Sorry for this thread hijack. I am so excited! Thank you very much for bringing up Anglo heritage. I searched St. Mary’s Swansea and just minutes ago found some photos, one circa 1870 which I believe would be close to the time my Great Grandparents were to be married in St. Mary’s Church!
The workers are tearing down a building to add on to the church which is barely seen on the far right.
What’s fascinating is that a few of the men doing some of the heavy lifting are dressed in vests, suit coats and proper hats. That matches what my dear 96 year old Aunt said about how the men in our Welsh family dressed every day.
Courtesy ping to fellow Cymry Myrddin,
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Cross Street - demolition in progress
This is Cross Street c.1870, now Princess Way looking towards the Marina. St Mary’s Church can be seen on the right. The row of buildings on the right of Cross Street are being demolished, the land will be incorporated into the church grounds. The group of people on the right are standing on the remains of the ‘Smithy’
http://www.swanseaheritage.net/swanseathroughtheyears/gat_full.asp?A_ID=245
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c. St. Mary’s Church from Ben’s
“Though totally rebuilt in 1895 - 97, and much repaired before that, the parish church of Swansea had stood on this site since the Middle Ages.” (”All that was left was the coalshed...”, p.52, published by Swansea Museums Service, 1997.)
http://www.swanseaheritage.net/swanseathroughtheyears/gat_full.asp?A_ID=56
Love the old photographs! Love hijacking threads too :-D
The white trousers on the supervisor standing on the smithy bricks might put the date a little earlier, but maybe he was just a bit behind the times or fashions took longer to get to Wales. (Don't feel bad - another branch of my family was sauntering around the Highlands with no pants to their names at all, at all.)
St. Giles Cripplegate was flattened in the Blitz, but rebuilt exactly as it was beforehand from the actual plans -- which somebody somehow had saved. The building is one of the last medieval churches in London, dating from the late 14th century, with the brick addition to the tower added after the Great Fire, which the church survived intact (but just barely - the fire was almost right up against the church wall when it finally burned out).
They have some really neat memorials and portrait busts which survived the Blitz.
BTW, Swansea is the English name for the city. The Welsh name is Abertawe...literally "mouth of the Towy river". Nice pics! Thanks.