Around Pontardawe : Images of Wales

Over 220 images, most never published before, have been assembled for this new photographic compilation which focuses on Pontardawe and district, the latter comprosing Alltwen, Gellinudd, Cilybebyll, Rhos, Trebanos, Gellygron, Rhyd-y-fro, Ynysmeudwy and Cilmaengwyn. It is the first book of its kind on this part of the Swansea Valley and captures a vivid past, rich in history and incident.

Although their origins go back to antiquity, it was the coming of coal mining in the early modern period, followed by the construction of the Swansea Canal and iron, tinplate and steel manufactories in the 18th and 19th centuries which forged the modern communities and saw the start of a process which lead to tumultuous and irreversible social and economic change.

This is a vibrant and diverse community as the pages devoted to farms, transport, industry, religion and leisure reveal. Nor are the people who helped create, sustain and re-invent the community overlooked. Here one will find not only the Gilbertsons, Lloyds and Gwyns but also those who in many respects left no visible epitaph but formed the bedrock of soceity. Each image is amplified by the fascinating historical detail contained in the accompanying text to form a volume which no-one with an interest in Pontardawe and its neighbouring villages should miss.