Loughor () ( cy, Casllwchwr) is a Welsh

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

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 ...

, within the historic county boundaries of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

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 ...

. It lies on the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the

River Loughor The River Loughor () ( cy, Afon Llwchwr) is a river in Wales which marks the border between Carmarthenshire and Swansea. The river is sourced from an underground lake at the Black Mountain emerging at the surface from Llygad Llwchwr which trans ...

. The town has a

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 ...

council under the name

Llwchwr Llwchwr is a community and (from 2022) electoral ward in the central western part of the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. It lies west-north-west of Swansea city centre and is bounded by the communities of Gorseinon to the north, Penllerga ...

. The town is bordered by the communities of

Bynea Bynea ( )G.M. Miller, ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 23. ( cy, Bynie) is a village close to the River Loughor (Welsh-Afon Llwchwr) in Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin), Wales (Cymru). It also forms an Bynea ...

in Carmarthenshire, Grovesend (Pengelli), Gowerton (Tre-Gwŷr), and Gorseinon. Loughor is part of the built-up area of Gorseinon.

Etymology

The town's name has been called "possibly the oldest name in Gower", dating back to the Roman era. It derives from the name of the Roman Britain, Roman castra, fort of Leucarum.

History

The town includes the site of the Roman fort of Leucarum, over which the Norman architecture, Norman Loughor Castle was built in 1106. Loughor developed around the castle. The town has had its own lifeboat station since 1969, situated near the road bridge. The current lifeboat is a Ribcraft 5.85m RIB. Loughor Castle - geograph

Loughor later grew as a port, while in the early 20th century the main industries were large tin and steel works. About 1800, John Vivian (1750–1826) of Truro, Cornwall, became managing partner in the copper works at Penclawdd, when Loughor was owned by the Cheadle Brasswire Company of Staffordshire. The Vivian family (British Isles), Vivian family eventually ran large copper-mining, copper-smelting and trading businesses in and around Swansea (Vivian & Sons) and throughout the 19th century did much to develop

as a city.

Structure and amenities

Loughor town can be divided into two areas, defined by the present electoral wards of Lower Loughor and Upper Loughor, which have separate histories. Lower Loughor lies nearer the sea on low ground, Upper Loughor on higher ground. Loughor initially developed around the Norman castle in what is now the Lower Loughor ward. Upper Loughor began as a distinct settlement, initially around what is now the Glebe Road area, and became established as a separate town by the mid-19th century. Loughor today is mostly a commuter town for

and Llanelli via the Loughor bridge, and has merged with the neighbouring town of Gorseinon. The West Wales line crosses the

over the Loughor Viaduct to the west of the town. Loughor railway station was closed in 1960. Local schools in the town include Tre Uchaf Primary School and Casllwchwr Primary School. Opposite the Tre Uchaf Primary is one of the sites of Gower College Swansea. The local rugby union team of the town is Loughor RFC.

Notable people

In birth order: *Evan Roberts (minister), Evan Roberts (1878–1951), minister, a major figure in the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival in religious worship *James Henry Govier (1910–1974), painter, etcher and engraver of the Swansea School, produced several images of Loughor. *Irma Chilton (1930–1990), children's writer in English and Welsh *Leighton James (born 1953), Welsh international footballer

References

Sources

*Swansea Art Gallery Catalogue, 1936 *The Gower Journal *Who's Who in Art *Dictionary of British Artists 1900–1950, by Grant M. Waters, 1975

External links

History of Loughorwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Loughor and surrounding area
{{authority control Towns in Swansea