Briton Ferry (Welsh: Llansawel) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales.

Alternatively, Sawel may be a derivative of Saul, St Paul's earlier name,[3] who, supposedly, once landed at Briton Ferry.

An alternative Welsh name unused today is Rhyd y Brython,[4] a direct translation of Briton Ferry.

Briton Ferry lies on the heavily fractured ground near the mouth of the River Neath on a line between the upper and middle coal measures.

[6] Beyond the ridge, the sands of Baglan Bay extended into Briton Ferry until the mid-nineteenth century when the estuary’s saltings were developed for industry.

A plaque alongside the stone is inscribed, "When removed, it will speak but once to reveal its secret, and then remain silent forever."

[8] The town was part of the Briton Ferry Estate,[9] whose lands belonged to Margam Abbey before they passed on, in turn, to the Mansel, Villiers, and Vernon families (Earls of Jersey).

In 1840, an area of about 750 acres (3.0 km2) of land in Cwmafan was leased for 99 years to John Vigurs and subsequently passed to Wright, Butler & Co. Ltd, then to Baldwins Ltd.

The terraces of houses built on this land were sublet in 1897 and 1898 for the remainder of the term of this lease, but many were declared unfit for habitation in the 1930s and demolished.

1841 Neath Abbey Iron Co laid plans for an ironwork on the east bank of the river at Warren Hill.

It opened in 1861 following the town's ironworks in 1846 and the Red Jacket and Briton Ferry Copperworks on the West Bank of the river in 1849 and 1853.

Further industrialisation brought factories such as the Vernon, Gwalia, Wern, Baglan Bay Tinplate, and Whitford Sheet Works, receiving their raw material from the Albion and Briton Ferry Steelworks.

The system was designed by William Armstrong, and in 2010, the Institution of Civil Engineers unveiled a plaque at the site to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth.

[12] The ship-breaking of WW2 ships, such as HMS Bermuda, took place at Giant's Grave upstream of the floating dock, and north of the M4 and A48 crossings.

[16] In 1875, the French-born engineer Louis Gustave Mouchel established himself in Briton Ferry and quickly became involved in several successful enterprises.

[8] As a participant in the Swansea Bay City Deal, Neath-Port Talbot Council aims for a share in the project to future-proof at least 10,300 properties over five years by making low carbon, energy-efficient homes, with 7,000 retro-fitted to existing houses and 3,300 newly built.

[21] The steel and tinplate industry's demise in the second half of the twentieth century was followed in the first two decades by closures of other local firms that had employed many from Briton Ferry.

[22] BP Chemicals opened its plant at nearby Baglan Bay in 1963, quickly expanding into one of the biggest petrochemical sites in Europe; by 1974 it was employing 2500 staff.

The industrial revolution brought much expansion to Briton Ferry, including ironworks, steelworks, tinplate production and engineering.

Many speakers visited the town at that time, including Bertrand Russell, Norman Angell, Keir Hardie, Ernest Bevin, Thomas Mann, E. D. Morel, Charlotte Despard, Emmeline[which?

For mainly political reasons, thirty-seven of the town's residents were imprisoned during World War I for opposing conscription.

[27] The town had the distinction of providing Parliament with four MPs during 1955: Dai L. Mort, Ivor O. Thomas, Raymond Gower and Ronald Rees.

It filled the final 6.2 mi (10 km) gap in the motorway between Newport and west Wales, Its completion presented formidable problems, with extensive industrial and commercial development, estuarine flood-lands and the navigable River Neath all lying in the path of possible routes.

Above the dense matrix of streets and busy roads of Briton Ferry, the park and incline give access to Craig y Darren Woods and offers some respite from the town's traffic.

This ancient woodland is crisscrossed by a network of footpaths offering congenial walks with dramatic views of the town and Swansea Bay.