The Postcard
A postally unused postcard bearing no publisher's name that was printed in Great Britain in the mid-1960's. The card has a divided back.
Porthcawl
Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales, 25 miles (40 km) west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles (31 km) southeast of Swansea.
Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the South Wales coast, overlooking the Bristol Channel, Porthcawl developed as a coal port during the 19th. century, but its trade was soon taken over by more rapidly developing ports such as Barry.
Northwest of the town, in the dunes known as Kenfig Burrows, are hidden the remnants of the town and Kenfig Castle, which were overwhelmed by sand about 1400.
Origin of the Porthcawl Name
Porth is a common Welsh name meaning "harbour", and the cawl here refers to "sea kale", which must have grown in profusion or even been collected here.
Porthcawl as a Holiday Resort
Porthcawl is home to a large static caravan park known as Trecco Bay. It has an extensive promenade and several beaches, two of which are Blue Flag beaches.
There are many hotels (including the prominent Seabank Hotel) and guest houses, as well as a funfair called Coney Beach which is modelled on Coney Island in New York.
Porthcawl, like many British resorts, has suffered a decline in its holiday trade over recent years, especially since most of the South Wales coal pits closed. A major feature of the summer was the miners' fortnight, when large numbers of miners took their annual break.
Porthcawl Promenade
Built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, Porthcawl's promenade runs along the seafront from Lock's Common in the west to the harbour, before joining the Eastern Promenade and leading to Coney Beach and Griffin Park.
The promenade was restored in 1996. There are many cafes, bars, restaurants and hotels along the promenade, which offers views across the Bristol Channel.
The Grand Pavilion, built at a cost of £25,000 in 1932, is the venue for popular shows, including the annual pantomime. The singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson once performed 'live' at the Pavilion via a transatlantic telephone link.
Controversial luxury flats now dominate the seafront on the site previously occupied by the Esplanade Hotel, which dated back to the late 1880's. The Royal Society of Architects in Wales awarded 'Esplanade House' a Welsh Housing Design Award in 2006, but the architecture has proved unpopular with many local residents who have nicknamed it "The Bottle Bank".
The Harbour Quarter
Porthcawl Lifeboat Station, purpose-built in 1995, is situated near the harbour. 'Cosy Corner' is a park area, which over the years has housed a theatre, cinema, roller skating rink and ballroom.
The Jennings Building, built in 1832, is a Grade II listed building and Wales' oldest maritime warehouse. The building is a potentially important part of the Porthcawl Regeneration Strategy. It now houses three hospitality businesses.
At the end of Porthcawl Pier stands a white lighthouse built in 1860. The lighthouse is currently in use as a navigational aid. Porthcawl Lighthouse was the last coal and gas-powered lighthouse in the UK. It switched to being powered by North Sea gas in 1974, before becoming powered by electricity in 1997. The pier and surrounding area are popular spots for sea fishing.
The historic ships the PS Waverley, the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world, and the MV Balmoral sail from this area during the summer months.
The Porthcawl Male Voice Choir
The Porthcawl Male Voice Choir is a male voice choir formed in 1980 with 17 members. The choir currently (2021) has 45 members. Each year the choir performs with a celebrity guest, the latest of whom was Leslie Garrett.
Porthcawl Beaches
Porthcawl has seven beaches. Newton Beach on the eastern edge of Porthcawl is a long sandy and rocky beach, backed by the Newton Burrows and Merthyr Mawr sand dunes, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, and ending at the mouth of the River Ogmore.
Trecco Bay is a large, sandy and rocky Blue Flag beach. Trecco Bay holiday park is situated alongside the beach.
Sandy Bay, with the area in front of the fairground known as Coney Beach, is a large sheltered and sandy beach.
Seafront Beach, also known as Town Beach, is a rocky beach in the centre of Porthcawl which was partly tarmaced over in the 1980's to repair sea defences.
Rest Bay is a sandy Blue Flag beach situated in the west of Porthcawl.
Pink Bay has a steep pebble bank down onto a flat beach edged by a rocky shoreline. These rocks have a unique pink marbling effect – hence the name Pink Bay.
Sker Beach is the most westerly beach in Porthcawl and is accessible only by walking from Rest Bay or Kenfig National Nature Reserve. A plaque, in memory of the 47 lives lost on the S.S. Santampa which capsized and wrecked in heavy seas, and the Mumbles RNLI life boat which attempted rescue on 23 April 1947, is visible at low tide.
Five rocky points line the Porthcawl shore: From east to west these are Newton Point, Rhych Point, Porthcawl Point, Hutchwns Point and Sker Point.
Scheduled Monuments
There are three scheduled monuments in Porthcawl Community area. including a prehistoric site and a Roman villa:
-- Hutchwns Bronze Age Round Barrow is near a public park, and a modern standing stone has been placed alongside it.
-- Dan-y-Graig Roman Villa. This Roman villa, a rare feature in Wales, dates mainly to 3rd.-4th. centuries and is in Newton. The site includes agricultural buildings. It was partly excavated in 1985-86.
-- Nottage Court Inscribed S is a Roman milestone with 3 Latin inscriptions. Its current location is in a garden at Nottage Court, having been moved there in the 19th. century, from a location which is now Port Talbot Docks.
Newton Village
Newton village dates from the 12th. century. St. John's Church, founded by the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem 800 years ago, and originally built as a fortress, overlooks the village green.
The Jolly Sailor pub, the oldest in Porthcawl and the Ancient Briton pub also overlook the green.
To the south of the church lies St John's Well, the water from which is reputed to have healing properties.
Newton village homed St. John's School, an independent day school established in 1921 and which closed in c2016.
Newton is also home to St. Clare's School which is also an independent day school. It was established in 1938 by the Poor Clare's order of nuns.
Porthcawl Festivals
Porthcawl Town Carnival takes place annually in July. A procession of themed floats and acts make their way around the town, collecting money for charity, and competing for the prize of the best float. The procession makes its way to the carnival field where there are stalls, a fun fair, and live acts to be enjoyed.
The Porthcawl Jazz & Blues Festival is held annually in April, hosting a variety of musical performances, workshops and family events over a weekend.
Surf Cult runs for a week in September. Events include surf contests, music, art, fashion and film plus an outdoor market. The festival ends with the legendary Surfers' Ball.
The Elvis Festival runs every September, and attracts Elvis tribute artists and devotees from across the world. It is recognised as the biggest gathering of Elvis fans in Europe and maybe in the world. The Elvis Festival was selected as one of the UK's top twenty summer festivals by The Times in 2008.
Sports
Porthcawl is one of the top locations in Wales for surfing, with both national and regional competitions held at Rest Bay.
Other alternative sports like skateboarding and rollerblading are also popular, with the former PADS skate park by the Harbour and the new bowl park.
There are three golf courses to the north of the town including Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, which attracts players from around the world.
Porthcawl is home also home to football side Porthcawl Town Athletic F.C. which boasts a 1st., Reserve and 3rd. team as well as numerous junior teams.
Porthcawl hosts a free weekly Parkrun at 9am each Saturday. It starts on the Lower Promenade in front of the Grand Pavilion, heads out to Rest Bay and finishes near the Pier.
The Regeneration of Porthcawl
Porthcawl waterfront is proposed for substantial regeneration as part of the 7 Bays Project. This will stretch from Cosy Corner and the harbour in the south, to Trecco Bay in the east. The plan includes the construction of new sea defences, enabling regeneration of the area to take place and also protecting more than 440 existing properties from flood risk.
The Porthcawl Air Collision
On the 11th. February 2009, two RAF Grob Tutor training aircraft collided over the area, one landing in Kenfig and the other landing in Margam. Two instructors and two teenage air cadets died in the incident.
