Cwmdonkin Park
Encyclopedia
Cwmdonkin Park is an urban park situated in the Uplands
area of Swansea
, south Wales
. The park has a bandstand, children's play area, water gardens, tennis courts, and a bowling green.
around 1850 by William Henry Smith and the Swansea Waterworks Company. The records of the Borough of Swansea and the Cambrian newspaper detail the somewhat controversial use of public funds to take over and run “the destructive pit at Cwmdonkin, euphemistically called a reservoir”.
The first suggestion to landscape the grounds around the reservoir was raised in 1853 but it was not until 1874 that Swansea Council purchased two fields from Mr James Walters for £4,650 to create the park which was opened on 24 July 1874. 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.
Cwmdonkin Reservoir was filled in with rubble in the 1950s and landscaped to become a children’s play area.
Poet Dylan Thomas
grew up at 5, Cwmdonkin Drive, near the park. The park was an important source of inspiration to the poet and featured in his work, including the radio broadcasts Return Journey and Reminiscences of Childhood, and, most famously, the poem The hunchback in the park.
A memorial stone to Thomas with lines from "fern Hill" was placed in the park in 1963.
Uplands, Swansea
Uplands is a suburb of Swansea, Wales. It lies about a mile to the west of Swansea city centre, and falls within the Uplands electoral ward. It is centred around the A4118 road, which links Swansea city centre and Sketty. The main road begins as Walter Road from the east, and becomes Sketty Road...
area of Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The park has a bandstand, children's play area, water gardens, tennis courts, and a bowling green.
History
The use of the land for public recreation originated with the creation of Cwmdonkin reservoirReservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
around 1850 by William Henry Smith and the Swansea Waterworks Company. The records of the Borough of Swansea and the Cambrian newspaper detail the somewhat controversial use of public funds to take over and run “the destructive pit at Cwmdonkin, euphemistically called a reservoir”.
The first suggestion to landscape the grounds around the reservoir was raised in 1853 but it was not until 1874 that Swansea Council purchased two fields from Mr James Walters for £4,650 to create the park which was opened on 24 July 1874. 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.
Cwmdonkin Reservoir was filled in with rubble in the 1950s and landscaped to become a children’s play area.
Associations with Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
grew up at 5, Cwmdonkin Drive, near the park. The park was an important source of inspiration to the poet and featured in his work, including the radio broadcasts Return Journey and Reminiscences of Childhood, and, most famously, the poem The hunchback in the park.
A memorial stone to Thomas with lines from "fern Hill" was placed in the park in 1963.