Copyright © 2010 The Historical Association: Swansea Branch

Swansea's Mansion House is situated in Ffynone and was originally called Brooklands. The house was completed in 1863 when the owner, Evan Matthew Richards, a well known local builder, made it his family home. He was, in fact, Mayor of Swansea in 1855 and 1862. After his death in 1880, Brooklands was sold twice before being purchased by Swansea County Borough Council in 1922 with the intention of making it an official residence for the Mayor. From then on it was renamed the Mansion House.

  The house maintains many of its original features such as the Victorian tiled entrance hall, the mahogany staircase that showcases the large stained glass window commemorating the original owner and his family, and the white Italian marble fireplaces.

   The external appearance has changed little from when it was built in 1863. Much of the furniture and paintings are from the Vivian collection and, as such, are the custodian responsibility of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and Museum. The house also contains a considerable collection of silverware presented to Swansea over a number of years.

   On the terrace in front of the south-west wing are a sundial and two brass six-pounder cannon. The cannon were cast in 1804 in Woolwich, at a cost of £296:13s. The money was raised in Swansea by local merchants and shipowners, called together in 1803 to discuss the purchase of four six-pounder cannon for the defence of the harbour against possible attack by the French. The threat of invasion by Napoleon and the memory of the French invasion at Fishguard in 1797 must have been very much in people's minds at the time. The guns arrived in Swansea on Saturday 14 July 1804, and were placed in the charge of the Sea Fencibles.

   The installation of the battery at Mumbles Head in the 1860s rendered the cannon obsolete, and they were acquired by the Corporation. The guns were never fired in anger.

(HA Swansea is grateful to the City and County of Swansea for the above information.)

The College of Arms

The College of Arms, London, is the official repository of the coats of arms and pedigrees of English, Welsh, Northern Irish and Commonwealth families and their descendants.

The Opening of Swansea Grammar School, 1852

The Swansea Grammar School was founded in 1682 by Hugh Gore, bishop of Waterford and Lismore.

The school was originally situated in Goat Street,

but in 1816, this site was abandoned and the school was held in various private houses.

Largely through the efforts of George Grant Francis, the school reopened on Mount Pleasant in 1852.