Port Talbot Docks was built to serve the iron and copper industries of Cwmavon. It was opened in 1839 under the designation of 'Port Talbot' in honour of the local landowning family. By 1890 it was almost obsolete and needed revival as an outlet for coal from the western central valleys. The Port Talbot Railway & Dock Company was formed in 1894 and by 1898 it had built three new railways and had made a start on improving the docks. A reservoir was built at Brombil (SS 798 879) to supply water for the hydraulic operation of dock equipment. The company was an early user of reinforced concrete for wharf construction. Shipments of coal finished in 1962 although by then the import of iron ore for the steelworks had become the main item of trade. In 1972 the old docks were replaced by a new deepwater tidal harbour specifically intended for unloading large iron ore carriers.

Source:
Stephen Hughes and Paul Reynolds (1989) "A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of the Swansea Region", Association for Industrial Archaeology, 2nd Edition.

RCAHMW, 13 September 2011.