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| Gower Peninsula | |
|---|---|
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Dialling code | 01792 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
TheGower Peninsula (Welsh:Gŵyr) in the City and County ofSwansea, Wales, contains over twentyvillages and communities. Most of the peninsula is a designatedArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Bishopston (Welsh:Llandeilo Ferwallt, or historicallyLlanmerwallt orLlancyngur Trosgardi)[1] is an inland village, 6 miles (9.5 km) west-southwest ofSwansea and near the beaches ofCaswell Bay, Brandy Cove and Pwll Du. One of the larger villages in Gower, it has its own rugby club, South Gower Rugby Football Club, and its own primary and comprehensive schools. (Bishopston is part of Swansea'sBishopston ward.)
Bishopston church, at the head of Bishopston Valley, is dedicated toSaint Teilo, who gives the village its Welsh name. The church contains a plain, massive font of Romanesque type, and its tower holds two 18th-century bells. In the churchyard are the remains of an old stone cross.
Cheriton, near the north coast, is a tourist destination where summer visitors stay whilst exploring the beaches in the local area. The 13th-centurychurch of St Catwg (orCadoc) is Grade 1 listed. The psychoanalystErnest Jones is buried in its churchyard. The author and cricketerWilliam Collins was born at Cheriton.
Footpaths lead south-east to Stembridge and south-west to Llangenydd.[2]51°36′54″N4°14′25″W / 51.61506°N 4.24035°W /51.61506; -4.24035
Crofty, on the north coast, is a small cockling village, situated betweenPenclawdd andLlanmorlais.51°38′18.00″N4°07′33.00″W / 51.6383333°N 4.1258333°W /51.6383333; -4.1258333
The inland village of Gowerton (Welsh:Tregŵyr), about 4 miles north west ofSwansea city centre, is a gateway toGower. Its original name was Ffosfelin; it has also been known as Gwter Felen. (The village falls within theGowerton electoral ward ofSwansea.)
In 1980, the WelshNational Eisteddfod was hosted on the 'Elba' area of the village. The Eisteddfod stone (Gorsedd stones) is located on the round-about opposite the garage on the road to Penclawdd.[3]
Ilston (Welsh:Llanilltud Gŵyr) is an inland village. It has its own community council. Thepopulation of thecommunity in theUnited Kingdom Census 2001 was 538. The name of the village (Welsh:Llanilltud) is thought to have originated fromSaintIlltud. The village is home to a brook, a 13th-centuryparish church (which has a 15th-century bell inscribed with a prayer to St Thomas) and aWildlife Trust of South & West Waleslimestonequarry.[4] The community is surrounded bycommon land used as grazing land,woodlands and fields.51°35′38″N4°04′49″W / 51.59399°N 4.08026°W /51.59399; -4.08026
See also:Ilston Book
Llangennith (Welsh:Llangynydd), in north-west Gower, has a scattering of houses and one pub – the King's Head. It sits at a crossroads: Moor Lane leads west to a caravan park nearRhossili Bay; and Burrows Lane leads north to a caravan park overlookingBroughton Bay.
The 12th-century village church,St. Cenydd's Church, is the largest in Gower, and was founded by St. Cenydd, who in the 6th century made a hermitage here, which was destroyed byVikings in 986. The folk singer,Phil Tanner, is buried in its churchyard.
A painting of Worm's Head from Llangennydd was made byCedric Morris. A painting of Llangennith Burrows byJohn Nash is held in the Government Art Collection.
Llanmadoc (Welsh:Llanmadog) is in the north west of Gower. The village is named after the churchyard of St Madoc (or Maidoc), who founded his hermitage or monastery here in the 6th century. The 13th-century building was restored in 1865, but retains a Romanesque font and a Romano-British tombstone.[5]Llanmadoc Hill, formed ofOld Red Sandstone, is a landmark of west Gower and affords wide views from the top. An evocative painting of the Hill, byCedric Morris, may be seen at theGlynn Vivian Art Gallery,Swansea. A painting of Llanmadoc was also made byJohn Nash. TheMedulli were the likelyCeltic tribal ancestors ofMadoc.Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA) is consistent with the regions of Llanmadoc, Wales andMédoc,Bordeaux,France and the Celtic migrations from the South East to the North West, and likely predates St. Madoc. The population was 365 in 2011.[6]
Close by communities include Cheriton and Landimore. Nearby beaches includeBroughton Bay andWhiteford Sands. It is in thecommunity ofLlangennith, Llanmadoc and Cheriton.
Llanmorlais, on the north coast, was a cockling village. The name Llanmorlais is not a trueLlan place name, but a corruption of the village's old name, Glan Morlais, which refers to the banks of Morlais Stream.[7] (The village is inPenclawdd electoral ward ofSwansea.) In 2014, it was rated one of the most attractivepostcode areas to live in Wales.[8]
Llanrhidian is a north Gower estuarine village, sloping down to salt marshes. (It is in theGower electoral ward ofSwansea and the community ofLlanrhidian Lower.)
The village gets its name from Saint Rhidian. Its church is dedicated toSt Illtyd andSt Rhidian. The present building was constructed in the 13th century, with a chancel and tower added in the 14th century. In the porch may be seen a 9th-century stone, bearing simple carvings of human figures and animals. A standing stone on thevillage green may be the remains of a village cross.[9][10][11]
The village is served by an Esso filling station (including a shop, the post office is currently closed), two public houses (The Welcome to Town and The Dolphin Inn), a primary school and a community hall.
Murton is in the community of Bishopston and is also a ward for elections to Bishopston Community Council.[12] Murton lies between Bishopston and the village of Newton.
Murton is home to Murton Methodist Church[13] a Wesleyan Methodist Church dating back to 1828, which celebrated the centenary of its current building in 1997. Murton also hosts Murton Rovers AFC Football team.[citation needed]
Oxwich is in the far south of Gower. Attractions include the Oxwich Burrows, theTudorOxwich Castle,Penrice Castle andOxwich Bay.[14]The ancient church is dedicated toSaint Illtyd. Legend has it that the stonebaptismal font was placed there by the saint himself.[citation needed]
Parkmill is an inland village betweenPenmaen andIlston, on the northern side of theA4118 road, the main road betweenSwansea andPort Eynon, in a wooded valley. It once lay within Parc le Breos, a deer park established in the 1221–32 CE byJohn de Braose,Marcher Lord ofGower.
Penclawdd (Welsh:Pen-clawdd) is in the north of the peninsula. It is one of the larger villages in Gower. Part of the village is perched on a high location, enjoying panoramic views over theLoughor estuary and Gower country, while the main part of the village stretches along the edge of the estuary. It is plentiful inbirdlife, and wildhorses roam the estuary. Penclawdd is known for its localcockle industry, which goes back for many years toRoman times.
It is inSwansea'sPenclawdd electoral ward.
Pennard (Welsh:Llanarthbodu)[1] is on the south of the peninsula, about 7 miles south west ofSwansea city centre. It falls within thePennard ward ofSwansea. It has a church, health centre, library, a primary school and a golf course. It contains the ruins ofPennard Castle. The poetsVernon Watkins (1906–1967),Harri Webb (1920–1994) andNigel Jenkins (1949–2014) are buried at St Mary's church.
Penmaen (Welsh:Pen-maen) is an inland village – a scatter of houses around theA4118 road at the foot of the slopes ofCefn Bryn. There are a number of archaeological sites in the area. It contains Parc-Le-Breos, a 19th-century hunting lodge, that was once the deer park of William de Breos,Lord of Gower, but today serves as a hotel and pony-trekking centre.
Penmaen Castle began as a small timber castle. Later it was replaced by a stone structure. Excavations in 1960 and 1961 led byLeslie Alcock found evidence that the castle was in use in the 12th and 13th centuries; the first phase was likely built by theNormans.[15] The timber gateway was destroyed by fire and later replaced by adrystone walled gate tower. Alcock suggested that stylistically this phase of the castle may have been built by the Welsh.[15]
Penmaen Burrows, a sandy headland west ofThree Cliffs Bay, is part of the National Trust's Penrice Estate, bought withEnterprise Neptune funds in 1967.[16] The headland had been inundated by sand, probably in the 14th century, burying the now-ruined stone church. It was excavated in 1861 and remains sunk into the sand and overgrowth.[17]
Close to the ruined Church is aNeolithic chambered tomb, with a substantial capstone, now partly collapsed but still supported on at least 6 upright stones. Sand inundations hampered the attempts at excavation in 1861, 1882 and 1893, and still make it hard to appreciate what the original landform would have been like. It was probably on a false summit of the headland.[18]
It is thought that the now lost village of Stedwarlango also lies buried somewhere under the Penmaen Burrows.[19]
A pencil and watercolour painting of Penmaen Burrows was made in 1951 byJohn Nash.[20]
This small, south coast village, extending fromPort Eynon beach to the top of a hill, has twofish and chip shops at the sea front, ayouth hostel, apub, acoffee shop and arestaurant.
To the north-west lies Overton village, with footpaths to Overton Mere, a rocky beach. Half a mile to the east of the main beach stands the village of Horton.
Reynoldston is an inland village. It has its own elected community council.
It had one of the longest functioning communitybroadband schemes in Britain; which started in 2003 and finished at the end of 2008 following the availability ofADSL.
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Rhossili (Welsh:Rhosili) is on the southwestern tip of the peninsula. Since the 1970s it has fallen within the boundaries of Swansea.[21] The village has acommunity council and is part of theGower parliamentary constituency, and theGower electoral ward.
Slade is situated near the south coast, north west ofOxwich Bay. Points of interest include Eastern Slade Farm, adairy farm andcampsite.
The nearbySlade Bay includes a smallbeach, and is a breeding ground for fish such asrays, dogfish,common dab andbass.
Three Crosses (Welsh:Y Crwys) is an inland village at the north east of the peninsula. Situated at a crossroad on the road fromSwansea city centre (10 km) toPenclawdd (5 km), it grew up in the early 19th century to serve small shallowcollieries in the area. These collieries had disappeared by the early years of the 20th century, and since then Three Crosses has developed as a 'dormitory village' for Swansea. Three Crosses is home toCapel Y Crwys, a large independent chapel. The village is currently home to one village shop (Country Stores) and two public houses, The Joiners Arms and The Poundffald.
It has its own Community Council. Three Crossescommunity, in the City and County of Swansea, was formed in 2012 from the Three Crosses ward formerly inLlanrhidian Higher community.
Upper Killay (Welsh:Cilâ Uchaf) is an inland village andcommunity. It has its own elected community council.[22] The Clyne Valley cycle track passes through the village. Upper Killay is a gateway toGower from the east. It lies to the south ofDunvant. The main road through the village passes over a cattle grid to the west, which marks the start ofFairwood Common. The village has its own rugby team,Swansea Uplands RFC. Their clubhouse and playing fields are to the south of the village, on Fairwood Common. There is a primary school in Upper Killay, named Cila Primary School. The school has a nursery. There is a park next to the community centre and a village shop.Fairwood Hospital, an elderly care facility, closed in 2010.[23] The community population was 1,331 as of the 2011 census.[24]
Notable residents includeAndrew Jones (filmmaker).
