St Thomas is a suburban district and community

Community (Wales)

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

 in 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...

, 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...

. It is a mainly residential area which lies east of Swansea city centre

Swansea city centre

Swansea city centre in Swansea, Wales, contains the main shopping, leisure and nightlife district in Swansea. The city centre covers much of the Castle ward including the area around Oxford Street, Castle Square, and the Quadrant Shopping Centre; Alexandra Road, High Street, Wind Street and the...

 across the River Tawe

River Tawe

The River Tawe is a river in South Wales. It flows in a principally south-westerly direction for some from its source below Moel Feity in the Old Red Sandstone hills of the western Brecon Beacons to the Bristol Channel at Swansea. Its main tributaries are the right bank Upper and Lower Clydach...

 and falls within the St Thomas ward

St. Thomas (electoral ward)

St. Thomas is the name of an electoral ward and a community of Swansea, Wales.The electoral ward of St. Thomas consists of the following areas: Dan-y-graig, Port Tennant, SA1 Swansea Waterfront, St. Thomas, Swansea Docks, Kilvey Hill and the Grenfell Park Area, in the parliamentary constituency of...

. The southern boundary is formed by the Fabian Way. The area is the birth place of singer Harry Secombe

Harry Secombe

Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...

.

Local amenities in the area include the recently built St Thomas Community Primary school which also incorporates the old Margaret Street Nursery school, Community Centre and local library. St. Thomas is a traditional working class area with a core of 2-3 bedroom mid-Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 terraces built to accommodate the local dock and industrial workers. Post-war council housing was constructed in the mid twentieth century.

On the east bank of the River Tawe in St Thomas, there is a grassy recreational area that includes a footpath and cycle track (part of NCR

National Cycle Network

The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...

 43). The area is hardly used for recreation purposes by the local population and there are proposals to re-develop the area with new housing. This proposal has met with some opposition from residents on Kilvey Hill

Kilvey Hill

Kilvey Hill is a hill in Britain. It rises in south Wales, to the east of Swansea city centre. Kilvey Hill is high and is classed as a Sub Marilyn...

who currently have a good view of the river.