Building Industry in the Upper Swansea Valley and Its Economic and Social Ramifications, C. 1750-1975

This study starts with the economic history of the Upper Swansea Valley, including an account of the provision of the canal, tramroads and railways which made possible the extensive exploitation of the mineral resources of the district by firms large and small. It then gives an account of the building industry whose story was linked in many ways to all other aspects of the economic and social life of the district. The reports of the Medical Officers of Health were valuable source of information for the study. A final chapter traces the hundred-year history of a distinguished building firm, Davies and Son, Allt-wen. With illustrations.