Dunvant ( cy, Dyfnant) (Dyfn - deep; nant - stream or brook) is a suburban district 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, tow ...
(parish) 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
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, and falls within the
Dunvant ward. It is situated in a valley some 4.5 miles west of
Swansea city centre
Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centr ...
.
The population as of the 2011 census was 4,383.
It adjoins the area of
Killay.
History
Dunvant started out as a small village based around the
coal industry
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when de ...
. The area between Dunvant and
Gowerton
Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and Community (Wales), community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The villa ...
was once quite heavily industrialised. with four nearby collieries Killan, Bishwell, Bryn Mawr and Dunvant. Bishwell and Bryn Mawr to the south of
Gowerton
Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and Community (Wales), community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The villa ...
were short-lived and closed in the 1870s. However, the
collieries
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
in Dunvant have a longer history. Dunvant closed again in 1914. Killan ceased operations in 1925 following the disaster of 1924 in which five men were killed. At its peak it employed 900 men. Other industry included the Penlan (Dunvant)
Brickworks
A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...
and
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
which although long since derelict is now an
area of conservation and
ecological diversity
Ecosystem diversity deals with the variations in ecosystems within a geographical location and its overall impact on human existence and the environment.
Ecosystem diversity addresses the combined characteristics of biotic properties (biodiver ...
.
Development of this part of the
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espec ...
was due to the proximity of the
Central Wales Line
The Heart of Wales line ( cy, Llinell Calon Cymru) is a railway line running from Craven Arms in Shropshire to Llanelli in southwest Wales. It serves a number of rural centres, including the nineteenth-century spa towns Llandrindod Wells, Llanga ...
, which first opened to passengers in 1867 taking people from Swansea Victoria station via
Blackpill
Blackpill (or Black Pill) is a suburban area of Swansea, Wales, beside Swansea Bay, about southwest of the city centre.
Description
Blackpill falls into the Mayals ward.
The area is centred on a seafront building on Mumbles road, which onc ...
through to
Gowerton
Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and Community (Wales), community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The villa ...
and beyond. At its peak, the railway carried up to 80 trains a day including express trains to
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
.
Houses in the area sprung up in the form of
ribbon development Ribbon development refers to the building of houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. The resulting linear settlements are clearly visible on land use maps and aerial photographs, giving cities and the countrysid ...
along the roads leading to the area in the early 1920s and 1930s.
However, it was in the 1960s that larger housing estates appeared, creating the sub-urban area forming Dunvant today.
Governance
Dunvant had its own
community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.
In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...
, until it was dissolved in 2006.
Until 2022 Dunvant was an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
to Swansea Council. Effective from the
2022 local elections
This local electoral calendar for 2022 lists the subnational elections held in 2022. Referendums, Recall election, recall and retention elections, and national By-election, by-elections (special elections) are also included.
January
*9 January: ...
it was merged with neighbouring
Killay North
Killay North ( cy, Cilâ - Gogledd) is a former electoral ward in the City and County of Swansea, Wales which consisted of some or all of the following areas: Killay, Olchfa and Waunarlwydd, in the parliamentary constituency of Swansea West. ...
and
Killay South
Killay South ( cy, Cilâ - De) was an electoral ward in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. The ward was mainly rural and consisted of some or all of the following areas: Dunvant, Ilston, Killay, Swansea, Killay, Sketty and Upper Killay in t ...
to become 'Dunvant and Killay', electing three county councillors.
Education
Dunvant has two Primary Schools, Pen-y-Fro Primary situated on Priors Crescent (previously named Dyfnant Primary) and Dunvant School. Dunvant School opened to primary and secondary pupils in 1877 under the headship of Mr John Roach. The school replaced an earlier school in
Killay. As the school expanded, the original buildings were insufficient and a number of temporary buildings were provided. The infants school originally operated from a corrugated iron building known as the Tin Shack until a new building was built in 1966 to the north of the junior school. The Tin Shack survived as part of the junior school until it was demolished in the mid 1980s.
In 1969, the new
Olchfa School
Olchfa School ( cy, Ysgol Gyfun yr Olchfa) is the largest secondary school in Swansea, South Wales, with approximately 1,700 pupils, including 357 in the Sixth Form. Situated in Sketty Park to the west of Sketty, it provides secondary educatio ...
opened and many of the staff and older pupils transferred to the new school, with buildings belonging to the Dunvant Secondary School being transferred to the junior school.
Even with the new infants school and secondary school, accommodation at Dunvant became overcrowded due to the continued expansion of the large housing estates at Derlwyn and Broadmead. The overcrowding was alleviated in 1976 by the opening of the new
Hendrefoilan
Hendrefoilan is an area in Swansea, South Wales. The area overlaps northwest Sketty and east Killay communities.
The western part is often known as ''Student Village'' which lies is on the west bank of the Olchfa Stream, in the suburb of Killay. ...
Primary School in Killay.
In 2006, Dunvant Infant and Dunvant Junior Schools merged to form Dunvant Primary School. Many of the temporary buildings on the junior school site have now been removed, and a programme of building works is under way to bring the remaining buildings up to a modern standard.
Sport and leisure
Rugby union club
Dunvant RFC
Dunvant Rugby Football Club are a Welsh rugby union club based in Dunvant, Swansea in South Wales. Dunvant RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union. They competed in the Welsh Championship for the first time in 2016/2017, but were relegate ...
is based in the village.
Dunvant Male Choir
Dunvant Male Choir ( cy, Côr Meibion Dyfnant) is the oldest continuously singing Welsh choir and is based in Dunvant, Swansea, Wales.
History
The Choir was founded in 1895, in the country traditionally known as the "land of song".Davies (2008 ...
is the longest-running male voice choir in Wales, having been founded in 1895.
The Clyne Valley Cycle Track part of
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
Route 4 runs through this village.
Notable residents
*Sir
Granville Beynon
Sir William John Granville Beynon, CBE, FRS (24 May 1914 in Dunvant – 11 March 1996 in Aberystwyth) was a Welsh physicist. He co-operated with Sir Edward Victor Appleton, who had detected the terrestrial Ionosphere.
Life history
Willia ...
(1914-1996), physicist.
*
John Ormond
John Ormond (3 April 1923 – 4 May 1990), also known as John Ormond Thomas, was a Welsh poet and film-maker.
Biography
John Ormond Thomas was born on 3 April 1923 in Wales, at Dunvant, near Swansea. He studied philosophy and English at Swanse ...
(1923–90), poet and film-maker.
*
Heather Nicholson
Heather Nicholson is a British animal rights activist.Peachey, Paul (23 August 2014)"Animal rights group ends 15-year campaign against experiments at Huntingdon" ''The Independent.
Nicholson set up Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) to clos ...
(1967- ), animal rights activist
*
Ceri Richards
Ceri Giraldus Richards (6 June 1903 – 9 November 1971) was a Welsh painter, print-maker and maker of reliefs.
Biography
Richards was born in 1903 in the village of Dunvant, near Swansea, the son of Thomas Coslett Richards and Sarah Ri ...
(1903-1971), artist, acknowledged as Wales' most important artist of the mid-twentieth century, went to Dunvant infants and junior school.
*
David John Thomas
David John Thomas (15 March 1879 – 19 October 1925) was a Welsh international forward who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club. He won ten caps for Wales and is most notable for scoring the only try in Swansea's win over South Africa i ...
(1879-1925), Wales international rugby player
Churches in Dunvant
St Martin's* Ebenezer
* St. Joachim and St. Anne Catholic Church
Dunvant Gospel Hall
Further reading
* ''Dunvant, Portrait of a Community'' by Gareth Evans, published in 2008 ()
References
External links
Dunvant Male ChoirDunvant Rugby ClubThe History of Dunvant by David Morgan
{{Authority control
Communities in Swansea
Districts of Swansea