The Abbey that never was

As a graduate of Swansea University I have often wondered about the origin of the Abbey, the building where the college's administration is based, and which in the early days hosted most of the teaching that was delivered to the institution's students.

In summary, Marino (the house that would become Singleton Abbey) was a house built for Edward King in the latter half of the 1700s:

In the early 1800s it was purchased by John Henry Vivian and transformed into the building known as Singleton Abbey (though never actual an Abbey or even a church). Through the 100 years of Vivian family ownership the building played host to Royal Visits and much spectacle, before finally being bought by the then Swansea Corporation, fore runners of the Swansea Borough Council.

A more detailed history is available here by working your way down the links under Singleton Abbey. The building lies within the City's Singleton Park, a large chunk of which has been developed for the University campus and for one of Swansea's two hospitals. The website tells us that the history of Singleton goes back further than some people think:

Oliver Cromwell’s Survey of Gower in 1650 identifies a property known as Singleton made up of 32 acres and valued at a high rate of £7, 4s, 0d per annum and described as a mansion house, barn and certain parcels of arable pasture and rough ground lying all together about the house called by the name of Singletons which is held by David Jones and late of Ellis Price, gent. To the east of this lay the farm of Tir Powell.

The farm Tir Powell (with its 15 ½ acres), once belonging to the old Manor of East and West Millwood, and was owned by Silvanus Bevan and occupied by William Padley (1762–1801), (both Quakers and Swansea merchants) in the 1770s. The LTAs of 1773 identify Singletown as owned by the Duke of Beaufort and held by David Lewis and Sarah Hugh.

In 1781 occupancy passed to Jane Matthew until 1784 when it was acquired by Edward King Esq (1750-1819). Following his arrival to Swansea, King successfully procured the title of Deputy Comptroller of Customs for the Port of Swansea (appointed in 1786) and Collector of Customs between 1810-1815. Subsequently, thereafter King demolished the original farm and constructed a fine new octagonal villa in 1786, which he named Marino.

King hired the Swansea regency architect William Jernegan to build a house for him that would be unique in the country. This house would be known as Marino in the first instance and later as Singleton, Singleton House and Singleton Abbey depending on the author/source.

Shooting ahead through the 140 years of construction and reconstruction, the website recalls that on 17th July 1919, Singleton was sold to the Swansea Corporation. They paid £ 90,000 for it [nearly £5 million, in 2021].

Swansea University’s foundation stone was laid by King George V on 19 July 1920 and 89 students (including eight female students) enrolled that same year. By September 1939, there were 65 staff and 485 students:

In 1947 there were just two permanent buildings on campus: Singleton Abbey and the library. The Principal, J S Fulton, recognised the need to expand the estate and had a vision of a self-contained community, with residential, social and academic facilities on a single site. His vision was to become the first university campus in the UK.

By 1960 a large-scale development programme was underway that would see the construction of new halls of residence, the Maths and Science Tower, and College House (later renamed Fulton House).

Today, Swansea University has around 20,000 to 21,000 students, with recent figures from 2023/24 showing 21,225 students, comprising about 15,690 undergraduates and 5,540 postgraduates on two separate campuses.