Tag: books

Investigating Cilfái Landscape: The Geological Memoir

When investigating the history of a landscape, one of the first things worth looking at is the underlying rocks that make up the land. In Wales, this is often the question, ‘Is there coal here?’ In Swansea, the answer is usually ‘yes!’

We can usually get a map showing us the geology of the land. In Swansea, we have the famous Sheet 247 to guide us. As a young student of Geology, my old Dynevor Geology teacher John Rees always told me to ‘get the Memoir’. It was sage advice, and referring to the Memoir is one of the most essential tools in a researcher’s toolkit. Even today, when I read my copy of the Memoir, it comes out in John Rees’ voice and tone in my head—the legacy of an excellent teacher.

The Memoir is the written guide that accompanies every British Geology map. Most were published in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. Whereas the map represents what is under the ground, the Memoir describes in detail all the features and rock types. Swansea’s Memoir was published in 1907 and is a priceless record of years of fieldwork and investigation by a team of accomplished geologists working throughout the 1890s (Strahan 1907). The original work of the Memoir began in the 1830s on Cilfái when pioneer Geologist William Logan taught himself geology by exploring the mines of Cilfái Hill.

The Memoir is a historical record in itself now, as almost all the landscape described has disappeared under housing and tarmac. The Memoir is vital to understanding the geology of Cilfái, and I refer to it many times in Chapter Two of Cilfái: Historical Geography.

Strahan, Aubrey. 1907. The Geology of the South Wales Coal-Field. Part VIII, The Country around Swansea: Being an Account of the Region Comprised in Sheet 247 of the Map, Memoirs of the Geological Survey. England and Wales, 247 (London: Printed for His Majesty’s Stationery Office by Wyman and Sons)

Below: The title page of the Swansea Memoir and below that Swansea as shown on the modern edition of Sheet 247. It still credits the original work by William Logan from the 1830s.

The Redevelopment of Cilfái

Yesterday (18 April 2024), Swansea Council took a first public step towards leasing or selling a large part of Kilvey Hill to a foreign tourist company. The decision was a milestone in a process started in secret in 2017. The years since have seen covert land assembly, including a particularly unpleasant land steal by Swansea Council, as politicians and staff work officially or otherwise to facilitate the plans of the foreign tourist company.

Our abysmal local government system’s callous, unthinking bureaucratic jargon describes the potential sell-off as a ‘disposal,’ as if the land were used tissue. This had happened before when previous generations and local councils enthusiastically embraced industrial development and regarded the destruction of nineteenth-century Kilvey as merely ‘collateral damage’ … a disposal problem.

The transformation of Swansea from an attractive resort to an industrial black spot was beautifully catalogued in a 1986 book called ‘The Brighton of Wales’ (Boorman 1986). Boorman traces the point of departure from unspoiled beaches to the Lower Swansea Valley industrial magnet. Now, the wheel has turned full circle as a desperate local authority, in acts of unbridled boosterism, refers to Swansea as a world-class tourism destination. I can only assume Councillors haven’t recently made that dangerous walk from Swansea railway station down the High Street.

There will be plenty of economic arguments for the developments to go ahead based largely on optimism and faith in the future. One thing is certain: the enthusiasts for the scheme and all the positive comments on those strange news sites don’t live there.

The Council and the local communities have a lot to be proud of regarding environmental recovery and the new uses of the urban woodlands on the east side. I wish the politicians would recognise this instead of chasing a handful of ice cream-selling jobs.

Boorman, David. 1986. The Brighton of Wales: Swansea as a Fashionable Seaside Resort, c.1780-1830 (Swansea: Swansea Little Theatre Company)

Below: The planned Skyline buildings. Incredibly, this picture is of part of Kilvey Hill that Swansea Council don’t actually own.