Norwegian Church, Swansea

The Norwegian Church stands in Swansea’s docklands beside Prince of Wales dock. It is a small Grade II listed building with a Seaman’s Mission at one end and a single Gothic church at the other. Originally built in Newport, it was moved to Swansea in 1910. The church served Norwegian sailors visiting the UK. After closure in 1998 it was taken apart and rebuilt near the dock in 2004. The church is worth the journey because of its unusual history and the people who kept it alive. In 1966 the Mission was ordered to close, but a Norwegian settler named Eric Benneche offered to run it himself. The Bishop of Bergen granted permission and even visited to hand over the key. Later, the Reverend Vivian James took charge and ran the church for thirty years. When the building was threatened again in 2004, it was saved by moving it to its present site. Visitors find the church beside two other historic buildings, the Ice House and J Shed. It has served as a jewellery gallery and a nursery since reopening. The dockside setting offers views of ships and water. The simple Gothic interior still holds the feel of a seamen’s chapel. The story of Benneche and James adds a human layer to the place.