Birchgrove () is a suburb and community in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It is situated about 4.5 miles (7 km) north-east of Swansea city centre, between the flood plain of the River Tawe and Mynydd Drumau (Drummau Mountain). The community of Birchgrove had a population of 7,392 in 2011. Locality Long vistas of the Swansea, Neath and Blaengwynfi valleys are to be had from the top of Mynydd Drumau, as well as a clear view of the Devon coast across the Bristol Channel. Education Birchgrove has a primary and a comprehensive secondary school, both of which are state-run, mixed, and non-denominational. Birchgrove Comprehensive School was opened in 1991 in the grounds of the old junior school. It serves the areas of Birchgrove, Glais, and Clydach. Most of the pupils attending Birchgrove Primary School move on to Birchgrove Comprehensive at age 11. However, many pupils from Glais and Clydach attend Cwmtawe Community School in nearby Pontardawe, while a number of pupils from Llansamlet and Trallwn attend Birchgrove instead of Cefn Hengoed Community School in Winch Wen. History Prehistory The countryside surrounding Birchgrove is scattered with prehistoric sites. There are numerous barrow mounds and evidence of prehistoric dwellings. Carreg Bica is a large standing stone on Drummau Mountain. The stone is local sandstone and is around 13 ft high. The name means "pointed stone" in the Welsh language. The stone is also known by other names: Maen Bredwan or Maen Bradwen. It is also mentioned in a charter to King John to William de Breos in 1203 as "meynhirion", as a boundary stone marking the Gower. There is a legend of the stone moving and going to a local stream to drink or bathe. In this case the stone is said to bathe in the river Neath once a year on Easter morning. Children from Skewen were said to race to the stone on Easter morning. Cistercian monks built the nearby Neath Abbey in the early 12th century. Wintering their flocks and herds in the few open spaces down in the valley, during the other seasons keeping them in their specially constructed stone walled fields on Drummau mountain top, using the standing stone as a landmark. Many sections of the stone walls are still standing from Cistercian times. Industrial era From an early date to the beginning of the 19th century, coal-mining played an important role in Birchgrove. It was mainly on