All Saints' Church, Kilvey, Swansea

The church of All Saints, Kilvey was an Anglican (Church in Wales) church that served a parish on the east bank of the River Tawe in Swansea. It was built in 1842. At the outbreak of war in 1914 the parish of Kilvey consisted of industrial villages and scattered terraces of houses and included Pentreguinea, Foxhole and Pentrechwyth, many of whose residents worked at the copper, steel and tinplate works that once dominated the Lower Swansea Valley.

The church was forced to close towards the end of 2015 due to structural faults and has remained empty since then. This photograph, which is held at the Archive Service, forms part of a photographic survey of the church made around the time of its closure, and so is included here, although the memorial itself remains on the wall of the church.

The memorial is finely made, of different coloured marble, and was unveiled by Field Marshal Lord Grenfell of Kilvey. The three-part tablet records the names of 68 men of the parish of Kilvey who died in the war (not 67 as stated on the memorial itself). The two names below are those of the twin nephews of Lord Grenfell who also died in the conflict. They were not from the local area, but were included in deference to their uncle.

Download a large version of the War Memorial photograph (PDF) [207KB](opens new window)

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