Welsh Journals

The Sivansea Races over 100 years ago (From an anonymous MS. discovered in the Royal Institution). A RED-LETTER DAY (or days, indeed) was this to me, for when a boy, a mere child, in fact, this event was looked forward to, year after year, as one, if not the chief, of the enjoyments of my young life. A shocking commencement, Mrs. Grundy would say, for a young life The race course was on Crumlyn Burrows, about half-way to Neath, as the bird flies, and the road to it, most exciting at all points, lay across the Swansea River, through St. Thomas past Danygraig, then Colonel Cameron's residence, where the cemetery now is, and across Tenant's Canal. There were usually two days' racing-flat-running on the first, and both flat and hurdle racing on the second, to both of which my relatives and I usually went, and the proceedings were thus About noon, a fly having an opening and closing capacity in case of rain, a roomy machine, a kind of landau, we might now say, with a pair of good horses and an outrider or postilion in yellow jacket, appeared at the front door. The prog in sundry baskets and hampers, similar to those provided on a memorable occasion by Mr. Wardle, the hospitable owner of Dingley Dell, without, however, the presence of the Fat Boy, were placed in the boot, and other convenient parts of the carriage, and we all got in. The advantage of having a post-boy was that we saved two good seats on the box, and as these flies were, as I say, roomy vehicles, there was plenty of space inside in addition. The Ford. The first anxiety of the day was whether or not there were much freshets in the river, as when the tide was out, the crossing of the Tawe had to be effected by a ford, situated at the extreme end of Somerset-place, opposite the old Cambrian Hotel. This we usually succeeded in accomplishing very comfortably, though often with terrible jolts over, and amongst, boulders that could not be seen. This ford was at these times much used, and we had plenty of company in the transit. On other occasions when the tide was in, or rough weather about, or dangerous currents of storm water were coming down the river, we had to start earlier, and drive up High-street and Greenhill on to the Neath-road, crossing the river near the Wych Tree Bridge, and thence down its left bank past the copper works, until we reached the Red House back, indeed, almost to within a stone's throw from the ferry boat, and thence along the road by Danygraig House.