Cwmdonkin Park

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Cwmdonkin Park is an urban park situated in the Uplands area of Swansea, Wales. The park has a bandstand, children's play area, water gardens, tennis courts, and a bowling green.

The Grove, Uplands
Southern entrance to Cwmdonkin Park Kingsley Amis lived at 24 (to the right of the picture) during his time in Swansea

History[]

The use of the land for public recreation originated with the creation of Cwmdonkin reservoir around 1850 by William Henry Smith and the . The records of the Borough of Swansea[1] and the Cambrian newspaper[2] detail the somewhat controversial use of public funds to take over and run "the destructive pit at Cwmdonkin, euphemistically called a reservoir".[3]

The first suggestion to landscape the grounds around the reservoir was raised in 1853[4] but it was not until 1874 that Swansea Council purchased two fields from Mr James Walters for £4,650 to create the park[5] which was opened on 24 July 1874.[6] There was some criticism that the park was in an essentially wealthy, middle-class area of town: this led to the emergence of the "Open Spaces Movement" led by William Thomas of Lan, which campaigned for more parks for deprived working class areas.[7]

Cwmdonkin Reservoir was filled in with rubble in the 1950s and landscaped to become a children's play area.

Dylan Thomas[]

The fountain celebrated by Dylan Thomas in The Hunchback in the Park by Italian artist Lidia Chiarelli

Poet Dylan Thomas grew up near the park at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive.

The park features heavily in the radio broadcasts, Return Journey and Reminiscences of Childhood, and the poem, The Hunchback in the Park. A memorial stone with lines from Fern Hill was placed in the park in 1963.[8]

Refurbishment[]

On 7 September 2013, after an extensive £1.39m refurbishment, the park reopened in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dylan Thomas's birth.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ Held at the West Glamorgan Archive Service
  2. ^ Swansea Council Cambrian Indexing Project
  3. ^ Editorial from the Cambrian newspaper, 14 May 1869
  4. ^ Waters and Sewers Committee minutes, 23 Sept 1853 (TC 67/1/2: 174).
  5. ^ The Cambrian, 10 July 1874 p.5
  6. ^ Davies, Rowley. "Cwmdonkin Park", South Wales Evening Post, 29 Oct 1974.
  7. ^ Davies, Rice and J. Roberts, "Prize Essays on the desirability and advantages of recreation grounds for Swansea", Swansea: Cambrian Books Publishing Company, 1895
  8. ^ "Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea". Dylan Thomas 100. 2013. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  9. ^ http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Cwmdonkin-Park-reopened-1-39m-refurbishment/story-19768974-detail/story.html

Coordinates: 51°37′18″N 3°58′07″W / 51.6217°N 3.9685°W / 51.6217; -3.9685

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