THEOSOPHY
WALES
Swansea Castle
History of
Swansea / Abertawe
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The Earliest Settlement
Swansea was once Sweins eg
or ey, which means Swein's island. The island stood in the mouth of the River
Tawe, hence the Welsh name Abertawe. Who Swein was is not known for sure but he
may have been a Norseman who built a fort on the island about 1000 AD and used
it as a base for raiding the Welsh coast.
Establishment of the Town
The town of Swansea was founded in
the early 12th century when the Normans
conquered the area. The Norman lord built a wooden castle on the site of Worcester Place.
(It was rebuilt in stone in the early 13th century). A town soon grew up by the
castle. The garrison of the castle provided a market for the townspeople's
goods. Many of the townspeople were English immigrants. At some time between
1158-84 Swansea
was given a charter ( a document granting the townspeople certain rights). A
second charter was granted by King John in 1215.
The Middle Ages
By the 13th century Swansea was a flourishing
town although it would seem tiny to us with a population of about 1,000.
However towns were very small in those days, especially Welsh towns.
Swansea was probably fortified with a ditch and an earth
rampart with a wooden stockade. In the early 14th century this was replaced by
stone walls. However the defences did not prevent the Welsh burning the town
several times (the last time was in 1402 during the rebellion of Owain
Glendower). Yet whenever this happened Swansea
recovered.
In Medieval Swansea the main
industries were leather and wool. In the town wool was woven. It was then
fulled, which means it was cleaned and thickened by being pounded in a mixture
of water and clay. Wooden hammers worked by watermills pounded the wool. It was
then ready for dyeing. There was also a shipbuilding industry in Swansea.
Leather and wool from Swansea were exported to England so were
hides, butter, cheese and grain. In Swansea
there was a weekly market. There were also 2 fairs. In the Middle Ages fairs
were like markets but they were held only once a year. People would come from
all over South Wales to attend a Swansea fair.
Swansea was run by an official called the Portreeve. By
the 14th century the Portreeve was assisted by 12 Aldermen. An Alderman was a
member of a town council who had been appointed to the position of councillor for life.
Like all towns Swansea was devastated by
the Black Death of 1348-49 which may have killed half the population.
1500-1750
In this period Swansea grew rapidly. It
still only had a population of about 1,000 in the mid 16th century but it grew
to about 2,000 by the mid 17th century. The port grew busier and busier as coal
mining in South Wales boomed. Increasing amounts
of coal were exported from Swansea.
By the 17th century iron was also exported from Swansea.
Shipbuilding continued. So
did the wool weaving industry. Swansea
was also noted for making gloves. By the 16th century Swansea had 3 fairs rather than the 2 of the
Middle Ages. In 1655 Cromwell said it was 'an ancient port town and populous,
situated on the coast towards France,
convenient for shipping and resisting foreign invasions'.
Swansea castle had been damaged by Owain Glendower in the
15th century. It was finally demolished by the parliamentarians in 1647 to
prevent it ever being used by the Royalists.
In 1682 a grammar school
was founded in Swansea.
By the middle of the 18th
century Swansea
probably had a population of about 3,000. It was a busy little port and market
town. In 1771 Swansea
gained its first bank and in 1785 its first theatre.
The Industrial Revolution
In the late 18th century Swansea began to boom.
From 1716 copper was smelted in Swansea.
In 1755 a lead works opened. In 1764 a pottery plant was founded. Pottery
became an important industry during the 19th century. From 1777 zinc was made
in Swansea. In
the 19th century Swansea
became a centre of the metalworking industry. Vast amounts of zinc and copper
were made there then exported through the port. After 1845 tinplate was made in
Swansea. (Steel
covered in tin). By the late 19th century the tinplate industry was booming.
The port also boomed. It
was helped by Swansea
canal, which made it easier to transport heavy raw materials to and from the
port. In 1791 a group of men called the Harbour Commissioners was formed with
responsibility for the harbour. North Dock was built in 1852. It was followed
by South Dock in 1859. In 1881 Prince of Wales Dock was built on the east bank
of the Tawe.
There was still a
shipbuilding industry in Swansea
in the 19th century but it less important than the metal working trades.
The population of Swansea boomed. In 1801
it was 6,831 but by 1841 it was over 16,000. by the end of the century it had
passed 100,000. Like all 19th century towns Swansea, was overcrowded, dirty and
unsanitary. There were outbreaks of cholera in 1832 and 1849.
Nevertheless there were
some improvements in Swansea
in the 19th century. In 1808 a dispensary opened where the poor could obtain
free medicines. In 1809 an Act of Parliament formed a body of men called the
Paving Commissioners with responsibility for paving, cleaning and lighting the
streets.
In 1821 Assembly Rooms were
built where the well to do could play cards and hold balls. In 1821 Swansea obtained gas
street lighting.
Then in 1835 Swansea local government
was reformed. Swansea
was made a borough with a mayor. Swansea
museum was founded in 1835. A general hospital was built in 1864. The first
public library in Swansea
opened in 1871. Victoria Park opened in 1887.
The 20th Century
By 1901 Swansea had a population of 134,000. Gynn Vivian
Art Gallery
opened in 1911. In 1906 the first council houses were built in Swansea. More were built in the 1920s and
1930s as the council demolished slums. Many more were built after 1945 as well
as a large number of private houses.
A new Guildhall was built
in 1934. Swansea
suffered severely in the bombing raids of the Second World War. In all 387
people were killed in Swansea
and the heart of the city was destroyed. It was rebuilt in the 1960s.
In the early 20th century
the port continued to flourish. Kings Dock was built in 1909. Queens
Dock followed in 1920. At the beginning of the 20th century the tinplate
industries was booming. so were the steel and copper industries. However they
suffered severely in the depression of the 1930s and there was horrifically
high unemployment in Swansea.
The local economy boomed
again during World War II but after it ended the traditional metal working
industries nosedived. Coal mining in the Swansea
area disappeared by the end of the 20th century. The council tried to diversify
industry in Swansea
by building new industrial estates including one at Fforestfach in the late 1940s
and another at Cwndu in the 1960s.
Swansea is still a busy port. The South Dock closed in
1969. It was opened as a marina in 1982. From the 1920s oil was imported into Swansea. Oil was refined
and the finished product was exported from Swansea. In 1969 a ferry service to Cork began.
In 1969 Swansea was made a city. A leisure centre was
built in 1977. Also in 1977 a Maritime and Industrial Museum
opened. (It is now closed and it is planned to replace it with a Waterfront Museum, due to open in 2005). The
Quandrant Shopping Centre opened in 1979. County Hall was built in 1984.
In the late 1980s a
shopping and leisure centre was built at Parc Tawe on the site of the North
Dock. The centre included a bowling alley and cinema. Plantasia opened in 1990.
Parc Tawe Centre was extended in 1997. Also in the 1990s Castle Square was redeveloped.
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______________________________________________
Foundation of the Original Theosophical Society 1875
The first Theosophical Society was founded
in New York on
November 17th 1875 by Helena
Petrovna Blavatsky,
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan
Judge and others.
The Theosophical Movement now consists of a
diverse range of
organizations which carry the Theosophical
Tradition forward.
Cardiff Theosophical Society has been
promoting Theosophy since 1908
______________________________________________
मूल थियोसोफिकल सोसायटी 1875 फाउंडेशन
पहले थियोसोफिकल सोसायटी को न्यूयॉर्क में स्थापित किया गया था
17 नवंबर Helena Petrovna Blavatsky द्वारा 1875,
कर्नल Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge
और दूसरों.
थियोसोफिकल आंदोलन अब एक विविध रेंज के होते हैं
आगे थियोसोफिकल परंपरा ले जो संगठनों.
कार्डिफ थियोसोफिकल सोसायटी 1908 के बाद से ब्रह्मविद्या को बढ़ावा देने की गई है
_______________________________________
Alpha
Yes, submit
translation
Thank you for your
submission.
Mūla thiyōsōphikala
sōsāyaṭī 1875 phā'uṇḍēśana
Pahalē thiyōsōphikala sōsāyaṭī kō
n'yūyŏrka mēṁ sthāpita kiyā gayā thā
17 Navambara Helena Petrovna Blavatsky dvārā 1875,
Kamala Henry Steel Olcott, aura dūsarōṁ.
Thiyōsōphikala āndōlana aba ēka vividha
rēn̄ja kē hōtē haiṁ
Āgē thiyōsōphikala paramparā lē jō saṅgaṭhanōṁ.
Kārḍipha thiyōsōphikala sōsāyaṭī 1908
kē bāda sē brahmavidyā
kō
baṛhāvā dēnē kī ga'ī hai
_____________________________________________
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