The Archives holds a number of collections of metallurgical companies, including copper, tinplate and steel. These collections contain a wide variety of material including minute books, financial ledgers, legal documents, staff records and technical papers.
Tinplate and Steel
Copper
Ethel Ross collection
Ethel Ross was a lecturer at the Swansea College of Education and the author of a number of works of local interest, notably 'Radical Adventurer, the diaries of Robert Morris, 1772-1774' (1971) and 'Letters for Swansea' (1969). She had a lifelong interest in the amateur theatre which is reflected in the collection, particularly her connection with Swansea Little Theatre. The collection includes material relating to her long-term friendships with the poets Dylan Thomas and Vernon Watkins, and the composer Daniel Jones. There is also a considerable amount of material relating to Ethel Ross' publications and to her researches into the Morris family, Alfred Janes, and the career of Noel Desenfans and the formation of the Dulwich Gallery.
Theatre collection
Our theatre collection contains items from the 18th century to 1980 and relates to Swansea Little Theatre, the University of Wales Swansea, theatre in London, provincial theatres, portable theatres, and television productions.
In 1807, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway became the world's first passenger railway service.
The Mumbles Railway collections are a comprehensive resource for bus, railway and tramway transportation in South Wales, mainly for Swansea and the surrounding areas.
They contain records from all of the companies associated with the Mumbles Railway-
The collections contain a significant number of items relating to the history of Mumbles Pier. Title deeds, correspondence and other papers detail the development of the Pier and the activities that took place.
St David's Priory, Roman Catholic Church
St David's Priory is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Swansea. It replaced an earlier church building which had been established c1808. Father Charles Kavanagh (d 1856) built the new church of St David's in 1847 as well as the Catholic school adjoining St David's. The records in this archive consist of the early registers, church records of the parish and schools and a number of items relating to the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Swansea and south Wales. There is also material relating to other Roman Catholic parishes in the city, all originally daughter churches of St David's.
Swansea and Gower Methodist Circuit
Swansea became the head of the first Wesleyan Methodist Circuit in West Glamorgan in 1795. The Gower Methodist societies were part of the Swansea Circuit from 1795 until 1864 when they were formed into a separate Gower Circuit. This arrangement lasted until 1907 when Gower was re-united with Swansea. In 1940 Gower reverted to independent status but rejoined Swansea in 1962. The records in this archive consist of surviving administrative records of the Circuit and of many of the constituent chapels. The registers are held by West Glamorgan Archive Service.