 Until the mid-nineteenth century a single farm occupied the site, but after the Enclosure Acts enabled common land to be developed, industrial development began at Machynys with the digging of clay and the opening of the first of three brickworks.The row of cottages known as "Brick Row" was probably built then.After the tinplate industry got underway at Kidwelly and Llanelli, a tinplate works was built at Machynys in 1872 that became known as the "South Wales Works".