1.
Swansea
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Swansea, officially known as the City and County of Swansea, is a coastal city and county in Wales. It is the second largest city in Wales after Cardiff, Swansea lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan and the ancient Welsh commote of Gŵyr. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county includes the Gower Peninsula. According to its council, the City and County of Swansea had a population of 241,300 in 2014. During its 19th-century industrial heyday, Swansea was a key centre of the copper industry, archaeological finds are mostly confined to the Gower Peninsula, and include items from the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. The Romans reached the area, as did the Norsemen, Swansea is thought to have developed as a Viking trading post. Its English name may be derived from Sveinns island – the reference to an island may refer to a bank at the mouth of the river Tawe, an alternative explanation is that the name derives from the Norse name Sweyn and ey, which can mean inlet. This explanation supports the tradition that the city was founded by the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard, the name is pronounced Swans-y /ˈswɒnzi/), not Swan-sea. The charter gave Swansea the status of a borough, granting the townsmen, a second charter was granted in 1215 by King John. In this charter, the name appears as Sweyneshe, the town seal which is believed to date from this period names the town as Sweyse. Following the Norman Conquest, a marcher lordship was created under the title of Gower and it 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 some time between 1158 and 1184, the port of Swansea initially traded in wine, hides, wool, cloth and later in coal. Smelters were operating by 1720 and proliferated, following this, more coal mines were opened and smelters were opened and flourished. Over the next century and a half, works were established to process arsenic, zinc and tin and to create tinplate, the city expanded rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries, and was termed Copperopolis. However, the census understated Swanseas true size, as much of the area lay outside the contemporary boundaries of the borough. Swanseas population was overtaken by Merthyr in 1821 and by Cardiff in 1881. Through the 20th century, heavy industries in the town declined, leaving the Lower Swansea Valley filled with derelict works, the Lower Swansea Valley Scheme reclaimed much of the land. The present Enterprise Zone was the result and, of the original docks, only those outside the city continue to work as docks, North Dock is now Parc Tawe
2.
Ordnance Survey National Grid
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The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude. It is often called British National Grid, the Ordnance Survey devised the national grid reference system, and it is heavily used in their survey data, and in maps based on those surveys. Grid references are commonly quoted in other publications and data sources. The Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system is used to provide references for worldwide locations. European-wide agencies also use UTM when mapping locations, or may use the Military Grid Reference System system, the grid is based on the OSGB36 datum, and was introduced after the retriangulation of 1936–1962. It replaced the previously used Cassini Grid which, up to the end of World War Two, had issued only to the military. The Airy ellipsoid is a regional best fit for Britain, more modern mapping tends to use the GRS80 ellipsoid used by the GPS, the British maps adopt a Transverse Mercator projection with an origin at 49° N, 2° W. Over the Airy ellipsoid a straight grid, the National Grid, is placed with a new false origin. This false origin is located south-west of the Isles of Scilly, the distortion created between the OS grid and the projection is countered by a scale factor in the longitude to create two lines of longitude with zero distortion rather than one. Grid north and true north are aligned on the 400 km easting of the grid which is 2° W. 2° 0′ 5″ W. OSGB36 was also used by Admiralty nautical charts until 2000 after which WGS84 has been used, a geodetic transformation between OSGB36 and other terrestrial reference systems can become quite tedious if attempted manually. The most common transformation is called the Helmert datum transformation, which results in a typical 7 m error from true, the definitive transformation from ETRS89 that is published by the OSGB is called the National Grid Transformation OSTN02. This models the detailed distortions in the 1936–1962 retriangulation, and achieves backwards compatibility in grid coordinates to sub-metre accuracy, the difference between the coordinates on different datums varies from place to place. The longitude and latitude positions on OSGB36 are the same as for WGS84 at a point in the Atlantic Ocean well to the west of Great Britain. In Cornwall, the WGS84 longitude lines are about 70 metres east of their OSGB36 equivalents, the smallest datum shift is on the west coast of Scotland and the greatest in Kent. But Great Britain has not shrunk by 100+ metres, a point near Lands End now computes to be 27.6 metres closer to a point near Duncansby Head than it did under OSGB36. For the first letter, the grid is divided into squares of size 500 km by 500 km, there are four of these which contain significant land area within Great Britain, S, T, N and H. The O square contains an area of North Yorkshire, almost all of which lies below mean high tide
3.
Local government in Wales
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For local government purposes, Wales has since 1 April 1996 been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all government services, including education, social work, environmental protection. Below these there are also elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The Queen appoints a Lord Lieutenant to represent her in each of the eight preserved counties of Wales, subdivisions of Wales created for such purposes as the provision of police and emergency services and the organization of the National Health Service are made up of combinations of principal areas. There are six cities in total in Wales, in addition to the three areas with city status, the communities of Bangor, St Davids and St Asaph also have the status. City status is granted by letters patent, the status was, however, not officially recognised for many years. When city status was restored to St Davids in 1994, St Asaph town council submitted a petition for the same purpose, the petition was refused as, unlike St Davids, there was no evidence of any charter or letters patent in the past conferring the status. Applications for city status in competitions in 2000 and 2002 were unsuccessful, There are 22 principal areas in Wales. They came into being on 1 April 1996 by virtue of the Local Government Act 1994, eleven are named as counties, including the Cities and Counties of Cardiff and Swansea, and eleven are styled as county boroughs. In 2002 Newport was granted city status, and the county borough is now styled as the City of Newport, Welsh language forms are given in parentheses, except where there is no English equivalent. Locations of each council headquarters are indicated by yellow markers, the current names of certain unitary authority areas are different from those specified in the Local Government Act 1994. Elections planned for 2012 were delayed until 2013, the historic counties of Wales are ancient subdivisions of Wales, used for various functions for several hundred years. The oldest date from 1138 By 1066 the whole of England had been divided into counties, the first counties, Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, were established in the 1240s. In 1284 the Principality of Gwynedd was divided into three counties, Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire and this can be regarded as an arrangement imposed on Wales by the English during the last years of Prince Llywelyn II. Before the end of the century, Flintshire had also become a county, the formation of counties was completed under the Act of Union 1536, which created Pembrokeshire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, Radnorshire, Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire. These 13 counties were the main subdivisions of Wales from 1889 until the implementation in 1974 of the Local Government Act 1972. At the lowest level of subdivision in Wales are the communities. They may have elected community councils which perform a number of roles, such as providing local facilities, community councils are the equivalent of English parish councils
4.
Preserved counties of Wales
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The preserved counties of Wales are the current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. They are based on the created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government. The Local Government Act 1994 abolished the eight ceremonial counties created by the Local Government Act 1972, however, it created the concept of preserved counties based on their areas, to be used for purposes such as Lieutenancy. The Defence Act 1842 – Lieutenants are those appointed to preserved counties, the Sea Fisheries Act 1967 – relevant portions of the sea shore shall be deemed to be within preserved counties. There were however two local government areas, Caerphilly and Conwy, split between preserved counties, the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales were instructed by the National Assembly for Wales on 11 March 2002 to undertake a review of preserved county boundaries. The boundary between Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan was also to be re-aligned to reflect changes in local government boundaries. The Assembly accepted these proposals such that from 2 April 2003 each preserved county now encompasses between one and five local government areas. The boundary between Mid Glamorgan and Powys was further modified on 1 April 2010 to reflect the 2009 local government boundary changes in the Vaynor area. The population figures are estimates for 2007 from the Office for National Statistics. Historic counties of Wales Local government in Wales Ceremonial counties of England Shires of Scotland
5.
West Glamorgan
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West Glamorgan is a preserved county and former administrative county of Wales, one of the divisions of the ancient county of Glamorgan. From 1982, the council offices were located in County Hall. Lliw Valley was partitioned between the two authorities, a West Glamorgan preserved county was created for the limited functions of Lieutenancy and High Shrievalty. The arms of West Glamorgan were, Argent three chevronels gules, between in chief two pine cones vert dimidiating as many gouttes sable, and in base a lozenge sable, the crest is a Welsh dragon holding a Tudor rose in its forepaws, rising above four gold cogwheels. The supporters are an osprey and a heron, both with a fish in their beaks, and wearing a chain round their necks, the osprey is standing on water, and the heron on a ploughed field. The motto is Cadarn pob cyfiawn, the chevronels derive from the arms of the de Clare family, the pine cones represent forestry, the black drops the oil industry, and the black lozenge, coal. Lord Lieutenant of West Glamorgan High Sheriff of West Glamorgan West Glamorgan constituencies
6.
Countries of the United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom comprises four countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Within the United Kingdom, a sovereign state, Northern Ireland, Scotland. England, comprising the majority of the population and area of the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not themselves listed in the International Organization for Standardization list of countries. However the ISO list of the subdivisions of the UK, compiled by British Standards, Northern Ireland, in contrast, is described as a province in the same lists. Each has separate governing bodies for sports and compete separately in many international sporting competitions. Northern Ireland also forms joint All-Island sporting bodies with the Republic of Ireland for most sports, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are dependencies of the Crown and are not part of the UK. Similarly, the British overseas territories, remnants of the British Empire, are not part of the UK, southern Ireland left the United Kingdom under the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922. * Figures for GVA do not include oil and gas revenues generated beyond the UKs territorial waters, various terms have been used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales was described as the country, principality, and dominion of Wales, outside Wales, England was not given a specific name or term. The Laws in Wales Acts have subsequently been repealed, the Acts of Union 1707 refer to both England and Scotland as a part of a united kingdom of Great Britain The Acts of Union 1800 use part in the same way to refer to England and Scotland. The Northern Ireland Act 1998, which repealed the Government of Ireland Act 1920, the Interpretation Act 1978 provides statutory definitions of the terms England, Wales and the United Kingdom, but neither that Act nor any other current statute defines Scotland or Northern Ireland. Use of the first three terms in other legislation is interpreted following the definitions in the 1978 Act and this definition applies from 1 April 1974. United Kingdom means Great Britain and Northern Ireland and this definition applies from 12 April 1927. In 1996 these 8 new counties were redistributed into the current 22 unitary authorities, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are regions in their own right while England has been divided into nine regions. The official term rest of the UK is used in Scotland, for example in export statistics and this term is also used in the context of potential Scottish independence to mean the UK without Scotland. The alternative term Home Nations is sometimes used in sporting contexts, the second, or civic group, contained the items about feeling British, respecting laws and institutions, speaking English, and having British citizenship. Contrariwise, in Scotland and Wales there was a much stronger identification with each country than with Britain, studies and surveys have reported that the majority of the Scots and Welsh see themselves as both Scottish/Welsh and British though with some differences in emphasis. The propensity for nationalistic feeling varies greatly across the UK, and can rise and it reported that 37% of people identified as British, whilst 29% identified as Irish and 24% identified as Northern Irish
7.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
8.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
9.
Postcodes in the United Kingdom
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Postal codes used in the United Kingdom are known as postcodes. They are alphanumeric and were adopted nationally between 11 October 1959 and 1974, having been devised by the GPO, a full postcode is known as a postcode unit and designates an area with a number of addresses or a single major delivery point. For example, the postcode of the University of Roehampton in London is SW15 5PU, the postcode of GCHQ is GL51 0EX, where GL signifies the postal town of Gloucester. The postal town refers to an area and does not relate to a specific town. GL51 is one of the postcodes for the town of Cheltenham which is where GCHQ is located, the London post town covers 40% of Greater London. On inception it was divided into ten districts, EC, WC, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W. The S and NE sectors were later abolished and these divisions changed little, usually only changed for operational efficiency. Some older road signs in Hackney still indicate the North East sector/district, following the successful introduction of postal districts in London, the system was extended to other large towns and cities. Liverpool was divided into Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western districts in 1864/65, in 1917 Dublin – then still part of the United Kingdom – was divided into numbered postal districts. These continue in use in a form by An Post. In 1923 Glasgow was divided in a way to London. In January 1932 the Postmaster General approved the designation of some urban areas into numbered districts. In November 1934 the Post Office announced the introduction of numbered districts in every town in the United Kingdom large enough to justify it. Pamphlets were issued to each householder and business in ten areas notifying them of the number of the district in which their premises lay, the pamphlets included a map of the districts, and copies were made available at local head post offices. The public were invited to include the district number in the address at the head of letters. A publicity campaign in the following year encouraged the use of the district numbers, the slogan for the campaign was For speed and certainty always use a postal district number on your letters and notepaper. A poster was fixed to every box in the affected areas bearing the number of the district. Every post office in the district was also to display this information
10.
Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom
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Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom are administered by the UK governments Office of Communications. For this purpose Ofcom established a telephone numbering plan, known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, since 28 April 2001, almost all geographic numbers and most non-geographic numbers have 9 or 10 national numbers after the 0 trunk code. All mobile telephone numbers have 10 national numbers after the 0 trunk code, regions with shorter area codes, typically large cities, permit the allocation of more telephone numbers as the local number portion has more digits. Local customer numbers are four to eight figures long, the total number of digits is ten, but in a very few areas the total may be nine digits. The area code is referred to as an STD or a dialling code in the UK. The code allocated to the largest population is for London, the code allocated to the largest area is for all of Northern Ireland. The UK Numbering Plan also applies to three British Crown dependencies—Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man—even though they are not part of the UK itself. Possible number formats for UK telephone numbers are as follows, Number ranges starting 01 can have NSN length as 10 or 9 digits, the 0800 range can have NSN length as 10,9 or 7 digits. The 0845 range can have NSN length as 10 or 7 digits, the 0500 range has NSN length as 9 digits only. There are no numbers in the UK with an NSN length of 8 digits. Geographic telephone numbers in the UK always have nine or ten digits, four-digit area codes have either six-digit subscriber numbers or a mix of five- and six-digit subscriber numbers. Xxxxxx This is the used by most areas. It has an area code and a six digit subscriber number. These area codes were changed by adding a 1 directly after the zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. Just short of 581 areas use this format, and the area range from 01200 to 01998. A small number of areas also have a few subscriber numbers that have only five digits. That is, almost all area codes now have only six digit local numbers, six of the four-digit area codes are known as mixed areas as they share those four digits with the twelve five-digit area codes. The numbers therefore have only nine digits after the initial zero trunk code and these area codes were changed by adding a 1 directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995
11.
South Wales Police
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South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. Its headquarters is based in Bridgend, in February 2014, SWP introduced a requirement that anyone wishing to become a police constable first studies for the certificate in knowledge of policing before applying for the role. SWP is the first force in Wales, and only a handful in the UK to introduce this, South Wales Police employ 2,862 sworn officers. In recent years, special constables have not been recruited although about 100 remain throughout the force, there was a recruitment drive for specials in June 2014. South Wales Police employ 400 unsworn PCSOs who are posted throughout the force area and they are mostly funded by the Welsh government. Approximately 1,631 support staff are employed by the force and their roles vary widely from call handlers to crime scene investigators. Police Support Volunteers are used to police officers. South Wales Police currently have 285 Police Support Volunteers which is their maximum capacity, in 1974, with the re-organisation of local government, the forces area was expanded to cover the newly created Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan. In further local government re-organisation in 1996 the force area lost the Rhymney Valley area to Gwent Police. Today it covers the areas of Bridgend, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea. This issue caused sharp divisions amongst some members of the police force, the South Wales Police has participated in the World Police and Fire Games since 1995, except for the 1999 Stockholm Games. The current Chief Constable is Peter Vaughan, due to a change in the way the public access police services, only Cardiff Bay and Cardiff Central police stations have front desk services. Michael OBrien, Darren Hall and Ellis Sherwood were arrested and spent 11 years in prison before being released, in 1989 the body of Karen Price was discovered in Cardiff, Wales. Two construction workers unearthed a rolled carpet while installing a garden behind a house, on conclusion of the longest murder trial in British history, in November 1990 three of the men were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. In December 1992 the convictions were ruled unsafe and quashed by the Court of Appeal after it was decided that the investigating the murder had acted improperly. The wrongful conviction of the three men has been called one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in recent times. The police claimed that they had done nothing wrong, that the men had been released purely on a technicality of law, in 2004 the Independent Police Complaints Commission began a review of the conduct of the police during the original inquiry. Over the next 12 months around 30 people were arrested in connection with the investigation,19 of whom were serving or retired police officers, in 2007 three of the prosecution witnesses at the original murder trial were convicted of perjury and each jailed for 18 months
12.
Fire services in the United Kingdom
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The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Emergency cover is provided by over fifty fire and rescue services, many FRS were previously known as brigades or county fire services, but almost all now use the standard terminology. They are distinct from and governed by an authority, which is the legislative, public and administrative body. Fire authorities in England and Wales, and therefore fire and rescue services, Scotland and Northern Ireland have centralised fire and rescue services, and so their authorities are effectively committees of the devolved parliaments. The total budget for services in 2014-15 was £2.9 billion. The devolved government in Scotland has an agency, HMFSI Scotland. This Act provided for centralised co-ordination of fire brigades in Great Britain,1947, Fire Services Act 1947 This Act transferred the functions of the National Fire Service to local authorities. Now repealed entirely in England and Wales by Schedule 2 of the Fire,1959, Fire Services Act 1959 This Act amended the 1947 Act, it dealt with pensions, staffing arrangements and provision of services by other authorities. It was repealed in England and Wales along with the 1947 Act,1999, Greater London Authority Act 1999 This act was necessary to allow for the formation of the Greater London Authority and in turn the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. In 2002, there was a series of fire strikes. In December 2002, the Independent Review of the Fire Service was published with the action still ongoing. Bains report ultimately led to a change in the relating to firefighting. 2002, Independent Review of the Fire Service published 2004, Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, generally only applying to England and it came into force on 1 October 2006. The DfCLG has published a set of guides for non-domestic premises,2006, The Government of Wales Act 2006 gave the National Assembly for Wales powers to pass laws on Fire, promotion of fire safety otherwise than by prohibition or regulation. But does not prevent future legislation being passed by the UK government which applies to two or more constituent countries, There are further plans to modernise the fire service according to the Local Government Association. The fire service in England and Wales is scrutinised by a House of Commons select committee, in June 2006, the fire and rescue service select committee, under the auspices of the Communities and Local Government Committee, published its latest report. For example, where FRSs were historically inspected by HMFSI, much of this work is now carried out by the National Audit Office, Fire Control On 8 February 2010 the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee heard evidence on the Fire Control project. Called to give evidence were Cllr Brian Coleman and Cllr James Pearson from the Local Government Association, also giving evidence Matt Wrack from the Fire Brigades Union and John Bonney Chief Fire Officers Association
13.
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
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Emergency care including ambulance and emergency department treatment is free to everyone, regardless of immigration or visitor status. The NHS commissions most emergency services through the 14 NHS organisations with ambulance responsibility across the UK. As with other services, the public normally access emergency medical services through one of the valid emergency telephone numbers. This led to the formation of predominantly county based ambulance services, which gradually merged up and changed responsibilities until 2006, when there were 31 NHS ambulance trusts in England. Following further changes as part of the NHS foundation trust pathway, the commissioners in each region are responsible for contracting with a suitable organisation to provide ambulance services within their geographical territory. The primary contract for each area is held by a public NHS body, of which there are 11 in England. The service was operated before reorganisation in 1974 by the St Andrews’ Ambulance Association under contract to the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was established in 1995 by parliamentary order, and serves the whole of Northern Ireland. The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust was established on 1 April 1998, there is a large market for private and voluntary ambulance services, with the sector being worth £800m to the UK economy in 2012. This places the voluntary providers in direct competition with private services, expenditure on private ambulances in England increased from £37m in 2011−12 to £67. 5m in 2013/4, rising in London from £796,000 to more than £8. 8m. In 2014−15, these 10 ambulance services spent £57.6 million on 333,329 callouts of private or voluntary services - an increase of 156% since 2010−11, in 2013, the CQC found 97% of private ambulance services to be providing good care. These private, registered services are represented by the Independent Ambulance Association, there are also a number of unregistered services operating, who do not provide ambulance transport, but only provide response on an event site. These firms are not regulated, and are not subject to the checks as the registered providers, although they may operate similar vehicles. There are a number of ambulance providers, sometimes known as Voluntary Aid Services or Voluntary Aid Societies, with the main ones being the British Red Cross. The history of the ambulance services pre-dates any government organised service. As they are in competition for work with the private ambulance providers. Voluntary organisations have also provided cover for the public when unionised NHS ambulance trust staff have taken industrial action, there are a number of smaller voluntary ambulance organisations, fulfilling specific purposes, such as Hatzola who provide emergency medical services to the orthodox Jewish community in some cities. These have however run into difficulties due to use of vehicles not legally recognised as ambulances, all emergency medical services in the UK are subject to a range of legal and regulatory requirements, and in many cases are also monitored for performance. This framework is largely statutory in nature, being mandated by government through a range of primary and secondary legislation and this requires all providers to register, to meet certain standards of quality, and to submit to inspection of those standards
14.
Welsh Ambulance Service
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The Welsh Ambulance Service, formally the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, is the national ambulance service for Wales and one of the three NHS trusts in the country. It was established on 1 April 1998 and has 2,500 staff providing ambulance, the Welsh Ambulance Services headquarters is located at H. M. Stanley Hospital, St Asaph, Denbighshire. The service is divided into three regions, Central and West Region – based at Ty Maes Y Gruffudd, Cefn Coed Hospital, Cockett. The Welsh Ambulance Service provides, Emergency Medical Services - This service responds to emergency 999 calls, a standard crew combination for this service would normally consist of a Paramedic and an Emergency Medical Technician. However double Paramedic / double Technician crews are not uncommon, as of 2013, the majority of the EMS fleet consists of Wilker Mercedes Benz 519 Sprinter Ambulances, And Honda CRV / Ford Focus Rapid Response Vehicles. Helicopter Emergency Medical Service - Wales is served by three helicopters operated by Wales Air Ambulance, each helicopter crew consists of a pilot and two critical care Paramedics. The service is charity funded and operated by Bond Air Services but carries the Welsh ambulance service trust logo, equipment, as of 2012, all three aircraft operated by the charity are Eurocopter EC135s Patient Care Services - This service deals with the planned care aspect of ambulance work. PCS staff usually provide transport between home and healthcare facilities or some inter-hospital transfers, NHS Direct Wales supports EMS Operations by providing clinically triage for Green 3 calls that are deemed suitable. More than 45% of 999 calls have a disposition of not requiring 999 conveyance, in addition during times of escalation other calls deemed suitable are triaged. Community First Responders - CFRs are volunteers from the community trained in basic first aid, oxygen administration and they are used by the ambulance service mostly in rural areas to provide basic care, such as Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation before an EMS crew arrives. As CFRs are usually sent to local calls in specified communities, they often arrive before an EMS ambulance crew, even without the use of blue lights. Whilst most CFR teams are the responsibility of WAST, a number of teams are made up of regular divisions from St John Ambulance in Wales although this does not give them any exemptions. In 2012 a strategic review of the service was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government and was conducted by Professor Siobhan McClelland, national Health Service NHS Direct Wales Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Direct Wales
15.
Wales (European Parliament constituency)
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Wales is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 4 MEPs using the method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency corresponds to the boundaries of Wales, one of the four countries of the United Kingdom and it was formed as a result of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999, replacing a number of single-member constituencies. These were Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East, elected candidates are shown in bold. Brackets indicate the number of votes per seat won
16.
Swansea West (UK Parliament constituency)
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Swansea West is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The National Assembly for Wales constituency of the name presently has the same boundaries. Alan Williams represented the seat for the Labour Party from 1964 until his retirement in 2010, the constituency comprises the electoral wards of Sketty, Castle, Killay South, Killay North, Dunvant, Uplands, Townhill, Cockett and Mayals. 1 Geraint Davies is a Labour Co-operative Party member but he was nominated as Welsh Labour, general Election 1939/40, Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940
17.
National Assembly for Wales
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The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, the Assembly was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998, which followed a referendum in 1997. The Assembly had no powers to initiate primary legislation until limited law-making powers were gained through the Government of Wales Act 2006, the council had 27 members nominated by local authorities in Wales, the University of Wales, National Eisteddfod Council and the Welsh Tourist Board. A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 and the post of Secretary of State for Wales, the establishment of the Welsh Office effectively created the basis for the territorial governance of Wales. The Royal Commission on the Constitution was set up in 1969 by Harold Wilsons Labour Government to investigate the possibility of devolution for Scotland and Wales. Its recommendations formed the basis of the 1974 White Paper Democracy and Devolution, proposals for Scotland and Wales, however, voters rejected the proposals by a majority of four to one in a referendum held in 1979. After the 1997 general election, the new Labour Government argued that an Assembly would be more accountable than the Welsh Office. For eleven years prior to 1997 Wales had been represented in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom by a Secretary of State who did not represent a Welsh constituency at Westminster. A second referendum was held on 18 September 1997 in which approved the creation of the National Assembly for Wales by a majority of 559,419 votes. The following year the Government of Wales Act was passed by the United Kingdom parliament, the Richard Commission reported in March 2004. It recommended that the National Assembly should have powers to legislate in certain areas and it also recommended changing the electoral system to the single transferable vote which would produce greater proportionality. In so doing, the Government rejected many of the cross party Richard Commissions recommendations and this has attracted criticism from opposition parties and others. The Government of Wales Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 25 July 2006 and it conferred on the Assembly legislative powers similar to other devolved legislatures through the ability to pass Assembly Measures concerning matters that are devolved. Requests for further legislative powers made through legislative competence requests were subject to the veto of the Secretary of State for Wales, the Act reformed the assembly to a parliamentary-type structure, establishing the Welsh Government as an entity separate from, but accountable to the National Assembly. It enables the Assembly to legislate within its devolved fields, the Act also reforms the Assemblys electoral system. It prevents individuals from standing as candidates in both constituency and regional seats and this aspect of the act was subject to a great deal of criticism, most notably from the Electoral Commission. Plaid Cymru, the Official Opposition in the National Assembly from 1999–2007, many commentators have also criticised the Labour Partys allegedly partisan attempt to alter the electoral system. By preventing regional Assembly Members from standing in constituency seats the party has accused of changing the rules to protect constituency representatives
18.
Swansea West (Assembly constituency)
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Swansea West is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election, the constituency was created for the first election to the Assembly, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of the Swansea West Westminster constituency. It is entirely within the county of West Glamorgan. The other six constituencies of the region are Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, in general elections for the National Assembly for Wales, each voter has two votes. The first vote may be used to vote for a candidate to become the Assembly Member for the voters constituency, the second vote may be used to vote for a regional closed party list of candidates. Additional member seats are allocated from the lists by the dHondt method, with constituency results being taken into account in the allocation
19.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
20.
Castle, Swansea
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Castle is an electoral ward and community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. Castle covers most of the heart of the City of Swansea, the community does not have its own community council. The ward borders the wards of St. Thomas to the east, Landore and Cwmbwrla to the north, Townhill and Uplands, Castle returns 4 councillors to the local council. The Castle ward is a Communities First area, the overall population in the castle ward is,11,933. Ethnic breakdown, The number of identifying themselves as Welsh was 1,578. The Castle Ward is a ward for the purposes of City and County of Swansea Council elections. Following the 2012 election it is represented by four Labour Party councillors. The first election to the new unitary City and County of Swansea Council took place in 1995, all three seats were won by Labour. In 1999, the number of seats increased from three to four, david Phillips had previously represented the Uplands ward. A byelection has yet to be announced, the Castle ward is a major Labour stronghold with all seats currently occupied by Labour councillors. In the 2008 local elections, there were 21 candidates, each hoping to one of four seats. All four sitting Labour councillors were looking to retain their seats, however, the Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats were all fielding four candidates each. The other candidate who was hoping to take a seat represented the Socialist Party
21.
Quadrant Shopping Centre
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The Quadrant Shopping Centre is the principal under-cover shopping centre in Swansea, Wales. Since the 1980s it has been home to the Swansea Devil, the centre and surrounding areas are owned by the City and County of Swansea council. The centre has a floorspace of 41,000 m2 and is anchored by Debenhams, W H Smith, other notable stores include HMV, Clarks and Dorothy Perkins. The centres main distinctions are its glass roof structure and its square atrium at the centre, the centre was last redeveloped in the early 1990s, but much of the upper floor decor consists of open brickwork from the 1980s. The Quadrant is directly adjacent to Swansea Market, Swansea bus station, the Quadrant Shopping Centre Swansea Welsh Assembly Government, £1 billion blueprint set to transform and revitalise Swansea City Centre icWales, £1bn makeover plan for Dylan’s ‘ugly town’
22.
Maritime Quarter
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The Maritime Quarter, or Swansea Marina, is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, UK located immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swanseas Castle ward, the area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swansea Bay to the South, the River Tawe to the east and the A4067 to the north. The Marina, is unusual in that planning approval was given on condition that a significant proportion of the development be sold to Housing Associations for social housing, the tallest building in Wales, the Meridian Quay Tower is located in the area. Formerly the South Dock, during the 1980s it underwent significant brownfield re-development in the early 1980s with the building of low rise apartment blocks in the area around the South Dock. On the site of the Sainsburys superstore, once stood the Weaver building, built in 1897 by the French architect François Hennebique It was used for corn storage and it was the first steel reinforced concrete building built in Europe. Originally the city decided to fill in the South Dock. This was done by a developer whose brother was a councillor at the local council, later on, the same company was paid to dig out the South Dock again to create the marina. The developer is now imprisoned in Swansea Prison, the re-excavated South Dock was laid out into the award-winning Maritime Quarter by architect Robin Campbell, then head of Environmental Design at Swansea Council. The brief was to make the area an extension of Swansea City centre, and not a separate suburb, Campbell also worked in partnership with the developers to incorporate art designed by local artists into the buildings, and the creation of an observatory. The South Dock itself now serves as marina, part of the Swansea Marina complex providing berths for privately owned leisure boats, sailing and sea angling schools are located in the area. In addition to the Quay Parade road bridge just to the north, there are two bridges linking this area to the main Swansea docks area - the Sail bridge. The Sail bridge as its name suggests is designed to look like a sail shape, the lock bridge is a steel structure built over the Tawe barrage. The western section of the bridge is a swing bridge over the lock located on the Tawe barrage. The water areas are not fully protected by railings, the headquarters of the local South Wales Evening Post newspaper is located here. Beside the Evening Post building is the Associated British Ports building, just west of the marina is a four star Marriott hotel. A waterside walkway to the north-east of the marina is home to a few cafes, pubs, on the far western end of the Maritime quarter is the Civic Centre which houses government offices of the City and County of Swansea council. There are currently proposals by OpCo to construct a 5 storey 164 bedroom hotel in the adjacent to the Aurora tower. There are plans to redevelop the area on the west bank of the River Tawe served by the Sailbridge in a development called Sailbridge Square, the development will include an open pedestrianised public square lined with small businesses and restaurants
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Georgian era
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The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, The Century of Philosophy. In France, the doctrines of les Lumières were individual liberty and religious tolerance in opposition to an absolute monarchy. French historians traditionally place the Enlightenment between 1715, the year that Louis XIV died, and 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution, some recent historians begin the period in the 1620s, with the start of the scientific revolution. Les philosophes of the widely circulated their ideas through meetings at scientific academies, Masonic lodges, literary salons, coffee houses. The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the Church, a variety of 19th-century movements, including liberalism and neo-classicism, trace their intellectual heritage back to the Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was preceded by and closely associated with the scientific revolution, earlier philosophers whose work influenced the Enlightenment included Francis Bacon, René Descartes, John Locke, and Baruch Spinoza. The major figures of the Enlightenment included Cesare Beccaria, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin visited Europe repeatedly and contributed actively to the scientific and political debates there and brought the newest ideas back to Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson closely followed European ideas and later incorporated some of the ideals of the Enlightenment into the Declaration of Independence, others like James Madison incorporated them into the Constitution in 1787. The most influential publication of the Enlightenment was the Encyclopédie, the ideas of the Enlightenment played a major role in inspiring the French Revolution, which began in 1789. After the Revolution, the Enlightenment was followed by an intellectual movement known as Romanticism. René Descartes rationalist philosophy laid the foundation for enlightenment thinking and his attempt to construct the sciences on a secure metaphysical foundation was not as successful as his method of doubt applied in philosophic areas leading to a dualistic doctrine of mind and matter. His skepticism was refined by John Lockes 1690 Essay Concerning Human Understanding and his dualism was challenged by Spinozas uncompromising assertion of the unity of matter in his Tractatus and Ethics. Both lines of thought were opposed by a conservative Counter-Enlightenment. In the mid-18th century, Paris became the center of an explosion of philosophic and scientific activity challenging traditional doctrines, the political philosopher Montesquieu introduced the idea of a separation of powers in a government, a concept which was enthusiastically adopted by the authors of the United States Constitution. Francis Hutcheson, a philosopher, described the utilitarian and consequentialist principle that virtue is that which provides, in his words. Much of what is incorporated in the method and some modern attitudes towards the relationship between science and religion were developed by his protégés David Hume and Adam Smith. Hume became a figure in the skeptical philosophical and empiricist traditions of philosophy. Immanuel Kant tried to reconcile rationalism and religious belief, individual freedom and political authority, as well as map out a view of the sphere through private
24.
Dylan Thomas Centre
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The Dylan Thomas Centre is an arts centre located in the Maritime Quarter in Swansea, Wales. Formerly the citys Guildhall, which was built in 1825. It was opened in 1995 by American ex-President Jimmy Carter, and has a permanent exhibition on the life and work of Dylan Thomas, a bookshop, the Centre houses the permanent ‘Love the Words’ exhibition, based on the largest collection of memorabilia of its kind in the world. It is designed to appeal to the Dylan expert and interested visitor alike and this interactive exhibition explores Dylan’s life and work through a variety of media and includes letters, books, worksheets and photographs. The Dylan Thomas Centre is home to a programme of literary events, including book launches, plays, poetry evenings, changing exhibitions. It hosts the annual Dylan Thomas Festival held between Dylan’s birth and death dates,27 October to 9 November, regular events are organised for families and children. The Dylan Thomas Centre’s staff also provide a variety of talks and tours, such as talks on aspects of Dylan’s life and works, on literature, on writing poetry. In 2012 a large part of the Centre was leased by Swanseas council to the University of Wales with the purpose of using it as a centre for creative industries. In 2014, Love the Words, a new, permanent Dylan Thomas Exhibition opened at the Centre as a result of funding from Heritage Lottery Fund and Swansea Council. It was launched on 27 October 2014, Dylan Thomas 100th birthday, the exhibition is open 7 days a week, and entry is free. The funding has allowed the Dylan Thomas Centre to generate a new programme of learning and participatory activities, including many aimed at children. The centre also houses 1825 Conferences and Events, which utilises the centres grand Vivian Hall for a variety of functions, city and County of Swansea, Dylan Thomas Centre Dedicated site about Dylan Thomas
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Morgans Hotel, Swansea
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The Morgans Hotel is a hotel in Swansea, Wales. Describing itself as Swanseas only boutique hotel, the hotel is the only Welsh Tourist Board five star-rated hotel in Swansea, the hotel occupies a Grade II listed building adjacent to the offices of the South Wales Evening Post in the Maritime Quarter, formerly used by Associated British Ports. An additional 21 rooms are located in a nearby Regency house, originally completed in 1903 for the Swansea Harbour Trust, the main hotel building was designed by architect Edwin Seward who submitted the winning design out of 100 entries. The original character of the building is preserved after its conversion to a hotel. The decorative Baroque exterior is clad in red brick and white stone, the interior features stained glass with compasses, exploration and maritime themes. A mural by Cardiff-born artist Robert Morton Nance depicting tall masted ships on the River Tawe, overlooked by Swansea Castle, the hotel currently has 41 rooms. The hotel group has another hotel – the Cawdor Arms in Llandeilo, BBC South West Wales, From Harbour to Hotel
26.
Castle Cinema
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The Castle Cinema is a former cinema building located adjacent to the grounds of Swansea Castle in Swansea, south Wales. According to Kinematograph year book of 1914 the Castle opened in October 1913 and it was the only building left standing in Swanseas Castle Street vicinity after the Nazi German Luftwaffe bombing raids during the Second World War. It is a grade II listed structure, in 1963 the Castle Cinema changed its manager. The cinema was in a state and he had the cinema totally refurbished. New wall coverings and screen tabs were installed along with a cinemascope screen, two hundred seats were lost from the back of the stalls to create a foyer, this meant the small circle had no overhang. Double seats formed the last few rows of the stalls, during the 1970s the cinema was famous for showing soft core porn films. By the end of the 1970s Swansea had only two other cinemas, the cinema basically showed what had not been secured by the Rank Organisation for its Odeon Chain. This was known as the ABC release stream, E. T, back to the Future, Basic Instinct, Raiders of the Lost Ark. filled the house. Monty Pythons Life of Brian was banned by the city council, the Filmcenta soldiered on for nearly two more years before eventually closing, its last film being Doc Hollywood with Michael J Fox. The building was converted to use as a laser gun combat-game zone and assault course called the Lazerzone
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Waterstones
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Waterstones, formerly Waterstones, is a British book retailer that operates 275 stores and was employing around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe in February 2014. Established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone, after whom the company was named, bought again in 1998 by Waterstone, EMI & Advent International, the company was taken under the umbrella of HMV Group, which later merged the Dillons and Ottakars brands into the company. Following several poor sets of results for the group, HMV put the chain up for sale, in May 2011, it was announced that A&NN Capital Fund Management, owned by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut, had bought the chain and appointed James Daunt as managing director. As well as the Waterstones brand, the company owns the London bookseller Hatchards, an average sized Waterstones store sells a range of approximately 30,000 individual books, as well as stationery and eBook readers. The bookseller has concession agreements with Costa Coffee, Paperchase and Starbucks in some stores and since 2012, has introduced its own Café W brand. On May 23,2016, Waterstones announced it had sold its business to Rakuten Kobo Inc. and as of June 14,2016. The chain was founded by Tim Waterstone after he was fired by WHSmith, Waterstone had failed to establish WHSmith in the United States. He used literary authors in front of store displays and employed highly literate staff, the model proved successful and the chain set about expanding its store portfolio. By 1989 however, WHSmith had taken a stake in the chain. WHSmith took over control in 1993 for £9 million. By 1997, the agreement had collapsed and been declared illegal and this included high street brands HMV and rival Dillons, creating an international entertainment retailer. Waterstone was appointed chairman of the group but stood down in 2001 and he was replaced by Alan Giles. A year later, all Dillons stores were rebranded as Waterstones, the chain had also begun pulling out of its US overseas venture. Waterstones launched the Waterstones Books Quarterly magazine in 2001, containing book reviews, in the same year the booksellers online operation, Waterstones. co. uk was franchised to Amazon. com, with the company expressing a desire to concentrate on its high street and campus stores. The move resulted in the loss of 50 jobs, in 2003, Waterstones announced it was supporting Dyslexia Action as its chosen charity, helping to raise awareness and understanding for dyslexia. In 2006 Giles stepped down from his position and was replaced by Gerry Johnson as managing director of Waterstones, a strategic review in September saw Waterstones pull out of its franchise agreement with Amazon to re-launch its online business, Waterstones. com, independently. The chain also began to pilot a loyalty programme in South West England, the scheme was successful, launching nationally as The Waterstones Card across its entire store portfolio. Waterstones piloted a brand refresh exercise in selected stores, beginning with Manchesters Arndale Centre in 2007, on 19 November 2007, the chain closed its first branch on Old Brompton Road
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County borough
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County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, in the Republic of Ireland they remain in existence but have been renamed cities under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2001. The Local Government Act 1994 re-introduced the term for certain areas in Wales. Scotland did not have county boroughs but instead counties of cities and these were abolished on 16 May 1975. All four Scottish cities of the time — Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, there was an additional category of large burgh in the Scottish system, which were responsible for all services apart from police, education and fire. Some cities and towns were already independent counties corporate, and most were to become county boroughs, the Local Government Act 1888 as eventually passed required a population of over 50,000 except in the case of existing counties corporate. This resulted in 61 county boroughs in England and two in Wales, several exceptions were allowed, mainly for historic towns, Bath, Dudley and Oxford were all under the 50,000 limit in the 1901 census. Various new county boroughs were constituted in the decades as more boroughs reached the 50,000 minimum. The granting of county status was the subject of much disagreement between the large municipal boroughs and the county councils. County boroughs to be constituted in this era were a bag, including some towns that would continue to expand such as Bournemouth. Other towns such as Burton upon Trent and Dewsbury were not to increase in population much past 50,000, the threshold was raised to 100,000 by the Local Government Act 1958. The viability of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil came into question in the 1930s. Due to a decline in the industries of the town, by 1932 more than half the male population was unemployed. At the same time the population of the borough was lower than when it had created in 1908. A royal commission was appointed in May 1935 to investigate whether the status of Merthyr Tydfil as a county borough should be continued. In the event county borough status was retained by the town, after the Second World War the creation of new county boroughs in England and Wales was effectively suspended, pending a local government review. The policy in the paper also ruled out the creation of new county boroughs in Middlesex owing to its special problems, the Local Government Boundary Commission was appointed on 26 October 1945, under the chairmanship of Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve, delivering its report in 1947. The report envisaged the creation of 47 two-tiered new counties,21 one-tiered new counties and 63 new county boroughs, although the Commissions did not complete their work before being dissolved, a handful of new county boroughs were constituted between 1964 and 1968
29.
St. David's Shopping Centre (Swansea)
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St. Davids Shopping Centre is a shopping complex in Swansea, south Wales. The complex is located adjacent to the Quadrant Shopping Centre and opposite St Marys Church, completed in 1982, the complex has thus far been fairly unsuccessful, in terms of filling its outlet spaces and retaining customers. The complex consists of buildings, clad in red brick. There was a hall on the first floor which is now closed. During the 1980s the upper area was open and contained many small stalls run by local traders. To the south of the lies the St. Davids car park. An octagonal building located in the north west corner of the complex was occupied by S4C as a studio for a number of years, the studio was used for broadcasting the Heno programme. The building was built to be occupied by a restaurant. For most of the buildings lifetime so far, it has been unoccupied, if approved it would have led to the demolition of the Quadrant and St, Davids car parks to expand the Quadrant shopping centre. All of the include the Quadrant as an integral part. Swansea Council and the Welsh Government bought the complex in December 2011 with a plan to demolish the empty part of the site to create a 160 space car park
30.
Swansea Civic Centre
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Swansea Civic Centre – formerly known as County Hall – is the principal administrative centre of the City and County of Swansea Council. The building was opened in July 1982 as County Hall and was the headquarters of the former West Glamorgan County Council, following local government re-organisation in 1996, its ownership was transferred to the new City and County of Swansea. The building was renamed the Civic Centre on 19 March 2008, the library issued nearly 566,000 loans in 2008/09, making it the busiest in Wales and the tenth busiest in the UK. The Civic Centre is served by bus services. Guildhall, Swansea 21st century civic centre project starts
31.
National Waterfront Museum
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The National Waterfront Museum, Swansea or NWMS is a museum in Swansea, Wales, forming part of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. It is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage, the £33.5 million museum, which secured funding from the Welsh Development Agency and £11 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund was opened in October 2005. The collections on display include maritime, transport, technology and retail artefacts, National Waterfront Museum Swansea BBC News, New museum breaks with tradition
32.
LC, Swansea
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The LC is a leisure centre located in the city centre of Swansea, Wales, UK. Originally Swansea Leisure Centre, the rebranded facility re-opened to the public on 1 March 2008 after a £32 million makeover, the LCs exterior has been revitalised by replacing the old concrete panels with clear glass, translucent glazing and timber panelling. Swansea Leisure Centre was opened by the Queen during her silver jubilee celebrations in 1977, after its closure in 2003, Swansea Council decided to refurbish the centre, which was reopened - again by the Queen - on 7 March 2008. The LC waterparks features include slides, board rides, a 30 ft climbing wall, an indoor play area, a multi-purpose sports and exhibition hall, exercise areas. Swansea Victoria railway station the former station, surfGSD now offer Indoor surfing lessons on the indoor machine at Swanseas new leisure centre Official LC Swansea website City & County of Swansea, Pictures of the redeveloped Swansea Leisure Centre
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Retail park
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It is likely to have more money spent on features and architecture than a traditional big box shopping center. Puente Hills Mall and Del Amo Fashion Center in Southern California are good examples of this, other examples are Seven Corners Shopping Center in suburban Washington, D. C. and Deerfoot Meadows in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Power centers are almost always located in areas, but occasionally redevelopment has brought power centers to densely populated urban areas. Some new power center developments have attempted to re-create the atmosphere of an old-town Main Street, in the United Kingdom, the retail park is a similar concept to the North American power center. They are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households owning a car and they offer an alternative to busy city centres. In recent years, in areas across the UK, planning controls have been tightened to preserve the countryside. There are also environmental disadvantages to large parks on the rural fringe, including the increased traffic. Typically retail parks host a range of stores, including furniture, clothes or footwear superstores, electrical stores, carpet and others -. Strip mall Types of retail outlets SmartCentres – includes photos of its developments
34.
Fforestfach
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Fforestfach is a suburban district of Swansea, Wales which developed during the Victorian era as part of the expansion of Swansea, and to service several collieries in the area. It lies within the Cockett ward, between the districts of Waunarlwydd and Cwmbwrla, and contains the areas of Cadle and Ravenhill, the area is residential combined with light industry and retail park, and is close to the M4 motorway and several dual carriageways. Corgi Toys and Walkers Crisps had factories in the area, local amenities include the premises of the City of Swansea Gymnastic Club, and Ravenhill Park. The nearby places are Portmead, Gendros, Waunarlwydd and Penllergaer, the village of Fforestfach developed around the crossroad, Fforestfach Cross, of the A483, Carmarthen Road, and the A4216 road from Cockett. Carmarthen Road was the old turnpike or mail coach road from Swansea to Carmarthen, bethlehem Chapel in the Cadle area, was originally built in 1840, though the present, Grade II listed, building was built in 1866. Fforestfach is home to an out of shopping complex centred on Pontarddulais Road in the Cadle area to the west. The shopping area to the northeast of Pontarddulais Road has existed since the 1970s and is now called Pontarddulais Road Retail Park, in November 2006 a Park and Ride scheme was introduced to ferry shoppers into Swansea city centre. The area to the southwest of Carmarthen Road/Pontarddulais Road, called Parc Fforest-Fach, the Tesco Extra store at Parc Fforestfach had a gross floorspace of 112,000 sq ft in 2003 making it the largest in Wales. Swansea West Business Park is the largest post-war industrial estate in Swansea and it is the location of 140 businesses employing 1,500 people. There was once a greyhound stadium based at the site, which is now closed and earmarked for re-development, local amenities include the premises of the City of Swansea Gymnastic Club, and Ravenhill Park. A chocolate factory on the park, named The Chocolate Factory, has guides. Ravenhill Park was opened in 1931 after Lowes farm was purchased for £4,170, the local primary school is the Cadle Primary School on Middle Road. Cockett railway station not currently open on the West Wales Line, the first known as White City on Pen-llywn-eithen farm traded from 1929 until 1946 and the second was known as the Swansea Greyhound Stadium on Ystrad Road and was open from 1949 until 2009
35.
Morfa, Swansea
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Morfa is a district of Swansea, Wales. It straddles the Bon-y-maen and Landore wards and generally covers the part of the district of Landore. Morfa is originally an old Welsh word for marsh, not so used in current parlance. The area is named after the Morfa copperworks which once existed in the area, the Morfa Copperworks was started in 1835 and operated until the site closed in 1980. Several of the buildings still remain on the site. Morfa was mainly an area of industry in the late 20th century. Until the development of the Morfa retail park and Liberty Stadium in the new millennium, on the west bank were large grass playing fields which were also used for outdoor concerts. The west bank was re-developed into the Liberty Stadium complex On the east bank of the River Tawe stood the Morfa stadium, indoor and outdoor tennis courts and rubber surfaced football fields. The area now consists of a new town comprising the Morfa Shopping Park shopping centre. About 700 new homes are being built by the developer Barratt, nearby is Pluck Lake known for a sighting of an unusual animal in April 2008. The Morfa Shopping Park was developed on the site of the Morfa Stadium and it is an out-of-town shopping centre accessible from the A4067. It has 265,000 sq ft of retail space, retail units include a B&Q store
36.
Swansea Castle
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Swansea Castle is located in the city centre of Swansea, Wales, UK. It was founded by Henry de Beaumont in 1107 as the caput of the lordship of Gower, the castle is now ruined and only two blocks remain, though the site has been improved in the 2010s for use as a public space. Swansea Castle is located on the east side of the city centre, originally covering 4.6 acres, the surviving remains of the square castle include residential blocks, together with a section of parapet wall forming an L-shape to the southeast. There are five tunnel-vaulted basement rooms, Henry de Beaumont was granted the Lordship of Gower in 1106 and he began to solidify the control of the Normans in the area. A timber castle existed in Swansea in 1116, when it was recorded as being attacked by Welsh forces who destroyed the outer defences. The original castle seems to have been a sub-rectangular/oval enclosure overlooking the River Tawe on the east, surrounded on the north, west, the inner bailey probably contained a motte but the other view is that it was a ring work. The motte was 52 metres in diameter and survived to the early 20th century, the castle was besieged in 1192 by Rhys ap Gruffydd, Prince of Deheubarth. Despite 10 weeks of starvation the castle was saved, after various other unsuccessful attacks the castle fell in 1217 but was restored to the English in 1220 as part of the settlement between Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and Henry III of England. The castle was rebuilt in stone, probably between 1221 and 1284, firstly the inner castle with at least one tower, finally the large outer bailey. The only visible today, two sides of the rectangular South East corner of the new castles outer bailey, were built in the late 13th or early 14th century. The south face is capped with an elegant series of arcades at the wall-head, by the 14th century the castle was losing its military importance. Alina de Mowbray ruled the Gower until 1331 when her son John de Mowbray took over as Lord of Gower and he was probably responsible for adding the arcaded parapet walk to the castle. Despite the Welsh rebellion led by Owain Glyndwr, which saw a number of English castles attacked in the years of the 1400s. Swansea Castles account books record that two men were sent north to gather intelligence on Glyndwrs activities. The castle owners were absentee landlords. By 1650 the castle was described as a decayed Buildinge, by the 1670s the square tower was being used as a bottle factory and, in 1700, a town hall was built in the castle courtyard. By the mid 1700s the Great Hall had become Swanseas workhouse, the town hall was replaced by a post office in the 1800s and, by 1850, a military Drill Room had replaced the workhouse. The River Tawe, which had flowed near to the castle, was straightened and diverted during the 1840s, Part of the interior of the castle, in particular the large motte, was demolished 1909-13 for the construction of a newspaper office
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Jobcentre Plus
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It reported directly to the Minister of State for Employment. Jobcentre Plus was an agency of the Department for Work. The functions of Jobcentre Plus are now provided directly through the Department for Work, the organisation acts from within the governments agenda for community and social welfare. Job vacancies advertised for employers within each of the offices use a computer system called the Labour Market System. Services are provided in the first instance via in-house job-advisors and advisors contacted via telephony, customers are able to access vacancy information through the Universal Jobmatch. Claims may be made for working-age benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance and this was intended to address the chaos of the labour market and the problems of casual employment. This was followed by Jobcentre with its orange signage in the mid 1970s, in 1908 Beveridge was commissioned to devise a scheme which would combine labour exchanges with a new government-funded unemployment benefit. The Labour Exchanges Bill was rushed through Parliament and passed in September 1909 and, after months of planning, the number of offices rose to 430 within four years. The National Insurance Act was passed in 1911 and the first payments were made at Exchanges in January 1913, initially this covered only elected trades, such as building, engineering and shipbuilding. Weekly contributions were paid by workers, employers and the State in the form of stamps which were affixed to an Unemployment Book, when no work was available, benefit was payable. The basic rules and administration regarding claims and the disallowance of benefit remain unaltered today, from 1918, payments were also made to unemployed ex-soldiers and their dependants, as well as to civilians who found themselves unemployed due to the decline of war production industries. The out-of-work donation scheme was only a temporary measure. That was relieved after the enactment of the National Assistance Act 1946, initially benefits were paid weekly, in cash, at the Employment Exchange. From 1973, the then Department of Employment began to open a new network of Jobcentres that advertised Jobs, during this time, claimants were required to make claims and sign on in separate Unemployment Benefit Offices. With the introduction of the Employment Service in the mid 1990s, from the 1970s benefits were paid in the form of girocheque until the early 2000s when payments would be made directly to the claimants bank account. The first fifty six Jobcentre Plus Pathfinder offices were brought into existence during October 2001 and this initial plan was implemented within the Jobcentre structure as the Delivering our Vision Programme. In the 1990s, the Jobcentre reinforced a dress code which required staff to wear ties. The code was held to be in breach of the Sex Discrimination Act
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St David's, Cardiff
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St Davids or more formally St Davids Dewi Sant, is one of the principal shopping centres in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is in The Hayes area of the city centre. Owing to the extension of St Davids 2 in 2009, St Davids is now the ninth largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom, the construction of the extension cost a total of £675m and brought Cardiff within the top five shopping destinations in the United Kingdom. The centre consists of original the first phase, St Davids Centre, adjoining St Davids Hall, the second phase of the shopping centre, opened on 22 October 2009, when the first 58 of its 88 stores opened for business. In 2008–9, the footfall of the centre was 27 million. 20 million people visited the centre during the first six months after the opening of St Davids 2, St Davids was crowned the international shopping centre of the year in 2010 by Global Retail Leisure International, beating contenders in Portugal and Singapore. St Davids is patrolled by three paramedics on bicycles between every Friday and Sunday in order to respond rapidly to medical emergencies, St Davids Shopping Centre was open to the public in January 1981, although it did not officially open until 24 March 1982. The centre has 4 entrances located on Queen Street, Cathedral Walk, Working Street, the entrance on Hills Street connects to the northern entrance of the second phase of the shopping centre, open at street level and via an enclosed bridge on the first floor. It is also joined internally with Queens Arcade, there are 3 thoroughfares within the centre, Town Wall, Cathedral Walk and St Davids Way. The centre attracted an average footfall of 39,000,000 per annum and has a catchment of 2.4 million people. The 12 million tourists visit the city annually help generate over £7.5 billion in retail spending. There are seventy-five individual shops and stores in the first centre that cater for a broad demographic, the centre is anchored by Boots, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer and Primark. St Davids Hall was built on top of the shopping centre, St Davids, and much of the southern end of Cardiff city centres shopping area, was re-developed as part of the St Davids 2 development. The second phase was a £675 million extension of the centre, the second phase of St. Davids was known as St Davids 2 during the construction phase, but both phases were simply named St Davids when the second phase was completed. It also includes apartments, called Hayes Apartments, above the shopping centre. The second phase was made up of different sections, they were, St Davids Walk, leading to the extension of Debenhams, St Davids Way, The original part of St Davids. Grand Arcade, connecting St Davids Walk in the centre to John Lewis. The Grand Arcade was split over two floors, the Upper Grand Arcade had other shops and stores
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SA1 Swansea Waterfront
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SA1 Swansea Waterfront is the marketing name given to the brownfield development area located in northern part of Swansea Docks. The area is located directly to the southeast of Swansea city centre and it is bordered by the Fabian Way to the north and covers the Prince of Wales Dock area. The development will be a commercial and residential mix, sail Bridge, and Trafalgar Bridge over the Swansea barrage. A multi-storey car park is part of the plan. A war memorial is located in the Square between the two Technium buildings commemorating the British Merchant Navy seamen of Swansea during World War II
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Swansea Bay
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Swansea Bay is a bay on the Bristol Channel on the southern coast of Wales. Places on the bay include Swansea and Port Talbot, the River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay experience a tidal range. The shipping ports in Swansea Bay are Swansea Docks, Port Talbot Docks, Oyster fishing was once an important industry in Swansea Bay, employing 600 people at its height in the 1860s. However, overfishing, disease and pollution had all but wiped out the population by 1920. In 2005 plans were announced to reintroduce the Oyster farming industry, the bay is lined with sandy beaches. A pumping station inside the cliff adjacent to Knab Rock brought all of Swansea citys effluent in a raw form to this point, adding to the problem was the natural current flow of the waters in the Bay which often did not move the polluted waters further out to sea. If not fully discharged on that tide, the tide would then push the same effluent up the Channel. Efforts were made by the authority to reduce the pollution in the Bay. As a consequence of the huge improvement these works have made, aberavon beach was awarded Blue Flag status in December 2007. There is one existing GE built gas-fired power station located just inland at Baglan Bay, a second gas fired power station, the Abernedd Power Station has been approved for construction. A new biomass power station has been approved for construction near the coast at Port Talbot, Swansea Bay has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. This offers a potential for electricity generation using tidal lagoons, a proposal has been put forward by Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay Ltd. for a tidal lagoon to be constructed. The tidal lagoon would be sited just south of the Queens Dock between River Tawe and River Neath estuaries, in addition to tidal power, construction of an offshore windfarm in the Bay has been approved, but construction has now been deferred owing to the costs involved. The windfarm was to have been sited at Scarweather Sands, about 5 km off the coast, Swansea Bay Official site from South West Wales Tourist Board An interactive, social networking and tourism web site based on the Gower Peninsula. Www. geograph. co. uk, photos of Swansea Bay and surrounding area
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Kilvey Hill
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Kilvey Hill is a hill in South Wales, to the east of Swansea. Kilvey Hill is 193 metres high and is classed as a Sub Marilyn, the top of Kilvey Hill enjoys panoramic views of Swansea city centre, Swansea Docks, Swansea Bay, the Lower Swansea Valley, Bon-y-maen, Neath and Port Talbot. Cilfai was a commote of Gower, there are a number of residential areas dotted around the base of the hill. To the north are Bon-y-maen and Pentrechwyth, to the south are Dan-y-graig, Port Tennant and St. Thomas. At the top of the hill is the TV and radio transmitter station, the central belt of the hill consists of woodland and open grassland, which forms part of the Kilvey Community Woodland. The hill is used to host a number of biking events. Access to the top of the hill by motor vehicles is only via a concrete road that leads up to the summit from the village of Bon-y-maen. The Kilvey Killer is an annual charity race, usually held in August. BBC South West Wales – Kilvey Community Woodland
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Swansea Market
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Swansea Market situated in the heart of Swansea city centre is the largest indoor market in Wales. The market is covered by an arched portal frame roof clad in steel. The current market was built in 1959-1960 by Percy Edwards, adjoining the market is the Quadrant Shopping Centre. The current market building is the market to be built at the site in 200 years. The site has been used as a market since the Middle Ages, the previous market on this site had existed since 1894 and was destroyed during bombing raids during World War II. The first dedicated building on the site was built in 1774 consisting of a roof supported by pillars. A new market called the New Market was opened in 1830 which was a structure with a roof lining the walls. The interior market space was open to the elements, the open walled structure was replaced with a new red brick building which opened in July 1897. The new building was roofed and by December 1897, electric lighting had been introduced. This building was hit during the Luftwaffe bombing raids in 1941 destroying the roof, during the rest of the 1940s and 1950s, the market was held as an outdoor market at site where the market building once stood. The replacement market opened in 1961, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011, the market includes fruit and vegetable stalls, butchers, cafes, fast food, fishmongers and clothes stalls. There are also a number of selling local and continental delicacies, such as continental cheeses, Welsh laverbread, Penclawdd cockles, Gower Saltmarsh lamb. In 2013 the market roof was due for a £1 million modernisation consisting of new roofing sheets and lighting and possibly new solar power generating roofing panels
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Multi-storey car park
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A multi-storey car park is a building designed for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place. It is essentially a stacked car park, the term multistorey car park is used in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and many Commonwealth of Nations countries and commonly spelled with a hyphen. In the western United States, the parking structure is used. In some places in North America, parking garage refers only to an indoor, often underground, Parking ramp is used in the upper Midwest, especially Minnesota and Wisconsin, and has been incorrectly observed as far east as Rochester, New York. Parkade is widely used in Canada and South Africa Parking building is used in New Zealand. Architects and civil engineers in the USA are likely to call it a parking structure, since their work is all about structures, when attached to a high-rise of another use, it is sometimes called a parking podium. Natural or mechanical ventilation provides fresh air flow to disperse car exhaust in normal conditions, or hot gas, the earliest known multi-storey car park was built in 1918 for the Hotel La Salle at 215 West Washington Street in the West Loop area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. It was designed by Holabird and Roche, the Hotel La Salle was demolished in 1976, but the parking structure remained because it had been designated as preliminary landmark status and the structure was several blocks from the hotel. It was demolished in 2005 after failing to receive landmark status from the city of Chicago, a 49-storey apartment tower,215 West, has taken its place, also featuring a multi-tiered parking garage. An alternative claim has emerged from Glasgow, Scotland, for a building that was built between 1906 and 1912, in the 1920s an English cartoonist imagined a hotel for cars, he drew a multi-storey car park. Many car parks are independent buildings dedicated exclusively to that use, the design loads for car parks are often less than the office building they serve, leading to long floor spans of 55–60 feet that permit cars to park in rows without supporting columns in between. The most common structural systems in the United States for these structures are either prestressed concrete floor systems or post-tensioned cast-in-place concrete floor systems. This saves land for other uses, is cheaper and more practical in most cases than a separate structure and it protects customers and their cars from weather such as rain, snow, or hot summer sunshine that raises a vehicles interior temperature to extremely high levels. In Toronto, a 2,400 space parking lot below Nathan Phillips Square is one of the worlds largest, car parks which serve shopping centres can be built adjacent to the centre for easier access at each floor between shops and parking. One example is Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, USA, a common position for car parks within shopping centres in the UK is on the roof, around the various utility systems, enabling customers to take lifts straight down into the centre. Examples of such are The Oracle in Reading and Festival Place in Basingstoke and these garages often have low ceiling clearances, which restrict access by full-size vans and other large vehicles. On 15 December 2013, a man was killed during a robbery in the garage at The Mall at Short Hills in Millburn, the ambulance responding to the shooting was delayed because it was too large to enter the garage. Parking structures are subjected to the heavy and shifting loads of moving vehicles, expansion joints are used between sections not only for thermal expansion but to accommodate the flexing of the structures sections due to vehicle traffic
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Debenhams
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Debenhams plc is a British multinational retailer operating under a department store format in the United Kingdom and Ireland with franchise stores in other countries. The company was founded in the century as a single store in London and has now grown to 178 locations across the UK, Ireland. It sells a range of clothing, household items and furniture and has known since 1993 for its Designers at Debenhams brand range. Headquartered in Regents Place in the London Borough of Camden, Debenhams is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250 Index, the company owns the Danish department store chain, Magasin du Nord, and has a subsidiary in Ireland. The business was formed in 1778 by William Clark, who began trading at 44 Wigmore Street in London as a drapers store, in 1813, William Debenham became a partner and the corporate name changed to Clark & Debenham. The shop was later renamed Cavendish House and carried drapery, silks, haberdashery, millinery, hosiery, lace, as the trade grew, the partners determined to expand the business by opening provincial branches in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, and Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. By 1823, Clark & Debenham had opened a drapery business at 3 Promenade Rooms, Cheltenham, selling a selection of silks, muslins, shawls, gloves, lace. By 1840, the management of the Cheltenham branch appears to have given to Clement Freebody. Around 1843, another branch shop was launched in Harrogate, extended and refurbished premises opened in Cheltenham in October 1844. Pooley and Smith retired from the business in 1851 when Debenham took his son, William, in 1876 when Freebody retired, a new partnership, Debenham & Hewitt, was formed. George Hewitt appears to have worked at the Cheltenham store as an assistant during the early 1860s. By 1883, George Hewitt was the owner of the Cheltenham business, Frank. The business was incorporated as Debenhams Limited in 1905, the modern Debenhams group grew from the acquisition of department stores in towns and cities throughout the UK, under the leadership of its chairman, Ernest Debenham. The first of these purchases, Marshall & Snelgrove at Oxford Street in London, was acquired through an on sided merger in 1919, later purchases included Harvey Nichols in Londons Knightsbridge in 1920. Most of the acquired stores retained their identities until a unified corporate image was rolled out. The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1928, in 1976 the company acquired Browns of Chester. It remains the only UK store to have retained an individual identity, the business diversified during the 1970s buying South East based supermarket group Cater Brothers in 1972, after the death of its chairman Leslie Cater. Using the new purchasing power Debenhams modernised its 40 food halls within its stores, branding them Caters Food Halls, however the business declined in the intense marketplace and in 1979 the chain was sold to Allied Suppliers who converted the Cater stores into their Presto format
