A Guide To The Industrial Archaeology Of The Swansea Region

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales has a leading national role in developing and promoting understanding of the archaeological, built and maritime heritage of Wales, as the originator, curator and supplier of authoritative information for individual, corporate and governmental decision makers, researchers, and the general public.

Dadansoddiad darluniadol o dirlun diwydiannol ardal Abertawe yn adlewyrchu dylanwad hanes a datblygiad y diwydiant copr ar fywyd cymdeithasol ac economaidd, addysgol a chrefyddol y fro yn ystod y 18fed a'r 19eg ganrif. Dros 300 o luniau du-a-gwyn. -- Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru

Through international and multi-period chapters, this volume explores the origins and development of industrialisation from its emergence in 18th century Europe to its contemporary ubiquity. It interrogates the widespread exploitation of natural resources that forged industrialisation and its environmental and social legacy in our globalised world.

The structures discovered on the Brecon Forest Tramroads illustrate the beginnings of modern railway practice. This first detailed archaeological study of a railway illuminates parallels located elsewhere in Britain. Developments that were to be of world importance. Did iron railway bridges exist before George Stephenson? This book shows that such bridges were built in south Wales thirty years before the construction of Stephenson's Gaunless Viaduct on the Stockton and Darlington Railway and explains where to see these bridges today. Numerous stone viaducts, bridges and causeways were built over gorges. Monumental building detail existed years before the Euston Arch. Even the foundations of American Industrial might were laid here. Preface Introduction The Planning and Construction of the Railways The Use and Local Impact of the Railways The Engineering of the Lines Rolling Stock, Buildings and Equipment The Railway Route Bibliography and Abbreviations Appendices Early Railway Sites in Wales Index

The purpose of this publication is to portray the main surface elements of working Welsh collieries as they survived into the 1980s and 1990s - almost invariably multi-period complexes with structures adapted and re-adapted during successive rebuildings and enlargements. This book seeks to portray in simple terms the technology used in relation to these structures and buildings; and also to place them in a historical context. It is hoped that others will be encouraged to explore in greater depth the archives which have been safeguarded and to interpret further the 'archaeology' of what was one of the most significant industries in the formation of modern Wales. Contents Preface Introduction The Planning and Design of Collieries Collieries Underground Colliery Headframes Winding Coal Water Pumping Mine Ventilation The Use of Compressed Air Preparation of Coal for Sale Workshops and Stores Colliery Offices Pithead Baths Conclusion Glossary Surviving Colliery Machinery Gazetteer of Protected Colliery Sites Index

This is the first full-length study of Swansea’s urban development from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. It tells the little known story of how Swansea gained an unrivalled position of influence as an urban centre, which led it briefly to claim to be the ‘metropolis of Wales’, and how it then lost this status in the face of rapid urban development elsewhere in Wales. As such it provides an important new perspective on Welsh urban history in which the role of Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil and even Bristol are better known as towns of influence in Welsh urban life. It also offers an analysis of how Swansea’s experience of urbanisation fits into the wider picture of British urban history.

Two hundred years of industry have transformed the British landscape. This book enables the reader to reconstruct the landscape of past industry. The authors are industrial archaeologists of national standing whose concern is to use surviving material evidence and contemporary sources to study the former working conditions of men and women. Comprehensive in coverage, the book examines fuels, metals, clothing, food, building and transport. It makes clear the tangible elements which form the basis for recreation of past landscapes and demonstrates both their function and the context in which they should be considered.