Vivian Estate at Hafod in the parish of St John-juxta-Swansea

Building leases of lands in the parish of St John-juxta-Swansea 1857-1970

Originally from Truro in Cornwall, John Henry Vivian (1785-1855) came to South Wales to exploit the new opportunities for smelting copper using local coal. His first venture was at Penclawdd in 1800, then later established the 'Vivian and Sons', and built the Hafod Smelting Works in 1809. The Hafod district was first leased then purchased from the Briton Ferry Estate. Henry Hussey Vivian (1821-1894) of Parc Wern, the first baron Swansea, was his eldest son.

Arranged in date order.

No restrictions.

It is the policy of the West Glamorgan Archive Service to withhold the names of depositors.

Compiled by Seri Crawley for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: West Glamorgan Archive Service, Deeds of the Vivian Estate at Hafod in the parish of St John-juxta-Swansea; Collis, Kim, The West Glamorgan Archive Service: A Guide to the Collections (West Glamorgan Archive Service, 1998); Nicholas, Thomas, Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County families of Wales(London, 1872); Dictionary of Welsh Biography down to 1940 (London, 1959).

Hard copies of the catalogue are available at West Glamorgan Archive Service and the National Register of Archives

Usual copyright laws apply.

Usual copyright regulations apply.

All records transferred to the West Glamorgan Archive Service have been retained.

Accruals are not expected.

Other collections relating to the Vivian family include the following: Singleton Abbey Collection (financial estate records), the Graham Vivian Collection (title deeds and other papers relating to the Woodlands Castle Estate) and the Hugh Vivian Collection (industrial and technical papers relating to the copper industry), all at the Swansea University Archives