Swansea

Swansea, a seaport and par1iamentary borough (one member) of Glamorgan, is sltuated at the mouth of the Tawe - whence its Welsh name Abertawe - on Swansea Bay to the N. of the Bristol Channel. The ancient town consisted of a few narrow streets at the mouth of the river, defended by a castle, now ruined; but the modern town faces the bay, and its sands, parks, and pure water-supply make it a great place of resort. Its proximity to the coal-fields gives it great facility for carrying on its chief industry of copper-smelting. Tin-plate, 1ead, zinc, iron, steel also are worked. More than a million tons or coal and patent fuel are exported yearly by sea and by the three railways that serve Swansea. The tonnage of vessels entered and cleared annually amounts to more than a million. The extensive docks are divided into North, South, Beaufort, and Prince of Wales' Docks. Among the many good public buildings are the Town Hall and the Roval Institution. The market is in the centre of the town.