Loughor

Loughor
Welsh: Casllwchwr
Loughor
 Loughor shown within Swansea
Population 4,991 (2001 Census)
OS grid referenceSS573980
Principal areaSwansea
Ceremonial countyWest Glamorgan
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town SWANSEA
Postcode district SA4
Dialling code 01792
Police South Wales
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK ParliamentGower
List of places
UK
Wales
Swansea

Coordinates: 51°39′45″N 4°03′53″W / 51.66261°N 4.06461°W / 51.66261; -4.06461

Loughor (/ˈlʌxər/[1]) (Welsh: Casllwchwr) is a town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community council called Llwchwr. In 2014, it was rated one of the most attractive postcode areas to live in Wales. [2]

History

The town was home to the Roman fort of Leucarum, over which the Norman Loughor Castle was built in 1106. Loughor developed around the castle.

The town has an Independent Lifeboat station situated near the road bridge which has been in existence since 1969. The current Lifeboat is a state of the art Ribcraft 5.85 metre Rhib.

It later grew as a port, while in the early twentieth century large tin and steel works were the main industries. Around 1800, John Vivian (1750–1826) of Truro, Cornwall, had become managing partner in the copper works at Penclawdd and Loughor then owned by the Cheadle Brasswire Company of Staffordshire. The Vivian family eventually ran large copper mining, copper smelting and trading businesses in and around Swansea (Vivian & Sons) and, throughout the 19th century, did much to develop Swansea into a city.

Loughor town can be divided into two areas defined by the present day electoral wards Lower Loughor and Upper Loughor which have separate histories. Lower Loughor lies nearer the sea and set on low ground whilst Upper Loughor lies on higher ground. Loughor initially developed around the Norman castle in what is now the Lower Loughor ward. Upper Loughor began as a distinct settlement, initially around what is now the Glebe Road area. Upper Loughor Town was well established as a separate town by the mid 19th Century. Loughor is now mostly a commuter town for Swansea and Llanelli via the Loughor bridge and has merged with the neighbouring town of Gorseinon.

Local schools in the town include Tre Uchaf Primary School and Casllwchwr Primary School. Sited opposite the Tre Uchaf Primary is one of the sites of Gower College Swansea.

The local rugby union team of the town is Loughor RFC.

James Henry Govier (1910- 1974) the British painter, etcher and engraver of the Swansea School, produced a number of images of Loughor, he lived at Gorseinon and has work in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery at Swansea, the National Museum of Wales, the National Library of Wales, and in several other national collections. See Gorseinon and Oakley for more details.

People

References

  1. G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 92.
  2. "UK's 'most desirable' postcodes revealed". BBC News.

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/28/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.