Victoria Gardens, Neath History built by Thomas Snow

The Victoria Gardens were, in the mid 19^th century, known as Mera Field which was owned by the occupier of the Gnoll House, Henry John Grant. In 1856 the Neath Borough Council purchased the field from Henry John Grant in an effort to provide the town with some open space and at this time the site was called the ‘Corporation Field’. In 1895 the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of Neath purchased from Evan Evans Bevan 20 cottages and the Cross Keys public house that occupied the corner of Victoria Gardens, now situated nearest to the new Cross Keys public house adjacent to the gardens.

The Neath Fair occupied the Mera Field site from 1856 until May 1897 when the Neath Fair was moved to its new position, that being the site of the old Civic Centre.

In 1897 the existing park was laid out by Thomas John Snow who was a local builder and whose company operated in Neath between 1881 and 1925. The marble pillar gates nearest to St David’s Church on the main entrance to Victoria Gardens were officially laid on the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria to celebrate her 60^th year of reign on the 22^nd June 1897. A stone was laid by the Mayor of Neath, Arthur Russell Thomas, to commemorate this fact. The marble pillars on the entrance way were donated by Thomas Snow and the marble was imported from Italy .

The park at this time was known as Neath Recreation Ground. The park was officially renamed and opened on the 30^th June, 1898 . The advertisement for the event reads:

Borough of Neath

Opening of the Victoria Gardens

And New Reservoir

By the Mayor Abraham George, Esq.,

Thursday Afternoon

June 30^th 1898

At 2.00 pm

A procession of inhabitants will be formed in front of the Town Hall and march thence to the ‘ Victoria Gardens ’ which will then be formally opened to the public.

A band will be in attendance.

The scholars attending various Sunday Schools in the Borough will take part in the procession, and passing through the Gardens will proceed to their accustomed play-fields where the Mayor will cause a supply of buns to be distributed amongst the children.

Immediately after the opening of the Gardens, the Mayor and Corporation will proceed to Moss House Wood, when the new reservoir, recently constructed by the Town Council will be opened.

All burgesses and inhabitants are heartily invited to attend both ceremonies.

Edwin T. Curtis

(Town Clerk)

On the 30^th June, 1898 , the Victoria Gardens and Moss House Woods Reservoir were both officially opened and a Civic dinner was held in the evening following the official openings. Unfortunately at this dinner one of the guests attending the official opening choked to death, they were the first person to be buried within the newly opened cemetery at Llantwit.

At the time of the opening the Victoria Gardens were larger than they are today as the new bus station occupies part of the former Gardens. The two timber framed shelters at the station end of the Park were erected at the same time as the bus station.

The park was originally laid out with iron railings running around the perimeter and these remained in place until WWII when there was a major drive throughout the country to obtain metal for the manufacture of armaments, resulting in the railings being removed from the Gardens. After WWI there was a tank situated there also alongside the potting shed where it remained until it was taken away for scrap during WWII.

The Gorsedd Circle within Victoria Gardens has been used in the past to celebrate the National Eisteddfod coming to Neath. The first use of the Gorsedd stone was on the 6^th of August 1918 and subsequently at the 1934 Eisteddfod also held at Neath.

A number of features currently within Victoria Gardens have been relocated there from other locations within the borough. The statue of Howell Gwyn was moved there in the 1960s from its original place on the forecourt of the Gwyn Hall where he stood for 60 years before being moved. The statue originally pointed to the house where Howell Gwyn was born (where Argos is now), and when it was moved it was made sure that the statue continued to point in that direction from the Gardens.

Source: article on the history of Victoria Gardens held in Neath library, unknown author

The history of the construction of the Gardens is little known, the eminent Neath historians say the following..........

D Rhys Phillips - A History of the Vale of Neath 1925 - nothing found

Elis Jenkins - Neath & District A Symposium 1974 - (page 60) states 'Perhaps it was appropriate that in 1898 the Old Mera, common land of the burgesses for so long, was transformed into an urban park and named Victoria Gardens'

George Eaton - A History of Neath 1987 - (page 170) throws more light on the subject - "The impressive number of parks and playing fields under corporation ownership today had their genesis back in 1856 when the council acquired what was to be called the Corporation field. Here football and cricket were played and fairs held up to the time of it's conversion into Victoria Gardens Park . The was done to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1899.

We'd love to have more info on the transformation from The Mera / Corporation Field to the Victoria Gardens, if you are able to help please use the link below to email the publisher of this webpage.

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