Mumbles (district)

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The Mumbles
Mumbles wales 750px.jpg
Mumbles viewed from Oystermouth castle
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The Mumbles
Location within Swansea
Population16,600 (2011 census) [1]
Principal area
Preserved county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SWANSEA
Postcode district SA3
Dialling code 01792
Police South Wales
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Swansea
51°34′23″N3°59′57″W / 51.5730°N 3.9992°W / 51.5730; -3.9992

The Mumbles (Welsh : Y Mwmbwls) is a district of Swansea, Wales, located on the south-east corner of the unitary authority area. It is also a local government community using the same name. At the 2001 census the population was 16,774, reduced slightly to 16,600 at the 2011 Census. The district is named after the headland of Mumbles, located on its south-east corner.

Contents

History

Oystermouth Castle, a venue for open air Shakespearean performances Oystermouth Castle.jpg
Oystermouth Castle, a venue for open air Shakespearean performances
The Mumbles light house 1815 The Mumbles light house in Swansea bay.jpeg
The Mumbles light house 1815
Mumbles, 1850s Mumbles (4011342000).jpg
Mumbles, 1850s

Archaeological evidence indicates that an ancient submerged forest was located on what is now the foreshore of Mumbles Bay[ citation needed ] The bones of bears, wolves, hyenas, deer, rhinoceros and mammoth have been discovered there. A bone cave at the western tip of Caswell Bay was excavated in 1832[ citation needed ] but has since been destroyed by the sea. Another cave, at the Inner Sound, Mumbles Head, was blown up by quarrymen in 1838 but not before elephant bones had been found. Also scattered around the bays of Mumbles and Gower are the bones of sixteen Ice Age mammals, including a mammoth tooth measuring ten centimetres across, which is on display in Swansea Museum.

The first human crop growers arrived in the area over 5,000 years ago. [2] However, evidence of human habitation is much older and possibly dates as far back as 30,000 years ago—established by the dating of the famous Paviland skeleton located in a cave some 10–15 miles along the coast from Mumbles Head. [3] The skeleton is kept in the Oxford Museum of Natural History, having been excavated by Rev William Buckland, who was Professor of Geology at Oxford University at the time. However, Swansea Museum has two well-finished flint axe-heads, one from Newton and one from an allotment on Mumbles Hill. Much of what we know about the first metalworkers, in the Bronze Age, has been learned from their tombs: pieces of pottery, a cairn and remains of a hut were found. The cliffs above the Redcliffe flats at Caswell Bay contain the ridged remnants of a Redley Cliff Iron Age hill-fort.

There is evidence that the Romans were based in Mumbles in a villa on the site of the present All Saints Church in Oystermouth. When the site was being extended in 1860, workmen removing a bank of earth on the south side of the original building accidentally broke up a Roman tessellated pavement, or mosaic floor. This was previously a pagan site, as were many sites of worship in the UK which subsequently became places of worship at the onset of Christianity. In this area it has been reported that Romano British gentlemen of Roman Wales may have eaten oysters from the oysterbeds off the shore below the site at Oystermouth, or Ystumllwynarth. The Norman Castle at Oystermouth was built during the first half of the 12th century - one of many castles built in Gower as a defense against the native Welsh Princes who sought to re-claim the lands stolen by the Norman invaders. [the Royal Commission on Ancient & Historical Monuments in Wales, Glamorgan, The Early Castles, London, HMSO, 1991]. The architectural merits of the church, castle and other buildings in Oystermouth are discussed in J.Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, London, Penguin/University of Wales Press, 1995.

Mumbles seafront Mumbles2.jpg
Mumbles seafront

Three of the bells in All Saints Church once belonged to the Jesuit church of La Compañía ("The Company") in Santiago, Chile. They seem to have been brought to Mumbles by Aubrey Vivian after the fire of 1863 burnt down the Jesuit church, killing 2,000 people. The family of industrialist Henry Vivian had business connections with the copper mines of Chile.

In 1793, the Mumbles Lighthouse was erected on the outer of the two tidal islands of Mumbles Head. [4] In 1806, the Oystermouth Railway was built between Oystermouth and Swansea with the intention of carrying coal to Swansea. The potential for carrying passengers was soon seen and a horse-drawn railway passenger service was started on 25 March 1807, making it the first such service in the world. It became enormously popular and was commonly called 'the Mumbles train'. Following the development of the rail service, Mumbles became a popular tourist destination. To capitalise on this, the Mumbles railway was extended and a pier was constructed and opened in 1898 to serve as the new terminus. An RNLI lifeboat slipway was added to the pier in the summer of 1916 and a boathouse was finally built on it in 1922; these remain in use. [Needs updating as there is a new boathouse].

On 23 April 1947, the Mumbles lifeboat lost a crew of eight men while attempting to rescue the crew of the Samtampa that had run aground on Sker Point. The Mumbles railway was closed in January 1960 and dismantled - a controversial decision that still resonates in the locality (calls to "bring back the Mumbles train" are still frequently heard and printed in local newspapers).

Soon after it was built in 1898, the end of the Mumbles Pier became home to Bandstand Concerts and on the landward side was a Winter Garden both of which attracted large crowds. It was advertised by the Swansea and Mumbles Railway as 'The Prettiest Pier in the Bristol Channel' and the 'Mumbles Press' on 13 April 1911, featured the Skating Rinks as well as Hanney's Select Military Band. In the 1950s, a large entertainment center on the end of the Pier included 'Dodgems' Coconut Shies and other fairground attractions. Near the bridge to the lifeboat, two Amusement Kiosks survived from Edwardian days. The landward side of the Pier had a Cafe, with a 'Penny Slot Arcade' alongside and a popular Dance Hall was part of the 'Pier Hotel.' The amusement complex was redeveloped at the land end of the Mumbles Pier in 1966 and this proved to be a profitable attraction to visitors, resulting in the addition of a new building containing an amusement arcade, restaurant and bowling alley.

Swansea Lifeboat Station from Mumbles Pier Mumbles3.jpg
Swansea Lifeboat Station from Mumbles Pier

The 'Mumbles Mile' is a stretch of road in Mumbles once notable for its concentration of pubs. It has long been a popular destination for pub crawls and binge drinking. Famous poet Dylan Thomas was said to have enjoyed many hours at The Mermaid. The 'Mumbles Mile' began to decline in popularity during the 1990s because of pressure from the local council and increased competition from Swansea's night attractions. Now, there are only five pubs on the 'mile', whereas there were once upwards of 20.

The Encyclopedia of Wales says that Mumbles has always been considered a place apart; as the verse puts it:

Mumbles is a funny place,
A church without a steeple,
Houses made of old ships wrecked
And most peculiar people. [4]

The origin of the name "Mumbles" is obscure. Wyn Owen and Morgan (2008) cite several possibilities: Middle English momele ("to mumble"), describing the "mumbling" of the sea next to the rocks; Latin mamillae meaning "breasts", in reference to the breast shaped silhouette of the islands and headland, and Old Norse múli (snout, promontory). [5]

The 2004 mini-series Mine All Mine, starring Griff Rhys Jones, was filmed in Mumbles.

Climate

Climate data for Mumbles Head (32m elevation) 1981–2010
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)8.0
(46.4)
7.8
(46.0)
9.5
(49.1)
11.9
(53.4)
15.0
(59.0)
17.7
(63.9)
19.6
(67.3)
19.7
(67.5)
17.8
(64.0)
14.4
(57.9)
11.1
(52.0)
8.7
(47.7)
13.5
(56.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)4.0
(39.2)
3.6
(38.5)
4.8
(40.6)
6.3
(43.3)
9.2
(48.6)
11.8
(53.2)
13.9
(57.0)
14.0
(57.2)
12.4
(54.3)
9.9
(49.8)
6.9
(44.4)
4.7
(40.5)
8.5
(47.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches)95.5
(3.76)
67.0
(2.64)
72.9
(2.87)
58.5
(2.30)
62.8
(2.47)
63.8
(2.51)
71.9
(2.83)
83.9
(3.30)
77.4
(3.05)
123.1
(4.85)
112.1
(4.41)
110.3
(4.34)
999.2
(39.34)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm)15.011.013.510.610.39.910.111.211.415.415.014.4147.9
Source: metoffice.gov.uk [6]

Local government

Mumbles was part of Oystermouth Urban District established in 1894, [7] which was merged with the County Borough of Swansea in 1918. [8] The Mumbles is in the Oystermouth electoral ward, while the current Mumbles community also includes the surrounding electoral wards of Mayals, Newton and West Cross.

Notable people

Settlements

The villages in the community council region are:

Twinning

The Mumbles community is twinned with WebCite query result:

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swansea</span> City and county in Wales

Swansea is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glamorgan</span> Historic county of Wales

Until 1974, Glamorgan, or sometimes Glamorganshire, was an administrative county in the south of Wales, and later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known in Welsh as Morgannwg, which was then invaded and taken over by the Normans as the Lordship of Glamorgan. The area that became known as Glamorgan was both a rural, pastoral area, and a conflict point between the Norman lords and the Welsh princes. It was defined by a large concentration of castles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gower Peninsula</span> Peninsula in Wales

Gower or the Gower Peninsula is in South West Wales and is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales. It projects towards the Bristol Channel. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumbles</span> Headland on Swansea Bay in Wales

Mumbles is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loughor</span> Town in Swansea, Wales

Loughor is a town in Swansea, Wales. Historically in Glamorgan, it lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community council under the name Llwchwr. The town is bordered by the communities of Bynea in Carmarthenshire, Grovesend, Gowerton, and Gorseinon. Loughor is part of the built-up area of Gorseinon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swansea and Mumbles Railway</span> First passenger railway system in the world

The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was the venue for the world's first passenger horsecar railway service, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oystermouth</span> Human settlement in Wales

Oystermouth is a village in the district of Mumbles, Swansea, Wales. It is part of the Mumbles community.

The history of Swansea covers a period of continuous occupation stretching back a thousand years, while there is archaeological evidence of prehistoric human occupation of the surrounding area for thousands of years before that.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oystermouth Castle</span>

Oystermouth Castle is a Norman stone castle in Wales, overlooking Swansea Bay on the east side of the Gower Peninsula near the village of Mumbles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caswell Bay</span> Beach in Wales

Caswell Bay, is a beach on the south east of the Gower Peninsula, Swansea, Wales. It is a sandy beach popular with families, holiday makers and surfers, and it regularly achieves Blue Flag status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumbles Pier</span>

The Grade II listed structure of Mumbles Pier is an 835 feet (255 m) long Victorian pleasure pier built in 1898. It is located at the south-western corner of Swansea Bay near the village of Mumbles, within the city and county of Swansea, Wales. The pier is used for fishing and tourism, offering panoramic views of Swansea Bay with the Mumbles Lighthouse on one side and Port Talbot on the other.

The suburban district of Sketty is about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the Swansea city centre on Gower Road. It falls within the Sketty council ward of Swansea. It is also a community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mumbles Lifeboat Station</span> RNLI Lifeboat Station in Wales, UK

The Mumbles Lifeboat Station opened in 1835 with a lifeboat that was funded and managed by Swansea Harbour Trustees and was known as Swansea Lifeboat Station. The station was taken over by the RNLI in 1863 and moved to Mumbles in 1866. The station only officially became The Mumbles Lifeboat Station in 1904.

The Mount, which was located in Swansea on the Oystermouth Railway and which first opened to passengers in 1807, was the world's first recorded railway station. It was the point on the railway at which Benjamin French commenced to pick up passengers for the journey to Oystermouth on or after 25 March 1807. The station's physical form is not known, and it is unlikely that any special facilities were provided, but its location was close to the later site of the Royal Institution of South Wales.

The Mumbles lifeboat disaster occurred in 1947 off south Wales when the Mumbles lifeboat was undertaking a rescue off Sker Point but was overwhelmed by the sea. All eight people in the lifeboat died as result.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Ace and Margaret Wright</span> Welsh sisters who rescued seamen in distress

Jessie Ace (1860–1936) and Margaret Wright are known for their rescue of crewmen from the Mumbles lifeboat, which had gone to assist a wrecked German barque during an 1883 storm at Mumbles Head, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints' Church, Oystermouth</span> Church in Oystermouth, Swansea, Wales

All Saints' Church, Oystermouth is an Anglican church in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon, South Wales. It is located in Mumbles and is a Grade II listed building The church stands on a hillside, not far from Oystermouth Castle.

The geology of the Gower Peninsula in South Wales is central to the area's character and to its appeal to visitors. The peninsula is formed almost entirely from a faulted and folded sequence of Carboniferous rocks though both the earlier Old Red Sandstone and later New Red Sandstone are also present. Gower lay on the southern margin of the last ice sheet and has been a focus of interest for researchers and students in that respect too. Cave development and the use of some for early human occupation is a further significant aspect of the peninsula's scientific and cultural interest.

Southend railway station served the area of Mumbles, in the historical county of Glamorgan, Wales, from 1807 to 1960 on the Swansea and Mumbles Railway.

References

  1. "District population 2011" . Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. Williams, Moelwyn (1975). The Making of the South Wales Landscape. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
  3. Cunliffe, Barry (2012). Britain Begins. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0199609338.
  4. 1 2 The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008
  5. Wyn Owen, H. and Morgan, R. (2008) Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales. Llandysul: Gomer.
  6. "Climate Normals 1981–2010". Met Office. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  7. West Glamorgan Archive Service, Oystermouth Urban District Council Records
  8. "Oystermouth Urban District Council - City and County of Swansea".
  9. "Everyday Freedom: Cara Readle, bringing cerebral palsy to the UK's television screens". 20 May 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  10. Anderson, David. "Havre de Grace establishes 'Twinning' relationship with community of Mumbles, Wales". baltimoresun.com.