The clever plan to remember a Welsh legend's school

Sometimes a site within a community has a total change of use and new direction in life and this is the case for an area of land in Port Talbot where Lower Dyffryn School, until recently, once stood. The school closed in 2018 and was then awarded planning permission to be developed for housing.

But with demolition has also come innovation as the site is part of a project run by social housing landlord Linc Cymru called 'What Once Stood'. The project aims to connect the local community to the building that once existed by creating elements of the new building using preserved features such as mosaics made from fireplace and wall tiles and the reuse of wood block flooring as well as building garden benches.

For Rachel Taylor, heritage project officer for the 'What Once Stood Project', the work has a very personal element as she, plus her mum and her daughter, all attended the school - and she says that the history of the school includes a Welsh legend too. For more property, renovation and interior design stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.

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Rachel says: "Richard Burton attended the school, that’s where he met Philip Burton who was his mentor and why he changed his name. Before that he was Richard Jenkins, he changed it in honour of Philip Burton and that was where he met him."

The Linc Cymru project has taken an innovative step to link past and present through the creation of artwork with the help of the local community, a 3D digital model of the school, and an oral history element, as well as the production of an interpretation panel to explain what once stood at the site.

Arguably it's the use of the old building within the new site that is the most exciting element of the project though, with Rachel saying only 1% of the demolished material is going to landfill and the rest used for hardcore rubble, within the structure of the new buildings, and as part of the visual 'What Once Stood' project.

Rachel says: "The dressed stone is going to be used at the side of the building as well so it’s going to be looking lovely, the parquet we hope is going to be reused, we’re speaking to Neath College about reusing that, and hopefully having something made for the site such as benches and furniture and we’ve actually already completed the community arts project with the tiles that we were doing."

The project commissioned Tanio, an arts organisation based in Bridgend committed to providing access to a range of creative activities and interventions to different communities locally and internationally, to run the mosaic project, creating a piece of public artwork using the saved tiles from the fireplaces and walls within the old school.

Rachel says: "Tanio had four weeks in the Afan shopping centre - they took a unit and people could go in and help with the construction of the mosaic. The completed artwork is going to be a feature in the communal outdoor grass area of the development and that will be a permanent fixture there, something people can go and visit."

Even though Rachel can identify with people who feel sad that the school closed, she is of the opinion that the project continues the legacy of the site with the work that is being produced. She says: "The memories and the love the community has for the school, when it was first decided we were buying it and there was going to be housing there, I think there was some concern amongst some local people how the building was going to be remembered so I think that’s how the motivation for the project came about.

"I think some people will still be quite sad about it, it’s quite difficult to see your old school being flattened but I do think that this project will acknowledge that - things are moving on but we can still acknowledge the past as well - it won’t be forgotten.

"But the school is not just about the building, it’s the memories, and the people who went there, taught there and worked there, so that’s the idea - to conceive and collect all of that. We've also set up memory sharing days to continue the oral history of the site so people have come to tell us about the time they spent in the school, and on our website and on People’s Collection Wales' website, as well as the permanent memorials to it that the project has produced."

The school was fully vacated in 2018 and had been left derelict since it closed. The approved plans for the site will see the construction of 43 affordable properties along with an internal road network, landscaping, and additional car parking. Once completed the properties will be made up of a mixture of two-storey houses and three-storey apartment blocks made up of 18 one-bed flats, six two-bed flats, eight two-bed houses, and 11 three-bed homes.

At the time the planning approval from the local authority was announced in 2023 Natalie Hawkins, who is the social value manager at Linc Cymru, revealed the launch of the What Once Stood Project, saying: "The school holds so many memories for the local community. Capturing and remembering these stories is a vital part of this regeneration project. We’ve been awarded a £164,964 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help preserve the legacy of the building and the memories of residents, pupils, and staff.

"Materials from the school’s buildings will be reused to create a community artwork mosaic, there will be a 3D digital model of the school, an archiving and oral history project, and an interpretation panel for residents and future generations to enjoy and to learn about what once stood."

The 'What Once Stood Project' is part of an initiative set up by Welsh Government called Climate Action Wales, and more information and advice on how people can make changes to lifestyle to help tackle climate change can be found here. Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change, Huw Irranca-Davies said: "This is a great example by Linc Cymru of finding innovative ways of reducing waste and keeping materials in use for as long as possible.

"As well as the carbon emission savings, they have involved local community groups to repurpose materials into new products such as benches. This is just one example of action being taken across Wales to help tackle the climate and nature emergencies. Together we really can make a difference to help create a greener, cleaner Wales."

Back to the site in Port Talbot, and in November 2024 all last remaining reminders of the school were gone and the construction of the new housing has begun. Rachel says seeing her old school being demolished was an odd experience, but adds: "My mantra of working on it has been that it’s not about the building, it’s about the people and the memories and everyone involved with it ,and that’s what we want to highlight.

"I hope people are really pleased about it, I think it shows that we’re really making an effort to do what the community wants us to do - to make sure that the school is still remembered and that parts of it are still there and that they can come and visit the mural and sit on a bench, remember and enjoy their memories."

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