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 railway station Central Wales line, most of which is still operational as the Heart of Wales Line. Swansea Bay closed in June 1964, having been listed in the Report on the Reshaping of British Railways (better known as the Beeching Report) the previous year. The former station is near Blackpill and the Clyne Valley Country Park and was adjacent to the Swansea and Mumbles Railway which was closed in 1960. Much of the trackbed is now part of the A4607 road towards Swansea Victoria. Swansea Bay railway station Swansea Bay is a former railway station in Swansea next to Swansea Bay, in