The day a schooner was washed ashore
by Maisie Harris
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Editor's note
Before the Mumbles railway was extended to the new Pier, the full tide reached the road-side, from Southend to the Methodist (Wesleyan) Church.
Methodist (Wesleyan) Church, 1910
One stormy day so the story goes, a schooner anchored in the bay, broke its moorings and drifted in on the tide, finally coming to rest against the door of the Methodist Church. When the tide had receded, a man with a horse and cart wanted to get past, and a group of men standing nearby bet him that he could not squeeze his way between the ship’s bows and the Church door. He just about managed it with inches to spare!
Methodist (Wesleyan) Church, Mumbles and the shoreline is marked by a red X, c1890
Mumbles, from near Oystermouth Castle
This is the view in the opposite direction to the photo above and shows the multitude of boats often anchored offshore. The Methodist Chapel is on the right of this photo.