Swansea
is situated on the south coast of Wales, at the narrow mouth of the
River Tawe. The Normans considered the area to be important enough
to build a castle here in the 12th century.
In 1306 docks were established at Swansea for ship-building. At the
end of the 18th century these docks were improved to cope with the
growth in the export of Welsh coal, copper and iron ore.
Swansea was only a short journey from the Cornwall's coast, the place
where most of Britain's copper was mined. As well as cheap coal, the
Swansea area also had rivers that could be used to wash the poisonous
sulphur from the copper. In 1820, the entrepreneur, Thomas Williams,
built a smelting works at Swansea. This stimulated the industry and
by 1820 South Wales was producing 90% of Britain's copper.
The first railway opened in the town was the Swansea
& Mumbles horse-drawn line along Swansea Bay, that served
local quarries and coal mines. The first steam locomotives arrived
in Swansea in 1852 with the building of the South Wales Railway. The
line was extended to Milford Haven in 1856. A line between Swansea
and Pontardawe was completed in 1860. Sixteen years later, the Swansea
Vale Railway, was taken over by the Midland
Railway.
Swansea had a population of 10,000 in 1801. The population grew steadily
but between 1852, when the South Wales Railway was opened, and 1871,
the population of Swansea increased by 68%.
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