Cemaes Head (formerlyCemais, and historically anglicised asCemmaes,Kemmaes orKemmes) (Welsh:Pen Cemaes orTrwyn Cemaes) is aheadland andnature reserve in northPembrokeshire. It lies in thecommunity ofSt Dogmaels, within thePembrokeshire Coast National Park. To the west and north it overlooksCardigan Bay, and to the eastCardigan Island and the estuary of theRiver Teifi.
Although the headland, when viewed from across the Teifi estuary, is relatively unspectacular, its cliffs, which are most dramatic on its north-western side, and reach over 575 ft (175m) in height, are the highest in Pembrokeshire. This makes the bays below the cliff tops largely inaccessible. The bedrock is composed ofSilurian and (mostly)Ordoviciansedimentary rocks,[1] more specifically ofLlanvirn-Caradoc blackmudstone, i.e. some 470 million years old.[2] This rock stretches southwest as far asNewport, but Cemaes Head lies north of theCeibwr Bay Fault, which runs largely WSW – ENE fromCeibwr Bay toCardigan.
These rocks are severely twisted and buckled, with even acute folds, a feature easily seen from the clifftops, though appreciated better from the sea. The soft composition of these sedimentary rocks also means thaterosion by the sea through hydraulic action, abrasion and attrition is commonplace, and they are thus largely unsuitable for climbing.
In 1840, George Nicholson inThe Cambrian Traveller's Guide, and Pocket Companion, wrote :
The coasts on each side of the mouth of the river are uncommonly grand, particularly on the Pembroke side, where rises Cemmaes Head, a promontory of immense elevation.
The highest part of the headland, at Pengarn (189m / 620 ft), grid reference SN 13214 48500, is marked by a pillartrig point (ref. 2097).[3]
On the western side of the headland, at the foot of the cliffs, is a stony beach area called Traeth Godir Coch which is exposed at low water.
The western side of the headland is exposed to the full force of the south-westerly Atlantic weather; the eastern side is sheltered.[4]
The whole headland to the north of the hamlet of Cippyn is a distinctive area; there is an absence of trees and to some extent hedges; fields have stony boundary banks; properties are small, and there is a general absence of modern development.[5]
Most of Cemaes Head comprises pastureland, but the headland contains a nature reserve – Cemaes Head Nature Reserve (site centre no. SN131500) – measuring 20 ha (49.4 acres) in size. It is also rated as a MarineSpecial Area of Conservation (SAC) and aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[6] Since 1984 this has been owned and managed by theWildlife Trust of South and West Wales and its predecessor trust[7] who purchased the tenure with help from theCountryside Commission,Dyfed County Council, theNature Conservancy Council and theWorld Wildlife Fund.[8] At the time it was the 50th nature reserve to be acquired by the Trust.[9]
The headland is home to a large variety of wildlife. Birds such aschoughs,ravens,kestrels andbuzzards are commonly seen, and the sea cliffs provide nesting sites forherring gulls,shags,fulmars,cormorants,razorbills andguillemots.[1]
Seals are commonly seen at the foot of the cliffs and in the bay – moregrey seals breed here than anywhere else in Wales from mid-summer[10] – and the area is also home tobottlenose dolphins andporpoises, which can often be seen swimming offshore.[11]
The grassy western slopes of the headland are grazed by ponies and rabbits.Welsh Mountain ponies were reintroduced here to trample down the bracken in order to encourage the breeding of choughs.[12] This is also the habitat of voles. On the higher parts are varieties of maritime heather, such asling heather andbell heather, and gorse also grows. Bracken and wild flowers commonly grow on the more protected eastern slopes;[1] efforts are being made to keep this bracken under control.[13] Recent efforts have also been made to tackle the invasion ofHimalayan Balsam.[14]
Cemaes Head lies on the 186-mile (299 km)Pembrokeshire Coast Path, close to its northern end. This is itself part of the much longer 870-mile (1,400 km)Wales Coast Path. The remote section of path over Cemaes Head fromPoppit Sands toCeibwr Bay is some 5½ miles long, with a considerable amount of ascent and descent.
All stiles and gates on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path are numbered from north to south; the stile on Cemaes Head carries the number 1.[15]
It is possible to drive up part of Cemaes Head on the lane from Poppit Sands. This lane accesses a couple of private properties near the top, and stops at Allt y Coed campsite, some ¼ mile short of the furthest point of the coastal path; there is car parking available here, from where a two-mile round of the headland can be made on Rights of Way.[16] A round of the headland can also be made from the hamlet of Cippin, a mile up the lane from Poppit Sands, where there is also a car park.
Both Cippin and Poppit Sands are on the route of the Poppit Rocket, a seasonal coastal bus service.[17]
On the cliff top above the beach of Traeth Godir Coch is an oldcoastguard lookout post.[18] This was originally built in the 19th century (it is marked on the O.S. map of 1887) and was subsequently enlarged seawards inWorld War II by the addition of a brick wide-windowed extension. At the same time the main doorway was enlarged and edged with the same red brick. The site was accessed via a track and footpath from Pengarn, ½ mile to the south-east and from Alltycoed Farm upon whose land it lies. This was one of hundreds of wartime coastal lookouts which kept watch for enemy aircraft and submarines; the oil storage tanks atMilford Haven were only a short flight from here, and during the war they were heavily bombed.[19]
The lookout post was abandoned after the war, it being replaced by the Coastguard lookout post across the estuary atGwbert (originally established in 1878 as a Board of Trade Rocket Life Saving Apparatus Station and since extended,[20] and now part of theMaritime and Coastguard Agency Emergency Response).[21][22]
Cemaes Head lies on the northern edge of the formerMedievalbarony (or lordship) of Cemais, known asCantref Cemais, one of the so-called 'SevenCantrefs ofDyfed'.[23]
Cemais (sometimes spelledKemes after one of several variations found inMedieval orthography) occupied the coastal area between the Teifi estuary andFishguard, and the northern and southern slopes of thePreseli Hills, and had an area of about 359 km2.Robert fitz Martin (c. 10?? – c. 1159), a Norman knight from the west of England who supported Henry I in his campaigns in Wales, became first Lord of Cemais and founded nearbySt Dogmaels Abbey.[24]
Despite being occupied by theNormans in the 12th century, and made part of theMarch, it remained exclusivelyWelsh-speaking.[25]
It later became known as theHundred of Cemais, which was created[26] from the cantref at the time of theActs of Union of 1535–1542, by transferring theparish ofLlantood toCilgerran hundred and adding a small area ofCantref Gwarthaf cantref.
The word 'cemais' is the plural form of the old[27] Welsh word 'camas', meaning a 'bend or loop in a river' or (less commonly) a 'bay/inlet of the sea'.[28][29] As a name it is by no means unique in Wales:Cemaes is a riverside village located onCemaes Bay on the north coast ofAnglesey, and was part of a similarly namedCantref Cemais. NeitherCemmaes (Welsh:Cemaes) in northernPowys, orKemeys Commander (Welsh:Cemais Comawndwr) inMonmouthshire is by the sea, but both have developed beside rivers.
InThe Place-names of Wales (1912), the author Thomas Morgan puts forward another less-likely suggestion, namely:
Cemaes/Cemmaes — This name is very common in Wales. It is a compound word, made up of CEFN, back, ridge, and MAES, a field, thus signifying a high field. Or better, from CAM and MAES, meaning land at the bend of the river .... Others think it a compounded form of CAMP, a feat [in this case military], a game ; and MAES, a field.
Archaeologia Cambrensis (1904)[30] had the following to say on the matter:
Allow me to call attention to the spelling Kernels, which shows that the modern Welsh spelling should be Cemais or Cemmais, or else Cemes if you like, only not Cemmaes: there is no maes, field or plain, in it, as some people seem to imagine. The word is derived from cam, crooked, bent, and refers to the bend of a coast line or of a river. In the Pembrokeshire case the name refers, I fancy, to the angle made by the coast line with the mouth of the Teifi.
The Welsh name ofPen Cemaes (pen = head) has been in use since at least as far back as the early 19th century.[31] In recent years the nameTrwyn Cemaes (trwyn = nose) has also been used by the Welsh Government and maritime authorities.[32][33]
There was no recorded settlement here called Cemaes, only the Cantref/Hundred of that name. The earliest reference to it comes fromGerald of Wales (c. 1146 – c. 1223), thearchdeacon of Brecon andchronicler of his time, who referred to it in his autobiography:[34]
But on the next day in Cemais, not far from the bridge of Aberteifi [Cardigan] ....
InBarons, Rebels & Romantics (2004), Alan John Fitzgerald erroneously refers to thetown of Cemais:
The knights tried to retreat to the town of Cemais but many were drowned when a bridge collapsed and others were burned to death when the Welsh set fire to the town. The survivors had to take refuge in Cardigan Castle.
It seems probable that the nameCemaes Head derives from the ancient Cantref, rather than vice versa, since the headland had no recorded significance in medieval times.
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