Royal Institution of South Wales

The Royal Institution of South Wales is a Welsh learned society founded by George Grant Francis in Swansea in 1835.

Prior to its establishment, the Royal Institution was known as the Swansea Philosophical and Literary Society, which maintained the following objectives:

"The Cultivation and Advancement of the various Branches of Natural History, as well as the Local History of the Town and Neighbourhood, the Extension and Encouragement of Literature and the Fine Arts, and the General Diffusion of Knowledge."[1]

In 1838, the Society received its Royal charter as the Royal Institution.

It is the oldest cultural organisation of its kind in Wales and since its establishment, has worked to share knowledge across multiple disciplines including history, science, art, culture and technology.

In 1841, the Royal Institution of South Wales founded and commissioned Swansea Museum, the oldest standing museum in Wales. The building was established to store and exhibit the Royal Institution’s range of collections as well as creating space for learning facilities and the provision of research.  

Research conducted by the Royal Institution of South Wales is published in an array of academic journals and newsletters, two of which were founded by the Institution itself. These include the Annual Report of the Swansea Literary and Scientific Society, a magazine published in 1850, and Minerva, a journal published in 2006 which was later retitled as The Swansea History Journal.

The Royal Institution of South Wales holds a variety of events, activities, and functions within the spheres of history, science, technology, arts, culture and education.