Gorseinon

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Gorseinon
Welsh: Gorseinon
Gorseinon (United Kingdom)
Gorseinon

Gorseinon shown within the United Kingdom
Population 7,874 [1]
OS grid reference SS585985
Principal area Swansea
Ceremonial county West Glamorgan
Constituent country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SWANSEA
Postcode district SA4
Dialling code 01792
Police South Wales
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
European Parliament Wales
UK Parliament Gower
Welsh Assembly Gower
List of places: UK • Wales • Swansea

Coordinates: 51°40′N 4°02′W / 51.66, -4.03

Gorseinon is a town in south west Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is situated near the Swansea/Carmarthenshire border, around 6 miles north west of Swansea city centre. Gorseinon is also a local government community with its own elected town council.

Prior to local government re-organisation in 1996, the town of Gorseinon was administered as part of the Lliw Valley district and previously Llwchwr Urban District Council. Since 1996, Gorseinon has been governed by the City and County of Swansea council and falls within the Gorseinon and Penyrheol wards of Swansea.

The town has a well-established local hospital, donated to the community prior to the establishment of the National Health Service by local industrialist and benefactor, (William) Rufus Lewis.

Contents

[edit] Education

Penyrheol Comprehensive School is where 90% of 11-16 year olds go. The school's main building was destroyed by arson, in 2006.The school will have a brand new building in September 2008. The fire destroyed most of the school where pupils lost work and GCSE coursework. Additionally the town is home to Gorseinon College, a tertiary college that provides further education and adult learning.

[edit] Sport and leisure

Gorseinon is home to one of Britain's largest carrier pigeon societies. The Pigeon Institute of Gorseinon was founded by Gregory Moorlock in 1863. Gorseinon's local rugby team is Gorseinon RFC while Garden Village FC of the Welsh Football League play on the outskirts of the town in Kingsbridge. Gorseinon hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1980.

For more than 50 years, Gorseinon was home to 'La Charrette', the UK's smallest cinema, established by local electrician, the late Gwyn Phillips. Built from a disused railway carriage, the cinema opened in 1953; when the decay of its structure forced closure in February 2008, 'La Charrette' was dismantled and taken to the Gower Heritage Centre.

[edit] Famous citizens

It is the birthplace in nearby Penyrheol of former Father of the House of Commons, David Grenfell who was the local Member of Parliament for 37 years, British Conservative Party Leader Michael Howard, Roy Evans, former General Secretary of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, Hanlyn Davies, Emeritus Professor of Art at Massachusetts University, former Welsh rugby union captains Norman Gale and Richard Moriarty, rugby league international Lewis Jones, actor/comedian Keith Allen, boxer Colin Jones and the late, great footballer Robbie James.

James Henry Govier (1910-1974) British painter, etcher and engraver lived at Gorseinon from 1914-1945. He studied at the famous Swansea School under William Grant Murray and was a friend of Alfred Janes, Ceri Richards, Evan Walters, Kenneth Hancock, Dylan Thomas, Gwillym Thomas and Augustus John. Examples of his work can be found in The National Museum in Cardiff, The National Library, Swansea Art Gallery, The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery,The National Portrait Gallery, The British Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Asmolean Museum in Oxford, The Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury, Norwich Castle Museum in Norfolk and Christchurch Mansion Museum at Ipswich in Suffolk.

From 1935-1942 Govier was a student at The Royal College of Art and studied under Malcolm Osborne and Robert Austin. In 1939 he became the etching demonstrator at the college before joining the Royal Engineers. He was later transferred to the Royal Air Force and worked on models for the D-Day landings and Dambusters raids. In 1945 he returned to Buckinghamshire, his native county, having been born at Oakley on the 1st of August 1910. In 1947 he moved to Suffolk as artmaster at Eye Grammar Shool, a position he held until 1965. Govier was the artmaster at Diss Grammar School in Norfolk from 1965-1972. He lived with his family at Hoxne in Suffolk and was buried at Hoxne Church in 1974.

Information from Who's Who in Art, National Portrait Gallery pages. Oakley Buckinghamshire.

[edit] Government

The community of Gorseinon comprises the Gorseinon ward and the southern part of the Penyrheol ward. The Gorseinon Town Council developed from the former Gorseinon Community Council in 1998, since when it was able to appoint a town mayor annually. The council now comprises sixteen unpaid volunteers who are elected every four years. The current town mayor and deputy mayor of Gorseinon are Councillor Gillian Evans and Councillor Raymond Beech.

[edit] Twin Town

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