Dan-y-Coed House by Carol Powell
Dan y Coed, a large square Georgian house off the Mumbles Road between West Cross and Blackpill, was reputed to have been built in grounds of some nine acres around 1810, although in contradiction, it appears that merchant, Thomas Grove, by then aged about 46, purchased the 'recently erected property' together with a 'rustic entrance lodge' and some freehold land following its publicised sale in the Cambrian on 24 May 1834. The house was described as consisting of dining, drawing, and six other rooms, an entrance hall, green-house, kitchens, cellar, warm-bath, dairy etc., together with kitchen, fruit and pleasure gardens, plus a three-stall stable, coach-house etc. This was at a time when there was only the Swansea to Oystermouth turnpike road and a defunct Mumbles Railway track nearby.
Thomas had been appointed Clerk of Swansea Canal Company in 1813 and in 1815 became Consular Agent for the Netherlands in South Wales. In 1830, he was elected Alderman of Swansea and in 1831, Portreeve. In 1841, he was elected an Assessor of Swansea and by July 1843 was a trustee of the Swansea Turnpike and Wychtree Bridge Trust and was on the Board of the Swansea Canal Company. In 1852, he was Foreman of the Oystermouth Leet Court.
In the 1841 census he and his wife, Eliza are recorded as living at Dan-y-Coed and being of ‘independent’means. They were looked after by their servants, Ann Davies, 25, Eliza Beynon, 25 and Benjamin Rees, aged 20. Down the drive in the Lodge (sited where the Llwynderw bus stop is today) lived their gardener, Thomas Rees aged 45 and his three children Anne, 19, Charlotte, 11 and Thomas, 3.
Thomas Grove died at home on 22 July 1859 aged 71 and is buried in the All Saints' churchyard. In 1861, Eliza Grove, a widow still living there, was being cared for by her companion, Harriet Edwards, her servants, Susan Griffiths and Margaret Morris and her coachman, Robert Roberts. Thomas Rees still lived in the lodge with Jane, his wife and the three children still at home, Edward, 13, Jane, 10 and William, 7.
Alfred Sterry, 40, who owned the Gorwydd Colliery in Gowerton and his wife, Alice, daughter of Henry Crawshay were married on 26 October 1864 and living at Rosehill in Mumbles. By 1871, they were in residence at Dan y Coed together with daughters, Alice, aged 2 years, Eva, aged 2 months and six servants. They went on to have another son.
By this time, a new family lived in the lodge They were John, their gardener and his wife, Rachel Atkins and their three children, Thomas, 16, a truck fitter, daughter, Ellen, 12 and younger sons, William, 8 and Phillip, 5.
As well as his colliery intereests, Alfred was involved in the public life of Swansea. In August 1863, he was nominated as a Land Tax Commissioner and later as one of the Income Tax Commissioners; He was a Director of the Swansea Hotel Company; One of the Patrons of the Mumbles Regatta and of the Swansea Hospital Ball; he was on the jury of the Swansea Quarter sessions; a trustee of the Swansea Harbour Trust and one of the Directors of the Swansea Bank. He was involved with the 3rd Battalion Rifle Volunteers and was instrumental in establishing the Mumbles Lifeboat, becoming its Hon. Sec.
His charitable work included helping the fund to aid the widows and orphans of HMS 'Captain' and donating free coal to the Deaf Institute.
Alfred sold the colliery in August 1873 to a London Firm due to failing health and died at Malvern Wells in August 1876 of diphtheria aged 53. In May 1877, an auction of his furniture and effects was held at Dan-y-Coed and in October 1878, his widow, Alice married Ernest Jerdein in London.
Charles Norton, a Solicitor and Agent for Fire and Life Insurance, became the next occupant, having moved from his home at Mount Pleasant Estate following the death of his first wife, Mary Ann in July 1876. On the night of the 1881 census, he was not at home and only Ernst Charles, 20, a domestic waiter, Sarah Griffiths, 36, a cook and Anne Phillips, 49, a housemaid were in residence.
Ten years later, Charles, now 57 was still living there with his second wife, Constance, 29 and four servants, Fanny Tew, the Cook from Herefordshire; Herman Rencho, a Page from Gemany; Louise Pommirol, a Housemaid from Russia and Elizabeth Baskett, a kitchen maid from Oystermouth, plus gardner, John Owen and his wife, Martha in the Lodge.
By the time of the 1901 census, Frank Yeo, a colliery proprietor and Member of the Swansea Harbour Trust, and his wife, Ada were in residence together with their daughter, Esme aged 6, her Governess, Eleanor Harrison; Susanna Davies, Parlour maid, Susanne Davies; M. Rees, [sic] housemaid and Gladys Lloyd, kitchen maid.
In the lodge was widower John Beynon and his two daughters, Selena, 24, a teacher at the National School in Mumbles and Edith aged 15.
Dan-y-coed House Red Cross Hospital in The Great War
During the Great War, Dan y Coed was offered to the Red Cross Society, by owners, Messrs Frank Yeo, W.T. Farr and S.L. Gregor, Directors of Graigola Merthyr Ltd., as a Convalescent Home for injured soldiers, together with enough supplies to equip sixty-five beds plus two wards of twenty beds, which had been added to the existing house. It was run under the watchful eyes of Matron, Miss Ada Davies, Commandant, Mrs A.L. Furneaux and Quartermaster, Mrs. W.T. Farr, plus in all, about 230 Red Cross Nurses, who had served at various times. It stayed open for 1,220 days and treated 732 patients, with an average stay of 64 days. The hospital closed on 27 March 1919.
One of the many postcards sent from Dan Y Coed and the message, which ended . . . Note the "Angel of Mons" on the step.
June 1918, Donated by Sharon Simmons, photo: M A Clare
By the 1920s and 30s, Mrs. Morley had opened it as a Country House hotel, which advertised ‘large sunny rooms, electric light, hot and cold water, a tennis court, croquet lawn and clock golf’ and charged 2½ guineas inclusive or bed and breakfast terms.
Following the construction of the new West Cross Council Estate from the late 1940s, its locality seams to have been absorbed into the West Cross area.
From 1948 to 1972, Dan-y-Coed was the Welsh school of the National Institute of Housecraft. Girls aged between 15 and 17 resided there from 6 to 10 months of a year to learn everything that goes into the making of a good home as well as training for work posts in hospitals, residential homes, hotels, colleges, boarding schools as well as domestic service in private homes. Those who successfully completed the course were awarded the NIH Diploma in Housecraft along with the badge (shown here).
In the 1970s, the City Council used it as a Centre for children from all over Swansea to gather to perform as an orchestra and to mix socially.
Latterly, Dan-y-coed was an Educational Adventure Centre for Swansea schoolchildren to stay for a week and explore the area to study the history and geography of the locality as well as being home to the West Glamorgan County Youth Theatre Company, run by Derek Cobley and the West Glamorgan County Youth Dance Company.
Students of the West Glamorgan Dance Company with tutors, at Dan y Coed residential centre, Blackpill, mid 1980s
Gradually, the grounds have been built on by the Paddock estate and Huntington Close maisonettes and now only comprise the 1.2 acres 'for development.'
In August 2016, after over 220 years of occupation, Dan-y-Coed House, along with a two storey dormitory wing and separate coach house was sold by The City & County of Swansea. The Georgian style period property and other buildings were refurbished, partly demolished and rebuilt. It officially opened in May 2019, as a specialist school and residential home for children with autism and learning difficulties.
The Ghost of Dan-y-coed House by Victoria Morgan
My mother, Sharyl Morgan, was the Housekeeper Manager of Dan-y-Coed Educational Centre, when this happened and related this story.
'The Ghost at Dan-y-coed can be found in room 5 in the upper dormitory corridor, above the dining hall and goes by the name of Tina, who worked there as a cleaner, back in the 70's/80's/90's. She was an amazing woman, very friendly.
One day, Tina was in the middle of cleaning room number 5 when Mum sent her home, as it was the end of Tina's shift and said that the work would still be there tomorrow. That night while she sat in her comfy chair in her living room, Tina had a heart attack and passed away.
A couple of weeks later, a group of kids were staying in room 5, when one screamed and ran out. He described seeing a woman playing with something around her neck. My mum recognised that the woman he described was Tina, as she used to wear a pearl necklace around her neck and when she was anxious or worried about anything, she used to play with it.
She has been spotted many times over the years, but not many people know that her name was Tina .
There are about six ghost stories mentioning Dan-y-coed. One was when it was used as a Red Cross Hospital in the Great War, but Mum can't verify them so I won't repeat them but I know the story of Tina to be 100% true and accurate.'
More: Ghost Stories of Mumbles >Acknowledgments
1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses
Cambrian News, 11 September 1813, 18 March 1815, 19 June 1830, 1 October 1831, 24 May 1834, 6 March 1841, 8 July 1843, 22 October 1847, 7 May 1852, 22 July 1859, 18 October 1861, 28 August 1863, 15 April 1864, 4 November 1864, 19 October 1866, 31 July 1868, 1 January 1869, 22 October 1869, 25 February 1870, 23 December 1870, 15 December 1871, 1 November 1872, 8 August 1873, 7 November 1873, 14 April 1876, 21 July 1876, 4 August 1876, 18 May 1877, 4 October 1878
Mumbles Press, March 1919
Llwynderw sales brochure, 1980
J. Austin Jenkins, 'South Wales and Monmouthshire at the opening of the twentieth century,' in W'T. Pike, 1907
National Institute of Housecraft, West Glamorgan Archive GB 216 D/D NIH
Badge -National Institute of Housecraft -Flickr
The Ghost of Dan-y-coed House Educational Centre by Victoria Morgan
