The Guildhall's Hidden History 🏛️

Good morning, Swansea!

Browsing at the Swansea history books in the Oxfam book shop on Castle Street the other week, I spotted The Guildhall Swansea, published in October 1984 - a collection of essays commissioned by Swansea Council to commemorate the building’s 50th anniversary.

When I picked it up to look inside, out fell a perfectly preserved cutting from The Evening Post from October 23rd 1984, containing an article to announce the release of the book and an interview with its editor and local city archivist, J.R Alban.

This week, we take a look back at the fascinating history of Swansea’s Guildhall as told in its 50th year - from lost plans and grand paintings, to huge vacuums, and more!

Catch you on Sunday!

Andrew.

The Guildhall opened on October 23rd, 1934 as a replacement building to the former Guildhall in Somerset Place (now home to the Dylan Thomas Centre), which had become too small for a town whose population would, estimates said, soon exceed 200,000 people. Built in Portland stone to contrast with the environment around it and with a clocktower standing at 160ft tall, it was designed to provide a focal point in the townscape of Swansea.

The idea for a new Guildhall was first proposed as early as 1903-05 - and that it should “not be down-town by the docks, but up-town on a site of importance.” Since the Council already owned the land - and it offered easy access by tramway in both directions - the site at Victoria Park chosen in 1909.

However, it wasn’t until 1929 - delayed significantly by the advent of World War One in 1914 - that a competition was launched to find an architect to design the building - required to show a “classical approach to modernism” - and the winner, from 77 submissions, was that Mr Percy Thomas from Cardiff, one of Wales’ most prominent architects, known for his design of grand civic buildings.

Work to build the Guildhall began in 1930, with the foundation stone being laid in May 1932. Unfortunately, neither the proposed or final plans for the Guildhall exist today - all that remains is one single watercolour wash drawing (above) of the initial proposal.

“It was erected, not without controversy and bitter opposition from some quarters, in a decade of biting recession and high unemployment,” writes Alban. However, its construction (helped by unemployment relief schemes) provided a fortnight of employment for some 2,828 men of all trades, at an estimated cost of £300,000.

The Guildhall was designed to include many features that distinguished it from other municipal buildings at the time - not least, the legend of Swansea’s Viking origins that are depicted by huge galley prows which project as balconies at the top of the clocktower.

Inside, the Brangwyn Hall owes its name to the celebrated British artist Sir Frank Brangwyn. Originally, Brangwyn had been commissioned by Lord Iveagh to paint a series of 16 sixteen huge panels (each measuring approximately 10 feet high by 25 feet wide) for the House of Lords in London, intended to commemorate the British Empire.

However, Lord Ivagh died when only five of the panels had been painted - and when Brangwyn eventually finished them, they were rejected for being too bold and vivid in colour and form for the House of Lords - and it was decided to offer them to a “such a responsible public body as might prove to be their best custodian.”

Swansea Councillor Leslie W. Heffermen had seen the panels on display at the Olympia exhibition centre in London and rushed home to tell his peers that they were a “must” for Swansea. Negotiations began with Lord Iveagh’s trustees - with a proposal that the panels would be housed in the new Guildhall - and that it would be no problem to adjust plans for the building to accommodate them. Recesses built into walls so that the panels would sit flush, and the ceiling height extended so they would fit.

Their dramatic impact and cultural significance led to the concert hall being named in Brangwyn’s honour.

Meanwhile, the cost of the Brangwyn Hall’s organ (£4,850) was mostly funded by a donation of £3,000 from the trustees of Sir Griffith Thomas of Court Herbert, Neath - on the promise that woodland opposite the Hill House Hospital in Cockett would not be built on - and stand as a memorial to him.

On a more practical level, heating was provided by two huge boilers situated in the basement (with underfloor hot water pipes heating the marble floor), and the whole building was fitted with a central vacuum cleaning system so that dust could be carried by pipes to an extraction plant in the basement - both innovative systems for the time.

The opening ceremony of the Guildhall was attended by Prince George, Duke of Kent on Tuesday, October 23rd, 1934, where the “scholars of Townhill School sang to him” and “even the weather behaved.” The Prince was said to been overjoyed at the sight of the building, "and “unshamedly oozed pleasure at it.”

The next day - and for a week later - it was the people of Swansea’s turn to come and visit the new Guildhall. “They thronged to the place and were allowed to see everything,” writes Alban. Some visited several times, taking along their relatives and friends.

The Council, meanwhile, were so impressed by what they saw that, at their first meeting, “they put away their pipes and cigarettes, and by formal resolution…. decided that ‘never no more’ would there be smoking in the Council Chamber.”

In March 1936, the Royal Institution of British Architects judged the Guildhall to be the best building erected in Wales over the prior three years - recognising Mr Percy Thomas’ achievement with a plaque. He was later made “Sir Percy” for his contribution to architecture.

By its 50th anniversary, the Guildhall has undergone many changes and upgrades, including:

And of course, during its whole life, the Guildhall has served not just as a building for official duties by the local government, but as a venue for all manner of events from concerts and award ceremonies, to fairs, and wedding receptions - not to mention its use as a set for film and television production - most recently, when it was transformed into a snow-covered American police station during the filming of Havoc, starring Tom Brady.

In less than ten years, the Guildhall will mark 100 years at the heart of Swansea life. It survived the Swansea Blitz largely unscathed, and remains a working building, an arts venue, and a gathering place - few structures hold so much of Swansea’s memory in their walls.

Catch you on Sunday!

Andrew.

P.S. Still thinking about joining in at the first Swansea Scoop Dinner Club? Book your seat here.

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