In light of the current guidance on Covid-19/coronavirus, the AGM scheduled for tomorrow, 17th March 2020, has been cancelled. Apologies to those who were planning to attend.
A decision regarding the meeting scheduled for 21st April will be made in due course according to the development of the situation, and we will provide updates to members and via this website when a decision has been made.
We hope that our members, readers and their families and loved ones are as safe and well as can be in these difficult times.
The Society is pleased to announce the publication of The Swansea and Gower Coalfield 1301-1968 : an extended gazetteer by Paul Reynolds. Please see below a description of the book’s contents along with details of how to purchase a copy.
The book’s cover, depicting Scott’s Pit, Llansamlet, photographed in 2015
The Swansea and Gower Coalfield 1301-1968 : an extended gazetteer
By Paul Reynolds
Swansea has come to be known
as ‘Copperopolis’ and for many years it was indeed the centre of the
copper-smelting industry in the United Kingdom.
But long before the copper industry arrived Swansea had a flourishing
coal mining industry which can be traced back to the Middle Ages. By the seventeenth century Swansea was one of
the largest coal exporting ports in the Kingdom, and in the eighteenth century
its coalfield was probably the most productive in Wales. It was the existence of this well established
and successful coal industry that led to Swansea becoming ‘Copperopolis’.
The present work comprises a
gazetteer of all recorded collieries both in Swansea itself and on the northern
side of the Gower peninsula, in its time an equally important coalfield. An account of the history of each colliery is
provided, presented as a continuous and connected narrative so far as the
sources make this possible. These
entries are grouped by sub-region, each of which is prefaced by an introductory
section which briefly describes the overall historical trends and the economic
development of that region in order to supply context for the gazetteer
entries.
The present work makes full use of the well known official records, newspapers and maps of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but it also draws extensively on the records of the various landed estates which owned the mineral rights which were exploited so enthusiastically. In many cases these manuscript sources clarify the record of the printed sources; they also shed considerable light on the industry in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
A fullbibliography and list of sources and an index are included.
Book Details
400 pages, hardback, A4 format. Price £22.00 + £5.00 p&p (if required). Copies available at SWWIAS meetings or from the author.
SWWIAS will be attending the Royal Institution of South Wales’ annual Local History Book Fair at Swansea Museum on Saturday 26th October 2019. Entry is free. Please do come and say hello!
Please see the flyer below for an idea of what the day will have in store. More detail about the event can be found at the RISW’s website.
We are pleased to share details of the forthcoming Neath Abbey Ironworks Open Days, hosted by the Friends of Neath Abbey Iron Company with CADW, on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th September 2019, 10.00am – 4.00pm. Admission is free.
Welcome to the new SWWIAS website, launched today. We hope that old and new members alike will find the website informative, and we look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming season of meetings, which will commence on Tuesday 17th September 2019. A warm welcome is extended to all.
