Morgans Hotel is a hotel in the centre of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The hotel occupies the former Swansea Harbour Trust Building, which is

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The hotel is steeped in maritime history and the building was formerly used by the

Associated British Ports Associated British Ports (ABP) owns and operates 21 ports in the United Kingdom, managing around 25 per cent of the UK's sea-borne trade. The company's activities cover transport, haulage and terminal operations, ship's agency, dredging and mari ...

. The hotel has 42 rooms, 20 in the main building and 22 in the

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

-style townhouse next door.{{cite web , url=http://www.morganshotel.co.uk/townhouse/townhouse.php , title=Morgans Hotel - Swansea - Rooms from £100 , accessdate=2008-04-13 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415111201/http://www.morganshotel.co.uk/townhouse/townhouse.php , archivedate=2008-04-15 Originally completed in 1903 for the Swansea Harbour Trust, the main hotel building was designed by architect

Edwin Seward Edwin Seward (1853 – 21 June 1924) was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales. Biography Born in Somerset, Seward came to Cardiff aged 16 and studied at the School of Art. He began work as an assistant to architect G. E. Robinson. Seward wa ...

who submitted the winning design out of 100 entries. The original character of the building is still preserved after its conversion to a hotel. The decorative

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

exterior is clad in red brick and white stone and topped by a Greek statue-clad clock cupola. The interior features

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

with compasses, exploration and maritime themes. A

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

by Cardiff-born artist Robert Morton Nance (1873–1959) depicting tall masted ships on the

River Tawe The River Tawe (; ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Glasfynydd Forest, Moel Feity in the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the ...

, overlooked by

Swansea Castle Swansea Castle ( Welsh: ''Castell Abertawe'') is located in the city centre of Swansea, Wales, UK. It was founded by Henry de Beaumont in 1107''Medieval Secular Monuments – The Early Castles from the Norman Conquest to 1217'', page 29. as the ...

, decorates the boardroom . Previous names for the building have included "The Swansea Harbour Trust Office", The British Transport Docks Board Office" and " The Associated British Ports Office", reflecting the names of the building's occupiers.

References

External links

BBC South West Wales: From Harbour to Hotel...
(history of building) Edwin Seward buildings Grade II* listed buildings in Swansea Hotels in Wales Office buildings completed in 1903