A History of Takeaways and the Swansea Story of Fish and Chips

The Early Origins of Takeaways

The idea of grabbing a meal on the go is far older than most people imagine. Its roots stretch back to ancient Rome, where bustling street‑side cook shops known as thermopolia served hot food to customers who lacked kitchens at home. Excavations in Pompeii reveal counters fitted with terracotta jars that once held stews, soups, and simple dishes. These establishments were especially popular among the lower classes, while wealthier Romans enjoyed meals prepared in their own well‑equipped kitchens, staffed by enslaved cooks.

Queen Margerita and pizza

The first recorded instance of food delivery appears much later, in the 1880s in Italy. King Umberto I and Queen Margherita famously summoned the Neapolitan pizza maker Raffaele Esposito, who prepared and delivered a pizza topped with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella—the colours of the Italian flag. The Queen’s delight ensured the dish would forever bear her name: the Margherita.

Across the world in 1890, the city of Mumbai witnessed the birth of another remarkable food‑delivery tradition. Mahadeo Havaji Bachche organised a team of 100 dabbawalas, who transported aluminium tiffin boxes filled with home‑cooked meals to office workers. Their system—based on colour codes, symbols, and astonishing precision—became a global marvel of logistics. Today, the dabbawalas still deliver around 200,000 lunchboxes daily, maintaining an error rate so low it has been studied by business schools worldwide.

The Origins of Fish and Chips

Sir Walter Raleigh

Sir Francis Drake

The story of Britain’s most iconic takeaway begins with the arrival of the potato in the 1580s, brought back by either Sir Walter Raleigh or Sir Francis Drake. Suspicion surrounded the unfamiliar tuber; many believed it to be poisonous, and for decades it was grown only as animal fodder. It wasn’t until 1772 that potatoes were officially deemed safe for human consumption. Their greatest champion was the French botanist Antoine‑Augustin Parmentier, who tirelessly promoted their nutritional value. Dishes described as Parmentier still honour his influence. Before the French Revolution, Louis XVI granted him land to cultivate potatoes, helping to normalise the crop across Europe.

Potatoes later became a staple of Irish life, and the catastrophic famines of 1845 and 1849 devastated communities. Thousands emigrated to Britain, North America, and Australia. In Swansea, the district of Greenhill became known as “Little Ireland,” a vibrant yet impoverished enclave where Irish families rebuilt their lives.

Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities

By 1859, the potato had firmly entered British culture. Charles Dickens, ever attentive to the details of everyday life, introduced the word “chips” in A Tale of Two Cities, describing “husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.”

The other half of the classic pairing—fried fish—was introduced to Britain in the 17th century by Jewish immigrants. Their tradition of battering fish ensured it could be eaten cold on the Shabbat, when cooking was prohibited. This method produced a crisp, protective coating that preserved the fish’s flavour and texture.

Life in the fishing industry was notoriously harsh. Small coastal communities depended on unpredictable seas, long hours, and dangerous conditions—realities vividly portrayed in the BBC series The 1900 Island. The expansion of the railways in the 19th century transformed the trade, allowing fresh fish to be transported rapidly inland. Dickens again captures this world in Oliver Twist (1838), referencing a fried‑fish warehouse—a sign that fried fish had already become a familiar urban food.

By the 1860s, two men—Joseph Malin in London and John Lees in Mossley, near Manchester—were credited with uniting fried fish and chips into the dish we know today.

Swansea: A City Shaped by Fish, Chips, and Community

Little Ireland and the Growth of Working‑Class Food Culture

Greenhill, Swansea

Swansea’s relationship with fish and chips is woven into the fabric of its streets, markets, and coastal identity. The devastating Irish potato famines brought hundreds of families to the town, many settling in Greenhill, soon known as “Little Ireland.” These communities brought with them a strong tradition of simple, hearty, affordable meals—food that could sustain long days in the copper works, docks, and foundries.

In these densely packed streets, the earliest Swansea chip shops began to appear. Many families converted the front rooms of their terraced houses into small, informal shops, serving fried fish or chips through a hatch or counter. These makeshift businesses became neighbourhood landmarks—places where workers stopped on their way home, where children spent their pennies, and where the smell of hot oil and batter drifted through the lanes.

The Markets: Swansea’s Beating Heart of Fishmongers

Swansea Market

Swansea’s identity as a coastal city meant that fresh fish was always close at hand. The old Swansea Market, rebuilt several times after fires and wartime bombing, was home to generations of fishmongers whose stalls were piled high with hake, cod, plaice, mackerel, cockles, and laver. Families from across the city would visit the market not only for ingredients but for the knowledge and personality of the traders themselves.

Penclawdd cockle pickers

The tradition continues today in the modern Swansea Market, where long‑established stalls still sell fresh fish, Penclawdd cockles, and laverbread—foods that have shaped Swansea’s culinary identity for centuries. Many of these fishmongers supplied local chip shops, creating a direct link between the docks, the market, and the fryer.

The Chip Shops of Swansea: A Local Institution

By the early 20th century, fish and chip shops had become a defining feature of Swansea’s neighbourhoods, with areas such as St Thomas, Hafod, Mount Pleasant, Brynhyfryd, and Townhill each boasting their own much‑loved, often family‑run chippies. Iconic establishments emerged during this period, including Dick’s Fish Bar on St Helen’s Road, the Italian‑Welsh‑influenced Roma Fish Bar, West Cross Fisheries serving the Mumbles and Gower communities, and long‑standing favourites such as The Chattery. These shops were far more than simple businesses—they acted as community anchors, places where people gathered after rugby matches, where families treated themselves on Friday nights, and where Swansea’s working‑class identity found warmth, continuity, and comfort.

The Sea, the Docks, and the Supply Chain

Swansea Trawler 

Swansea’s maritime history played a crucial role in shaping its fish trade. The docks bustled with trawlers, merchant ships, and coastal vessels bringing fish from across the Bristol Channel and beyond. Local fishermen worked the waters off Mumbles Head, Port Eynon, and Oxwich, supplying markets and chip shops with fresh catches.

The arrival of the railways strengthened Swansea’s role as a distribution hub. Fish could be transported quickly from ports such as Milford Haven, Burry Port, and Aberystwyth, ensuring a steady supply even when local catches were low.

Wartime Swansea: Fish and Chips as Comfort and Survival

During the Second World War, Swansea endured devastating bombing raids, particularly the Three Nights’ Blitz of February 1941. Amid the destruction, fish and chip shops became symbols of resilience. As one of the few foods not rationed, fish and chips offered families a rare sense of normality and nourishment.

Queues often stretched down the street, and chip shop owners worked tirelessly to feed a population living through fear, loss, and uncertainty. In many ways, Swansea’s chippies became part of the city’s wartime spirit—quiet acts of service that helped hold the community together.

A Tradition That Endures

Today, Swansea’s fish and chip shops continue to evolve, but the essence remains the same: fresh fish, crisp batter, hot chips, and a sense of belonging. From the seafront shops in Mumbles to the family‑run chippies in Uplands, Morriston, and Gorseinon, the tradition is alive and well.

Even as numbers decline nationally—from 35,000 shops ninety years ago to around 10,500 today—Swansea’s connection to fish and chips remains strong, rooted in its history as a port city, shaped by migration and industry, and sustained by generations of families who have kept the fryers burning.