Loughor
| Loughor Welsh: Casllwchwr | |
| Glamorgan | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS573980 |
| Location: | 51°39’45"N, 4°3’53"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 4,991 (2001) |
| Post town: | Swansea |
| Postcode: | SA4 |
| Dialling code: | 01792 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Swansea |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Gower |
Loughor is a town in Glamorgan, on the estuary of the River Loughor, which here forms the border with Carmarthenshire. It is today mostly a commuter town for Swansea and Llanelli by way of the Loughor bridge and has merged with the neighbouring town of Gorseinon.
Here at Loughor was the Roman fort of Leucarum, over which the Norman Loughor Castle was built in 1106. Today's town is that which 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.
Local schools in the town include Tre Uchaf Primary School and the Casllwchwr Primary School. Sited opposite the Tre Uchaf Primary is one of the sites of Gower College Swansea.
History
The Roman fort of Leucarum was founded here probably in the late first century; thr first flush of the Roman occupation of Britain. It was a rectangular or trapezoidal fort, in the standard pattern, and stood at the mouth of the River Loughor. It would have housed a regiment of Roman auxiliary troops. Stone defences were added to the earthen ditch and rampart by 110 and the fort was occupied until the middle or end of that century. The fort was later abandoned and in the early 3rd century the ditch naturally silted up. It appears to have been brought back into use during the rule of the usurper Carausius who was worried about Irish raids, but it was abandoned again before the 4th century.
In 1106 the Normans arrived and built Loughor Castle on the site of the Roman fort. A new town, Loughor, grew up around it.
Loughor later grew as a port, while in the early twentieth century large tin and steel works were the main industries. Loughor town can be divided into two areas known as 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 Lower Loughor. 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.
Sport
- Rugby union: Loughor RFC
Art
James Henry Govier (1910- 1974) the 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.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Loughor) |
References
- Swansea Art Gallery Catalogue 1936.
- The Gower Journal.
- Who's Who in Art.
- Dictionary of British Artists 1900-1950, by Grant M Waters 1975