Swansea

Swansea, general view - card posted 1907

Swansea (Abertawe in Welsh) is situated at the mouth of the river Tawe in the former county of Glamorgan. It is a city and unitary authority.

Robinson (1971:361) notes that 'a settlement of some kind probably existed at Swansea before the first Norman conquest of the area, but the establishment of the borough was the work of the Norman invaders.' (According to Caradoc of Llancarvan, Swansea Castle was built in 1099 by Henry Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, to defend territory conquered in Gower. A town was built to house an influx of Normans and Flemings, many of whom were also given land in Gower. Because of its location it became the principal town in Gower. Swansea was attacked by Gruffydd ap Rhys in 1116 (recorded in Brut y Tywysogyon) when the outer castle was burnt. By the end of the 12th century Gower had become a crown possession. Robinson oberves that: 'William de Londres was paid twenty marks for repairing Swansea castle, and the following year the crown paid for supplies of corn and pork delivered to the castle from the west of England.' In 1190 ships were hired to carry provisions to the castle and in 1192 Rhys ap Gruffydd besieged the castle for 10 weeks. The castle was strengthened in 1210 but was taken by the Welsh on several occasions in the early 13th century and destroyed by Llywelyn ab Gruffydd. However, he gave it to John de Braose, encouraging him to rebuild the castle. Despite two further burnings in 1257 and 1287 the town prospered as a trading centre but friction increased between the inhabitants and the marcher lords. In 1306 royal pressure forced William de Braose to 'grant two extensive charters of liberties, one to the burgesses of Swansea and the other to the English and Welsh freemen of the Englishry of Gower (Robinson: 1971:366).

Robinson notes that the majority of the burgage tenants listed in 1400 (over sixty) had English names. A mere eight tenants had unmistakably Welsh names although many of the others probably had Welsh parents or came from families resident in Wales for a long time. West Street, St Mary Street, High Street and Fisher Street were mentioned in 1400. Much of Gower was devastated again by Owain Glyndwr in the 15th century.

Swansea's final period of destruction was in World War 2 when the German Luftwaffe devastated most of the centre.

Swansea, Walter Road - card posted 1906
Swansea, Castle Square - card posted 1913
Swansea, Sands - vintage card

Reference

Robinson, W.R.B. (1971) 'Medieval Swansea' in Glamorgan County History, Vol 3, The Middle Ages, edited by T.B. Hughes, University of Wales Press.