Coordinates: 51°40′N 4°02′W / 51.66°N 4.03°W / 51.66; -4.03
Gorseinon is a district town in Swansea, Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is situated in the north west of Swansea City Centre, around 6 miles (9.7 km) north west of the city centre. Gorseinon is also a local Government community with its own elected town council.
The population of the Gorseinon town council area in the 2011 Census is 8,693. However, the ONS defines an area called the Gorseinon Urban Area which comprises all of the continuous built up area in and around Gorseinon. This area includes Gorseinon, Loughor, Garden Village and Penllergaer. and has a population of 20,581.
In 1840 the population of Gorseinon was barely 250 people. There were only two churches in the area. One was the “Church on the Marsh”, also known as Loughor and Llandeilo (Talybont) – this has now been restored and rebuilt at St. Fagan’s Folk Museum. The other church was Brynteg Chapel, the only non-conformist chapel for miles. This was built in 1815 and can still be seen today. The first church to be built in Gorseinon was Holy Trinity Church. This was built in 1882 – just opposite where Somerfield stands today. Seion Baptist Church was opened in 1886. It was built on the banks of a river at the bottom of Gorseinon, but by 1902 a new Seion was built in High Street. The old Seion was taken over by the English Methodists, but this eventually became the Moose Hall. Bethel English Congregational Church (Evangelical) celebrated its centenary on Saturday and Sunday 9 and 10 July 1894 – 1994. Holy Trinity Church was extended in 1884. The English Congregationalist built a church in Masons Road, now known as West Street-Bethel Chapel. Then progress seemed to stop for a few years.
Gorseinon is the name of an electoral ward in the City and County of Swansea, Wales.
The Gorseinon community comprises the electoral ward of Gorseinon and part of the Penyrheol ward. Gorseinon has its own elected town council.
The electoral ward consists of Gorseinon town and the surrounding rural areas, in the parliamentary constituency of Gower. The ward and community are coterminous with each other and encompass the town.
Prior to local government re-organisation in 1996, the town of Gorseinon was administered as part of the Lliw Valley district. Since 1996, Gorseinon has been governed by the City and County of Swansea council.
The ward is bounded by Penyrheol to the north west, Penllergaer to the east and Kingsbridge to the south.
The community of Gorseinon, together with the community of Llwchwr is twinned with Ploermel in France.
For the 2012 local council elections, the turnout in Gorseinon was 32.70%. The Results were: