Maesteg House was a manor house built on the south slope of Kilvey Hill, Swansea. It was built in the mid 19th century by the copper and tin industrialist Pascoe St Leger Grenfell. The building is no longer there, as it was demolished shortly after the First World War to make way for new housing development. [1] [2]
The house is described as being an irregularly shaped block 70ft wide by 60ft deep, with a hipped roof. On the front of the house there were two full-height bay windows with peaked slate roofs. A conservatory formed an extension of the eastern side. [2]
There was a tree-lined avenue which was the entrance drive to the house. [3]
The main lodge, with the stables, greenhouses, and Maesteg cottage, stood at what is now the junction of Morris Lane and Grenfell Park Lane. There was a second lodge near the junction of Kinley Street and Port Tennant Road. [2]
Maesteg house was built sometime in the 1840s by Pascoe St Leger Grenfell, who had inherited copper and tin businesses in the Tawe valley from his father, also named Pascoe Grenfell. The Grenfell family originated from Cornwall, and the Pascoe Grenfell the younger spent time being educated in England and France, before moving to Swansea to take control of Pascoe Grenfell & Sons smelting business which he inherited from his father who died in 1838. It was when Grenfell the younger moved to Swansea that he had Maesteg House built, where he raised his children. [1] [4]
Maesteg House was notable for being the only house built by the Swansea industrialists that lay near the industrial workers and on the east side of the River Tawe, and thus breathing the same toxic air as their workers. [5] [6] [7]
Elizabeth Mary Grenfell, who was Pascoe St Leger Grenfell's daughter, lived at the house after the death of her father. She was involved in local philanthropy, aiding the welfare and religious development of the local community. During her time Maesteg House would be sometimes used to help the community. Once a year the railway-men of the district were invited to the House where a large tent was erected on the grounds. [8]
Grenfell's niece Katherine was the last of the Grenfells to live at Maesteg House. She used the house to run a school for local children. [1] [4]
During the First World War the house was used to house at least eighty Belgian refugees. By this point the house had been uninhabited for some time and was in poor condition. To be able to house the refugees properly the house underwent repairs and maintenance over a period two years and at a cost of £500 [9] (About £41,000 in 2023 value).
Soon after the war in about 1920 the house was demolished and the land of the house was used to build Grenfell Park housing estate, an extension of the St Thomas suburb which had already been built immediately in front of the house. [2] [1]
The house was built on the southern slope of Kilvey Hill, it was facing southwards overlooking Fabian Bay. There are no traces left of the house but Grenfell Park Road follows the line of the drive of the house, with the house itself standing roughly where the junction of Grenfell Park Road and St Leger Crescent is. [2]
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.
Glamorgan, or sometimes Glamorganshire, is one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales and a former administrative county of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known in Welsh as the Kingdom of 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.
Baron Grenfell, of Kilvey in the County of Glamorgan, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 15 July 1902 for the military commander Sir Francis Grenfell. His eldest son, the second Baron, was Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords and Chairman of Committees from 1963 to 1976. As of 2010 the title is held by the latter's son, the third Baron, who succeeded in 1976. He previously worked for the World Bank. Lord Grenfell lost his seat in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999. However, in 2000 he was made a life peer as Baron Grenfell of Kilvey, of Kilvey in the County of Swansea, and was able to return to the House of Lords.
Field Marshal Francis Wallace Grenfell, 1st Baron Grenfell, was a British Army officer. After serving as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, South Africa, he fought in the 9th Xhosa War, the Anglo-Zulu War and then the Anglo-Egyptian War. He went on to become Sirdar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Egyptian Army and commanded the forces at the Battle of Suakin in December 1888 and at the Battle of Toski in August 1889 during the Mahdist War. After that he became Governor of Malta and then Commander-in-Chief, Ireland before retiring in 1908.
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The history of Swansea in South Wales 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.
Morriston is a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county.
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Mount Pleasant is a suburban district of Swansea, Wales. The area is centred on the main road, called Mount Pleasant, immediately to the north of Swansea city centre, which connects the city centre to the Townhill and Mayhill districts to the north. It falls within the Castle ward.
Pascoe Grenfell was a British businessman and politician.
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Julian Pascoe Francis St Leger Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell, Baron Grenfell of Kilvey, is a Labour hereditary peer, life peer, and former member of the House of Lords known for his strong Europhile views.
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St. Thomas is the name of an electoral ward of Swansea, Wales.
Pascoe St Leger Grenfell was a British businessman and patron, and a key backer of the South Australian Company. He was a committee member of the South Australian Church Society, and is known for donation of an acre of land on North Terrace, Adelaide which was used for the construction of the Holy Trinity Church — one of the first churches built in the city and the colony. He also donated 40 acres of land for the use of the church as glebe lands. This land later became the suburb of Trinity Gardens. Grenfell Street, Adelaide was named after him.
The Kilvey Hill transmitting station was originally built at the summit of Kilvey Hill in Swansea, Wales, by the BBC in 1967 as a relay for VHF and UHF television. VHF television came on air a few months before the UHF services. As built, the station did not radiate VHF FM radio, this was added later. Currently, the hill's transmitters cater for viewers and listeners in the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot area. The transmission station located on top of Kilvey Hill is owned and operated by Arqiva.
The Industrial Revolution in Wales was the adoption and developments of new technologies in Wales in the 18th and 19th centuries as part of the Industrial Revolution, resulting in increases in the scale of industry in Wales.
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