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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Swansea
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(Abertawe in Welsh, 188,000 in 1991)
City and port on the south coast of Wales, at the mouth of the river Tawe; administrative centre of West Glamorgan. Possibly deriving from a *Viking settlement (the name is sometimes explained as coming from Sweyn, the father of *Canute), it was certainly a place of importance for the *Normans who built a castle here in the 12C. By the 17C Swansea was the largest port in Wales; shipbuilding, coal and metal became the basis of its prosperity. The docks expanded massively in the 19C and early 20C. With the recent reduction in shipping large sections of them have been developed for housing and as the Maritime and Industrial Museum, opened in 1977.
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The city was severely bombed in World War II and much of the centre is now modern. One fortunate survival was the impressive Guildhall of the 1930s, by Percy Thomas (1883–1969); it contains the large bright 'British Empire' murals by Frank Brangwyn (1867–1956), commissioned but rejected for the House of Lords. The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and Museum, opened in 1911, has an excellent collection of the local *Swansea porcelain and pottery. The University College of Swansea, founded in 1920, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of *Wales. Since 1974 all British driving licences and vehicle registrations have been issued from the department of transport's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre (DVLC Swansea, SA99).
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