The Guildhall ( cy, Guildhall Abertawe) is one of the main office buildings of the

City and County of Swansea Council , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , logo_pic = Swansea City Council Logo.svg , logo_res = , logo_alt = , house_type = Unitary authority , jurisdiction = , foundation = 1 April 1996 , preceded_by = West Glamorgan County CouncilSw ...

. The Guildhall complex, which includes the City Hall,

Brangwyn Hall , former_names = , alternate_names = , image = Brangwyn hall.jpg , alt = , caption = Brangwyn Hall entrance , map_type = , altitude = , building_type ...

(concert hall) and the County Law Courts for

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

, is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

History

The council chamber in Swansea Guildhall - geograph

The building was commissioned to replace the old Swansea Guildhall. The site selected for the building had previously formed part of Victoria Park. The foundation stone for the building was laid on 4 May 1932. The building was designed by Sir Percy Thomas in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...

and was officially opened by

The Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwar ...

on 23 October 1934. The design envisaged a building finished in white

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building ...

, and included a

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

clock-tower, making it a landmark. The clock-tower featured the prow of a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

longship Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nor ...

, jutting out on each side as a reminder of

Sweyn Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( non, Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg ; da, Svend Tveskæg; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of ...

, thought to be the founder of Swansea. The council chamber used panelling made of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

and columns high. Bronze busts depicting the local

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, David Matthews, David Williams,

Percy Morris Percy Morris (6 October 1893 – 7 March 1967) was a British railway clerk, trade unionist and politician who became Mayor of Swansea and represented the town in Parliament. He specialised in railway issues in Parliament, and after being de ...

and

David Grenfell David Rhys Grenfell, (16 June 1881 – 21 November 1968), sometimes known as Dai Grenfell, was a Welsh Member of Parliament. He represented the Gower constituency for the Labour Party from 1922 to 1959. Early life Grenfell was born on 16 Jun ...

, were subsequently installed outside the council chamber. Percy Thomas won the Bronze Medal for Architecture from the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

for his work in 1935. Despite the prominence of the building from the air, the building emerged unscathed in February 1941 during the

Swansea Blitz The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the German ''Luftwaffe'' from 19 to 21 February 1941. A total of 230 people were killed and 397 were injured. Swansea was selected by the Germans as a legitimate strategic targ ...

of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. On 3 July 1969,

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

made an announcement in person at the Guildhall that the town of Swansea would become a city. For most of the 20th century, the Guildhall was the meeting place of Swansea City Council; however, it ceased to be the local seat of government when the enlarged

was formed at

Swansea Civic Centre Swansea Civic Centre ( cy, Canolfan Ddinesig Abertawe) – formerly known as County Hall – is the principal administrative centre of Swansea Council. Standing some 800 m southwest of Swansea city centre, by the seafront and overlooking Swansea ...

in 1996. It continues to accommodate the city's law courts and also the council's administration offices. The Guildhall clock was last overhauled in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guildhall City and town halls in Wales Government buildings in Wales Grade I listed buildings in Swansea Grade I listed office buildings Percy Thomas buildings Government buildings completed in 1934 Towers in Wales Art Deco architecture in Wales 1934 establishments in Wales

History

See also

References