Swansea University Archives Blog

For this month’s #ExploreYourArchive theme, ‘Business & Manufacturing’, we’re looking at advertisements in the student newspaper collection, and take a journey back in time to explore local businesses in Swansea. In the earliest student newspapers from the 1920s there are adverts for R.E. Jones Ltd. This catering company had been set up by Richard Edwin…Continue Reading Back in Time For Business

…the future is rather uncertain. Directors of Old Castle Tinplate Company, 1915 The Old Castle Iron and Tinplate Company Limited (later to be known as the Old Castle Tinplate Company) was formed in 1866. The company records (Ref. LAC/87) tell the story of the business, one of a number of tinplate works in the Llanelli…Continue Reading World War One in the archives of Old Castle Tinplate Company

Emerging in the 1960s, the Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM) brought together women, who were living during a time of rapid social and cultural change. These changes made them question the conditions of their lives, their roles at work and their relationships. To mark International Women’s Day on the 8th March, this blog explores the impact…Continue Reading Pushing Boundaries- women at Swansea University who chose to challenge

We hold the records of many local businesses, which often had national or international impact. These collections are often over-looked and under-used as research sources. Here are our top five reasons to look past that indecipherable double entry book-keeping and give business archives a chance-   1. They’re not just for economic or business historians. It’s…Continue Reading A wealth of information! Using business archives as primary sources