club members When we look at places like Silicon Valley or South Korea, Japan, China or Taiwan it is really hard for us to believe that we were once what they are now. I grew up with most of the industry that had built Swansea having been closed or in the process of shutting down. What was left was the rubbish and detritus of industries that had once created vast fortunes for the mine owners, copper and tin barons and those who ran the chemical works.
The Lounge at the B.C.Y.C.
How wealthy were these people? So wealthy that even the Bank of England decided to open a branch in the town…
‘Following a request from the ‘respectable gentry’ of Swansea, who petitioned the Court for a Branch Bank in May 1826, it was decided that Swansea was the best place to open a branch in South Wales, although the Bank also considered Cardiff, Newport and Merthyr Tydfil. John Parry Wilkins of the Brecon Bank was appointed Agent for the newly approved branch in July 1826, which opened in the ‘Old Bank’ in Temple Street on 23 October. This was the only branch outside England. ‘
(Bank of England Archive.)
This week I had the pleasure and privilege to visit one of the great Swansea Buildings that harks back to that time. The Bristol Channel Yacht Club or as it’s known locally the B.C.Y.C.
The Billiard Room
My new record ‘Still With Me’ tells the story of love and loss, how even when the person we love is no longer with us we can still feel they are a massive part of our lives. I used to say the most difficult part of making a record is writing the song, or maybe it’s getting the right performance on tape. These days I tend to think it’s producing the video.
As I’ve pointed out before with all of the great cameras on mobile phones and with cheap editing software readily available never has it been easier or as cheap to make a music video. The thing is you can have all the gear and no idea!
After someone passes away people often talk about wanting to walk around the places they used to share with the person they once loved. For this video I had the idea of walking through rooms of a big old house and through using camera trickery maybe I could appear or disappear. The camera trickery is pretty straight forward but where to find an old house?
It was few months ago I was invited to the B.C.Y.C. for a social event. It is a stunning building and from the scale of the entrance hall and rooms you can tell that this has been a special place for many years. In the 1800’s with so many ships entering and leaving Swansea docks the local Pilot boats from Swansea and Neath would race out to the incoming ships to get the job of bringing them safely into harbour. That led to official races with local business men donating prizes with the first record of a Regatta dating back to 1823.
As the years passed the number of entrants and prize money rose bringing in boats from all over the Bristol Channel and Ireland. In 1859 The Challenge Cup valued at 100 Guineas was won by a ship named Vigilant, a 22 ton Yacht owned by a Mr J.C Atkins from the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Ireland. Swansea Bay was becoming a real home for Regattas.
In 1875 some of the great and good of Swansea decided to create a new yacht club and to amalgamate it with the Mumbles Billiard Club all to be managed by ‘The Commodore’, Henry Hussey Vivian, who later became Lord Swansea. Over the coming years regattas would get the Royal seal of approval with an appearance by the Royal Yacht Britannia.
The current B.C.Y.C was opened on 4th August 1904 by the Earl of Jersey. As well as being the centre of the Regatta activities it also allowed members space to play cards or billiards. In 1909 £1200 was raised (nearly £200,000 in current value) for a Whitsun Bank Holiday Regatta. After the Race Sir Thomas Lipton was presented with the trophy. Sir Thomas would go on to make a name for himself in the world of yachting by numerous unsuccessful challenges for the Americas Cup. Sir Thomas wasn’t the only ‘celebrity’ to visit the B.C.Y.C. After the first world war guests included Emir Feisal, the future king of Saudi Arabia.
With this pedigree it’s not surprising to find that the B.C.Y.C is a beautiful building still. As you walk through the entrance hall it feels almost like you are entering a time capsule, you know you are stepping into a very special time in the history of our city…it also happens to be the perfect venue to film a music video!!!
I contacted the officials at the club and explained what I was hoping to achieve. I think the fact that we weren’t going to be bringing in articulated trucks full of gear, that it was just going to be me and my friend with the camera Ian Parsons might have helped in their decision to say yes.
A warm welcome from Fiona Matthews at the B.C.Y.C
Ian and I turned up with a few bags of kit to be greeted by club members Steve and Fiona Matthew. Essentially we were given the run of the house whilst Steve and Fiona carried on with their work. To be honest there are so many rooms in the club we didn’t even bump into each other.
Making myself at home at the B.C.Y.C
My all white outfit had been inspired by the 1960’s TV show ‘Randall and Hopkirk Deceased’ and had decided that I would appear and disappear in a similar fashion to that show. Every angle just looked ‘cinematic’. As I stood in the Billiard Room and stared at the magnificent view across Swansea Bay I could almost feel the presence of those old industrialists.
The next job was editing the footage and with so many wonderful shots and angles the most difficult decision was what to leave on the cutting room floor.
I’m very grateful to the B.CY.C. committee for allowing me into their beautiful home. This is a real living history reminder of our past glories. I hope we’ve done it justice.
(Thanks to Ronald L Austin (Hon Archivist), Steve and Fiona Matthews, the Committee of the B.C.Y.C. For more detailed history of the Club go to https://www.bcyc.co.uk)