be seen. But work has now started to restore Brunel's tower, with a restoration group presently trying to restore what remains of the unique Brunel dock to working order (the only one in the world to use a floating chamber), for use by fishing boats and yachts.^[8]

Briton Ferry Woods

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Briton Ferry Woods is a natural woodland that has never been felled and remains one of the oldest ancient woodland areas since the last Ice Age covered Great Britain. The majestic beech trees, which display vivid orange hues in autumn and cool shelter from the sun in summer, welcome visitors to the wood. In spring time Bluebells put on their show. Ancient upland Welsh Oak woods cover much of the slopes, which give way to healthy scrubland or moorland towards the top of the hill. There is also an area of firs within the wood, a remnant of a very old plantation. The wood is full of birdsong during spring and summer, and in the evening you may see bats feeding on insects throughout the wood.

Twin Cities

• Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
• Twatt, Orkney, Scotland

References

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Briton-Ferry.

External links

• History of Briton Ferry estate
• 2000 photograph of Briton ferry floating dock
• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Briton Ferry and surrounding area
• River Bridge Briton Ferry