Swansea Museum

Swansea Museum

Museum location in Swansea, Wales
Location	Swansea, Wales
Coordinates	51°37′04″N 3°56′17″W / 51.6178°N 3.9381°W / 51.6178; -3.9381
Type	Local history, transportation
Website	Swansea Museum

The Swansea Museum in Swansea, Wales, UK is the oldest museum in Wales.^[1] The building was built for the Royal Institution of South Wales in 1841 in the neo-classical style.

Collections

Main museum

Swansea Museum is the oldest museum in Wales. Completed in 1841, this Grade-2* listed building was commissioned by the Royal Institution of South Wales, a group of art and science enthusiasts. The building was designed to house the RISW’s array of collections as well as provide research and learning facilities.

Under threat of closure, the Swansea City Council saved the building and its collections in 1996. Swansea Museum now provides free access to six galleries with a variety of exhibits from an ancient mummy’s tomb to temporary exhibitions on current issues and modern interests. The museum benefits from flat access from rear and side with disabled parking spaces at rear, thus allowing full access to all levels and galleries via the lift.

Marina

Access to the maritime section is available in June, July and August. The museum has three boats in its collections:^[2]

Lightship 'Helwick
Tug boat Canning
1909 Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Olga

The Tramshed

The Tramshed in the Marina displays memorabilia from the former street trams of Swansea and the Mumbles tram that ran around the edge of the bay from Swansea town centre to Mumbles pier.

Originally part of the former Maritime and Industrial Museum, the Tramshed on the Dylan Thomas Square is now run by Swansea Museum. This conservatory-style gallery displays memorabilia from the street trams of Swansea, including the famous Mumbles train. Large windows illuminate a double-decker tram as well as a reconstruction of the original 1804 horse-drawn Mumbles train, the first passenger railway service in the world.

While the ground floor allows level access, the mezzanine and trams currently do not.^[3]

Landore Collections Centre

The Landore Collections Centre is located in the former rolling mills building of the former Hafod/Morfa Copperworks, parts of which date back to the 1830s.^[4] For most of its industrial life it was used as a rolling mills but was in use as a warehouse before the Local Authority acquired the site in 1980.

The building provides nearly 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft) of open-plan storage space for the reserve collections of both Swansea Museum and the former Maritime and Industrial Museum. Side rooms provide office and additional environmentally controlled storage space.

Plans to further develop and regenerate the surrounding area into a focus for Wales’ copper history will complement the Collections Centre as a heritage venue.^[5]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swansea Museum.

Museums and art galleries in Wales

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales	National Museum Cardiff St Fagans National History Museum Big Pit National Coal Museum National Wool Museum National Roman Legion Museum National Slate Museum National Waterfront Museum

Natural history	National Museum Cardiff Swansea Museum Tenby Museum and Art Gallery Newport Museum and Art Gallery

History	Roman Baths Museum

Galleries and art	Dylan Thomas Boathouse Dylan Thomas Centre Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre MOMA, Wales Oriel Mostyn Oriel Ynys Môn Turner House Gallery

Industry	Bersham Ironworks Blaenavon Ironworks Cefn Coed Colliery Museum Kidwelly Industrial Museum Llechwedd Slate Caverns Newtown Textile Museum Pierhead Building South Wales Miners' Museum Sygun Copper Mine

Military	Monmouth Museum South Wales Borderers Museum Museum of the Welsh Soldier Pembroke Dock Flying Boat Centre

Local history	Abergavenny Museum Brecknock Museum Cardiff Story Carmarthenshire County Museum Ceredigion Museum Chepstow Museum Haverfordwest Town Museum Lampeter Museum Llancaiach Fawr Llandrindod Wells Museum Llanidloes Museum Milford Haven Museum Narberth Museum Newport Museum Parc Howard Museum Pontypool Museum Powysland Museum Scolton Manor Swansea Museum Tenby Museum and Art Gallery Wrexham County Borough Museum

Motoring	Llangollen Motor Museum Pembrokeshire Motor Museum Pendine Museum of Speed

Railways	Conwy Valley Railway Museum Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum

Maritime	Holyhead Maritime Museum National Coracle Centre

Other	National Cycle Collection Welsh Sports Hall of Fame

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.