Swansea
Locator map for the Welsh administrative region of Swansea.
Unitary authority in south Wales, created in 1996 from part of the former county of West Glamorgan.
Area
377 sq km/146 sq mi
Towns
Swansea (administrative headquarters)
Physical
River
Tawe; highest point Penlle'r Castle (374 m/1,215 ft)
Features Gower Peninsula (an area of outstanding natural beauty), with Mumbles village and beach. University of Wales, Swansea, at Singleton Park west of Swansea City; birthplace of Dylan Thomas |
Industries
significant service sector, including health, education, and tourism; manufacture of automotive components; metals; electrical and mechanical engineering; food processing and packaging; textiles; chemicals, oil refineries
Agriculture
mixed arable livestock and dairying
Population
(2001) 223,300
| The western boundary of the authority is determined by the River Loughor and its estuary. The main river is the Tawe. The Gower Peninsula remains mainly rural and its coastal scenery makes it a tourist area, but the suburbs of Swansea have spread west into Gower. The whole complex of urban-industrial development in the area is sometimes referred to as Swansea Bay City. The area has natural resources in limestone, silica, brick-earth, shales, and sand. Its metallurgical importance was founded on copper ore, and copper works multiplied from the early 18th century. The scientific process of refining the ore was initiated in the region. |
Swansea
Port and administrative centre of Swansea unitary authority, south Wales, at the mouth of the River Tawe 70 km/43 mi west of Cardiff; population (2001) city 169,900; urban area 270,500. It is the second-largest city in Wales. It has oil refineries, chemicals, metallurgical industries, and tin plate manufacturing, and has produced stained glass since 1936.
Swansea received its first charter in 1210 and a new charter in 1655; it was made a city in 1970. The University College of Swansea, a constituent college of the University of Wales, was established here in 1920. The scientific process of refining copper ore was initiated in the Swansea region.
Development Swansea grew up around the Norman castle of Swinesaye, which no longer exists, but the ruins of a castle built next to it do still stand. The latter was built by Henry Gower, Bishop of St David's, between 1328 and 1347. The town suffered greatly from air raids in 1941 and much of the town centre has been rebuilt. The industrial and maritime activities of Swansea are carried on to the east of the High Street, the works and wharves being in the valleys beyond and down at the mouth of the Tawe. The residential parts of Swansea, with their wide streets and parkland, have spread along the bay and over the hills behind. The residential and holiday area of The Mumbles is 8 km/5 mi to the southwest. The Old Dock area underwent extensive redevelopment towards the end of the 20th century, forming the Maritime Quarter, including Swansea Museum and the Maritime Museum. |
Features The old guildhall or town hall, built in 1847 near the docks, is in the Italian style. The civic building, with its lofty central tower, in Victoria Park, embraces the new guildhall, law courts, and Brangwyn Hall. Other notable buildings are the Royal Institution of South Wales, with a museum and a library; the public library, which includes the corporation art gallery; the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery; and the Exchange Buildings or Chamber of Commerce. Some educational institutions have been combined into a West Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education. The poet Dylan Thomas was born here in 1914. Swansea is known as the Gateway to Gower, and the nearby Gower peninsula is an area of outstanding natural beauty. |
Industry and commerce Long recognized as the chief metal port of Great Britain, Swansea is now also a large oil port, while remaining the leading centre of the tin-plate trade. The largest docks are the Queen's, opened in 1920 (0.61 sq km/0.24 sq mi), and the King's (0.29 sq km/0.11 sq mi), the former being used for the oil trade. There is also a municipal dry dock for vessels up to 2,000 tons and a number of privately-owned dry docks. Swansea's metallurgical importance was founded on copper ore, and copper works multiplied from the early 18th century, earning the town the nickname ‘Coppertropolis’. The oil-refining industry yields a wide range of products. The last coal mine in Swansea closed in 1982. |
Swansea
| Town in southeastern Massachusetts, in Bristol County, 5 km/3 mi northwest of Fall River, on Mount Hope Bay and the Rhode Island border; population (1990 est) 15,400. Formerly a shipbuilding and textile-producing town, it is now an agricultural, residential and resort area. |
| Swansea was settled in 1667. It was the site of the first bloodshed of King Philip's War involving Philip, the chief of the Wampanoag people. |
| Every building in the town was destroyed in King Philip's War. Named for Swansea in Wales, home town of an early minister. |
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