A powerhouse to the world

What's here

Visit

Kidwelly Tinplate Works is open for guided tours and special event days. Check out our What's On page for our next scheduled events. We're aiming to host a regular series of events throughout 2027 onsite.

What to see

View of a calm river flowing through a wooded landscape, framed by dense green trees and overhanging branches. A small stone bridge with two arches spans the water in the middle distance, partially concealed by surrounding vegetation.

A Living Landscape

While Kidwelly Tinplate Museum is best known for its industrial heritage, it is also home to a surprisingly rich and varied natural environment.

About

Find out what makes Kidwelly Tinplate Works one of the most significant industrial sites in Britain.

A woman with short blonde hair turns to face the camera with her right hand resting on the chest of a younger and taller man behind her. A gold cape rests in the foreground

Filming and Photography Hire

Ground Floor

Discover the story of Kidwelly Tinplate Works

The museum preserves what was one of Britain's first tinplate works and is now the oldest tinplate works to be found anywhere in Europe. Because it survives, the old works has a special place in the story of Britain's Industrial Revolution. Nearly half of the world’s tinplate was manufactured in Wales in the 19th century, much of it in Carmarthenshire.

Kidwelly Tinplate Works Photographic Archive

The photographic archive of the Kidwelly Tinplate Works offers a rare and compelling window into one of Wales’s most important industrial communities.The photographic archive of the Kidwelly Tinplate Works offers a rare and compelling window into one of Wales’s most important industrial communities.

Three women standing in front of a cast iron wheel inside an industrial building. All three women are of different ethnicities and one half of the image is in black and white and the other half is in full colour.

Honouring the Past, Shaping the Future: A Community Conversation

Bringing together residents, heritage professionals and academic partners, this event marked an important first step in involving the community in shaping a reimagined site.

View of a slow-flowing river bordered by dense woodland, with overhanging tree branches forming a natural frame across the scene. A stone bridge with a single visible arch spans the water in the middle distance, partially hidden by thick vegetation growing around its walls.

25/06/26

A Winter of Change

After the relentless winter floods of 2025, intense rainfall from Storm Claudia led to the dramatic collapse of a major section of the historic dam at Kidwelly Old Tinplate Works.

Close-up of a rusted machinery part. A bolt tops a circular metal piece facing upwards that, in turn, tops a thick, screwed cylinder and a broad metal base.

From Kidwelly to the World

This partnership combined local knowledge with academic research to uncover stories that had previously been overlooked, helping to build a richer and more rounded understanding of the site’s history.

Proudly part of CofGâr

Kidwelly Tinplate Works was one of the first in Britain and is now the oldest surviving tinplate works anywhere in Europe. The old industrial museum onsite closed in 2017. The site is now a service priority to reopen as a modern museum and community resource. We’re owned and maintained by Carmarthenshire County Council (CofGâr).

We are a family of five museums based in Carmarthenshire. Together, we represent the Carmarthenshire County Council museums and arts service, and we're excited to welcome you to our wonderful venues.