Morriston - Landscape

Landscape

Morriston town is built on terrain sloping gently downwards to the east and steeply upwards to the west, and the district is centred around Woodfield Street, a shopping area that runs in a north-south axis. This street features two of Morriston's most notable structures, the Church of St. John, and Tabernacle, a Grade I listed building designed by the architect John Humphrey and built between 1870 and 1872. Tabernacle has sometimes been called "the cathedral of Welsh non-conformity".

The remainder of Morriston can be divided into three areas:

• an area of early 19th century two-storey terraced houses around the main area of shops;
• areas further north, close to the M4 motorway, largely composed of semi-detached housing built from the 1940s to the 1960s;
• a mix of 19th century and more recently-built houses along Clydach Road in Ynystawe.

Morriston Hospital, the largest in Swansea, is located in Cwmrhydyceirw, a small village in Morriston, approximately one mile north of Morriston town centre. All British driver registration is handled by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) which is located in Clase, a suburb west of Morriston town.

Morriston town is near to the urban village of Plasmarl, the villages of Ynystawe, Ynysforgan, Clydach and the large housing estates, Penlan and Clase, both of which are districts of Swansea.