Swansea included land around Swansea Bay as far as the River Tawe, the manor of Kilvey beyond the Tawe, and the peninsula itself. Swansea was designated chief town of the lordship and received a borough charter at some point between 1158 and 1184 (and a more elaborate one in 1304). From the early 1700s to the late 1800s, Swansea was the world’s leading copper-smelting area. Numerous smelters along the River Tawe received copper and other metal ores shipped from Cornwall and Devon, as well as from North and South America, Africa, and Australia. The industry declined severely in the late 1800s,
Swansea Bay Metro Swansea Bay Metro Swansea Bay Metro is a proposed railway enhancement around the Swansea Bay area of South Wales. The project could take up to 10 years to complete. The proposal would see a new line from to station via Swansea Bay, which would allow a 30-minute service between Cardiff and Swansea following the scrapping of plans for electrification between the two cities in July 2017. The project is estimated to cost £1 billion. The project could see reopening of the Neath Valley line through new stations at Neath Abbey, Jersey Marine, Neath and Aberdulais, an on-street connection from Swansea