Brynmill Lodge

 











The May/June edition of bay featured Brynmill Lodge on the front cover, so I thought this month we’d have a look at the history of the property and the people who have lived there.

Brynmill Lodge stands at the junction of Mumbles Road and Brynmill Lane and is unlike any of the other properties that are situated around Singleton Park, the former home of the Vivians. Brynmill Lodge has three floors and one room per floor. The architect of the property was Henry Woodyer, who also design-ed other buildings for John Henry Vivian.

These buildings included St Paul’s Church, Sketty; Stewart Hall; and the alteration to Parc Wern. All these buildings were built around the same time during the 1850s. So, what makes Brynmill Lodge special, compared to any of the other lodges? It was suggested that the original scheme also included a second lodge, which was going to be built on the east side. However, this wasn’t the case, as the surviving plans show no matching tower, but they do indicate an arch opening on the back allowing the Brynmill stream to pass through to a little estuary on the nearby shore. Brynmill stream was the ancient boundary of Swansea. Today, it can be traced by the entrance to the park at Brynmill Lane, where it is culverted.

At the time of the 1861 census, the address list-ed on the return is Parkwern Lodge, Mumbles Road, and lists 30-year-old Eliza Cambridge, gate keeper, living with her daughters, Eliza Mary, 4 Alice, 2 and Charlotte, 5 months. Also present is a 15-year-old servant, Martha Jones. Eliza is marri-ed but there is no trace of her husband.

A decade later, in 1871, it is now known as Singleton Lodge. Present on the night of the cen-sus are 60-year-old David Williams, a gardener and his wife 53-year-old Hannah. They are still present on the night of the 1881 census. By the time of the 1891 census, Hannah is a widow, and sole resident of the property.

At the turn of the new century, in the 1901 census the occupants of the property were 29-year-old Samuel Jones and his wife, Elizabeth, 33. Also present are their three children, 11-year-old Samuel, 3-year-old Mary and 7-month-old Thomas.

The Council purchased the estate during 1919. At the time of the 1921 census, 78-year-old Charles G. Parkin, was the occupant. His occupation is listed as drayman employed by Swansea United Breweries, also present are his daughter, Ellen, and nephew Charles Gideon Richard Smale, also a board-er, 29-year-old Edward Arthur Webb, his occupation is listed as aero engine fitter employed by The Welsh Aviation Company.

If these walls can talk, what would they say about the previous occupants? If you are interested in the history of the different houses/lodges around Singleton Park, The House of Singleton – A Swansea Landscape and its History by Bernard Morris is a very good read.

Copyright - The Bay Magazine, July 2023

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