From a quiet walking the dog or a kick-about with friends to attending major music concerts, the parks of Swansea offer something for everyone. Many of the parks also give a glimpse into the history of the city, and the stories behind these valuable green spaces contain interesting tales and people. Here are the stories behind some of Swansea’s best-loved parks.
Clyne Gardens
Clyne Gardens
(Image: www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk)
In 1790 Richard Phillips, the son of a wealthy Carmarthensire landowner, bought 27 acres of farm and woodland between Mumbles and Swansea and built a house called Woodland – as well as what must have been a very nice place to live, this was the start of what would become Clyne Gardens. The estate passed through a number of hands over the following decades before William Graham Vivan, son of Swansea copper magnate John Henry Vivian, bought it in 1859. A keen horticulturalist and plant collector, William was responsible for introducing exotic plants and trees from around the world to Clyne – including the then only recently discovered Himalyanan plant, the rhododendron. On his death the estate passed to his sister, Dulcie, and then to his nephew Admiral Algernon Walker-Heneage. After a distinguished career in the Royal Navy the admiral did much to landscape the grounds of Clyne, and continued the family’s interest in collecting exotic plants. One of his additions to the garden was the Admiral’s Tower from the top of which it was said he liked to watch the ships coming and going in Swansea Bay. When Algernon died in 1952 Clyne had to be sold to pay death duties, and Swansea council bought it for £17,500 – two years later the estate was opened to the public as a park while the house, Clyne Castle, was sold to the University of Wales College Swansea for use as a hall of residence.
Singleton Park
Singleton Park
(Image: Robert Melen)
We also have the Vivans to thank for Swansea’s largest urban park. In 1817 ambitious industrialist John Henry Vivian bought a villa called Marino and set about remodelling and extending it. Over the years the family bought neighbouring villas and farms – including one called Singleton – and subsequently renamed their house Singleton Abbey. The park’s iconic Swiss Cottage was designed for the Vivians in 1826 by Peter Frederick Robinson after he had visited Switzerland and taken a liking to the country’s wooden Alpine chalets. Robinson also designed Sketty Hall for the family. By the turn of the 20th Century the Singleton estate covered a large area covering the present-day sites of Singleton Hospital, Swansea University, and the Ashleigh Road playing fields as well as what is now Singleton Park. Unable to afford the upkeep and with big tax bills to pay, in 1919 Ernest Vivian, the 2nd Baron Swansea, sold the estate to Swansea Corporation – the forerunner of Swansea Council – for £115,000. The corporation put the Kew Gardens-trained Daniel Bliss in charge of developing the estate as a public park.
Brynmill Park
Brynmill Park
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
During the 19th century cholera was a constant concern in the rapidly growing town of Swansea, and there was an increasing understanding of the importance of ensuring supplies of fresh, clean drinking water for public health. In 1837 the Swansea Waterworks Company was given permission to build a reservoir in Brynmill but the relatively low-lying position of the site meant it was not a great success, and by the early 1870 it was no longer in use. The reservoir and surrounding land came under the control of Swansea Corporation and it was decided to turn it into a park with landscaping, planting, and a bowling green. For many years the park was also home to a mini-zoo housing monkeys, guinea pigs and parakeets, while fishing on the remaining section of the reservoir was a popular pastime.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
Cwmdonkin Park
Cwmdonkin Park
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
Cwmdonkin Park in Uplands – now perhaps most famous for its association with the poet Dylan Thomas who grew up just a couple of minutes walk away – also started life as a reservoir for the booming town. Work began in 1853 and from the early days of the project there was discussion among members of the Waters and Sewers Committee of exploring “the practicability and cost of converting the lands round the two reservoirs into walks and pleasure grounds for the advantage and recreation of the public”. The reservoir itself was not a great success but in the 1870s two adjoining fields belonging to the local land owner James Walter – whose name lives on in Walter Road – were bought, and on July 24, 1874, Cwmdonkin Park was officially opened. During the Second World War the National Fire Service used the reservoir as a water store, especially during the Three Night’s Blitz in February 1941, and then in the 1950s it was drained and filled in – using rumble from the bombed centre of town. In 1974 the area of the old reservoir was landscaped to create a children’s play area. The park features in a number of Dylan Thomas’ works, with the author calling it “A world within the world of the sea town”.
Parc Llewelyn
Parc Llewelyn
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
While Brynmill and Cwmdonkin offered green spaces in the west of the town much of Swansea’s population lay in the industrial, crowded and polluted east, and one man perhaps more than most set out to redress the balance. In December 1874 William Thomas, a member of Swansea Corporation and a director of the Landore Tinplate Company, offered a prize for the best essay in English or Welsh on the subject of the benefits of recreational grounds for the working classes. Eight people submitted essays but more importantly one person offered a parcel of land. John Dillwyn Llewelyn of Penllergare donated Cnap Llwyd farm on the hill above Plasmarl to the people of Swansea, and also gave £1,000 towards the expense of it being laid out as a park. In 1878 the park was opened, named in his honour was opened.
A statue of William Thomas, pioneer of open spaces and parks in Swansea, stands in the city’s Victoria Park
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
William Thomas would go on to successfully campaign for a number of other parks in Swansea, and today his statue stands near the Patti Pavilion in one of those creations, Victoria Park. The dedication on the plinth describes him as a “pioneer of open spaces”.
Morriston Park
Morriston Park
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
In the 1770s industrialist Sir John Morris – the man who founded Morris Town or Morriston for the workers in his tinplate and copper factories – built himself a mansion called Clasemont with extensive gardens offering sweeping views of the lower Swansea Valley. However, with the valley rapidly industrialising the Morris family decided to move – not just themselves but the most of the mansion too. In 1805 the house was dismantled and the stones transported to leafy Swansea west where they were used to build Sketty Park House. In 1911 Swansea Corporation bought 47 acres of the Clasemont estate, and the following year opened Morriston Park.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
