Loughor () ( cy, Casllwchwr) is a Welsh

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the City and County of Swansea, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It lies on the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the River Loughor. The town has a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

council under the name

Llwchwr Llwchwr is a community and (from 2022) electoral ward in the central western part of the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. It lies west-north-west of Swansea city centre and is bounded by the communities of Gorseinon to the north, Penllerg ...

. The town is bordered by the communities of

Bynea Bynea ( )G.M. Miller, ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 23. ( cy, Bynie) is a village close to the River Loughor (Welsh-Afon Llwchwr) in Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin), Wales (Cymru). It also forms an ele ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Grovesend (Pengelli),

Gowerton Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within the ...

(Tre-Gwŷr), and

Gorseinon Gorseinon is a town within the City and County of Swansea, Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is situated in the north west of Sw ...

. Loughor is part of the built-up area of Gorseinon.

Etymology

The town's name has been called "possibly the oldest name in Gower", dating back to the Roman era. It derives from the name of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Leucarum Leucarum was a coastal auxiliary fort in the Roman province of Britannia. Its remains are located beneath the town of Loughor in the Welsh city of Swansea. The Romans built a rectangular or trapezoidal fort at the mouth of the River Loughor in ...

History

The town includes the site of the Roman fort of Leucarum, over which the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

Loughor Castle Loughor Castle is a ruined, medieval fortification located in the town of Loughor, Wales. The castle was built around 1106 by the Anglo-Norman lord Henry de Beaumont, during the Norman invasion of Wales. The site overlooked the River Loughor ...

was built in 1106. Loughor developed around the castle. The town has had its own lifeboat station since 1969, situated near the road bridge. The current lifeboat is a Ribcraft 5.85m RIB. Loughor Castle - geograph

Loughor later grew as a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, while in the early 20th century the main industries were large

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

and steel works. About 1800, John Vivian (1750–1826) of

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, became managing partner in the copper works at Penclawdd, when Loughor was owned by the Cheadle Brasswire Company of Staffordshire. The

Vivian family Vivian may refer to: *Vivian (name), a given name and also a surname Toponyms * Vivian, Louisiana, U.S. * Vivian, South Dakota, U.S. * Vivian, West Virginia, U.S. * Vivian Island, Nunavut, Canada * Ballantrae, Ontario, a hamlet in Stouffville, ...

eventually ran large copper-mining, copper-smelting and trading businesses in and around Swansea (

Vivian & Sons Vivian & Sons was a British metallurgical and chemicals business based at Hafod, in the lower Swansea valley. The firm was founded in 1810, disappearing as a separate entity in 1924. Its chief outputs were ingot and sheet copper, with sulphuric ac ...

) and throughout the 19th century did much to develop Swansea as a city.

Structure and amenities

Loughor town can be divided into two areas, defined by the present electoral wards of

Lower Loughor Lower Loughor ( cy, Casllwchwr Isaf) was an electoral ward in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. The ward covered the western part of the town of Loughor in the parliamentary constituency of Gower (UK Parliament constituency), Gower. It was ...

and

Upper Loughor Upper Loughor ( cy, Casllwchwr Uchaf) was an electoral ward in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. The ward covered the eastern part of the town of Loughor in the parliamentary constituency of Gower. It was bounded by Lower Loughor and the ...

, which have separate histories. Lower Loughor lies nearer the sea on low ground, Upper Loughor on higher ground. Loughor initially developed around the Norman castle in what is now the Lower Loughor ward. Upper Loughor began as a distinct settlement, initially around what is now the Glebe Road area, and became established as a separate town by the mid-19th century. Loughor today is mostly a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for Swansea and

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

via the Loughor bridge, and has merged with the neighbouring town of

. The West Wales line crosses the River Loughor over the Loughor Viaduct to the west of the town. Loughor railway station was closed in 1960. Local schools in the town include Tre Uchaf Primary School and Casllwchwr Primary School. Opposite the Tre Uchaf Primary is one of the sites of Gower College Swansea. The local

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team of the town is Loughor RFC.

Notable people

In birth order: * Evan Roberts (1878–1951), minister, a major figure in the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival in religious worship *

James Henry Govier James Henry Govier (1 August 1910 – 21 December 1974) was a British painter and etcher, who worked in Swansea and East Anglia. Biography Govier was born on 1 August 1910, at Oakley, Buckinghamshire, the only son of Henry Govier and Mary A ...

(1910–1974), painter, etcher and engraver of the Swansea School, produced several images of Loughor. *

Irma Chilton Irma Chilton (born Mair Elizabeth Irma Evans, 12 November 1930 – 1990), also known as I. M. Chilton, was a Welsh children's writer in the English and Welsh languages. She was a recipient of the Tir na n-Og Award presented by the Welsh Books Cou ...

(1930–1990), children's writer in English and Welsh *

Leighton James Leighton James (born 16 February 1953 in Loughor, Swansea, Wales) is a former Wales international footballer. Playing career James started his career as a left winger with Burnley, making his league debut in November 1970 against Nottingham Fo ...

(born 1953), Welsh international footballer

References

Sources

*Swansea Art Gallery Catalogue, 1936 *The Gower Journal *Who's Who in Art *Dictionary of British Artists 1900–1950, by Grant M. Waters, 1975

External links

History of Loughorwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Loughor and surrounding area
{{authority control Towns in Swansea