Morriston was originally located next to the Swansea Canal, which, along with the River Tawe, was essential for the transport of goods in the Swansea Valley. The canal was superseded by rail and roads with Morriston now conveniently located just off Junction 45 of the M4 motorway and adjacent to the A4067. The nearest railway stations are at Llansamlet and Swansea High Street. Until the 1960s, Morriston had two railway stations, Morriston East and Morriston West on the Morriston Branch of the Swansea District line and the Swansea Vale Railway. Both stations no longer exist. The Swansea District line is still in use, transporting freight traffic and also for the Fishguard to Cardiff/Cheltenham Spa passenger service. It runs through northern Morriston with a viaduct at Clydach Road. The centre of Morriston contains a large car park and has bus routes from Morriston Hospital into Swansea City Centre and on to Swansea University with services provided by First (South & West Wales). The area has two taxi offices with a taxi lane in Woodfield Street. Tabernacle Chapel Tabernacle Chapel is the outstanding building in the centre of Morriston and visually dominates the area. It has been described as the "Non-Conformist Cathedral of Wales" while Anthony Jones, in his 1996 definitive book "Welsh Chapels" described the chapel as "The largest, grandest and most expensive chapel built in Wales". The book features the iconic Grade 1-listed building as its cover-photograph. Victorian industrialisation brought rapid population growth to the Lower Swansea Valley, close to the port of Swansea, as rural workers sought new employment opportunities in many tinplate and copper works established in the area. Welsh Nonconformity enjoyed great popularity; a dozen chapels were built in the Morriston area alone in the latter half of the 19th century and Tabernacle, planned as the ultimate evocation of a Welsh chapel in terms of architecture, space and facilities, was completed in 1872 at a staggering cost of £18,000. The design was evolved by three prominent figures in the area: the minister, Emlyn Jones, the architect, John Humphrey and the contractor Daniel Edwards. The Cambrian national newspaper described it as "the one great redeeming feature in that manufacturing district, an oasis in a desert". Morriston Park Sir John Morris, 1st Baronet of Clasemont, built a mansion in 1775 called Clasemont at Pengwern on the western slopes of the Lower Swansea valley. The mansion had a garden of