Elkington and his cousin Henry Elkington, were well acquainted with various
industrial processes which helped them to pioneer electro-plating, usually
referred to as `Elkington Plate`. However, they were unable to maximize
their products commercially due to their inability to finance further
expensive machinery. Fortunately, Josiah Mason, a wealthy
well-established Birmingham manufacturer offered to invest money to expand
their works. Thereafter, the world-wide demand for Elkington Plate
encouraged them to form a hugely profitable partnership.

By the late 1840s, the partners decided to invest some of their wealth in
the copper smelting trade and in 1849 they established the Pembrey
Copperworks Company (adopting the Pembrey parish name) alongside the
harbour in Burry Port. In 1855, the Company built three separate schools,
an infant, Girls and Boys on the same campus near their works. The Company
also built accommodation for the schools´ staff near the schools.

The original office building of Elkington & Co 1849-1884

Both Henry Elkington and Josiah Mason by 1856, had severed their connection with the Copperworks Company, following which George Elkington and his sons became the sole owners of the Copperworks and in 1884 it became Elkington & Co Limited.


As a devout Anglican, George Elkington realized by about 1860, that his English speaking Anglican incomers to the parish did not have an English place of worship, although there were two English Nonconformist chapels soon built in Burry Port, the Wesleyan (1866) in the Backe, and the Congregational (c.1870) in Memorial Square. Elkington therefore had plans made for an Anglican church for which his family would bear the total cost. Sadly, he did not survive to see his church as he died on September 22nd 1865, at his home at Pool Park Ruthin, Denbighshire. In his will he requested his five sons, Fredrick, James, Alfred, Howard and Hyla to build the church, which they faithfully accomplished and also generously provided a sum of money to maintain the church for some years


Three landowners whose lands joined on a high rise in a field alongside a rough road kindly gave sufficient land to build the church. Mrs. Howard Elkington, of `Plasnewydd` laid the foundation stone on July 6th 1875. The then coin of the realm and a sheet of parchment stating the circumstances connected with the building of the church inserted inside the foundation

ELKINGTON & CO LIMITED 1884 PEMBREY COPPER WORKS

 

Alexander and Henry Parkes, the noted industrial chemists and inventors of Birmingham at a meeting in 1848  recommended  Burry Port as the most suitable place for the Elkington & Mason’s  Copperworks.    Many years after the first firing of the smelter furnace, all the copper ore was shipped to Burry Port Harbour in small sailing ships from copper mines in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales and other areas in Britain.  However, as demand increased for ore Importers were compelled to look for sources of ore outside Britain; these included Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Australia, America, Cuba and Chile, the latter country (Chile) eventually became the main supplier to the local works.

Captain William Edmunds who had been very much concerned with the copper trade from Chile built “Chili Villa” in Stepney Road. He and his wife Ester lived in Chile for 25 years, their daughter Winifred was born there.

 

Although Mason and Elkington had dissolved their partnership in 1856, their former electro-plating works in Birmingham and their Pembrey Copperworks still carried on the dual name.

In 1884, the ownership and contracts of Mason & Elkington´s Pembrey Copper Works were dealt with at the Elkington & Co`s new London Head Quarter Offices, but Gerard Bartleet Elkington carried on as Manager in Burry Port. He was in-charge of the works from 1876 to 1903, in which year he retired and left the Parish, and became one of the Trustees and Executors of James Balleney Elkington’s Trust made for his 2^nd wife Emily Elkington and two sons George Meredith Elkington and James Llewellyn Meredith Elkington. See copy of the Will.

 

The Elkington’s owned several boats at various times: all were moored in Burry Port and were registered in the Port of LLanelly names of two of the boats were “Pilot” and “Hero”

 

Years later, larger ships operating from abroad were also used to freight the ore were off loaded in London then transported to Burry Port

 

Entry from a local newspaper of 1877 Quote “The RED BREAST, Grimsby, will sail this day (Thursday. 6^th July) for Montreal, loaded with Messsrs Mason& Elkington’s anthracite stone coal.

 

On 2^nd February, 1903 the Elkington’s business in the Pembrey Copper Works only, sold some of their Woodbrook Terrace houses, one of the two directors who signed on behalf of the Company was Arthur Neville Chamberlain, who became the British Prime Minister from 1837 to 1940.

 

During the last few years of the 19^th century and the early years of the 20^th century a number of technical, industrial, maritime, financial, manufacturing and trading changes were threatening the very survival of all the copper-smelting works, including the Prembrey Copperworks.  As larger trading ships were used and Burry Port could not accommodate them, London became the discharging port for Pembrey Coperworks.