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You are here: Home / Swansea – a brief history

Swansea – a brief history

The area around Swansea has been occupied for many thousands of years, with the oldest known human remains being the Red Lady of Paviland which have been dated from 22,000 BC.

Archaeology

Read more about cave finds, the Egyptian mummy named Hor and the Pleistocene period on the archaeology pages.


Copperopolis at Swansea Museum
Industry

Read more about Swansea during the 19th century, tinplate production and the famous Swansea Porcelain.


The Sea
The Sea

Discover Swansea’s fascinating maritime history, from its Elizabethan river-side quay to its years as a popular seaside resort.


Find out more about the Mumbles Train
The Mumbles Train

Read more about the The Mumbles Railway, the first railway in the world to regularly carry passengers in 1807.


Find out more about Swansea during World War two
World War II

Find out more about Swansea during the war, and as a major port with an industrial hinterland being an obvious target for the Luftwaffe.


Old Houses and Places

Take a look at a selection of paintings and early images of Swansea,
which can be found in the collection of Swansea Museum.

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Update for our customers

Change of Opening Times
It's no joke, from Friday April the 1st the museum will be returning to its usual opening times.

Find out more

Blog

  • `The Record’
  • YMCA Jubilee Campaign Poster 1919
  • Board Game, to raise awareness of issues facing Young Carers
  • Prisoner of War Diary
  • Swansea Blitz Photograph
 

In ‘Swansea – A photographer’s Dream’ Colin Riddle’s pictures of Swansea in the 1960s represent images of a lost age.

 

Though much of what he photographed still exists for the keen historian to seek out, much has also disappeared.

     

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