Upstairs Downstairs at Neath's Queen Street

Research by Jason Reynolds of Heritage Scene-Neath confirm what local historians Robert King and Keith Reed have been saying about Neath's Queen Street in Victorian times.

It was a street where the the gentry lived at street level with their servants living below them in the basements.

Jason has found evidence of Victorian kitchens in the basements of some of the existing premises and has taken photographs which will hopefully one day be displayed in a Neath Art & Cultural Centre - rather like the ones at Swansea and Cardiff.

It is interesting to know that Jason has been offered many art treasures from the Victorian era but has had to decline them for the time being because there is no official place to keep them where they can be viewed by the public.

Many shop owners in Queen Street may not be aware of the history of the premises they occupy and what lies below them.

Queen Street could perhaps, in future, reflect the Victorian era and be a major attraction for visitors with the Victoria Gardens at one end and the Victorian market at the other end.

One thing is certain, there are many treasures hidden away under Neath's Queen Street.