| Morriston | |
| Welsh: Treforys | |
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Morriston
Morriston shown within Swansea |
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| Population | 16,781 (2001 census) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SS6698 |
| Principal area | Swansea |
| Ceremonial county | West Glamorgan |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SWANSEA |
| Postcode district | SA5, SA6 |
| Dialling code | 01792 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Swansea East |
| Welsh Assembly | Swansea East |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Swansea | |
Morriston (Welsh: Treforys) is a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. Morriston is sometimes referred to as a distinct town[1] (e.g. the local football club is named Morriston Town A.F.C.), however Morriston never had a town charter,[2] and is now part of the continuous urban area around Swansea, the centre of which lies three miles to the south-west. Morriston is the most populous of Swansea's electoral divisions.[3] Morriston's Orpheus Choir has been described as one of the leading Welsh choirs.[4]
Morriston has unofficially claimed many surrounding villages and communities as suburban districts of the town over the years, these areas include Parc Gwernfadog, Cwmrhydyceirw, Caemawr, Ynystawe, Ynysforgan and a considerable amount of other surrounding areas. This is due to the gradual centralisation of Morriston as an Electoral ward over the years which has gained intensity in the last decade due to the fast amount of services, organisations and commercial outlets available in the main town area of Morriston.
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Morriston town is built on terrain sloping gently downwards to the east and steeply upwards to the west, and the district is centred around Woodfield Street, a shopping area that runs in a north-south axis. This street features two of Morriston's most notable structures, the Church of St. John, and Tabernacle, a Grade I listed building[5] designed by the architect John Humphrey and built between 1870 and 1872. Tabernacle has sometimes been called "the cathedral of Welsh non-conformity".[6]
The remainder of Morriston can be divided into three areas:
Morriston Hospital, the largest in Swansea, is located in Cwmrhydyceirw, a small village in Morriston, approximately one mile north of Morriston town centre. All British driver registration is handled by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) which is located in Clase, a suburb west of Morriston town.
Morriston town is near to the urban village of Plasmarl, the villages of Ynystawe, Ynysforgan, Clydach and the large housing estates, Penlan and Clase, both of which are districts of Swansea.
Morriston has five books published on its history incorporating many hundreds of photographs collected by historian Andre Scoville who was born in Morriston in 1972. He comes from a long-line of Morristonians, the earliest dating back to 1790 of the surname Gower which was his mother's maiden name. Andre's five books were: Morriston's Pictorial Past (D. Brown & Sons Ltd., Cowbridge & Bridgend) ISBN 0905928881 (1988 and reprinted in 1993) Morriston's Pictorial Past Vol 2 (D. Brown & Sons Ltd., Cowbridge & Bridgend) ISBN 1872808271 (1994) Then & Now Morriston (Tempus Publishing Ltd.) ISBN 0752418688 (2000) Swansea Landore Clydach Llansamlet & Morriston (Tempus Publishing Ltd.) ISBN 0752421530 (2000 and reprinted in 2009) Morriston (Tempus Publishing Ltd.) ISBN 0752426664 (2002) In 2008, he started the Morriston Facebook group which allows him to display many of his 10,000 photographic collection for everyone to view and enjoy. He also encourages memories from people all over the world while providing them with a wealth of historial data to compliment the photographs.
The heart of the community surrounds Woodfield Street, which serves the town, its surrounding villages and the near outskirts of nearby city Swansea in terms of retail, services and entertainment. The main retail area of Morriston is widely called Morriston Town and consists of within the area of a hundred shops, a few cafes, hairdressers, a large car park, a public toilet block, fast food restaurants, a few supermarkets and a community library.
The heart of transport in Morriston is located in the town centre, which contains a large car park, a wealth of parking spaces within the hear of the retail district, contains numerous bus stops ranging of bus services to nearby Swansea, Clydach, Parc Gwernfadog, other areas of Morriston and even to mid-Wales and England. The town has several Taxi centres in which to travel with, a Taxi lane on Woodfield Street. Until the 1960s, Morriston had a train line running through the community, this was split up into Morriston East Station and Morriston West Station. Both stations and lines no longer exist.
Morriston was constructed as "Wales' earliest planned industrial village", laid out on a grid pattern designed by William Edwards [7] and named after its founder, Sir John Morris, Bt. The grid pattern remains in evidence today. Morris originally named the town "Morris Town", but this was shortened into the single word "Morriston". The Welsh language translation of the name is Treforys.
Sir John Morris was also responsible for the construction between 1768 and 1774 of Morris Castle, widely considered to have been the world's first accommodation built specifically for workers by their employer. Little of the structure remains today, although its ruins are visible on high ground above the nearby Landore district.[8]
Morriston was initially constructed for the workers of the tinplate and copper industries that built up along the banks of the River Tawe in the 18th century. However, tin-plating had almost vanished from the area by the end of the Second World War, with production in South West Wales concentrated at new works in Felindre and Port Talbot.[9][10]
Grade II listed buildings:[5]
Grade I listed buildings:
David 'Dai' Jones,Wales Rugby Union International 1947-1948 and selector for Swansea RFC
The town is home to a rugby club[11] and several amateur association football clubs, most of which play in the Swansea Senior League: Morriston Town (former Welsh Football League team), Morriston Athletic, Morriston Hotspur, Morriston Olympic and C.R.C. Rangers. Games between Morriston Olympic and C.R.C (Cwmrhydyceirw) Rangers are fiercely contested, with scores of supporters lining the pitch at Tir Canol whenever the two sides meet.
Morriston Town are infamous for their huge decline in recent years, from competing in the higher echelons of the Welsh Football League in the early 1990s[12] to suffering relegation from the Welsh Football League Division Three to the Swansea Senior League in 2007/08.[13]
Other ball games popular in Morriston include golf, billiards and cricket. Morriston Golf Club was established in 1909 and has been located at its present-day site between Clasemont and Cwmrhydyceirw since 1916. The 18-hole golf course is set in parkland and is 5,708 yards in length. Morriston Snooker and Pool Club is located just off Woodfield Street in the centre of Morriston. Three senior teams represent the club in the Swansea Snooker League, with a junior team competing in the Neath Snooker League.[14] Morriston cricket club was founded in 1865, and currently plays in Division 3 of the South Wales Cricket Association.