Morriston (; cy, Treforys ) is a community in the City and County of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes referred to as a distinct townMorriston Ward Profile September 2008
/ref> (e.g. the local football club is named

Morriston Town A.F.C. Morriston Town Football Club is an amateur association football team based in Morriston, Swansea, Wales. The club plays in the Ardal Leagues South West, which is tier three of the Welsh football pyramid. Brief History The club was formed in ...

), however it has never had a town charter, and is now part of the continuous urban sprawl around Swansea, the centre of which lies three miles to the south-west. It is the most populous of Swansea's electoral divisions and is situated close to other communities including Plasmarl, Treboeth,

Llansamlet Llansamlet is a suburban district and community of Swansea, Wales, falling into the Llansamlet ward. The area is centred on the A48 road (named Samlet Road and Clase Road in the area) and the M4 motorway. Like other places in Wales having a name ...

, Cwmrhydyceirw, Clase,

Ynystawe Ynystawe (also ''Ynysdawe'' in Welsh; ) is a village in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and in the electoral ward of Morriston. It is north of the M4 motorway junction 45 between Ynysforgan and Clydach in the Swansea Valley. The Welsh n ...

and Ynysforgan.

Landscape and geography

Morriston is in the Lower Swansea Valley, adjoining the River Tawe, on terrain sloping gently downwards to the east and steeply upwards to the west. It is centred on Woodfield Street, a shopping area that runs in a north–south axis. The street features two of Morriston's most notable structures, the Church of St John and

Tabernacle Chapel Tabernacle Chapel may refer to: *Tabernacle Chapel, Aberystwyth *Tabernacle Chapel, Cardiff, a Grade II*-listed building *Tabernacle Chapel, Llandovery, a Grade II*-listed building *Tabernacle Chapel, Llanelli, a Grade II*-listed building *Tabernac ...

. In its original design, St John, locally known as "Church in the Middle of the Road", was the centre piece of Morriston. It has fallen into disrepair and is no longer used as a church. Tabernacle Chapel is a Grade I listed building designed by architect John Humphrey and built between 1870 and 1872. Tabernacle has sometimes been called "the Cathedral of Welsh non-conformity". The two buildings remain the town's main landmarks along with Morriston Hospital and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), both major employers in the area. The hospital, the largest in Swansea, is located in Cwmrhydyceirw, about one mile north of Morriston town centre. The DVLA is in Clase, a suburb west of Morriston; it processes all British driver and vehicle registrations. The remainder of Morriston can be divided into three areas: * an area of early 19th century two-storey terraced houses around the main area of shops; * areas further north, close to the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

, largely composed of semi-detached housing built from the 1940s to the 1960s; * a mix of 19th-century and more recently built houses along Clydach Road in

Retail

The heart of the town retail community is at Woodfield Street, which consists of many small shops and pubs. Once a month the street is closed to traffic for Morriston Market, a monthly street market selling Welsh produce from hand-made items to fresh food. The nearby

Swansea Enterprise Park The Swansea Enterprise Park ( cy, Parc Anturiaeth Abertawe) is a combined business park, retail park and industrial estate in Swansea, Wales. In 1981 it became the first enterprise zone in the United Kingdom, and the largest.Swansea Canal, which, along with the River Tawe, was essential for the transport of goods in the Swansea Valley. The canal was superseded by rail and roads with Morriston now conveniently located just off Junction 45 of the M4 motorway and adjacent to the A4067. The nearest railway stations are at

and Swansea High Street. Until the 1960s, Morriston had two railway stations, Morriston East and Morriston West on the Morriston Branch of the

Swansea District line The Swansea District line ( cy, Llinell Bwrdeistref Abertawe) is a section of railway line running through the northern part of Swansea, Wales and is primarily used for freight transportation, although minimal passenger services also traverse th ...

and the

Swansea Vale Railway The Swansea Vale Railway (SVR) was a railway line connecting the port of Swansea in South Wales to industries and coalfields along the River Tawe on the northern margin of Swansea, by taking over a tramroad in 1846. It was extended to Brynamman i ...

. Both stations no longer exist. The Swansea District line is still in use, transporting freight traffic and also for the Fishguard to Cardiff/Cheltenham Spa passenger service. It runs through northern Morriston with a viaduct at Clydach Road. The centre of Morriston contains a large car park and has bus routes from Morriston Hospital into Swansea City Centre and on to Swansea University with services provided b
First (South & West Wales)
The area has two taxi offices with a taxi lane in Woodfield Street.

Tabernacle Chapel

Tabernacle Chapel is the outstanding building in the centre of Morriston and visually dominates the area. It has been described as the " Non-Conformist Cathedral of Wales" while Anthony Jones, in his 1996 definitive book "Welsh Chapels" described the chapel as "The largest, grandest and most expensive chapel built in Wales". The book features the iconic Grade 1-listed building as its cover-photograph. Victorian industrialisation brought rapid population growth to the Lower Swansea Valley, close to the port of Swansea, as rural workers sought new employment opportunities in many tinplate and copper works established in the area. Welsh Nonconformity enjoyed great popularity; a dozen chapels were built in the Morriston area alone in the latter half of the 19th century and Tabernacle, planned as the ultimate evocation of a Welsh chapel in terms of architecture, space and facilities, was completed in 1872 at a staggering cost of £18,000. The design was evolved by three prominent figures in the area: the minister, Emlyn Jones, the architect, John Humphrey and the contractor Daniel Edwards. The Cambrian national newspaper described it as "the one great redeeming feature in that manufacturing district, an oasis in a desert".

Morriston Park

Sir John Morris, 1st Baronet of Clasemont, built a mansion in 1775 called Clasemont at Pengwern on the western slopes of the Lower Swansea valley. The mansion had a garden of extensive open grassland giving way to a wooded wilderness and panoramic vista. In 1911,

Swansea Corporation , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , logo_pic = Swansea City Council Logo.svg , logo_res = , logo_alt = , house_type = Unitary authority , jurisdiction = , foundation = 1 April 1996 , preceded_by = West Glamorgan County CouncilSw ...

purchased 47 acres of Clasemont which became Morriston Park in 1912. For several years the park received investment and new facilities, hosting many activities, carnivals and musical performances. It once incorporated a large ornate bandstand, swimming baths, lido, aviary, cricket pitch, changing rooms, shop and even a 9-hole golf course. But in recent years all of these assets, and more, have disappeared. Over the years the significance of Morriston Park has slipped from the collective consciousness. It now suffers from severe drainage problems with many paths and borders overgrown and in poor condition. Despite this neglect, the park still maintains the structure of an 18th-century landscape garden with magnificent views over the Lower Swansea valley.

Industrial heritage

Morriston is part of the Lower Swansea Valley. Over a period of about 150 years up until the 1920s, the valley was one of the most heavily industrialised areas of the developed world. Morriston was constructed as "Wales' earliest planned industrial village" and was laid out on a grid pattern designed by

William Edwards William Edwards may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Edwards (architect) (1719–1789), Welsh architect of the Pontypridd bridge in south Wales *William Camden Edwards (1777–1855), Welsh engraver *William Augustus Edwards (1866–1939), ...

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" with the Welsh language translation being ''Treforys''. 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. The Swansea Canal also ran through the area transporting coal, limestone and other products along the valley but it was drained from Clydach to Swansea in the 1970s. Some small remains, including a footbridge, are still present in Morriston. 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. Sir John Morris was also responsible for the construction between 1768 and 1774 of Morris Castle, 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.

Arts

Morriston is home to a number of choirs. The internationally-renowned Morriston Orpheus Choir was formed in 1935 and performs around 25 engagements annually both in the UK and overseas, and undertakes performances on radio, television and at national events. Other choirs include Morriston RFC Male Choir, formed in 1979 by members of the local rugby club, and Morriston Ladies Choir, formed in 1941 by Miss Lillian Abbot and members of the Local First Aid Defence Group. The Wales Book of the Year-winning novelist

Stevie Davies Stevie Davies is a Welsh novelist, essayist and short story writer. She was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1998, and is also a fellow of the Welsh Academy. Her novel '' The Element of Water'' was longlisted for the Booke ...

was born in Salisbury, England, but her family moved to Morriston when she was a week old. Although her RAF family left Morriston two years later, Davies would return there to stay with her grandmother every summer and still considers it her hometown.

Sport

Morriston R.F.C. is a rugby club founded in 1876 and based at Maes Collen. It is one of the founder clubs of the current Welsh Rugby Union and feeder club to the

Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

region. The club caters for all age group rugby from age 6 to youth & senior sides and has produced many players who have achieved international honours, including Ross Moriarty. Morriston has several amateur association football clubs, most of which play in the Swansea Senior League:

Morriston Town Morriston Town Football Club is an amateur association football team based in Morriston, Swansea, Wales. The club plays in the Ardal Leagues South West, which is tier three of the Welsh football pyramid. Brief History The club was formed in the 1 ...

is a former Welsh Football League team based at The Dingle. Morriston Athletic and C.R.C. Olympic are also based in Morriston. Before they merged, games between Morriston Olympic and C.R.C (Cwmrhydyceirw) Rangers were fiercely contested, with scores of supporters lining the pitch at Tir Canol whenever the two sides met. Morriston Cricket Club was formed in 1865 and is the oldest sporting organisation in Morriston. The club plays its home matches at Tir Canol adjacent to the Rugby Club and is affiliated to the South Wales Cricket Association. A number of notable sportspeople have links with Morriston, either through residency or from the fact that Morriston Hospital once housed the maternity ward for Swansea and its surrounding areas. Welsh rugby international Shane Williams was born in Morriston, for example, but grew up in

Glanamman Glanamman ( cy, Glanaman) is a Welsh mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Gar ...

in the

Amman Valley Amman Valley may refer to: *The valley of the River Amman * Amman Valley Hospital *Amman Valley Railway The Amman Valley Railway Society ( cy, Rheilffordd Dyffryn Aman) is situated near the former Gwaun Cae Gurwen branch line, that runs alongsid ...

. Other Welsh international rugby players with stronger links to Morriston include William Richard Arnold, Tony Clement, Richard Moriarty, Paul Moriarty and Ross Moriarty. Footballer James Thomas, who played in the English Football League for Blackburn Rovers, West Bromwich Albion and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

(amongst others), was born and bred in Morriston and played youth football for

Listed buildings

Grade I listed buildings:City and County of Swansea – Listed Building Index
* Capel Tabernacl on Woodfield Street designed by Architect John Humphrey, whose story has been captured in the book ''The Remarkable Life of John Humphrey, Gods Own Architect'' by David Farmer (1997) Grade II listed buildings: *Former Annealing Building in George Cohen's Works, off Beaufort Road *Morfydd Street Bridge & Boundary Wall to Davies Street *Seion Chapel on Clase Road *Philadelphia Chapel incl. attached Chapel House & Sunday School on Globe Street *Former Police Station & House on Martin Street *'Danbert House' (former Employment Exchange) on Morfydd Street. Built in the 1880s for local industrialist Daniel Edwards (and named after his patent tinplate) it is now derelict. *War Memorial in Morriston Park *Church of St. John on Woodfield Street

Notable people

: ''See also :People from Morriston'' USO-Gloucester Rugby - 20141025 - Ross Moriarty

* William Richard Arnold (1881–1957), Wales rugby union international *

Cliff Bowen Clifford Alfred Bowen (3 January 1875 – 30 April 1929) was a Wales, Welsh international rugby union wing who played for club rugby for Llanelli RFC, Llanelli and international rugby for Wales national rugby union team, Wales. He was also a ke ...

(1875–1929), Wales rugby union international and Carmarthenshire cricketer * Tony Clement (born 1967), Wales rugby union international *

, award-winning novelist * Peter Hill (born 1950), Bishop of Barking, London * Nicholas McGaughey, actor and writer * Paul Moriarty (born 1964), Wales rugby union international * Richard Moriarty (born 1957), Wales rugby union international * Ross Moriarty (born 1994), Wales rugby union international *

D.Z. Phillips Dewi Zephaniah Phillips (24 November 1934 – 25 July 2006), known as D. Z. Phillips or simply DZ, was a Welsh philosopher. He was a leading proponent of the Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion. He had an academic career spanning five decad ...

(1934–2006), philosopher of religion * James Thomas (born 1979), professional footballer *

Hayley Tullett Hayley Tullett (née Parry, born 17 February 1973) is a Welsh former middle distance runner who mainly competed over 1500 metres. She won a bronze medal in the 1500m final at the 2003 World Championships. She also competed for Great Britain in t ...

(born 1973), international athlete * Shane Williams (born 1977), Wales rugby union international

References

{{authority control Towns in Swansea Districts of Swansea