Foxhole River Staithes and Swansea Coal 1300-1850

The Foxhole River Staithes are a set of enigmatic structures on the banks of the River Tawe near the remains of the White Rick Copper Works. Although now hidden by trees and slowly deteriorating, they were once the centre of the incredible coal industry that dominated Kilvey and Foxhole in Swansea. This book describes the history of coal in early Swansea and explains the significance of the last remaining structures of the coal industry of early Swansea before the arrival of copper smelting in the 1730s. The story of the coal mines of Swansea, the coal export trade and the ships that visited eighteenth-century Swansea are all described. The book also includes the results of photogrammetric surveys of the surviving structures to give the story of the true significance of the Foxhole Staithes and their place in Welsh history.

Author Biography

Nigel Robins is a Geographer from Swansea. For many years, he worked as a data analyst and heritage specialist for several clients, including the UK Parliament. Nigel had a varied career, working as a specialist in several government departments, including Defra, Treasury, Cabinet Office, DCMS, and Transport. He is also a qualified ecological surveyor. As a data analyst, Nigel specialised in Heritage Building Information Modelling and heritage data ontologies. He is a GIS specialist and has spent many years researching British and German intelligence records, particularly those related to the air war over Wales during the Second World War. He has written many books on history and historical geography, covering environmental history, archaeology, air raids, Luftwaffe reconnaissance records, and U-boat activities in the Bristol Channel. Between 2022 and 2024, he completed the Cilfái trilogy of books detailing the history, woodlands and archaeology of Swansea’s famous Kilvey Hill.