Swansea's Infamous and Controversial Statue of Old NickOne of Swansea 's strangest artifacts is a rather queer looking sculpture of Satan. The wooden effigy, nicknamed "Old Nick", was created by an architect in the 1890's to avenge the fact that his design for the new building of St. Mary's Church had been rejected.
Angered by the Church Council's decision to select the design of another architect over his own, he turned his back on the Church as a whole and set about a rather devilish plan to wreak his revenge.
St. Mary's Church SwanseaFuelled with this burning hatred, the architect purchased some cottages opposite St. Mary's Church. Immediately demolishing his new properties, he then erected a rather grotesque building of his own design upon the grounds and mounted upon it his strange effigy of Satan, so that it could gaze down upon St. Mary's.
"My devil will laugh and leer for all time as he will see St. Mary's Church burn to the ground." The architect rejoiced as he admired his timber troublemaker.
Coincidence, or otherwise, the architect's prophecy came true when, in 1942, German incendiary bombs destroyed the Church of St. Mary's and much of the surrounding town centre. Curiously, the architect's building was one of the very few buildings of the area to survive the bombing and the devil statue was unscathed during the intense 'Three Night's Blitz'.However, in 1962, 'Old Nick''s reign seemingly came to an end when the architect's building was knocked down during the post-war rebuilding programme of Swansea and the statue lost his perch overlooking the now rebuilt St. Mary's Church. The effigy then disappeared from public view for many years.
Undefeated, 'Old Nick' made a controversial reappearance decades later when a local historian tracked down the missing statue to a Gloucester garage and, returning him to his home city, had him installed on the Whitewalls entrance to Swansea Market via the Quadrant Shopping Centre. Here it remained for several years, despite numerous complaints from certain quarters of the Church fraternity.
After briefly disappearing during an upgrade to the Quadrant building, the statue currently resides above the entrance of the Quadrant Shopping Centre itself. Although it can again cast its gaze at St. Mary's Church, its position does not easily lend itself to public viewing.
Old Nick in His New Position Above the Entance of the Quadrant Shopping Centre...
... From Which He Can Still Keep an Eye on St. Mary's Church After All These Years
