The Dylan Thomas Centre is an arts centre located in the Maritime Quarter in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, Wales. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The building was commissioned to replace a previous guildhall, which had been located near Swansea Castle and dated back to the late 16th century. The new building, which was designed by John Collingwood in the neo-classical style and built by Thomas Bowen, was completed in 1829. It was remodelled to the plans of Thomas Taylor in 1852, using a design which was modelled on the Temple of Jupiter Stator in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The external design involved nine bays on each side with round-arched windows on the ground floor and tall round-arched windows flanked by

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...

columns on the first floor. It was converted for use as a juvenile employment centre after the civic leaders moved to the new

Swansea Guildhall The Guildhall () is one of the main office buildings of the City and County of Swansea Council. The Guildhall complex, which includes the City Hall, Brangwyn Hall (concert hall) and the County Law Courts for Swansea, is a Grade I listed building ...

in 1934. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was requisitioned by the army for use as a recruiting centre. After reverting to use as a juvenile employment centre, it became a College of Further Education in 1960 and then became an annexe to Dynevor School in 1970 before closing in 1982. The building was officially re-opened by the American former President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

and the last Leader of the Swansea City Council, Trevor Burtonshaw, as the Dylan Thomas Centre in 1995. In 2012 a large part of the Centre was leased by Swansea's council to the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

with the purpose of using it as a business centre for creative industries. In October 2014, the Centre launched the permanent "Love the Words" exhibition which explores Dylan's life and work through a variety of media and including letters, books, worksheets and photographs. It was made possible with support of nearly £1 million from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. The Dylan Thomas Centre is home to a year-round programme of literary events, including book launches, plays, poetry evenings, changing exhibitions and science talks. It also hosts the annual Dylan Thomas Festival held between Dylan’s birth and death dates, 27 October to 9 November.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Arts centres in Wales Museums in Swansea Grade II* listed buildings in Swansea Buildings and structures completed in 1829 Biographical museums in Wales Literary museums in Wales 1995 establishments in Wales Museums established in 1995 Dylan Thomas City and town halls in Wales Government buildings completed in 1829