Mumbles (district)

The Mumbles Welsh: Y Mwmbwls
Mumbles viewed from Oystermouth castle
The Mumbles Location within Swansea
Population	16,600 (2011 census)[1]
Principal area	Swansea
Preserved county	West Glamorgan
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
Gower
List of places UK Wales Swansea 51°34′23″N 3°59′57″W / 51.5730°N 3.9992°W / 51.5730; -3.9992

The Mumbles 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.

History

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.

Three of the

In 1793, the

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.

The 'Mumbles Mile' is a stretch of road in Mumbles once notable for its concentration of

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:

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

Climate

Local government

Mumbles was part of Oystermouth Urban District established in 1894,

• Thomas Bowdler, who with Henrietta Maria Bowdler edited Shakespeare, is buried in Oystermouth.
• Bishop
  Graham Charles Chadwick
  , anti-apartheid campaigner, served in curacy at All Saints Church and is buried in Oystermouth Cemetery.
• Alan Curtis, former Wales international footballer, lives in Mumbles.
• Ian Hislop, satirist and editor, was born in Mumbles.
• William Hughes, boxer and child actor (Doctor Who), was born in Mumbles.
• Alun Wyn Jones, captain of the Wales national rugby union team grew up in the area.
• Jean Jenkins, an Australian senator (1987–1990), was brought up in Mumbles.
• Joanna Page, actress, was born in Treboeth Swansea.
• Richard Valentine Pitchford (aka Cardini), Master Magician, was born in Mumbles in 1895.
• Mal Pope, musician and composer, lives in Mumbles.
• Robert Pugh, actor, lives in Mumbles.
• Cara Readle, actress, grew up in Mumbles.^[9]
• Andy Secombe, voice actor, actor and novelist, was born in Mumbles.
• Hannah Stone, Royal Harpist, grew up in Mumbles.
• Bonnie Tyler, singer and songwriter, lives in Mumbles.
• Melanie Walters, actress (Gavin & Stacey), lives in Mumbles.
• Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, was brought up in the area.
• Catherine Zeta-Jones, actress, grew up in Mumbles from the age of 12, and she and Michael Douglas have a house there.

Settlements

The villages in the community council region are:

• Blackpill
• Mayals
• Langland
• Limeslade
• Newton
• Norton
• Oystermouth
• Thistleboon
• West Cross

Twinning

The Mumbles community is twinned with WebCite query result:

• Kinsale,  Ireland
• Hennebont,  France
• Havre de Grace, Maryland,  United States ^[10]

See also

• Gower Peninsula
• Swansea and Mumbles Railway

Further reading

• The Mixture: Mumbles and Harry Libby, Harry Libby, c.1957 (self published by the author, Trebellan, Southend, Mumbles)
• The Mumbles - Past and Present, Norman L. Thomas, 1978,
  ISBN 0906199026
• A Childhood in Mumbles & Gower, Freda Marrison, 1995 (The Cottle Printing Company, Oystermouth, Gower)
• Once Upon A Village, Aspects of Life in Mumbles 1901-1914, Carol Powell, 1996 (Inalong Publishing, Mayals, Swansea)
• Images of Wales: Mumbles and Gower Pubs, Brian E. Davies, 2008,
  ISBN 9780752437798