Swansea city centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Swansea city centre, in the City and County of Swansea, Wales lies slightly inland from the River Tawe and Swansea Bay. It only covers most of the Castle ward and the eastern fringes of the Uplands ward. However it is currently expanding eastwards with the re-development of the north of Swansea Docks in to a combined business and residential district.
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[edit] History
The heart of the city centre was bombed severely in 1941 in what is now termed the "Three Nights Blitz". Forty one acres of the city centre and 857 premises were destroyed beyond repair. Many local businesses had to be re-located just outside of the area of devastation. It took Swansea many years to recover and re-build. With the old shopping centre around High Street flattened, Swansea's main shopping district was re-built around the new Kingsway.
[edit] Shopping
At the heart of the City Centre lies Swansea Market, the Quadrant centre and the St. David's Shopping Centre. Oxford Street is Swansea's main shopping street. The east end of Oxford Street is dominated by a number of major national high-street chains, whilst the west end of the street consists mainly of shops run by local businesses.
The Quadrant shopping centre is a modern shopping mall that opened in the late 1970s. Major chain stores such as Debenhams dominate the mall. On the south side of the shopping mall is a large multi-storey car park. Located on the west side of the mall is Swansea bus station which serves as Swansea's main passenger road transport hub for buses and local taxis.
Beside the Quadrant centre, to the south east is the Tesco superstore. The store is located on the site of a large former gasworks.
Street markets are held in the city centre during the Christmas season. They are usually sited on Oxford Street, Princess Way and Castle Square.
[edit] Main areas
[edit] Streets
[edit] High Street
High street was once the main shopping street in Swansea and formed the central axis of the shopping centre. It was completely destroyed in World War II and the only building left standing was the Castle cinema.
Swansea Castle is to be found at the southern end of the street. Opposite the castle is the Castle Square. Towards the northern end is Swansea railway station and the Swansea Grand Hotel. The stretch between the castle and railway station is dominated by local retailers, discount retailers and a few pubs, restaurants and fast-food outlets. The street becomes mainly residential, north of the railway station. In this residential stretch, there is one curious wedged shaped building on the corner with Prince of Wales Street. This is the Palace theatre, the venue where Anthony Hopkins staged his first professional performance, one of the oldest theatres in Wales and one of only 2 remaining purpose built music halls left in the United Kingdom. It was once used as a nightclub but is now mostly derelict.
[edit] The Kingsway
Until the development of Wind Street as a night-life zone, the Kingsway was the centre of night life in Swansea. While many of the bars are shutting down due to competition from Wind Street bars, the largest night-clubs in Swansea are still located here. Apart from the night life venues, The Kingsway has a number of banks, shops, fast food outlets and branch of the YMCA. Swansea's former main Post Office was located on this road too but recently moved, regardless of much controversy, to W.H. Smith inside the Quadrant Shopping Centre about 250 yards away.
During the middle of the day, the Kingsway suffers from heavy traffic congestion. There is currently development work under way to change the Kingsway into a one way street for cars in an east-west direction. Buses will still travel in a west-east direction. The building work will also help to accommodate the new First Cymru 100 seater buses that are planned for use in the near future. At the eastern end of the Kingsway was a large roundabout incorporating a pedestrian subway. This subway is now being filled in with the roundabout being altered to a T-junction.
[edit] Oxford Street
Oxford street is now the main shopping street in Swansea. The street is dominated by multi national chain stores. It belongs to a pedestrianised zone around Swansea Market and the Quadrant Centre. Oxford street actually stretches from Castle Square to the east all the way to the far west of the Sandfields area. The Sandfields stretch of Oxford street is mainly residential.
[edit] Wind Street
Wind Street is a historic street located in central Swansea. It was once a busy street, a haunt of the poet Dylan Thomas and location of the well-known covered alleyway 'Salubrious Passage'. It became a backwater in the second half of the 20th century when the commercial centre of Swansea shifted. It boasts the highest concentration of listed buildings in Swansea.[1] Following redevelopment at the beginning of the 21st century it is now known for its unusually high density of pubs and clubs, including the long-established No-Sign Wine Bar and the The Olde Cross Keys Pub.
It is also significant because its name has an unusual pronunciation. It is pronounced not to rhyme with 'finned' or 'rescind', but rather with 'kind' or 'blind'. There is also a street in the nearby town of Neath with same name and pronunciation. It seems there is no definitive explanation for this pronunciation. The street does curve towards one end but not in any significant way. Nor is it clear that it is related to a word or pronunciation from the Welsh language.
[edit] St Helen's road
St Helens road is the main street for entering and leaving the city centre from the south west of Swansea. The south side of the street is dominated by fast food outlets, restaurants and foreign grocery stores. Many people go here for a kebab and pizza after a good night out on the town, as they go home. The north side of the street has a number of solicitors and health centres.
[edit] Walter Road
Walter Road is the main thoroughfare departing the city centre to the north west, linking the city centre to the Uplands district. Most of the road consists of substantial three storey town houses, many of which are converted for use by small professional practices like accountants, solicitors, estate agents, civil engineers and surveyors. There are few properties left which are still residential with nearly all being used as flats and bedsits rather than family homes.
The side streets around Walter Road are mainly residential consisting mostly of three bedroomed properties. The residential mix consists mainly of families. A number of properties have been converted into bedsits for use by students of Swansea University south of Walter Road and Swansea Institute of Higher Education north of Walter Road.
[edit] Salubrious Place
Salubrious Place is a new development area that was once a large ground level car park at the southern end of Wind Street. It takes its name from the locally famous Salubrious Passage alleyway. The development comprises a new multi storey car park and entertainment area including a casino, multi-plex cinema and a number of restaurants.
[edit] Car parking
There are few streets without double yellow lines in the city centre. Car parking in paid car parks is not a problem in rush hours due to the abundance of car parking spaces. However, to avoid paying for a parking space, many shoppers park in the Sandfields residential area to the annoyance of the local residents there.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Swansea City Centre (official City and County of Swansea site)
