Singleton Park ( cy, Parc Singleton) is the largest urban

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in the city 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 ...

. It is located in

Sketty The suburban district of Sketty ( cy, Sgeti) is about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the Swansea city centre on Gower Road. It falls within the Sketty council ward of Swansea. It is also a community. Description The area approximates to the Vivi ...

. The park comprises 250 acres of land. An ornamental garden is located to the south, near the entrance to

Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

, and a walled

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

is located in the centre of the park. On the south-western corner, past the hospital and the university, there is a

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

lake with

pedalo A pedalo (British English) or paddle boat (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel. Description A pedalo is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the ...

s available, as well as a

Crazy Golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

course.

History

The park was originally part of the

Vivian family Vivian may refer to: *Vivian (name), a given name and also a surname Toponyms * Vivian, Louisiana, U.S. * Vivian, South Dakota, U.S. * Vivian, West Virginia, U.S. * Vivian Island, Nunavut, Canada * Ballantrae, Ontario, a hamlet in Stouffville, ...

estate, which was purchased by Swansea County Borough Council in 1919 for use as a public park. The park superintendent Daniel Bliss, who was trained at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

was responsible for the conception of the Singleton Farm

botanical gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and Ornamental Gardens. He was also the main driver behind the purchase of the Vivian estate. There is an iconic Swiss cottage located inside the park. This was designed by architect P.F. Robinson, who designed Sketty Hall as well as a number of other lodges in the park. The cottage was badly damaged in 2010 in an arson attack but has now been restored and there are plans to use the space as a cafe. The lakeside pub, ''Inn on the Lake'', became so well known as ''The Pub On the Pond'' that the owner later gave in and changed the name. The park has hosted many entertainment and cultural events such as

Party in the Park Party in the Park is the generic name given to music concerts organised by various radio stations and local authorities and groups in the United Kingdom, typically in large parks during the summer, however it is also used to refer to a family ori ...

and

Proms in the Park The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

which were regular events by local stations The Wave &

Swansea Sound Greatest Hits Radio South Wales (formerly Swansea Sound) is Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, East Carmarthenshire a ...

and other music events held by the two stations and their partners are

Escape into the Park {{No footnotes, date=March 2009 Escape into the Park was a festival held in Singleton Park, Swansea, South Wales, South Wales every summer since the year 2000. It started life as a spin-off to The Escape club formerly located in Northampton Lane, ...

and the former Stars in the Park. The BBC has hosted Proms on the Park and the

Biggest Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...

. Artists who have held concerts in the park include

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records, she rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, bot ...

and the

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...

. The Friends of the City of Swansea Botanical Complex have commissioned the creation of a bi-lingual commemorative panel to celebrate the Centenary of Singleton Park being in public ownership. The panel will be displayed in the Botanical Gardens. This panel will be unveiled by descendants of the Vivian family on Sunday 4 August 2019.

Amenities

Located in the grounds of Singleton Park are: *

Bishop Gore School The Bishop Gore School ( cy, Ysgol Esgob Gore) is a secondary school in Swansea in Wales, founded on 14 September 1682 by Hugh Gore (1613–1691), Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated in Sketty, close to Singleton Park and Swansea ...

main campus **

Singleton Abbey Singleton Abbey ( cy, Abaty Singleton) is a large, mainly 19th-century mansion in Swansea, Wales. Today, the buildings are used to house administration offices for Swansea University. They can be found at the eastern end of the Swansea Universit ...

** The

Taliesin Arts Centre Taliesin Arts Centre ( cy, Canolfan y Celfyddydau Taliesin) is owned and managed by Swansea University and is located on the university's Singleton campus in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. The Centre opened in 1984. Stephen Hawking gave the inaug ...

(which houses a theatre and Ancient Egyptian museum) *

Singleton Hospital Singleton Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Singleton) is a general hospital in Sketty Lane, Swansea, Wales. It is managed by Swansea Bay University Health Board. History The first stage of the hospital, which included outpatients' facilities, was complete ...

Sketty Hall Sketty Hall is a venue used for hosting social functions, business functions and conferences in Singleton Park, Swansea, south Wales. The original building was built in the early 18th century as a private house. Over the years it has seen a numb ...

* St. Paul's

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

with

graves * Headquarters of 44th Swansea Scout Groupbr>The_Botanical_Gardens_and_FCSBC_Plant_Sales_Shop_[Supporting_the_Botanical_Gardens

_See_also

*List_of_gardens_in_Wales.html" ;"title="upporting the Botanical Gardens">The Botanical Gardens and FCSBC Plant Sales Shop [Supporting the Botanical Gardens

Reference list

External links