Swansea Canal was incorporated in 1794 and fully opened in 1798. The main aim was to open up the coal trade further up the Swansea valley.
The Hafod and Morfa works had good access to both the Swansea Canal and the River Tawe.
Though largely rebuilt, the wall of the Hafod works, running along what would have been the course of the Swansea canal, still stands at the Hafod works entrance. Archways through the wall, now with an iron railing in place, allowed canal boats to be led into a dock within the factory for loading and unloading.
The first of the two docks, at Hafod Works, was completed in time for the works to open in 1810 and followed the approval of an application to make a cut through the towing-path to form a dock basin. A second dock was built in the 1820s when the first steam powered rolling mills were built at the Hafod.
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Sefydlwyd gamlas Abertawe yn 1794 and agorodd yn llawn yn 1798. Y prif nôd oedd lledaenu’r diwydiant glo bellach fyny’r dyffryn.
‘Roedd camlas Abertawe ac afon Tawe yn agos ac yn gyfleus iawn i waith copr Hafod a Morfa.
Mae prif wal gwaith Hafod dal yn sefyll wrth y fynedfa ac ar hyd y llwybr lle ‘roedd gamlas Abertawe, er bod rhan fwyaf ohono wedi gael ei ail-adeiladu. ‘Roedd tyllau yn y wal, erbyn hyn gyda rheiliau haearn ynddyn nhw, yn caniatau i longau camlas cael eu harwain i mewn i borthladd o fewn y ffatri i gael eu llwytho a dadlwytho.
‘Roedd y cyntaf o’r ddau borthladd, yng ngwaith Hafod, wedi’w orffen mewn amser i’r gwaith agor yn 1810, ar ôl cael caniatâd i dorri trwy’r llwybr tynnu i ffurffio’r porthladd. Adeiladwyd ail borthladd yn ugeiniau’r deunawfed ganrhif pan adeiladwyd melinau gwasgu ager cyntaf yn yr Hafod.
