The picturesque village of Llanmadoc – 15 miles from Swansea – is situated on the north side of the Gower peninsular, which is a place of beauty and legend.  At the beginning of the 20th. century the  forebears of Sir Lancelot Aubrey Fletcher owned most of Llanmadoc and also held the title deeds of “Lordship of the Manor”.

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In 1914 he built a bungalow which he named “St. Madoc”, overlooking the sand dunes and sea, a present to his second wife as a honeymoon gift.  This they used as a holiday home until 1924.

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At this time he decided to sell the bungalow, together with several other lots by auction. The auction was held at the Metropole hotel in Swansea.  The bungalow and the deeds were sold to Mr.James William Burr. He admitted that he had merely seen the place and had entered the Metropole out of curiosity.  At the same auction Dr. Earnest Jones purchased the property known as Hills Farm, which was to become, by divers means, the St. Madoc Christian Youth Camp.

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Mr. James William Burr and Miss Alice Maud Forgan were married at St. Paul’s Church, Hook, near Surbiton in April 1899.  Mr. Burr, following an apprenticeship, started his career as an Electrical Engineer.  Via many appointments in England and the Continent, was finally appointed as Borough Electrical Engineer of Swansea in 1924.  A man of strong personality and liberal idealism, he and his family took up residence in “St. Madoc” bungalow in September 1924.  Here many people were entertained, enjoyed the amenities of the beautiful grounds, tennis courts, croquet lawn etc.  The Burr family were enchanted with the communal spirit of the village and took part in all its activities.

   

In 1936 Mr. Burr purchased from Dr. Ernest Jones the property known as “Hills Farm” – 76 acres -  on which stood a bungalow and several out buildings.  This he  rented to Mr. Dan Evans and his sister.  In 1939 Mr. Evans vacated the premises after the death of his sister.

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In September 2007, the Trustees took a “step of faith” and appointed Mr. Nigel Clifford as the contractor to
commence the building project. A grant of £350,000 had been given by the Welsh Assembly and a loan of £400,000
was made available by Lloyds Bank. (of which we used £350,000).

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The building was finally finished in January 2010. The sleeping accommodation under the Sunley room allowed a
second group to use these facilities while another group could use the main dining room and kitchen. The remaining
old dormitory and shower block was demolished, in keeping with Planning Permission.