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Monday - Saturday: 8:30 — 16:00, Sunday: Closed
  • Home
  • COVID-19 Update
    • Deliveries
  • Improvements Plan
  • Market Stalls
    • Bakery & Confectionery
      • Arlene’s Sweetie Jar
      • Arlene’s Slush Bar
      • Davies of Mumbles
      • Good News Swansea
      • Jan Evans Bakery
      • Norfolk Bakery
      • T.C Jones Confectionery
    • Butchery
      • Billy Upton
      • Hugh Phillips Gower Butchers
      • Simpsons
    • Cards, Gifts & Books
      • Capnoco
      • Card Collection
      • Christian Bookshop
      • Cim’s Creations
      • N.B Books
      • Something Different
      • Swansea Bay Records
      • The Welsh Stall
      • Warringtons
    • Clothing, Footwear and Leather Goods
      • The Baby Room
      • Kandy’s Tailoring
      • Rock-A-Bye
      • Seema Fashions
      • Sew It Seams
      • Sew4Sure
      • Sian’s Fashions (Ladieswear)
      • Sian’s Fashions (Menswear)
      • Socks Up
    • Delicatessen & Health Foods
      • Abrahams and Family
      • A.J.Meats
      • Brontosaurus
      • Country Quality Meats
      • DE Richards and Sons
      • Deli Cymreig
      • Healthworld
      • Mair Harries Welsh Produce
      • The Thai Shop
    • Electrical Tools & Spares
      • Console Action
      • Mike-O-Soft
      • Market Spares
      • The Phone Doctor
      • Quartztime
      • Tom Whitehouse Ltd
    • Fish & Seafood
      • Coakley-Greene
      • The Market Plaice
      • Tuckers Fish
      • Cockle Rotunda: C.Watts
      • Cockle Rotunda: M.Swistun
    • Fruit, Vegetables & Flowers
      • The Choice is Yours
      • City Flowers
      • Get Fresh
      • Plant More Plants
      • Neil Evans
      • Nick Jones
    • Home & Fabrics
      • Bollywood Theme and Fabric
      • Duttons Yarns
      • High Street Antiques
    • Jewellery, Cosmetics & Designer Fragrances
      • Alison Rose
      • Don’s Jewellery Service
      • Forever Gold
      • Gold Reserve
      • Hairlines
      • Jemz
      • The Kazbah
      • Lethbridge Handbags
      • Pandora’s Box
      • The Powder Room
      • Rani’s Brow & Eyelash Lounge
      • Rani’s File & Style Boutique
      • Ryan’s Beauty
    • Places to Eat
      • Cafe Janet
      • Country Kitchen
      • Donut Den
      • El Mercado
      • The Falafel Stall
      • Greedy Fellas
      • Iokasti’s Kitchen
      • Little Tokyo
      • The Lunchbox
      • The Market Pantry
      • Storm in a Teacup
      • Thai Taste
    • Services & Supplies
      • Angler’s Mate
      • Dragon Coach Tours
      • The Engraving Centre
      • Good News Swansea
      • Gower Retail
      • Pets Paradise
      • Smiles Photo
      • SOS Shoe Repairs
      • Taffys
      • Timpson
  • Visiting Us
  • Become a Trader
    • Casual Trading
    • Stalls To Let
  • History
    • Making its mark (1100 – 1700)
    • Building a legacy (1700 – 1890)
    • The Victorian Market (1890-1941)
    • The Wartime Market (1941-1961)
    • The Modern Market (1961 – Present Day)
    • The Cockle Industry
  • What’s On
    • Celebrating 50 years of Swansea as a city
      • Adrian Coakley-Greene
      • Catherine Butler
      • Charlotte Berry
    • Music at the Market
    • Vegan Mini-Markets
  • English
    • Cymraeg
You are here: Home / The Story of Swansea Market / Making its mark (1100 – 1700)

Making its mark (1100 – 1700)

Swansea Castle

Swansea Castle

Swansea established itself as a market town from around the 12th century onwards, when in 1106 Normans established a borough on a former Viking trading post, selling crafts, wares, produce and trading crops and livestock.

By the 14th century, Swansea was hailed as ‘The Market Town of Gower’ and held twice-weekly markets, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The byelaws of 1553 decreed that corn and malt were not to be sold anywhere else, allowing the market to prosper.

The market founded itself around the ‘market cross’ which stood on the junction of St Mary’s Street and what was formerly Cross St, Frog St and Goat St, now Princess Way and Caer Street. This expanded as the years went on and by the 17th century the market had spread to Castle Square and the top of Wind Street! It was at this time that proposals were first put forward to build a market hall. 

Castle Square 2019

Medieval Swansea’s main trades were leather and wool.

In 1652, the building was completed in Castle Square. It consisted of a simple roof supported by ten pillars providing cover from the elements to stalls. It was rumoured that the lead for the roof was the same as that of the esteemed St David’s Cathedral, gifted to the town by Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. It’s not known whether Cromwell actually played a role in the construction of the market house, though he did make reference to it in a 1655 charter. It later came to light that one of his renowned local henchmen, Philip Jones, was indicted for the theft of lead from the roof of the cathedral!

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