107-514: Swansea ( / ˈ s w ɒ n z i / SWON -zee ; Welsh : Abertawe [abɛrˈtawɛ] ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales . It forms a principal area , officially known as the City and County of Swansea (Welsh: Dinas a Sir Abertawe ). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in the United Kingdom . Located along Swansea Bay in south-west Wales, with
214-515: A 10-week siege Swansea Castle ( Welsh : Castell Abertawe ) is located in the city centre of Swansea , Wales , UK. It was founded by Henry de Beaumont in 1107 as the caput of the lordship of Gower . The castle is now ruined and only two blocks remain, though the site has been improved in the 2010s for use as a public space. Swansea Castle is located on the east side of the city centre, facing Castle Square (the River Tawe used to flow
321-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
428-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
535-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
642-479: A coastal region, it experiences a milder climate than inland. Swansea is exposed to rain-bearing winds from the Atlantic , also cooling summer temperatures. From 1804 until the 1920s, Swansea experienced continuous population growth. The 1930s and 1940s was a period of slight decline. In the 1950s and 1960s, the population grew and then fell in the 1970s. The population grew again in the 1980s only to fall again in
749-627: A few months, about 100,000 people were converted. This revival in particular had a profound effect on Welsh society. Swansea is covered by the Swansea and Gower Methodist Circuit . The Ebenezer Baptist Church dates from November 1875 when the foundation stone was laid for Tabernacle chapel in Skinner Street. The first pastor, the Rev. J. D. Jones, was called in February 1876 and the new building
856-478: A fleet of 500 oceangoing ships carrying out Welsh coal and bringing back metal ore from around the world. At that time most of the copper matte produced in the United States was sent to Swansea for refining. Smelters also processed arsenic, zinc, tin, and other metals. Nearby factories produced tinplate and pottery. The Swansea smelters became so adept at recovering gold and silver from complex ores that in
963-574: A short distance east on what is now the Strand). Originally covering 4.6 acres (1.9 ha), the surviving remains of the square castle include residential blocks, together with a section of parapet wall forming an L-shape to the southeast. There are five tunnel-vaulted basement rooms. Henry de Beaumont was granted the Lordship of Gower in 1106 and he began to solidify the control of the Normans in
1070-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
1177-524: A total population of 300,352, making it the third largest urban area in Wales and the 27th largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Over 218,000 individuals are white ; 1,106 are of mixed race ; 2,215 are Asian – mainly Bangladeshi (1,015); 300 are black ; and 1,195 belong to other ethnic groups . The Office for National Statistics 2010 mid-year population estimate for the City & County of Swansea
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#17327652056281284-874: A tour of Wales. Swansea obtained the further right to have a Lord Mayor in 1982. Within the city centre are the ruins of the castle , the Marina, the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery , Swansea Museum , the Dylan Thomas Centre , the Environment Centre , and the Market , which is the largest covered market in Wales. It backs onto the Quadrant Shopping Centre , which opened in 1978, and the adjoining St David's Centre opened in 1982. Other notable modern buildings include
1391-480: Is 232,500. In 2001, 158,457 people in the local authority area (71 per cent) stated their religion to be Christian , 44,286 (20 per cent) no religion , 16,800 (7.5 per cent) did not state a religion and 2,167 were Muslim . There are small communities of other religions, each making up a little under 1 per cent of the total population. Swansea is part of the Anglican Diocese of Swansea and Brecon and
1498-622: Is also a dual carriageway for much of its route through Swansea. Other notable local roads include the A484 , which provides a link from Fforestfach west to Llanelli , and the A4118 , the main route westwards from the city centre across Gower to Port Eynon . Swansea railway station is served by two train operating companies : Bus routes in the area are operated predominantly by First Cymru , with smaller operators such as Adventure Travel , South Wales Transport and DANSA also operate some routes in
1605-617: Is also part of the Swansea Bay City Region . During the 19th-century industrial heyday, Swansea was the key centre of the copper-smelting industry, earning the nickname Copperopolis . The Welsh name , Abertawe , translates as mouth/estuary of the Tawe and this name was likely used for the area before a settlement was established. The first written record of the Welsh name for the town itself dates from 1150 and appears in
1712-560: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Swansea Castle 1192 – Survived
1819-665: Is complex, providing diverse scenery. The Gower Peninsula was the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Apart from the southeast corner, the whole of the Gower Peninsula is within the AONB. Swansea has numerous urban and country parklands. The region has featured regularly in the Wales in Bloom awards. To the north are the Lliw uplands which are mainly open moorland, reaching
1926-688: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
2033-563: Is focused on a triangle defined by Gowerton , Gorseinon and Loughor along with the satellite communities of Penllergaer and Pontarddulais . About three-quarters of Swansea is on the coast—the Loughor Estuary , Swansea Bay and the Bristol Channel . The geology of the Gower Peninsula ranges from Carboniferous Limestone cliffs along its southern edge from Mumbles to Worm's Head and the salt-marshes and dune systems of
2140-511: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
2247-732: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
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#17327652056282354-865: The 2012 council elections saw the council return to Labour control. For 2009/2010, the Lord Mayor of Swansea was Councillor Alan Lloyd, and in 2010/2011 Richard Lewis was the Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor changes in May each year. The Senedd constituencies are: The city also falls under the South Wales West regional constituency which is served by Tom Giffard ( Conservative ), Sioned Williams ( Plaid Cymru ), Altaf Hussain (Conservative) and Luke Fletcher (Plaid Cymru). The UK parliamentary constituencies covering Swansea and their MPs are: Swansea may be divided into four physical areas. The geology
2461-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
2568-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
2675-900: The Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
2782-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
2889-581: The Loughor estuary to the north. The eastern, southern and western coasts of the peninsula are lined with numerous sandy beaches both wide and small, separated by steep cliffs. The South Wales Coalfield reaches the coast in the Swansea area. This had a great bearing on the development of the city of Swansea and other nearby towns such as Morriston. The inland area is covered by large swathes of grassland common overlooked by sandstone heath ridges including
2996-704: The Marina . In the Second World War , Swansea's industrial importance made it a target of German bombing; much of the town centre was destroyed during the Swansea Blitz on the 19, 20 and 21 February 1941 (the Three Nights Blitz ).) In 1969, Swansea was granted city status to mark Prince Charles 's investiture as the Prince of Wales . The Prince made the announcement on 3 July 1969 during
3103-756: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
3210-536: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Menevia . The Catholic see is based in Swansea at St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Greenhill area. Swansea, like Wales in general, has seen many Non-conformist religious revivals . In 1904, Evan Roberts , a miner from Loughor (Llwchwr), just outside Swansea, was the leader of what has been called one of the world's greatest Protestant religious revivals. Within
3317-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
Swansea - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-621: The Uplands area. Around 160 people in Swansea indicated they were Jewish in the 2011 census. The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Swansea according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses: The M4 motorway , with junctions 44 to 47, bypasses Swansea, replacing the A48 as the main east–west route. Both the M4 and the A48 connect with Neath , Port Talbot and Cardiff to
3531-542: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
3638-454: The 1800s they received ore concentrates from the United States, for example from Arizona in the 1850s, and Colorado in the 1860s. The city expanded rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries, and was termed "Copperopolis". From the late 17th century to 1801, Swansea's population grew by 500%—the first official census (in 1841) indicated that, with 6,099 inhabitants, Swansea had become significantly larger than Glamorgan 's county town, Cardiff , and
3745-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
3852-416: The 1990s. In the 21st century, Swansea is experiencing a small amount of population growth; the local authority area had an estimated population of 228,100 in 2007. However, by the 2021 census, this population growth has reversed its trend very slightly with the population declining by 0.2% Around 82% of the population were born in Wales and 13% born in England; 13.4% were Welsh speakers. The population of
3959-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
4066-498: The 20th century, heavy industries in the town declined, leaving the Lower Swansea Valley filled with derelict works and mounds of waste products from them. The Lower Swansea Valley Scheme (which still continues) reclaimed much of the land. The present Enterprise Zone was the result and, of the many original docks, only those outside the city continue to work as docks; North Dock is now Parc Tawe and South Dock became
4173-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
4280-643: The BT Tower (formerly the GPO tower) built around 1970, Alexandra House opened in 1976, County Hall opened in July 1982. Swansea Leisure Centre opened in 1977; it has undergone extensive refurbishment which retained elements of the original structure and re-opened in March 2008. The City and County of Swansea local authority area is bordered by unitary authorities of Carmarthenshire to the north, and Neath Port Talbot to
4387-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
Swansea - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-824: The Norse termination -ey can mean "inlet", and the name may simply refer to the mouth of the river. The area around Swansea has a unique archaeological history dating back to the Palaeolithic . Finds at Long Hole Cave on the Gower Peninsula have been interpreted as those of the first modern humans in Britain, and the same area is also home to the oldest ceremonial burial in Western Europe, discovered at Paviland in 1823 and dated to 22,000 BC. The area also has many Bronze Age and Iron Age sites, such as
4601-435: The River Tawe, the manor of Kilvey beyond the Tawe, and the peninsula itself. In the following years, Henry built Swansea Castle c. 1106 , and minted coins bearing the names Swensi , Sweni and Svenshi c. 1140 . Swansea was designated chief town of the lordship and received its first borough charter sometime between 1158 and 1184 from William de Newburgh, 3rd Earl of Warwick . This charter contains
4708-419: The Swansea built-up area within the unitary authority boundaries in 2011 was about 179,485 and the council population was 238,700. The other built-up areas within the unitary authority are centred on Gorseinon and Pontarddulais. In 2011, the Gorseinon built-up area had a population of 20,581 and the Pontarddulais built-up area had a population of 9,073. The wider urban area , including most of Swansea Bay , has
4815-432: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
4922-436: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
5029-421: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
5136-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
5243-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
5350-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
5457-429: The addition of part of the former Lliw Valley Borough. The new authority received the name City and County of Swansea ( Welsh : Dinas a Sir Abertawe ). Swansea was once a staunch stronghold of the Labour Party which, until 2004, had overall control of the council for 24 years. The Liberal Democrats were the largest group in the administration that took control of Swansea Council in the 2004 local elections until
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#17327652056285564-401: The area. A timber castle existed in Swansea in 1116, when it was recorded as being attacked by Welsh forces who destroyed the outer defences. The original castle seems to have been a sub-rectangular/oval enclosure overlooking the River Tawe on the east, surrounded on the north, west and south sides by a larger sub-rectangular outer bailey. The inner bailey probably contained a motte but
5671-400: The burial mound at Cillibion and the hill fort at Cil Ifor. There are also the remains of a Roman villa also on the Gower peninsula. The area that would become Swansea was known as the Cantref Eginog in ancient times, located on the eastern edge of the cwmwd (commote) of Gwyr, the easternmost cantref of Ystrad Tywi . This area was noted for its valuable land and was highly contested by
5778-408: The castle was described as "a decayed Buildinge". By the 1670s the square tower was being used as a bottle factory and, in 1700, a town hall was built in the castle courtyard. By the mid 1700s the Great Hall had become Swansea's workhouse . The town hall was replaced by a post office in the 1800s and, by 1850, a military Drill Room had replaced the workhouse. The River Tawe , which had flowed near to
5885-432: The castle, was straightened and diverted during the 1840s. Part of the interior of the castle, in particular the large motte , was demolished 1909–1913 for the construction of a newspaper office. In the very early 1930s, poet Dylan Thomas worked for the South Wales Daily Post at the castle site. The newspaper offices were removed in 1976 and the remains of the castle were later consolidated and opened up to view from
5992-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
6099-405: The centre of Swansea from its northern suburbs. Cefn Bryn , a ridge of high land, is the backbone of the Gower Peninsula. Rhossili Down, Hardings Down and Llanmadoc Hill are up to 193 metres (633 ft) high. The highest point is located Penlle'r Castell at 374 metres (1,227 ft) on the northern border with Carmarthenshire . Swansea has a temperate oceanic climate ( Cfb ). As part of
6206-405: The city centre towards the north, south and west; along the coast of Swansea Bay to Mumbles ; up the Swansea Valley past Landore and Morriston to Clydach ; over Townhill and Mayhill to Cwmbwrla , Penlan , Treboeth and Fforestfach ; through Uplands , Sketty, Killay to Dunvant ; and east of the river from St. Thomas to Bonymaen , Llansamlet and Birchgrove . A second urbanised area
6313-408: The city, most of which serve Swansea bus station . Local bus routes run throughout the city, including to Morriston Hospital , Singleton Hospital and Swansea University . Regional routes connect the area with Brecon, Bridgend, Mumbles and Cardiff. Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of
6420-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
6527-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
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#17327652056286634-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
6741-400: The earliest reference in English to Sweynesse and gave it the status of a borough , granting the townsmen (called burgesses ) certain rights to develop the area. In 1215 King John granted a second charter, in which the name appears as Sweyneshe . A town seal which is believed to date from this period names the town as Sweyse . Another charter was granted in 1304. From the early 1700s to
6848-473: The early Welsh kingdoms. During the Viking Age , the mouth of the Tawe became a focus for trade, and a trade post may have been founded sometime between the 9th and 11th centuries. The settlement remained under Welsh control until the Norman Invasion of Wales , when Iestyn ap Gwrgant ceded the settlement as part of the new Lordship of Gower to Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick in the early 1100s. The Lordship included land around Swansea Bay as far as
6955-416: The east and Carmarthen to the west. The A483 dual carriageway links the city centre with the motorway at junction 42 to the east and junction 47 to the north-west. On departing Swansea to the north, the A483 multiplexes with the A48 before continuing through mid Wales and terminating at Chester . The A4067 connecting Mumbles with the city centre and continuing up the Swansea Valley towards Brecon
7062-400: The east. The Urban Subdivision of Swansea covers all urbanised areas within the city boundary, with a population of 179,485, it is considerably smaller than the unitary authority. The local government area is 378 square kilometres (146 sq mi) in size, about 2% of the area of Wales. It includes a large amount of open countryside and a central urban and suburban belt. In 1887, Swansea
7169-431: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
7276-411: The foothills of the Black Mountain range. To the east is the coastal strip around Swansea Bay . Cutting through the middle from the south-east to the north-west is the urban and suburban zone stretching from the Swansea city centre to the towns of Gorseinon and Pontarddulais . The most populated areas of Swansea are Morriston , Sketty and the city centre . The chief urbanised area radiates from
7383-430: The form Aper Tyui . The name Swansea , pronounced /ˈswɒnzi/ (Swans-ee, not Swan-sea), is derived from the Old Norse name of the original Viking trading post that was founded by King Sweyn Forkbeard ( c. 960 –1014). It was the name of the king, 'Svein' or 'Sweyn', with the suffix of '-ey' ("island"), referring either to a bank of the river at its mouth or to an area of raised ground in marshland. However,
7490-510: The former St. Andrew's United Reformed Church. This would replace the existing central Mosque on St Helens Road and be in addition to the other three existing mosques (Swansea University Mosque, Hafod Mosque, Imam Khoei Mosque). Swansea is represented in Buddhism with the Dharmavajra Kadampa Buddhist Centre, Pulpung Changchub Dargyeling (Kagyu Tradition) and a branch of the international Dzogchen Community (Nyingma Tradition). Swansea Synagogue and Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall are both located in
7597-411: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
7704-476: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
7811-456: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
7918-521: The invention of the reverbatory furnace in the late 1600s, copper smelting could use coal rather than the more expensive charcoal. At the same time, the mines of Cornwall were increasing copper production. Swansea became the ideal place to smelt the Cornish copper ores, being close to the coalfields of South Wales and having an excellent port to receive ships carrying Cornish copper ore. Because each ton of copper ore smelted used about three tons of coal, it
8025-595: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
8132-506: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
8239-555: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
8346-543: The late 13th or early 14th century. The south face (which ends in a tall garderobe tower) is capped with an elegant series of arcades at the wall-head, which are similar to structures at the Bishop of Saint David's palaces at Lamphey and St David's . By the 14th century the castle was losing its military importance. Alina de Mowbray ruled the Gower until 1331 when her son John de Mowbray took over as Lord of Gower. He
8453-486: The late 1800s, Swansea was the world's leading copper-smelting area. Numerous smelters along the River Tawe received copper and other metal ores shipped from Cornwall and Devon, as well as from North and South America, Africa, and Australia. The industry declined severely in the late 1800s, and none of the smelters are now active. The port of Swansea initially traded in wine, hides, wool, cloth and later in coal. After
8560-720: The lower-grade ore could not support transportation to Swansea. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was built in 1804 to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles and coal from the Clyne valley to Swansea and to the markets beyond. It carried the world's first fare-paying rail passengers on the same day the British Parliament abolished the transportation of slaves from Africa. It later moved from horse power to steam locomotion, and finally converting to electric trams, before closing in January 1960, in favour of motor buses. Through
8667-570: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
8774-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
8881-411: The other view is that it was a ring work. The motte (or ring work) was 52 metres (171 ft) in diameter (only second in size to Cardiff Castle ) and survived to the early 20th century. The castle was besieged and captured in 1192 by Rhys ap Gruffydd , Prince of Deheubarth . Despite 10 weeks of starvation the castle was saved. After various other unsuccessful attacks the castle fell in 1217 but
8988-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
9095-551: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
9202-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
9309-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
9416-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
9523-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
9630-557: The principal area covering the Gower Peninsula , it is part of the Swansea Bay region and part of the historic county of Glamorgan and the ancient Welsh commote of Gŵyr. The principal area is the second most populous local authority area in Wales, with an estimated population of 241,282 in 2022. Swansea, along with Neath and Port Talbot , forms the Swansea Urban Area , with a population of 300,352 in 2011. It
9737-468: The prominent Cefn Bryn . The traditional agricultural landscape consists of a patchwork of fields characterised by walls, stone-faced banks and hedgerows. Valleys cut through the peninsula and contain rich deciduous woodland . Much of Swansea is hilly, with the main area of upland being located in the council ward of Mawr . Areas up to 185 metres (607 ft) in elevation range across the central section: Kilvey Hill , Townhill and Llwynmawr separate
9844-542: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
9951-651: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
10058-496: The street. As a Scheduled Ancient Monument , it was given a Grade I heritage listing in 1952. The castle was fenced off and only opened to the public on rare occasions, most recently for public tours in 2012 to coincide with St Davids Day. In the early 2010s a project was launched, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Government , to open up the castle to the public on
10165-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
10272-488: The west end and a single gothic church to the east end. It was originally built as a place of worship for Norwegian sailors when they visited the UK. It was relocated to Swansea in 1910 at a site directly opposite the Sainsbury's supermarket on the River Tawe. The city is home to 10% of the total Welsh Muslim population; Swansea's Muslim community is raising money to open a new central mosque and community centre in
10379-403: Was a township at the mouth of the river Tawe, covering 4,562 acres (1,846 hectares) in the county of Glamorgan . There were three major extensions to the boundaries of the borough: the first in 1835, when Morriston , St Thomas , Landore , St John-juxta-Swansea and part of Llansamlet parish were added; again in 1889, when areas around Cwmbwrla and Trewyddfa were included; and when the borough
10486-622: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
10593-578: Was due to migration from within and beyond Wales—in 1881 more than a third of the borough's population had been born outside Swansea and Glamorgan, and just under a quarter outside Wales. Copper smelting at Swansea declined in the late 1800s for a number of reasons: copper mining in Cornwall declined; the price of copper dropped from £112 in 1860 to £35 in the 1890s; in the early 1900s, mining shifted to lower-grade copper deposits in North and South America, and
10700-476: Was enlarged in 1918 to include the whole of the ancient parish of Swansea, the southern part of Llangyfelach parish, all of Llansamlet parish, Oystermouth Urban District and Brynau parish. In 1889, Swansea attained county borough status and it was granted city status in 1969, which was inherited by the Swansea district when it was formed by the merger of the borough and Gower Rural District in 1974. In 1996, Swansea became one of 22 unitary authorities with
10807-443: Was more economical to ship the copper ore to Wales rather than sending the coal to Cornwall. The first copper smelter at Swansea was established in 1717, followed by many more. Once smelting was established, the smelters began receiving high-grade ore and ore concentrates from around the world. More coal mines opened to meet demand from northeast Gower to Clyne and Llangyfelach . In the 1850s Swansea had more than 600 furnaces, and
10914-400: Was opened in July that year. The church was served by a number of ministers until 1911 when the Rev. R. J. Willoughby came to the church. The church has an organ by Harrison & Harrison . The Norwegian Church is a Grade II listed building in the docklands area of the city. The church building was originally located at Newport Docks . The building consists of a Seaman 's Mission to
11021-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
11128-502: Was probably responsible for adding the arcaded parapet walk to the castle. Despite the Welsh rebellion led by Owain Glyndŵr , which saw a number of English castles attacked in the early years of the 1400s, it is not known whether Swansea fell to these forces. Swansea Castle's account books only record that two men were sent north to gather intelligence on Glyndŵr's activities. The castle owners were subsequently absentee landlords. By 1650
11235-517: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
11342-441: Was restored to the English in 1220 as part of the settlement between Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and Henry III of England . The castle was rebuilt in stone, probably between 1221 and 1284 (described now as the "New Castle"), firstly the inner castle with at least one tower, finally the large outer bailey. The only visible remains today, two sides of the rectangular South East corner of the "new castle " 's outer bailey, were built in
11449-456: Was the second most populous town in Wales behind Merthyr Tydfil (which had a population of 7,705). However, the census understated Swansea's true size, as much of the built-up area lay outside the contemporary boundaries of the borough; the total population was actually 10,117. Swansea's population was later overtaken by Merthyr in 1821 and by Cardiff in 1881, although in the latter year Swansea once again surpassed Merthyr. Much of Swansea's growth
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