Swansea included land around Swansea Bay as far as the River Tawe, the manor of Kilvey beyond the Tawe, and the peninsula itself. Swansea was designated chief town of the lordship and received a borough charter at some point between 1158 and 1184 (and a more elaborate one in 1304). From the early 1700s to the late 1800s, Swansea was the world’s leading copper-smelting area. Numerous smelters along the River Tawe received copper and other metal ores shipped from Cornwall and Devon, as well as from North and South America, Africa, and Australia. The industry declined severely in the late 1800s,
Swansea Canal culvert through large metal grids. There was a short tramway from below the lock to Ynys-penllwch Graig-ola Colliery. Mond Lock was next, with the B4603 crossing the tail of the lock. Below the bridge is the Mond Nickel Works, set up in 1900 after the chemist Dr Ludwig Mond discovered a process for producing pure nickel. Nickel ore was imported from Canada, and the site was chosen because there were supplies of anthracite coal, water, transport links to Swansea, and an available labour force. The canal crosses the Lower Clydach River on an aqueduct, which discharges water into the river,