St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future
1873-1874 Season
The 1873-74 season was to be the last for the Swansea cricketers and footballers at the Brynymor ground, which was to be built apon. Plans began to acquire the piece of land adjoining the Mumbles Road, near the toll-gate. This would become the St Helen's Cricket Field. But for now, the football and cricket clubs enjoyed their last season in a location that is now Eaton Crescent, the Uplands hotel being their unofficial clubhouse.
Charlie Chambers, now taking the reins off the field, was probably the captain on-field. No teams were listed in any of the matches played. Of the five known fixtures played, only the results of the first three are known. The results of the two matches against Cowbridge Grammar School remain unrecorded. Honours were even against Llandovery College with a win to each team. The only match ever played against the Beaufort club was lost. With their future location uncertain, 1873-74 was a transitional period for the club as they worked behind the scenes to secure a new venue. On-field the matches with Cowbridge Grammar School were very possibly played under rugby laws, as the school adopted that code between 1870 and 1875. But it cannot be known for certain. Those against the college boys at Llandovery were almost certainly rugby matches.