We are so glad you’re here. This trail invites you to step gently into the past and uncover the layered, powerful story of Greenhill, Swansea. Over ten carefully chosen points, you’ll walk through centuries of resilience, struggle, hope, and transformation, told through the people and places who shaped this unique hillside community.

We invite you to engage with history not just as information, but as a living story. Imagine walking these same streets in the 1800s. Hear the voices of Irish immigrants seeking a new beginning, see the devastation of the Swansea Blitz, and feel the determination of a community that rebuilt itself again and again with grit and grace.

This trail is for everyone, whether you’re part of a school, a community group, or just exploring on your own. It’s designed to be interactive, reflective, and rich with storytelling.

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to bringing this heritage trail to life. From local historians and passionate enthusiasts to dedicated professionals and supportive community members, your efforts have been invaluable. A special thank you goes to our friends Andrew Dulley (the man in charge of Swansea’s historic documents at Swansea Archives) and Gerald Gabb (Swansea’s leading local historian and editor of the Swansea History Journal, Minerva), whose time, knowledge, and support have truly enriched this project. Together, you have all helped weave the intricate story of Greenhill, and for that, we are deeply grateful.

You can experience the trail in three ways:

• The main trail, sharing core moments from Greenhill’s history
• A deeper dive, for those who want to explore deeper, media, and the research behind the trail
• Tarran’s journey, a special first-person adventure for younger visitors, guided by a time-travelling teenager bringing history to life through imaginative storytelling. 🧭 Time traveller passports are available at Matthew’s House reception. Complete the journey and claim your badge — a small token to say: you did it!

Before this garden was created, we carried out detailed site mapping, 3D scanning, and archaeological work to preserve what was here and the memory of this place has been honoured every step of the way as best we could. The walkthrough is intended to hold the database of details of each headstone where they lay originally and where they are now.

You can view a 3D model of the site here –

📍 Interactive Site Walkthrough

📍 Sketchfab 3D Model

We are still learning, collecting, and listening. If you have memories, photographs, or knowledge to contribute to the story of Greenhill, we’d be honoured to hear from you.
📧 greenhillgardens@matthewshouse.org.uk

Now it’s your turn to walk the trail. Follow the markers. Pause to reflect.

Let each step carry you through the rich tapestry of Greenhill’s past – from the 12th-century Knights Hospitaller who cared for the sick, to the stories etched into headstones and memorials that speak of dignity, struggle, and hope.

As you explore the sculptures, bug hotels and historic site, you’ll uncover the resilience of a community shaped by hardship – from cholera outbreaks to the Swansea Blitz – and enriched by the dreams of Irish immigrants and others who called Greenhill home.

This trail is a gift – to our city, our neighbours, and to you. Thank you for walking it with us.

“Imagine this place not as a busy city street, but as open countryside. Rolling fields, a few thatched cottages, and a quiet dirt track running north towards the hills.”

That was Greenhill in the early 1700s – just farmland beyond the edge of old Swansea. Place names like Waun Wen (“white meadow”) and Brynmelyn (“yellow hill”) still whisper of the land as it once was.

But as the 18th century rolled into the 19th, things began to change. Industry arrived. First the copperworks. Then potteries, tanneries, and rail lines. People poured in – from the Welsh valleys, from rural farms, and especially from famine-struck Ireland. The hillside filled up quickly. Terraces were built. Chapels were founded. The quiet became crowded. The green became grey.

By the 1820s, this area had become known as Greenhill. The name was already in use by 1641, but it took on new meaning as the hill turned into a tightly packed, hard-working, and diverse community.

It wasn’t always easy. Housing was cramped. Conditions were poor. But neighbours looked out for one another. Stories collected from old residents speak of real warmth:

“If anything were wrong, they’d be there in a minute.”

“I couldn’t wish to be brought up anywhere better.”

And right at the heart of it stood the church – first called St John’s, later renamed St Matthew’s, and now home to Matthew’s House.

The origins of that church go all the way back to the 1160s, when a nobleman gave this land to the Knights Hospitaller – a medieval order that cared for pilgrims and the poor. They built a small chapel here, one of the earliest in Swansea. By the 13th century, it was serving the whole local community.

Though technically outside the town walls, the chapel became a spiritual home for this hillside. Farmers passed it on their way to market. Families gathered here in grief and celebration. Later, the church would witness cholera outbreaks, wartime bombings, and modern redevelopment.

Today, that same spirit of care still flows through this site. The pews may be gone, but the welcome remains.

Greenhill has known hardship. In recent years, High Street was even labelled the “worst in Britain” — a place of boarded shops and struggle. But labels don’t tell the full story.

Greenhill is also a place of community, creativity, and quiet resilience. A place where people care for one another, often without fuss or fame. A place where hope, somehow, keeps finding a way.

And it all began right here — on a hillside, in a chapel, among fields that turned into home.