The streets of Swansea that no longer exist

Just under a quarter of a million people live in Swansea, each of whom is part of the communities and neighborhoods in which they live. Whether you come from areas like Trebot, Garden Village, Inistawe or Sketty, the familiar streets and places where you grew up will have a deep and special resonance for you and your family.

But for some city residents, the streets they roamed freely as children no longer exist, having been erased in the name of progress. In 1981, residents of Sloane Street, Bathurst Street and Paxton Street received news that would change their lives forever. They were told there were plans to demolish all three rows of houses to make way for a new home for the then West Glamorgan County Council.

But the main concern for those who lived there was not the brick and mortar, but rather being able to remain with their beloved neighbors. They fought to be relocated together as a unit and were eventually moved to Paxton Drive. The council house opened in July 1982 as County Hall and was the headquarters of the former West Glamorgan County Council. Following local government reorganization in 1996, its ownership was transferred to the new city and county of Swansea. For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here.

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Elsewhere, Rua Fabián is also a thing of the past. Next time you get stuck in traffic approaching Swansea city center on Fabian Way, take a second look around. Not long ago, you would have been on a busy street, full of shops, pubs and pedestrians. Rua Fabian, as it was called, was the main street in the East Zone, a busy street in the heart of the community.

After the Second World War, a new dual carriageway was built to connect Swansea and its docks to the new national road network at Briton Ferry. The highway required the purchase and mandatory demolition of much of the east side land, the dismantling of railroad tracks, the relocation of utilities, and the construction of the Tennant Canal. One of the casualties was Fabian Street, once a busy community hub but lost beneath an unmarked section of Fabian Road, close to the River Tawe.

Here we take a look at what these areas were like and remember what life was like there before the changes.

Sloane Street

Sally-Ann Jones remembers the street fondly. Her grandparents, Dolly and Richie Jones, lived at 20 Sloane Street. She would stay outside with her grandparents when her parents were on vacation. She recalled: “There was a room full of trinkets and trinkets that my grandparents used to collect when they went on cruises.

“At that time there was a room in the middle that was the main room, I remember my grandfather smoking a pipe in the corner. Then there was the kitchen, a bathroom under a large bench and an outside toilet. . It was great, it was a community and the neighbors were very friendly. I remember women sweeping and washing the sidewalks. “People were proud of this territory.”

The name Sloane Street is gone forever, but you can still see its signs if you look closely. You can see the old curb in the Paxton Street parking lot near the pay and display area.

Bathurst Street and Paxton Street

There were popular pubs including the Shipping Inn and Copenhagen Arms on Sloane Street and the London Hotel on Bathurst Street. With her parents William and Eliza and her brothers Ken and Billy, Joan Rogers lived in Bathurst Street before her father saved up and bought a house in Sloane Street. He was then seven years old and remained there until he was 31.

She recalled: “We were surrounded by industry. We were right in the middle of everything. It was a beautiful community and it was nice to grow up on a street where everyone knew everyone. If there was a party there, the women would get together and set the tables.

“The house we were in, on Sloane Street, had two bedrooms and a small loft that my father had converted into a bedroom. They pushed me there! When I looked, I saw Swansea Prison. I remember when they hanged the last man (Vivian Teed), all of us kids were outside and the policeman came out and said, “You can’t see anything kids, go to school.” That day we arrived late and the teacher rejected us. It was a fun place to live, we were only five minutes from the beach which was our playground and we all looked out for each other. “It was safe.”

Fabiano Street

Geoff Stewart, author of Fabian’s Bay to Fabian’s Way, told WalesOnline last year: “Until the industrial boom that swept the area in the mid-19th century, much of the Eastside was rural, but for the next 40 years Swansea was a magnet for those who were not afraid of hard work, including boilermakers, sailors, dockworkers, railway workers and many other traders and workers, almost all of whom established their families in the region.

“Today, many Easterners are descendants of this resilient lineage, but while we are all proud to be Welsh, many Easterners can trace their family origins to West Wales, England, Ireland, Belgium and elsewhere. We say we are on the ‘east side’, that’s what it means, that’s what we are.

What else has changed?

Thanks to Swansea historian Gerald Gabb, here are some other city center streets that have changed. Difatty Street, from its traffic lights to Alexandra Road, was once known as Back Lane, while Orchard Street was once called Back Street. From the Dragon Hotel the Princess Way line ran along Goat Street to McDonald’s and Cross Street, past St Mary’s Church and then along Fisher Street to Oystermouth Road.

Parallel to Fisher Street to the west was Rutland Street. Mumbles railway terminus was opposite the junction with Oystermouth Road and was known as Rutland Street. Angel Street, named after the Swansea family, ran from Fisher Street to Rutland Street. Before the war, Waterloo Street angled from the end of Orchard Street to St Mary’s Church.

A narrow street ran from College Street, parallel to Goat Street (Princess Way), known as Banc Caer or Bunker’s Hill. Looking down from Worcester Place, where the footbridge is today, there was a street of houses to the west of the Strand, Castle Walls.

Gower Street ran from the Dragon Hotel to Mount Pleasant Chapel, and Heathfield Street from there to the YMCA. Northampton Gardens ran parallel to the north where magnificent terraced houses once stood. At the top of Dillwyn Street, where Potter’s Circle is, was Picton Place.

The path uphill along Mount Pleasant Chapel is called Dynevor Place, a name that refers to the terrace of tall buildings that stood on the east side before being demolished in the 1960s. Its previous name was Washing Lake, named after the creek which ran through Monte Pleasant.

Once in the center of the city, along the Strand, York Street, Wynd Street and especially High Street, were Lane Courts, along which were slums. King Street still exists, and the steep part that runs down to the Strand used to be Maurice Lane. Green Dragon Lane, formerly Pedley Lane, is located on Wynd Street. The lane from High Street to Alexandra Road was Tower Lane.

In about the same period a large number of streets to the west and south of St Mary’s, Rayners Place, Jeffreys Place, Rutland Place, Wassail Square, Edward Street and Greenfield Street disappeared. Orange Street once passed the market, while Nelson Place was wiped off the face of the earth with the arrival of the Quadrant. Union Street to New Look was once Pig Street. From the recently closed Iceland to Princess Way was Wassail Street and then Frog Street.