Royal Institution Development, 1838-1993. The RISW owned and managed Swansea Museum for nearly 140 years. For ten years from 1975, the RISW entered into partnership with Swansea University which helped to support the Museum. In 1991 the Museum and its collections were given to Swansea City Council. The following papers highlight theses partnerships and the threatened closure of Swansea Museum in the 1980s.

This material is held atWest Glamorgan Archive Service

Reference
- GB 216 RISW/DEV/hub
Language of Material
- English

Note

A record at this level is a section heading rather than a description of an individual document. Please explore the contents of this section and use the individual item's reference number when ordering.

Archive Record|Table of contents

Royal Institution of South Wales CollectionRISW

Royal Institution of South Wales accounts, 1807-1991RISW/ACC/hub

Acts of Parliament, 1785-1864RISW/ACT/hub

Royal Institution Bequests, 1927-1984. Over the years a number of important bequests have been made to the Royal Institution. This section contains Lt. Col. William Llewelyn Morgan's Objects of Interest Account and the bequest by Miss Gladwyn Phelps in 1968.RISW/BEQ/hub

Royal Institution Building, 1838-1991. Since the foundation of the Royal Institution the building has undergone a number of notable changes. This section traces the decision to erect a new building (on the Burrows) with the specification of work to be done through to the renovation work in the 1990s.RISW/BUILD/hub

Royal Institution Catalogues, n.d. and 1840-1991. The following is a collection of Royal Institution catalogues, finding aids and list of acquisitions. NOTE: Library catalogues and lists can be found in the library section of this catalogue (RISW LIB).RISW/CAT/hub

Royal Institution Correspondence, 1821-1994. The following list of General Correspondence has been listed using the original file bundles where possible. This section brings together various correspondences of members of the Royal Institution, looking at general correspondence and letters relating to donations, room bookings and enquiries. In many cases the original files have been kept.RISW/COR/hub

Royal Institution Development, 1838-1993. The RISW owned and managed Swansea Museum for nearly 140 years. For ten years from 1975, the RISW entered into partnership with Swansea University which helped to support the Museum. In 1991 the Museum and its collections were given to Swansea City Council. The following papers highlight theses partnerships and the threatened closure of Swansea Museum in the 1980s.RISW/DEV/hub

Royal Institution Documents, c.1485-2004. The following miscellaneous collection of documents deposited at various points during the history of the Royal Institution. The depositors of these collections are unknown but it would ultimately be possible to trace the depositors by searching through the Annual Reports which record most documents deposited, particularly during the early stages of the Institution. Those documents stamped 'The Gift of John Richardson Francis, 1895' were deposited by him after his father's death. This section contains a variety of documents ranging from miscellaneous deeds and wills through to notebooks and a collection of Acts of Parliament.RISW/DOC/hub

Royal Institution Events, 1842-2002. The Royal Institution has a yearly programme of events ranging from general evening socials to exhibitions and appeals. This section also includes events organised by other bodies including the Swansea Science and Field Naturalists Society and the Gower Society.RISW/EVENT/hub

Royal Institution Guides, c.1835-1992. Over the years the Royal Institution has produced a number of guide books on the museum, its collections and founders. A number of articles and thesis have also been written regarding the Royal Institution.RISW/GUIDE/hub

Other early institutions, 1822-[1950s]. This section contains the records of other early institutions such as the Cambrian Institution, Swansea Tradesman's Mechanics' Institution and the Swansea Philosophical and Literary Institution, 1835-1836, the predecessor of the Royal Institution of South Wales as well some records from the General Register of the Science and Art department of the Committee of Council on Education.RISW/INST/hub

Royal Institution Lectures, 1835-1986. A large part of the work of the Royal Institution of South Wales is dedicated to delivering lectures on various topics, from local history to more scientific interests. This section includes the lecture notes of Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn and a series of Free Lectures run by the Institution during the nineteenth century.RISW/LEC/hub

Royal Institution of South Wales library, 1834-1991. The Library Section contains all papers relating to the library, including minutes, loans, donations, requests and a large collection of Library Catalogues and Indexes produced between 1846 and 1980s.RISW/LIB/hub

Royal Institution Museum Sections, 1844-1991. The Royal Institution and Swansea Museum comprises a number of sections. The actual collections are still at the museum, but the papers that are associated with each section can be found in RISW MUS under the following headings: Archaeological; Art ; Botany; Ceramics; Numismatics; Curiosities; Geology; Ornithology; Welsh Folk Culture and Welsh Kitchen; Zoology and the Young People's Section.RISW/MUS/hub

Other organisations, n.d. and [1900]-c.1995. This section contains papers and correspondence with other organisations such as the National Museum for Wales, Council for Nature, Registry of Friendly Societies and the Charities Commission.RISW/ORG/hub

Royal Institution Photographs n.d. and c.1850-1993. This is a miscellaneous pictures section which contains photographs from a number of Royal Institution events and local scenes, including copy photographs of Thomas Hornor's watercolour of Swansea, c.1816 and other images used in exhibitions.RISW/PIC/hub

Royal Institution Presidents' Papers. This section contains papers and correspondence of former RISW Presidents.RISW/PRES/hub

Published and unpublished works collected by the RISW, 1725-c.1952. This section brings together published and unpublished works collected by the RISW, 1725-c.1952 since it was established.RISW/PUB/hub

Royal Institution of South Wales society records, 1835-2001RISW/SOC/hub

Royal Institution Staff, 1867-1989. In April 1867 the Royal Institution of South Wales placed an advert in a number of local and national newspaper advertising the position of Resident Keeper. There were 32 applicants (2 of which withdrew due to the poor state of accommodation) from all parts of the British Isles. It was Evan Lewis of Cwm-giedd, Ystradgynlais that eventually gained the position and held it until 1906. The previous Keeper had been dismissed due to complaints from some members 'respecting the neglected condition of the Library and the Institution generally'.RISW/STAFF/hub

Additional records relating to the Royal Institution of South WalesRISW/X/hub