Home of Swansea University’s Archive Collections
Since 2018, the historic Mumbles Pier has been undergoing a £3.2 million refurbishment including an upgraded pavilion, boardwalk extending out into the water, and plans to convert the former lifeboat house into a restaurant and visitor centre. Archives in the South Wales Transport Collection show that it’s not the first time the Victorian Pier has…Continue Reading Disputes & Dancing – Mumbles Railway & Pier
Guest post by Aleksandra Ferek, a first-year student at Swansea University, studying English Literature with Creative Writing. She joined us on a Swansea Employability Academy placement, and was tasked with looking through the private journals of Welsh industrialist and Liberal politician Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn (1814-1892). When I was younger, I used to write diaries. I needed…Continue Reading Diaries and Daily Life
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
Archives Assistant, Stephanie Basford-Morris, reflects on a project to re-package the Lower Swansea Valley collection, during which she discovered more about the regeneration of a scarred post-industrial area of Swansea. In 2019 I re-packaged and re-numbered a collection about the Lower Swansea Valley Project (LSVP); the task would teach me about the re-introduction of nature to an area…Continue Reading Sprucing up the Place: Reintroducing Nature to the Lower Swansea Valley
2020 was the year when we clapped for our carers, and publicly celebrated our health heroes. The nursing profession was a big part of this, and they have continued with their incredible work and devotion throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back in the archives, it is clear that this appreciation of nurses and the nursing…Continue Reading Decades of dedication – an archival appreciation of the nursing profession
“For me, there is no more admirable character in the history of science” Sir David Attenborough Come and explore archives near and far to discover the man considered to be the father of the evolution of the species – Alfred Russel Wallace. The first visit is to the Natural History Museum, where a picture of Wallace is painted of…Continue Reading Connecting Collections: Alfred Russel Wallace and his links to Swansea
During World War Two, Swansea was subjected to a number of air raid attacks by the German Luftwaffe. The city was identified by the Nazis as a legitimate strategic target due to its importance as a port and docks. One of the more intense attacks was that of the Three Night’s Blitz, which took place…Continue Reading ‘Blitzes and Botheration’