Cwmbwrla ( en, Bwrla valley) is a residential area and
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...
of
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...
in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, within the
Cwmbwrla ward of the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. Located on rising ground about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the
city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
, it takes its name from the valley of the Burlais Brook (now
culverted) which flows down from here to join the
River Tawe
The River Tawe (; cy, Afon Tawe ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National ...
immediately northeast of
Swansea railway station. The neighbouring districts are
Manselton
Manselton (''Welsh:'' Trefansel) is a suburban area of Swansea, Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the ...
,
Greenhill,
Mayhill
Mayhill is a district of Swansea, Wales, at the top of a steep hill of the same name just north west of the city centre, partly separated from Townhill to the west.
Mayhill Garden City started in 1914 as an experimental row of six houses that ...
,
Townhill, and
Cwmdu.
The population of the community and ward was 7,972 in 2011.
Local Housing and Amenities
Cwmbwrla is a predominantly residential area with just a few local convenience stores. Local amenities include Burlais Primary School, CREST- a day centre for mental health services,
FOYD - Friends of the Young Disabled buildings (previously head offices of Cwmfelin Steel), a Work-Based Learning Provider
Swansea ITeCand Cwmbwrla Park which contains several playing fields including two football pitches.
History
Cwmbwrla was first known as ' in the 12th century, from a local stream. By 1641 the stream had been
Cymricised to Bwrla and Cwm was added as a prefix.
At the end of the 1950s and early 1960s, Cwmbwrla went through several changes. Before the decision to build a roundabout was made, the village was typical of many other Welsh villages. There were rows of shops on either side, with the Tivoli (the cinema ) which also served as a community center on the other side. There was a black and white police box there too, a car auctioneers, Cyril Price, and the Gate House pub which was named after the tollgate and was there during the meow raids.
There were also four Nonconformist Chapels:
* Capel-y-Gat (demolished)
* Y Babell ( demolished)
* the Gorse Mission (still standing)
* Libanus chapel. (demolished after being damaged by fire in 2012)
Notable figures
Wales international footballers
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
and
Mel Charles;
Ivor
Ivor is an English masculine given name derived either directly from the Norse ''Ívarr'', or from Welsh (which spells it ''Ifor''), Irish (sometimes ''Ibar''), or Scottish, all of which likely derive it also from the original Norse form.The Oxford ...
and
Len Allchurch
Leonard Allchurch (12 September 1933 – 16 November 2016) was a Welsh professional footballer. Allchurch played in the English Football League for almost twenty years, playing in the top flight with Sheffield United and having lengthy spells wit ...
;
Mel Nurse
Melvyn Tudor George Nurse (born 11 October 1937) is a Welsh former professional footballer. A centre-half, he started his career at his hometown club Swansea Town and made his professional debut in 1956.
He joined Middlesbrough in 1962 for a c ...
;
Jackie Roberts; and
Ernie Jones were all born and raised in the area.
Census 2011
In the
census of 2011 the situation is as follows:
External links
Friends of the Young Disabled Cwmbwrla
References
{{coord, 51, 38, 13.00, N, 3, 57, 28.00, W, type:city, display=title
Communities in Swansea
Districts of Swansea