Voices from the past

These 18 audio recordings were recorded in 2014 by volunteers who wanted to support the development work on the site. They can all be heard on wind-up audio devices on the site. All are taken from historical sources researched by a team at Swansea University.

The Scientist

Click here to listen to Michael Faraday who visited the Hafod Copperworks in 1819 (narr. Jack O’Hare)

The Manager

Listen to Mr Pooley who was manager of the Morfa Copperworks in 1850 (narr. Gareth Beynon)

The Furnaceman

Listen to a visitor to a furnaceman’s account of his working day in 1850 (narr. Trevor Jones and Ewan Donaldson)

The Foreman

Listen to John Thomas who was a foreman at the Hafod Copperworks in 1841 (narr. Jeff Rees)

The Farmer

Listen to a farmer in Llansamlet describe the effect the Copperworks was having on the surrounding farmland in 1833 (narr. Colin James)

The Engine House Boy

As a boy George Paddison suffered a near-fatal accident in the Engine House in 1916 (related by his granddaughter Judith Scott)

The Child Worker

James Jones was 12 years old when he worked at the Morfa Copperworks in1841 (narr. Ryan Doria)

The Hafod Woman

I am everywhere in the Hafod and nowhere in the history books (A composite life story narr. Sandy John)

The Cape Horner

Listen to Captain David Morgan 1836-1930 a Cape Horner of Swansea (narr. Jeff Rees)

Voices from the past

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