Districts And Places
Parc Llewelyn
In 1874 John Dillwyn Llewelyn, of Penllergaer, donated a forty two acre holding known as Knap Llwyd near Morriston, as a place of recreation for the people crowded into the industrialised Tawe valley below, now called Parc Llewelyn. About £1,500 was originally spent on laying it out.
Some fine views of the Tawe valley and Llangyfelach can be had when standing on certain high levels of ground within the park.
John Dillwyn Llewelyn 1810 - 1882
The park was named after John Dillwyn Llewelyn, and was officially opened in October 1878
William Thomas of Lan – Pioneer of open spaces
A statue of William Thomas outside the Patti Pavilion in Victora Park
It was principally through the tireless efforts of the industrialist, William Thomas of "lan House" on the Graig, dominating Morriston, that Llewelyn Park came into being. As a borough councillor, he championed a cause for playgrounds and open spaces for young people during the 1870's which directly influenced Llewelyn in presenting the park to the public. It was opened during the year of William Thomas's mayoralty; Thomas incidentally lived to 92. His statue is one of three monuments in Victoria Park.
Parc Llewelyn 1905 with Cnap Llwyd farmhouse in the background
Parc Llewelyn RFC cup winners 1925
The top main entrance to the park is from Trewyddfa Terrace
I started my walk from Trewyddfa Terrace, passing the park lodge on my right hand side directly before entering the main gates.
The main entrance to Parc Llewelyn
Notice board on the main entrance
As I entered the main gate the Community centre was on the right hand side
On the left of the main gates is the bowling green which was reopened in 1992
Keeping to the left and walking down towards the middle gate, I passed the children’s play area.
The middle entrance is from Cnap Llwyd Road, the nearest house belonged to ex-deputy Mayor, Councillor Samuel John, who was elected to local office in 1950. He became deputy Mayor to Andrew Morgan in 1961 and Deputy to Thomas Jeffries in 1967, he died in 1999 just short of his 100th birthday.
A nice autumn scene as I approached the bottom gate.
Looking up, can be seen Morris Castle, also known as Castle Graig and Llewelyn’s Castle. It was one of the first high rise blocks of flats to be built in Britain. It housed forty families mainly colliers except for one tailor and one shoemaker.
It was built between 1768 and 1774 by John Morris to house his workers. It was meant to resemble a castle, topped with fake battlement, it had four corner towers and was three storeys high. The fireplaces and chimneys can still be seen today. The upper floor had chutes to dispose of the rubbish. Around the building there were allotments for the inhabitants to grow vegetables. It can be seen how near a later quarry came to the building, even exposing its foundation. Also can be seen the splendid view of Swansea bay.
One corner collapsed into a pile of rubble, with the strong gales of 1989.
The walls were built mainly of stone with slag inserts to disperse the water more efficiently off its walls.
From the bottom gate can be seen Cwmgelli cemetery
The cemetery is surrounded by a high wall with a main entrance gate.
The cemetery’s main driveway is lined with twelve palm trees
In the cemetery is a pretty chapel, built in 1895 and is now used only for storage.
Back to Parc Llewelyn and walking up the slope, towards the bowling green pavilion, we reach the first bench.
The marshy ground on the left used to be a pond and is still very wet
The photo shows where the cricket pitch used to be, where all the local teams played up to about 1970
Walking across the old football pitches we enter the woods
Walking through the woods following the boundary fence on the left
The very top of the park is known as the ‘Seven winds’ or the ‘North pole’. This picnic area was once a quarry.
Following the path and walking along ‘Pine tree walk’ towards community centre.
This area is known as path is the ‘Ladies Walk’, where the ladies used to meet in the afternoon.
Walking towards the community centre we pass the workmen’s hut.
Inside the compound is part of the old stone wall, which was originally the boundary wall for Cnap Llwyd farm.
Nearby are the tennis courts
Back to the bowling green