Swansea Workingmen’s Club and Institute was built in 1885-86 in French Renaissance style to the designs of Benjamin Williams of Western Street. The Workingmen’s Club had, it was reported in the South Wales Daily News, ‘outgrown its present commodious premises, and its members have been compelled to erect fresh ones’ and they subsequently relocated to this site. The builder was reported in the Weekly Mail as ‘Mr Billings’ (possibly Henry Billings & Sons) and the memorial stone was laid by Mr. Morgan B. Williams. The building was tall, symmetrical three-storey and included an attic with a three-bay front facing Alexandra Road; pale stone dressings were used with red brick facings. Measurements of the rooms were given in the Weekly Mail: ‘The assembly room will be 18ft. by 17ft. 6in., the billiard room 27ft. by 42ft. and the library 18ft. 3in. by 10ft. In addition to the above, there will be committee rooms, reception rooms, a bar, bedrooms, &c.’

Redevelopment of the site occurred in 1995-97 to the designs of PCKO Architects as the vision of Gwalia Housing to address homelessness amongst young people in Swansea. ‘The brief was to provide a building that created a suitable environment in which integrated work, training and independent living could be offered to the young people.’ The new Foyer (now named Tŷ Tom Jones Swansea Foyer) used the former Swansea Working Men’s Club (built 1885), keeping its original façade. The interior consists of a glazed atrium, mosaics, and a colour scheme intended to foster ‘an optimistic and fun environment.’ Staircases lead from the atrium to individual ‘houses’, occupied by four of five persons. There are 33 bedsits in total, two of which are suitable for wheelchair users. There are also training rooms, a common room, living / dining space, a manager’s office, and a foyer office. Across the road from the Foyer stands Llys Glas, a community hub with student accommodation, offices, cafes, arts venue, and exhibition space, which is also part of Gwalia’s regeneration and community resource project.

Updated by M. Powel, RCAHMW, January 2021.

Sources:

'Swansea', Weekly Mail, 12 December 1885, p.7
'The Swansea Foyer', Buildings Library
'The Swansea Working Men's Club', South Wales Echo, 7 December 1885, p.3
'The Swansea Working Men's Club - A New Building', South Wales Daily News, 7 December 1885, p.3
'Ty Tom Jones Swansea Foyer and Llys Glas', Sustainable Swansea