St James's Gardens and Crescent are located in the Uplands area of Swansea,to the west of the city centre. It is notable as a late Victorian urban public park designed as an integral part of the town layout and surrounded by mid to late-nineteenth-century villas. Minimal modern intrusion results in the Gardens in particular retaining a Victorian character.
The Crescent was developed first and St James's Church (nprn 265683) was built in the centre in 1863-67. The Gardens were laid out between 1878 and 1913. Substantial housing developed around the park area, completed between the same dates. 

The Gardens consists of a rectangular block laid out informally with ornamental trees and shrubs set in grass, with winding tarmac paths following the lines of the original ones, and island flowerbeds. The park is dominated by the dense planting of Victorian conifers, many of which must be original plantings.
The tree-lined Crescent, projecting northwards from Walter Road, lies to the south and extends to approximately three times the width of the Gardens. The Crescent is bounded by iron railings on a low coursed stone wall. Entrances have iron gates flanked by square stone piers of roughly dressed blocks with gabled dressed stone tops. More recently, part of the Crescent has been developed for housing (St James’s Court).

Source:
Cadw 2000: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Glamorgan, p.187 (ref: PGW(Gm)55(SWA)).  

RCAHMW, 26 July 2022