Morriston

Morriston
Morriston
Morriston shown within Swansea
Population 16,928 (Ward 2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference SS6698
Principal area
Ceremonial county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SWANSEA
Postcode district SA6
Dialling code 01792
Police South Wales
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK Parliament
Welsh Assembly

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[2] (e.g. the local football club is named Morriston Town A.F.C.), however Morriston never had a town charter,[3] 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.[4] Morriston's Orpheus Choir has been described as one of the leading Welsh choirs.[5]

Morriston is close to other communities, these areas include Parc Gwernfadog, Cwmrhydyceirw, Clase, Ynystawe, Ynysforgan. 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 area of Morriston.

Landscape

Morriston is built on terrain sloping gently downwards to the east and steeply upwards to the west, and the district is centred on 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[6] designed by the architect John Humphrey and built between 1870 and 1872. Tabernacle has sometimes been called "the cathedral of Welsh non-conformity".[7]

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.

Retail

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.

Transport

The heart of transport in Morriston is located in the centre, which contains a large car park, together with other parking spaces within the heart of the retail district, contains numerous bus stops leading into Swansea City Centre. The area has two Taxi offices with a Taxi lane in 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 on the Morriston Branch of the Swansea District line. Both stations and lines no longer exist.

Busway: ftrmetro

Southbound ftrmetro Northbound
Woodfield St.   Morriston Cross   Sway Rd.

Industrial heritage

Morris Castle

Morriston was constructed as "Wales' earliest planned industrial village", laid out on a grid pattern designed by William Edwards [8] 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.[9]

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.[10][11]

Listed Buildings

Grade II listed buildings:[6]

Grade I listed buildings:

Notable residents

Sport

It is home to a rugby club[12] founded in 1876 and one of the founder clubs of the current WRU and feeder club in the Ospreys region. Morriston RFC has all age group rugby from age 6 to Youth & senior sides, and is proud of producing many players to achieve International honors, more recently brothers Richard & Paul Moriarty, Tony Clements. With several amateur association football clubs, most of which play in the Swansea Senior League: Morriston A.F.C. (former Welsh Football League team), Morriston Athletic, 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..

Other ball sports 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.[13] Morriston cricket club was founded in 1865 , and currently plays in Division 3 of the South Wales Cricket Association.

References

  1. ↑ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 Morriston Ward Profile September 2008
  3. ↑ Archives Network Wales
  4. ↑ City and County of Swansea - 2001 Census: Electoral Divisions
  5. ↑ Welsh Assembly Government | First Minister joins Morriston Orpheus Choir for CERN visit
  6. 1 2 City and County of Swansea - Listed Building Index
  7. ↑ Chapels_cover
  8. ↑ The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008
  9. ↑ Data Wales: A note on a worker's castle in Swansea
  10. ↑ Introduction: Historical Background
  11. ↑ Morriston - Treboeth History Group
  12. ↑ Morriston R.F.C.
  13. ↑ http://morriston-snooker.co.uk/index
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