Morris Castle or Castle Graig () is a ruined residential building situated on the Cnap-llwyd common in the Trewyddfa area of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Constructed by

Sir John Morris Sir John Morris, 1st Baronet (15 July 1745 – 25 June 1819), was a British industrialist, active in copper-smelting and coal-mining in Swansea, South Wales. Biography Early life John Morris was born on 15 July 1745. He was the son of Robert Mo ...

to house the families of workers, it is one of the earliest examples of a

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

building.

History

Construction

The castle was constructed between 1768 and 1775 by the coal and copper magnate

. A quadrangle of four towers, each four stories tall were connected by blocks three stories tall, the structure enclosed a central courtyard and was built using local sandstone with decorative battlements, quoins and string courses of copper slag and brickwork. The castle consisted of twenty-four family apartments and was built to house the workers at the Treboeth Level Colliery and the copper works at Landore.

Usage and abandonment

The castle's location on the high Cnap-llwyd proved impractical for workers needs. By the late 1770s, Morris had constructed a number of more conventional workers cottages on the lower ground. These cottages proved to be much more popular, growing into an urban village which became known in English as '' Morris Town''. Despite these issues, the castle would retain some occupants until as late as the 1850s when nearby mining activity made the structure unsafe. In 1877, the Ordnance Survey marked the structure as "in ruins". On 25 January 1990, the easternmost wall of the structure collapsed in high winds during a storm.

Appraisal

In their 1814 survey of the economy of south Wales,

Gwallter Mechain Walter Davies (15 July 1761 – 5 December 1849), commonly known by his bardic name Gwallter Mechain ("Walter of Mechain"), was a Welsh poet, editor, translator, antiquary and Anglican clergyman. Davies was born at Y Wern, near Tomen y Castel ...

and

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10March 174718December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia''. R ...

praised both the castle and John Morris himself as "the most extensive individual builder of comfortable habitations for the labouring class. He first erected a kind of castellated lofty mansion, of a collegiate appearance, with an interior quadrangle, containing the dwellings for forty families, all colliers, excepting one tailor, and one shoemaker." In 1976, the Castle remains were listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument by

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...

as a building "of national importance" and one of the first structures erected for housing workers in flats. Swansea City Council purchased the building from the Beaufort Estate the following year.{{cite web , title=Morris Castle A Scheduled Monument in Landore (Glandŵr), Swansea (Abertawe) , url=https://ancientmonuments.uk/130569-morris-castle-landore , website=Ancient Monuments

References

External links

Data Wales: Morris Castle

History of Swansea Mock castles in Wales Buildings and structures in Swansea