NORTON HOUSE

MUMBLES, SWANSEA

Norton House Hotel and Restaurant was built in 1790 to a very high standard which included bath stone outer walls, Italian styled high ceilings, a walnut staircase, a vast garden, and separate stables. At the time it would have been one of the most grand and expensive properties in the areas.

Full of history and stories but most notably two rumours. A secret staircase which used to exist in the library but the now bar area which led underground towards Oystermouth castle. Furthermore, the hotel has had plenty of ghost sightings throughout the years mainly in the large basement where a ghostly old man has been seen and heard and also a silhouette of a young girl. Personally, I have never seen any ghost but over the nine yrs I have worked in the hotel there have been a few members of staff who refuse to go down to the basement as they have seen a ghost and are too afraid.

Before it became an hotel and restaurant it had many owners or tenants with titles and in 1871 the family of the Mayor of Swansea

The black and white photo below was taken in 1856 by john Dilwyn Llewelyn of the then owners playing a game of tennis in the gardens.

By the 1920s a small school for around eight children had been taking place on the grounds but the most interesting change came in the 1930s when a large portion of the garden had been sold off to make way for building and mumbles road.

Then eventually by 1948 it had become a college for teaching English whose students’ included princes from Siam and Zanzibar. Furthermore, by the 1960s it became a country club which was very popular during the time for the night life, but it wasn’t until the late 70s that it became a hotel. By the mid 2000s the stables had been converted to more rooms and also an extension had been added to the back of the building onto the garden.

An old yew tree was cut down near the front of the hotel a few years ago which I was lucky to have a slice of. Interestingly there is a possibility that the yew tree had been witness to much of the history of the hotel as yew trees can live very long lives.

In the picture you can see below, towards the left above the woman is a rather large tree. That tree is still there today and so have some others which are now vast and tall in structure. That particularly tree 18 months ago had a large branch removed as it started to grow against the building. I took home three slices which became the oak triptych. It would of been intriguing to see how the full garden looked before it was sold but I can imagine it was as grand as the hotel. As you can see in the old map in the next dew pages, the garden was in fact over two times larger than the hotel.

Also, the hotel has become a popular wedding and function venue. During these events it has become quite normal for table decorations and centre pieces to be tree slices. Occasionally the guests may leave them behind to be thrown out but in some cases I have used them in work and given them a new life