PGW(Gm)75(SWA)

Parc Llewelyn  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Swansea  

Landore  

266035  

196817  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Urban public park  

1875-78; early 20th century  

Parc Llewelyn is registered as one of the major Victorian public parks of Swansea and the first and most important on the east side of the city. It survives in its entirety and most of its major features, including the circuit drive and original planting, survive. The park has a strong association with John Dillwyn Llewelyn, after whom it is named, who donated the land and paid for much of its construction. Visually, it has a strong relationship with nearby Morris Castle, now ruined, which acted as an important eye-catcher on the horizon. Parc Llewelyn is situated on the north-east side of Swansea, to the south of Morriston. It was created from 1874 on farmland, donated for the purpose to the City Corporation by John Dillwyn Llewelyn (1810-82) of Penllergare. The most ornamented part of the park lies on the high ground of the Graig Trewyddfa ridge, on its east side. This rises gently northwards, with the highest part of the park at its north end. The main entrance to the park is situated near the south-east corner, at the end of Trewyddfa Terrace, through iron gates. Inside the entrance a tarmac drive runs northwards towards the ‘Ladies Walk’ and works compound (the site of Cnap Llwyd farmhouse, which was demolished in the 1960s). On the east side of the main drive is the Community Centre, a small, single-storey, utilitarian modern building. The drive is flanked by trees and shrub borders of mixed, mainly evergreen shrubs. The mixed trees include old, pre-park sycamores and birch. To the north and west of the farm site is a roughly oval area of ornamental gardens: on the north the former garden of the farmhouse, bounded by earth banks on the north and east sides, and the area to its west, planted informally with trees and shrubs. To the west of the ornamental garden area is the bowling green and a small rectangular building known as the Roundhouse. The bowling green was opened in 1910. The Roundhouse was opened in 1911 and was a multi-purpose building, including equipment store for the bowling green, shelter with benches and refreshment kiosk. A major feature of the original landscaping of the park was a winding circuit drive that follows the boundary on all but the east side, where it runs parallel to it on higher ground to the west. This can still be followed, although parts are now grassed over. The north end of the park is its highest part. From here there are fine, panoramic views to the east and south. On the south horizon are the tall stonework stumps of Morris Castle (scheduled monument GM371), on the summit of Cnap Llwyd common. This was a tenement block built in 1773 by John Morris, of Clasemont to the north, for his colliers. By 1850 it was empty and subsequently fell into ruin. However, it was used in the design of Parc Llewelyn as a picturesque eye-catcher. It is also visible from other higher parts of the park. On the highest point, with panoramic views to the east and north-east, is an earthwork known as the ‘North Pole’. The majority of the park, to the west of the bowling green, garden area and pine-flanked part of the drive, is rolling grassland. The north end slopes southwards, the remainder westwards. In the middle are two level areas. The upper, northern one, was formerly a cricket field. The initial design for the park was created by J. Shaw of J. & W. Shaw, nurserymen and landscape gardeners, Gower Road, Swansea. This was included, among other hypothetical designs, in a Prize Essay book. The design was elaborate and took no account of the topography. However, some elements from it, such as the lake, circuit drive and boundary planting, do seem to have been adopted in the final design. The park was officially opened on 3rd October 1878, at a grand ceremony. The 1897 Ordnance Survey map shows the completed park. The major features include the boundary tree belts, which remain; the circuit drive, which was surfaced with red ash and cobbles, patches of which are still visible; the lake, which was incomplete at the time and has now gone; and the terrace (later cricket pitch). On the terrace to the east of the farmhouse site was a croquet lawn, although this had gone by 1897. The farm well was by this time a water fountain, shown on the 1897 map as circular, surrounded by trees. The ‘North Pole’ is also shown on the map as an indistinct mound. It was possibly intended as a viewing tower or raised platform. The second major phase of development of the park came at the beginning of the twentieth century. A new entrance was made in the north-east corner and a secondary network of paths was introduced. The lake was finished and the well removed, the water from the spring being diverted by drains to the lake. A new park lodge was built at the main entrance in 1914-16. Significant Views: Panoramic views to the east and north-east, from the earthwork known as the ‘North Pole’, the highest point in the park. Fine, panoramic views to the east and south towards Morris Castle, used in the design of Parc Llewelyn as a picturesque eye-catcher. Source: Cadw. 2013. Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: (ref: PGW(Gm)75(SWA)). Ordnance Survey First Edition six-inch map, sheet: XV (1884) Ordnance Survey First Edition six-inch map, sheet: XV (1900)