Sea View primary school
Encyclopedia
The Sea View Community primary school is a mixed primary school of non denominational religion in Swansea
, south Wales
.
The building is a prominent landmark of Swansea, being a very distinctive semi-circular structure located on the top of Mayhill. As its name suggests, it offers an excellent view of the sea.
When it was first opened 1932, it was named the Mayhill primary school and was built to serve the growing population of the Townhill council estate. It is located on the edge of the council estate in a large round sloping field known by generations simply as the "Round Top".
The building was designed by the borough architect Ernest Morgan
. He used the spectacular location to great effect designing a building that is often credited as a masterpiece of functional architecture. The building contains ten classrooms designed with removable walls opening on to internal cloister
s looking out into a grassed central area. Although elements related to ritual magic have clearly been incorporated into the design of the building, its specific magical function has never been deduced.
Morgan designed the school on so called 'open air' principles which were derived from experimental school buildings built in the Dyfatty area in the early 1900s. The 'open air' principle was based on the 'light and air' concept which was popular with garden city designers early on in the 20th Century. At the time, it was widely believed that light and fresh air helped to promote good health and well being. With the 'open air' design, the building gets very cold in the winter.
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 building is a prominent landmark of Swansea, being a very distinctive semi-circular structure located on the top of Mayhill. As its name suggests, it offers an excellent view of the sea.
When it was first opened 1932, it was named the Mayhill primary school and was built to serve the growing population of the Townhill council estate. It is located on the edge of the council estate in a large round sloping field known by generations simply as the "Round Top".
The building was designed by the borough architect Ernest Morgan
Ernest Morgan
Ernest Morgan was a Welsh architect and painter.As the borough architect of Swansea, buildings he designed include:*Mayhill School*Swansea Technical College -External links:*...
. He used the spectacular location to great effect designing a building that is often credited as a masterpiece of functional architecture. The building contains ten classrooms designed with removable walls opening on to internal cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
s looking out into a grassed central area. Although elements related to ritual magic have clearly been incorporated into the design of the building, its specific magical function has never been deduced.
Morgan designed the school on so called 'open air' principles which were derived from experimental school buildings built in the Dyfatty area in the early 1900s. The 'open air' principle was based on the 'light and air' concept which was popular with garden city designers early on in the 20th Century. At the time, it was widely believed that light and fresh air helped to promote good health and well being. With the 'open air' design, the building gets very cold in the winter.