The village owes its very existence to the pottery factory which
commenced production in 1848.The nearby Swansea Canal served as the
main vehicle of transportation of Cornish China clay (Kaolin) as
the raw material for the production of porcelain in the area which
was of course rich in that other essential raw material,...COAL
At the time there were over 400 pottery works in England and
Wales and 32 working in Wales alone including the Cambrian Pottery
in Melincryddan, Neath.
The first family to own and build the works were the Williams
family who bought the original site of the Ynysmeudwy farm (
variously Ynismudw, Ynysmudw or “ Y Smutw” – the
field of the hermit) which is is now the Ynysmeudwy Arms and is a
family friendly pub.
They also built Ynysmeudwy House which later became the now
defunct Glanafon Hotel and a string of workers cottages adjacent to
the works. Following the closure of the site most of the pottery
factory was demolished to make way for the opening of the Bryn tin
works which operated until 1941.Now little remains of the original
site following salvaging works by the local authority in the
1980s.
However one of the bridges on the canal which once brought in
the raw materials and shipped out the finished products is now
nicknamed the Potters' Bridge and is a short walk from the cache
location.
!!!!!Thanx and Well done to Preseli for being FTF........
