Gorseinon, United Kingdom

Gors Eynon first appeared on an Ordnance Survey map in 1813, but by 1830 the name appeared in its modern spelling.

The monks of Neath Abbey paid many visits to this locality, and as evidence of this there were several mills built on the banks of local rivers: Cadle Mill, on the Lliw, Pontlliw, Melyn Mynach, and Loughor Mill.

There was one weaving mill and two flour mills on the river. These were worked by the monks to provide food and clothing for the abbey; the wool was brought here from Gower sheeplands.

By the end of the 13th century the monks at Melyn Mynach owned vast acreage devoted to sheep farming. They produced high quality wool at Cwrt Y Carnau, which was traded in Flanders and Italy.

After the arrival of the Black Death and bubonic plague in the 14th century, labour became scarce, and the monks were forced to sell or rent to the local farmers. Eventually, during Henry VIII's reign, the few monks that were left were pensioned off, and their land passed into Crown hands.

John Pryce, a legal gentleman, who was originally from the area but had moved to London, returned to raise a family at Cwrt Y Carne. In 1575 he purchased the manor and land, and also the mill at Melyn Mynach (melin being the Welsh for "mill"). The whole estate totalled over 130 acres (0.53 km2). Pryce tried to squeeze every penny out of his tenant farmers, and many disputes followed. The Pryce family prospered, and by the early 18th century the name had changed to Price.

The last owner of the Melyn Mynach was Nathaniel Cameron, mayor of Swansea and the husband of a Price family member. He also owned the Mountain Colliery; but after getting into financial difficulties he sold the mill to William Lewis, the founder of Gorseinon.

There were few industries but coal was plentiful. A drift was opened in 1846 and became known as "The Mountain Coal". This coal was transported on a narrow gauge railway line to Loughor, where it was loaded onto barges and sent to Llanelli for export.. The drift mine continued to be worked until 1900, when a shaft was sunk. Now known as the Mountain Colliery, at its peak it produced over 200,000 tons of coal a year, with a workforce in excess of 900. It closed in 1969.

In 1860 the LNWR wanted to extend its railway line from Pontarddulais to Swansea. William Lewis, a young industrialist, sold them the land, and a station was built in 1870; this became known as Gorseinon Station. The Mountain Colliery laid a siding from the colliery to the station, and coal was redirected to Swansea Docks.

The first day-school was opened in 1880 at Penyrheol. The headmaster, a Mr Jones, afterwards transferred to Gorseinon. As Gorseinon's industries grew, so did its housing and streets, with the development of Mill Street, Gorseinon Terrace, Eynon Street and High Street.

In 1886 the Grovesend Tin Works was built, and the Lewis family built many houses around the area to house the workers. The Grovesend Steelworks opened in 1890, but in 1891 all tinplate workers in South Wales were involved in a seven-month strike and times were very hard for the workers.

Gorseinon had two public houses, the Gorseinon Hotel (the Bottom Hotel) and the Station Hotel (the Gyp). It was said that the Bottom Hotel was for miners and the Gyp was for tinplate workers, and it was a mortal sin to encroach on another man's territory. Then in 1892 the West End Hotel was built, and the Mardy in 1901, bringing the number of public houses to four. The Gorseinon Hotel is no longer a pub but a Seagers steakhouse restaurant.

Gorseinon Institute opened in 1904, and in 1908 the Bryngwyn Sheetworks was opened.