St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future
1874-1875 Season
While the Swansea Cricket Club entered into negotiations with Colonel Morgan and the Swansea Corporation to secure the ground for the New Cricket Field at St Helen's, the football club were obliged to find a temporary field to play on in the interim. The land settled upon was the Primrose Field, butting up to the east side of Constitution Hill. Of necessity rather than desire, the club moved to this sloping field. The portion used by the footballers was at the top end of the Primrose Field, in an area approximately corresponding to the current location of Terrace Road and Norfolk Street, and the 'pitch' was marked out running east to west, that being the least unfavourable of the inclines.
This season saw the Swansea Football Club finally decide that it was to be a rugby code club exclusively. Though it had played under both codes until now, the availability of opponents in the rugby code and Charlie Chambers' leadership were decisive factors and on 17th October 1874 the members concluded by 25 votes to 14, that Swansea would be a rugby only club going forward. Though it was not their first rugby match, the first match to be played after this decision was against Llandovery College on 14th November 1874. It was played at the College Ground, Llandovery and Swansea won by two goals to nil.
Charlie Chambers again captained the team this season. New opponents were on the short fixture list. Brecon F.C. were played home and away as were the Glamorgan F.C., a Cardiff based club that would amalgamate with the Cardiff Wanderers to form Cardiff RFC the following season. Seven matches were played this season, Swansea winning three, drawing three and losing the last match of the season to the Glamorgan F.C. Meanwhile, the cricket club had secured the new ground at St Helen's and were busy raising funds to convert the unkempt sand dunes into a cricket and rugby ground , an area described as being in "heaps and pools" when it came into the club's possession.