1831-1840

Notable Events

1831 – Map
1837 – Tithe Map
1837 – Reconstruction
1837 – Singleton’s Brass Canon

1831 Map of the Singleton Estate

The 1831 OS map is the first concrete source we have for a snapshot of the Singleton estate:

This work is based on data provided through www.VisionofBritain.org.uk and uses historical material which is copyright of the Great Britain Historical GIS Project and the University of Portsmouth

Starting in the bottom right hand corner of the Singleton Estate we have…

  1. The buildings of Brynmill Farm, and to the left is the lower mill.
  2. Home farm is present here, split by the Bryn Mill stream
  3. Lodge, the Abbey Gate Lodge
  4. Lodge, Cae Vaggy
  5. The old course of Sketty Lane is shown, this would eventually be cut off, with lakes filling its lower portion
  6. The new Sketty Lane
  7. Ty Gwyn and possibly Elm Hall
  8. Lodge, Sketty Lane Lodge
  9. Singleton Farm
  10. The farm west of Veranda
  11. Two buildings between the drive of Veranda and Brynmill Lane
  12. Parkwern is shown with a few other buildings
  13. Swiss cottage is just visible
  14. Upper Bryn Mill
  15. The Singleton Icehouse
  16. Marino, shown as an odd shape and possibly not wholly representational of the actual shape, but it is shown with a detached building to the west.

A few other things to note about this map.  There are many paths here that remain to the present day.  The path from the Abbey Gate Lodge up and through the park via Singleton Farm is as present, as is the connecting paths from Singleton Farm to Swiss Cottage, and from Sketty Hall via Veranda to Gower Road.  The road from Abbey Gate Lodge north of Cae Vaggy is also fossilised within the university paths. 

The streams noted in this map are of particular interest.  Although this map does not trace field boundaries the streams are accurately represented and line up with later maps.  The stream that runs from Singleton Farm, along the path, to Swiss cottage and on to Brynmill Lane would later be run underground and its supply used in Lilly Pad Pond.  From Upper Bryn Mill the streams would eventually find their way to power Lower Bryn Mill, but run across the field in the valley between Brynmill hill, and Marino itself on this map.  The course of which was the original boundary of Swansea. 

The stream which runs from Glanmor, through the Parkwern Estate and becomes the stream next to Brynmill lane is known as St David’s ditch in various records, and features as a name of a current house on Glanmor Park Road.

200 Dead Mice

A note in the Cambrian newspaper from April 24th 1835 reads:

“as the farmer at Singleton Farm, near this town, was taking in a mow of oats last week, he found, coiled up in the centre of the mow an adder, alive, which had killed the mice, not one being found alive, but upwards of 200 being found dead in the same mow.  The adder was destroyed.” 

1837 Tithe Map

We are lucky that the St Mary’s tithe map was made in 1837, as the map perfectly bookends Robinsons work.  We can certainly draw from this map, to establish some facts:

  • The grounds have been wholly established around the house and the terraces/walls are all in place.  The drive is as it is today with the courtyard similarly established.
  • The stable block and coach-house are in place, and a building between them and the house exists.
  • You could walk between this block of three buildings and the house and orangery.
  • The only part of the park near the house that doesn’t have the same path layout as today is the “ornamental gardens”.
  • The building seems to have one extension from the northern side near the oranger, this is the block that Robinson shows as having the circular staircase.

One particular thing of note on the tithe map is the streams that run through Singleton at this time in history. The Sketty Stream crosses Gower Road just up from the current park entrance by the Gorsedd Stones and the Sketty Park Stream crosses the road just south of the current Bishop Gore School location.

At this point in time the land from Swiss Cottage to the Stones was an open stream flowing in a short U shaped valley between Parc Wern and Veranda, the stream itself having originated in Cockett. There are a few springs within the park as well still at this point, forming their own little streams, connecting to the aforementioned waterways.

The pond in front of Swiss Cottage did not exist at this point, and must have been made before 1850 judging from other maps. The “boating lake” is small. One of the streams at Sketty Hall has been diverted down the old course of Sketty Lane and has ponds formed along it. There are a few notes in the Cambrian about eels being caught here.

On the east side of the estate we can see the upper bryn mill and lower bryn mill. These are powered by a section of water that appears to partly sourced from the Sketty Stream and the water from Brynmill Reservoir. The stream that ran to the east of the Abbey marked the original course of the Sketty stream but it is unclear if the stream to the east of that, running against Brynmill Lane, is original or a creation of the mills it powered. It is known locally at that section as St David’s Ditch, which could mean it is a connection to Glanmor Stream which ran into the north side of what would become Brynmill Reservoir.

Before the creation of the reservoir by the Swansea Water Company the streams there combined into a “top pond” and a “lower pond”. The top pond was in the south corner of what would become the reservoir and it is thought that water from the height there ran down to power upper mill. If you look back at the 1831 map, there is no stream shown on the east side, but in that case, what powered lower mill, which had been in place since medieval times… so it must be there, but undrawn. Maybe!

The tithe map also brings up a question.  Vivian’s home farm is now firmly situated at the old Singleton Farm site and it is very established in the tithe map view. Including what seem to be the buildings which stand today. This is important as it shows that home farm, bar the farmhouse, were in place by 1837, and are very likely to be direct work of P.F. Robinson – as they match his designs. The original site of the home farm on the area referred to as the lacrosse field is still occupied by buildings and there seems to be some overlap with both sites being occupied.  This could well have continued until some elements of the estate were moved to Veranda area of the Park.

1837 Reconstruction

Singleton has taken a step further by the time of the tithe map in 1837 with the addition of the dining room, tower, stable block and coach-house. Much of this is said to have been done for an expected Royal visit of the then Princess Victoria, but due to her coronation in 1837 the visit to Swansea was never completed.

While the height differences through the site are not modelled, there were large flower beds baring grass and large trees to the rear of the building at this stage. These were as a result of the estate claiming the woods behind the house and John Henry saving the large trees. Some of these would last through to the 1920s before removal.

John Henry seems to have been particular about restricting people in the surrounding area seeing too much of his house and property.   Trees on the southern edge of the estate blocked the view from the Mumbles Road.  Trees on the east of the drive blocked views from Brynmill Hill.  Trees in what would become the ornamental gardens block the view from Glanmor/Hill House and Cockett pass. The boundary wall on the Brynmill lane side of the estate, and the trees there form and additional barrier.  This would have been more useful as the area grew in popularity.

Singleton’s Brass Canon

The Cambrian Newspaper notes, on 27th May 1837 – “On the esplanade in front of Singleton has lately been mounted, a most beautiful brass gun (32 pounder) valuable as a specimen of the most highly-finished workmanship, and interesting as one of the guns recovered from the wreck of the Royal George, sunk at Spithead in 1782.  This memorial of times gone by, through the liberality of out spirited member, has escaped the furnace, will be handed down to posterity, as a national testimonial of the perfection of art, and an awful record of the fate of Admiral Kempenfelt and his unfortunate crew.  Two shots were extracted from it by an officer of the Royal Artillery at Swansea, but no vestige of either cartridge or wadding remained.  As the gun is covered with shell-fish, a question arises whether a galvanic influence has not taken place between the iron and brass, similar to Sir Humphrey Davy’s sheathing of zinc and copper”

One of the guns mounted on the terrace at Singleton – from authors collection
3 of the 4 canons are visible here, the one from the picture above is on the right, with a mortar(?) on the terrace below the sun-dial and the gun from the Royal George on the left with the woman sitting on it. The gun that is out of frame on the left here, is similar to the piece on the right hand side.

Luckily we have the 1919 Sales Catalogue available to us and it lists them as follows:

1. An English Bronze mortar, inscribed with the monogram of George III
2. A heavy bronze cannon, about 10ft 6inch long bearing the royal Arms in relief, and inscribed “D.A. Schalch fecit 1748” – from the wreck of the Royal George
3. A French bronze cannon from La Lavinie, inscribed “Louis Charles de Bourbon, Compte Duc D’Aumale. Berenger Bonecourt fecit 2d.Oct.1741”
4. The last is just marked “same as above”

The late 1830s played visit to many people, some of whom the Cambrian notes as including Sir J & Lady West, and Mr Miles and family of Leigh Park visit Singleton.  Lord James Stuart MP seems to have visited Swansea many time during the 1830s and 40s as records of his comings and goings occur regularly in the Cambrian.