Gorseinon
Gorseinon is a town in Swansea , Wales , near the estuary of the River Loughor . Gorseinon was a small village until the late 19th century, when it grew through coal mining and the tin industry . It is about ten kilometers northwest of Swansea. Gorseinon is a municipality with its own Town Council .
In 2011 the population of Gorseinon was 8,693. However, this includes an area that is defined by the ONS as the Gorseinon Urban Area and includes the entire built-up area in and around Gorseinon. These include Gorseinon, Loughor , Garden Village and Penllergaer. This area had a population of 20,581 people.
geography
geology
Gorseinon stands on the layers of the Grovesend Formation . This consists mainly of slate mixed with clays and fine-grain sandstones. In this area there are strong coal seams and less common sandstone. The lower limit of this formation is found at the base of the Swansea Four-Feet Coal in Swansea (comparable to the Llantwit No.3 Seam in the Pontypridd district and the Mynyddislwyn Seam east of the River Taff ) there it covers mudstone seatearth on the heavily sandy Swansea Member and the similar Hughes member in the east of the coal area. It has a sharply demarcated end to the west and is believed to gradually taper off to the east. The Grovesend Formation is the youngest layer in the South Wales and Forest of Dean coalfields . It is covered by sandstones from the Sherwood Sandstone Group in Newent Coalfield , by clays from the Mercia Mudstone Group in Oxfordshire Coalfield and the corresponding rocks in the Bristol / Somerset Coalfields .
The Swansea Member Formation stands in small areas east of a fault in the Penllergaer region of Gorseinon. This fault has a north-south orientation. The layers consist of greenish-gray "Pennant sandstones" with thin layers of clay and seatearth interbeds as well as thin layers of coal. The lower horizon of this formation lies on the Golden Seam (Swansea Three Feet or Graigola), where the bald rests on layers of clay within a predominant sandstone layer of the Pennant Sandstone Formation . The uppermost horizon ends at the Wernffraith Seam (in connection with the Mynyddislwyn Seam in the eastern part of South Wales Coalfield ).
The most common sediments in Gorseinon are devension till (boulder clay) deposits from glacial movements. The Afon Lliw is mainly characterized by alluvial sediments . Tidal deposits predominate to the east of Gorseinon in the estuary.
Economic geology
There are several coal mines and shafts in South Gorseinon; a number of slate quarries are located in North Gorseinon. Coal is due in the southern and eastern border areas.
traffic
Gorseinon has a bus station on West Street . The buses are provided by First Cymru with connections to the surrounding villages and to Llanelli and Swansea . In 1964 the city lost its connection to the train service due to the Beeching ax .
The main road through Gorseinon is the A4240 which connects the city with Llanelli to the west and Penllergaer and the M4 Motorway (Junction 47) to the east.
economy
The city center in the High Street area is a busy city center. Important industrial parks with jobs are the Garngoch Industrial estate in Penllergaer, the Gorseinon Business Park and the Kingsbridge Business Park . The nearby Bryngwyn steel works and the Valeo factory used to be the town's main employers, but both closed their plants in the 1990s. To compensate for this, the National Assembly for Wales developed the Gorseinon Regeneration Strategy to create new jobs.
The Canolfan Gorseinon Center was established at the old Bryngwyn Steel factory and is a volunteer community center. This building is also the headquarters of the Gorseinon Development Trust , a local charity that coordinates various voluntary activities, and is also home to other associations and community projects such as B. Gorseinon Food Bank , Musicality - Academy of Performing Arts , Gorseinon Food Festival , Gorseinon Community Cinema , Gorseinon Players .
One progress was that ASDA opened a supermarket in town in 2010. The supermarket chain built a shopping center in Heol y Mynydd in north-east Gorseinon in 2012 .
Church history
In 1840 Gorseinon had just under 250 inhabitants. At that time there were two churches in the area. One was the “Church on the Marsh”, also: Loughor and Llandeilo (Talybont) . It was rebuilt in St. Fagan's Folk Museum . The second church was Brynteg Chapel, the only non-conformist church in the area. It was built in 1815 and is still standing today.
The first church in Gorseinon itself was the Holy Trinity Church . It was built in 1882 and expanded two years later. The Seion Baptist Church was built in 1886. This was built on the bank of the river in "Nieder" -Gorseinon, but was replaced in 1902 by New Seion in High Street . Old Seion was taken over by the Methodists and renamed Moose Hall . Bethel English Congregational Church (Evangelical) was founded in 1894. The English Congregationalist Church established in Masons Road, now known as West Street-Bethel Chapel . After this start-up phase, development stalled. A new assembly building was not erected until 1909 when the Welsh Congregational Chapel , which had opened in 1887, erected a new building near Seion Capel.
Then the Salvation Army buildings were built in 1910 and St. Catherine's Church in 1913. The Roman Catholic Church was first built on Pontardulais Road in 1932 and moved to Alexandra Road in the 1960s . The architect of the Catholic Church was Robert Robinson, a local.
Agricultural and industrial development
Gors Eynon first appeared on an Ordnance Survey map in 1813, but the name appeared in today's spelling as early as 1830. The monks of Neath Abbey often came to this place, which can be concluded from the fact that a number of mills were built on the banks of the rivers: Cadle Mill ; am Lliw: Pontlliw , Melyn Mynach and Loughor Mill .
There was a web mill and two flour mills. The monks provided food and clothing for the monastery. The wool was brought in from the sheep pastures of the Gower Peninsula . At the end of the 13th century, the monks of Melyn Mynach owned large lands that were used for sheep breeding. They produce coveted wool in Cwrt Y Carnau , which was traded in Flanders and Italy . When the plague raged in the 14th century, labor became scarce and monks were forced to lease or sell land. Under the reign of Henry VIII , the last monks were sent away and the land was incorporated into the crown.
Mr. John Pryce, a local nobleman who had moved to London, returned to look after his family at Cwrt Y Carne . In 1575 he acquired the property and the land with the mill at Melyn Mynach . The entire property was 0.52 km² (130 acres). Pryce extorted every penny from its tenants and there were many disputes, but still the family prospered and in the early 18th century they changed the name to Price.
The last owner of Melyn Mynach was Nathaniel Cameron, the Mayor of Swansea and the husband of a "Price". He also owned the Mountain Colliery (mine) but sold the mill to William Lewis, the founder of Gorseinon, due to financial difficulties. There was little industry but large amounts of coal. One gallery opened in 1846 and is known as " The Mountain Coal ". The coal was transported on a narrow-gauge railway to Loughor, from where it was loaded onto ships to Llanelli and shipped all over the world. The tunnel was mined until 1900 when a shaft sank.
In 1860 the London and North Western Railway planned to extend its line from Pontarddulais to Swansea. William Lewis, a young industrialist, sold land to the company and in 1870 what became known as Gorseinon Station was opened. The Mountain Colliery mine built a feeder and the coal was brought to Swansea Docks .
The first day school opened in Penyrheol in 1880 . The director, Mr. Jones, later moved them to Gorseinon. As industry grew, so did the population and building areas. During this time Mill Street, Gorseinon Terrace, Eynon Street and the High Street were built.
Grovesend Tin Works was established in 1886 and the Lewis family built many houses for their workers. Grovesend Steelworks opened in 1890, but by 1891 all sheet metal workers were caught in a seven month strike. There were two pubs in Gorseinon , the Gorseinon Hotel (Bottom Hotel) and the Station Hotel (the Gyp). The Bottom Hotel was reserved for the miners and the Gyp for the tin workers. It was considered a mortal sin to enter each other's territory. In 1892 the West End Hotel was built and in 1901 the Mardy .
In 1904 the Gorseinon Institute opened and in 1908 the Bryngwyn Sheetworks .
administration
County Council
Before the administrative reform in 1996, the city of Gorseinon was administered as part of the Lliw Valley District and before that as part of the Llwchwr Urban District Council . Since 1996 Gorseinon is the City and County of Swansea council looked after and is one of the constituencies (electoral wards) Gorseinon and Penyrheol of Swansea .
Town Council
The Gorseinon Town Council developed in 1998 from the Gorseinon Community Council . Since then it has been authorized to appoint a major annually . The Council now has 16 honorary members who are elected every four years.
Partnerships
Gorseinon, together with the municipality of Llwchwr, has Ploërmel in France as a twin town .
Public facilities
The city has a well-equipped hospital, which even before the establishment of the National Health Service by the industrialist (William) Rufus Lewis. was built. There is also a library and post office.
Martin Caton , Member of Parliament for Gower, has an office on Pontarddulais Road.
sport and freetime
There is a rugby club Gorseinon RFC and in Kingsbridge, a suburb, there is the Garden Village FC of the Welsh Football League , which trains on the grounds of the Gorseinon Cricket Club . Gorseinon hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1980 . The Garngoch Golf Club was founded in 1930 , but closed again shortly after the Second World War . La Charrette , the smallest cinema in Great Britain, which had been set up by an electrician, Gwyn Phillips, also existed in Gorseinon for over 50 years . The cinema was opened in 1953 in a worn-out railroad car. In 2008, due to the structural condition, the closure was necessary and La Charrette was expanded and moved to the Gower Heritage Center . The last film shown was a noble premiere of Danny Boyle's Alien Love Triangle , which Kenneth Branagh also appeared in and which was hosted by the Observer's film critic , Mark Kermode .
A new community center was opened in an old factory: the Canolfan Gorseinon Center with a multi-purpose hall, training rooms, offices, a daycare center and a bar and café.
education
There are a number of educational institutions and childcare facilities. Gorseinon Nursery is the main kindergarten. Gorseinon Infants and Junior School are two separate schools that provide primary education. In 2012, efforts were made to combine Gorseinon Nursery, Infants and Junior School into one Gorseinon Primary School .
Penyrheol Comprehensive School accepts 90% of 11-16 year old students. In 2006 the school was badly damaged by arson and it was not until 2010 that a new school building was inaugurated. In addition, there is a campus of Gower College Swansea in the city .
sons and daughters of the town
- Tristan Garel-Jones, Baron Garel-Jones (1941-2020), politician
- Jessica Sula (* 1994), actress
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nomis: Map of Gorseinon Urban Area
- ↑ Woodland et al. a, 1957; Squirrell and Downing, 1969; Barclay, 1989.
- ↑ Woodland et al., 1957.
- ^ South Wales Evening Post - Supermarket giant Asda back with £ 25m plan
- ↑ Twin Towns in the UK ( Memento of the original from June 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ gorseinoncc.co.uk ( Memento of the original from April 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ "Garngoch Golf Club" , "Golf's Missing Links".
- ↑ BBC News "Starry last night for tiny cinema," February 24, 2008, accessed January 22, 2010.
- ↑ City and County of Swansea: Early boost for Gorseinon Center ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 51 ° 40 ′ N , 4 ° 3 ′ W