By the mid 16th century, loading stages or quays were being built along the banks of the Tawe, the line of the original waterfront represented by The Strand. The first dock appears to have been the 'Towne Dock' of 1624 and by the early 18th century warehouses were in existence along The Strand. By now the the main coal producers had all acquired their own 'coale places' along the river. In 1768 the first serious improvement measures were taken, and in 1791 the first Harbour Act was passed which led to the Swansea Harbour Trust being created and which administered the port until 1922. They built the East Pier, c.1800, part of which remains. An important development was the creation of Port Tennant in 1824, a tidal harbour on the east side of the river as the Tennant Canal terminus.

Derived from: Hughes & Reynolds 'The Industrial Archaeology of the Swansea Region' (RCAHMW 1992), p.24