About the house - and us!

Warmley, on Eversley road in Sketty, Swansea is a substantial red brick Edwardian house, built circa 1910. As with many grand family houses from this era they have been modernised and updated over the years and often had the original features taken out of them. Warmley has been both blessed and cursed as it retains many beautiful original features but it was also converted into two separate apartments over four floors. When completed Warmley will have a workshop in the basement, a large living room, formal dining room, shower room and kitchen / diner on the ground floor. On the first floor will be three large bedrooms and family bathroom and finally on the top floor two further double bedrooms and another family bathroom. The house is of local and national historical cultural importance and our page will document the restoration of Warmley back to a beautiful family home.

Warmley has a very special history. The house was the family home of Welsh composer Daniel Jones OBE. Dan was a famous composer who had written a number of sonatas by the tender age of 10. Dan left Swansea to study at The Royal Academy of Music and went on to win the Mendehlsson scholarship in 1935. Dan's musical career was prolific, totalling over 50 symphonies and pieces during a 55 year period. Dan met a young Dylan Thomas in 1924 at Swansea grammar school (now Bishop Gore) and the first meeting of the two schoolboys is described in “The Fight”, a short story in Dylan’s “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog”. The pair were very close and Warmley became a second home for Dylan, albeit a preferred one, who revelled in the creative freedom the house offered him. Dan and Dylan were very creative at the house and created the ‘Warmley Broadcasting Corporation’. The period at Warmley was a significant one for Dylan and is regarded to have had a profound and lasting effect on him as a writer.  

Warmley is situated on Eversley road in Sketty, a leafy suburb of Swansea, a vibrant city by the sea. The picture above is an arial view of Swansea bay and the large green expanse is Singleton park which is situated between the bay and Sketty. This part of Swansea has hundreds of acres of park land, a beautiful bay, miles of cycle tracks and is the gateway to Mumbles and the Gower peninsular (the UK's first disignated area of outstanding natural beauty). The area is very popular with families who want excellent schools and green spaces. Professionals are also drawn to the area because of Sketty's close proximity to the university and hospital (pictured).

We are Danny Rees and Ali Maguire, a local couple who have known Warmley and its history for about 15 years. We had the opportunity to buy the house in 2018 and we couldn't resist the idea of turning it back to its former glory. Ali works at Swansea University in student support and Danny teaches design and technology at a secondary school in Neath. We met in Swansea over 20 years ago and have raised our family in this beautiful area. Our relationship with Warmley stretches back to around 2005 when our friend rented the ground floor apartment. We spent many happy days there and were always curious about the house, especially as 'Dylan' had been there.