Sketty Hall is a venue used for hosting social functions, business functions and conferences in

Singleton Park Singleton Park ( cy, Parc Singleton) is the largest urban park in the city of Swansea. It is located in Sketty. The park comprises 250 acres of land. An ornamental garden is located to the south, near the entrance to Swansea University, and a w ...

, Swansea, south

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 ...

. The original building was built in the early 18th century as a private house. Over the years it has seen a number of extensions, modifications and changes of use to its present-day role.

History

The original building was constructed in the 1720s by Rawleigh Dawkin (later Rawleigh Mansel), son of the squire of Kilvrough in Gower, and on his death passed to his brother Mansel Dawkin (later Mansel Mansel). It was improved in 1780 by the addition of the bay windows and then Swansea architect, William Jernegan, later added the western part of the frontage for Ralph Sheldon, MP. In the 1820s the house was remodelled by Charles Baring of the London merchant banking family. He added an extra floor to Rawleigh Dawkin's house and a parapet running the whole length of the south front. In 1831 the house was bought for £3,800 by

Lewis Weston Dillwyn Lewis Weston Dillwyn, FRS (21 August 1778 – 31 August 1855) was a British porcelain manufacturer, naturalist and Whig Member of Parliament (MP). Biography He was born in Walthamstow, Essex, the eldest son of William Dillwyn (1743–1824) and ...

, owner of the

Cambrian Pottery The Cambrian Pottery was founded in 1764 by William Coles in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales. In 1790, John Coles, son of the founder, went into partnership with George Haynes, who introduced new business strategies based on the ideas of Josia ...

in Swansea. He commissioned the architect Edward Haycock Snr in the early 1830s to build the present entrance hall and adjacent large room on the north side of the house. In 1881 Frank Ash Yeo, Chairman of the Swansea Harbour Trust, added the dining room to the east of Dillwyn's entrance hall. Richard Glynn Vivian, an art lover from the Vivian family who gave the

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the City and County of Swansea, in Wales, United Kingdom. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library. History The ...

to Swansea, bought the Hall in 1898 as his home. He added the balconies and masks of Italian marble, laid out the ornamental gardens and installed the belvedere or

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. Etymology The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries is "Mid 18th c ...

tower on the roof. During the Second World War, the house was requisitioned to serve as an ARP area headquarters. Later it was used by the

British Iron and Steel Research Association The British Iron and Steel Research Association or BISRA, formed in 1944, was the research arm of the British steel industry. It had headquarters in London, originally at 11 Park Lane, later moved to 24 Buckingham Gate, with Laboratories in Shef ...

as a major research centre for the steel industry. The Hall was completely renovated in 1993.

References

External links

Sketty Hall
(official site)
Sketty Hall
{{coord, 51, 36, 47.00, N, 3, 59, 18.00, W, type:landmark, display=title Houses completed in 1752 Houses completed in the 18th century Grade II listed buildings in Swansea Houses in Swansea Country houses in Wales Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales Grade II listed houses in Wales