PGW(Gm)60(SWA)

Cwmgelli Cemetery  

II  

01/02/2022  

Designated  

Swansea  

Mynyddbach  

265678  

196511  

Gardens, Parks and Urban Spaces  

Urban landscaped cemetery  

1895  

Cwmgelli Cemetery is registered for its historic interest as a small Victorian garden cemetery, dating to about 1895, the date on its chapel (NPRN: 13570). On the 1881 Ordnance Survey map (surveyed in 1876-77) the area is shown as open space. The second edition map of 1899 (surveyed 1897) shows the cemetery with its present layout but with a perimeter belt of mixed deciduous and coniferous trees around the north half only. By 1913-14, when revisions were made for the third edition (1919) Ordnance Survey map, the perimeter belt was complete. The cemetery is bounded by high rubble stone walls on all but the north side, where there is a modern concrete wall. The main entrance is on the west side. This has simple iron gates flanked by tall square stone piers with pyramidal tops. On either side are pedestrian gates flanked by similar piers. Inside, two horse chestnuts flank the entrance. The tarmac drive runs north-eastwards and reaches a circular lawn with rose and shrub beds and one grave, of Edward Rice Daniel (1829-1905). Pines are planted around the circle. On its east side is a chapel, built out above the slope, with the entrance porch at the west end, on the circle. The chapel is built of random stone, with sandstone dressings and a red tiled roof. At the east end is a small octagonal tower of dressed sandstone, with louvred windows and a battlemented top. Over the round-arched doorway in the porch is the date 1895. Evergreen shrubs, pines and cypresses are planted around it. The remainder of the interior of the cemetery is laid out informally, with winding tarmac paths, which follow the original layout, giving access to all areas. The graves are in a mixture of styles, the oldest ones, dating to 1899-1915, being near the chapel. The cemetery is planted with a mixture of trees, evergreen and flowering shrubs and roses. Pines are the predominant trees, planted both around the perimeter and in groups within the cemetery. There is a second entrance, similar to the main one, on the east boundary of the cemetery. Setting: Cwmgelli Cemetery is situated on an east-facing slope in the Treboeth district of northern Swansea. It is bounded by streets and housing on all but the east side, where there is a short road, Pontyshwt, leading to scrubby ground at the southern end of Llewelyn Park, which occupies the valley to the north. Sources Cadw 2000: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Glamorgan, p.171 (ref: PGW(Gm)60(SWA)).