Ystalyfera, United Kingdom

However, the years of prosperity were limited. The 1870s saw little addition to the plant of the works. Steel had now come to challenge iron on a larger scale, new methods of production demanded the energy, technical skill and financial capital which the ageing J. P. Budd at Ystalyfera could not supply. The works continued to operate during the 1870s, but with Budd's death in 1880 the end was in sight. By this time the works were incurring heavy losses and late in 1885 the works finally closed. For more than 40 years the works had been the colossus of the district and, more than anything else, had been responsible for the transformation of the latter's economic basis and social structure. Less significant in their contribution were the two ironworks, at Pontardawe and Brynamman, though both became substantial producers of tinplate from the 1860s.

The expansion in iron production inevitably created a heavy demand for local coal. The middle decades of the 19th century saw the expansion of existing mines and the sinking of new ones in the parish and the neighbouring districts.

With the closure of the iron works and later the coalmines, Ystalyfera suffered very heavily on the economic front. Through the 20th century, the village rebuilt and redefined its role. At present, there are small businesses that run in the village. Many of the village's residents commute to Swansea or Neath to work.