NPRN417125
Map ReferenceSN70SW
Grid ReferenceSN7024300941
Unitary (Local) AuthoritySwansea
Old CountyGlamorgan
CommunityClydach
Type Of SiteDOG RACING TRACK
PeriodPost Medieval
DescriptionGlais Stadium (otherwise Glais Racecourse), situated on the outskirts of Swansea was used for much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for a variety of racing sports including pedestrianism, horse racing, foot racing and greyhound racing. Although not clearly marked on Ordnance Survey mapping until the 4th revision of 1935 - by which time the formal features of a greyhound racing circuit such as a grandstand are clearly in evidence - there is ample newspaper evidence for its use in earlier decades. The transformation of the circuit for greyhound racing took place in 1928 following the decision by Swansea Corporation not to allow greyhound races at the St Helen's ground in the town centre. By the 1960s, Glais Stadium had been transformed into a general recreational facility with bowling green, tennis courts and sports fields. The earlier stand was retained. Today, the sports grounds are largely taken up by the 18-hole Tawe Vale Golf Club, a former 9-hole works course developed for use by employees of the INCO Nickel Works (the former Mond Nickel Works) nearby. The bowling green has, however, survived.
Daryl Leeworthy, RCAHMW, 27 June 2012.