J. H, Wade
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 B 
 
 PHYSICAL MAP OF 
 
 GLAMORGAN 
 
 Hood* Canal* - 
 
 iSOOfcet. 
 1000 .. 
 
 soo 
 
 .iT.ml X 
 
 The CamHrriilgr 
 
 O
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE
 
 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 C. F. CLAY, MANAGER 
 
 ILon&on: FETTER LANE, E.G. 
 
 BtltninmjJ) : TOO PRINCES STREET 
 
 Berlin: A. ASHER AND CO. 
 ILnpjia: F. A. BROCKHAUS 
 $ito gorh: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 ombaj) anto Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD. 
 
 ^Toronto: J. M. DENT AND SONS, LTD. 
 ffiofego: THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA. 
 
 All rights reserved
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 by 
 
 J. H. WADE, M.A. 
 
 Joint Author of Rambles in Somerset and the Little Guides to 
 Somerset, Monmouthshire, and South Wales. 
 
 With Maps, Diagrams and Illustrations 
 
 Cambridge : 
 
 at the University Press 
 
 1914
 
 PRINTED KY JOHN CLAY, M.A. 
 AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
 
 DA 
 
 7YO 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 T SHOULD like gratefully to acknowledge the help 
 
 which I have received in the compilation of this book 
 
 from the Cardiff Naturalists' Society, who have supplied 
 
 me with much information and have furnished me with 
 
 some of the illustrations. 
 
 My thanks are also due to Professor G. W. Wade 
 and Dr C. T. Vachell for kindly reading the proofs. 
 
 J. H. W. 
 
 March 1914.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. County and Shire. The name Glamorgan . . i 
 
 2. General Characteristics ...... 4 
 
 3. Size. Shape. Boundaries ..... 6 
 
 4. Surface and General Features. . . . .10 
 
 5. Geology and Soil . . 16 
 
 6. Watershed and Rivers . . . . . .29 
 
 7. Natural History . . . . . . -37 
 
 8. A Peregrination of the Coast ..... 45 
 
 9. Coastal Gains and Losses : Sandbanks and Light- 
 
 houses . . . . . . -55 
 
 10. Climate and Rainfall ...... 63 
 
 11. People Race. Language. Population ... 70 
 
 12. Agriculture . . . . . . . -75 
 
 13. Industries and Manufactures ..... 79 
 
 14. Mines and Minerals ...... 87 
 
 15. Fisheries and Fishing Stations .... 94 
 
 1 6. Shipping and Trade. Chief Ports . . . .98
 
 viii CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 17. History of Glamorganshire . . . . .105 
 
 1 8. Antiquities . . . . . . . .117 
 
 19. Architecture (a) Ecclesiastical . . . .130 
 
 20. Architecture (b) Military . . . . .141 
 
 21. Architecture (c) Domestic . . . . .145 
 
 22. Communications Past and Present. . . . 152 
 
 23. Administration . . . . . . .157 
 
 24. The Roll of Honour . . . . . .165 
 
 25. The Chief Towns and Villages of Glamorganshire. 173
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Three Cliffs Bay and Pennard Castle .... 4 
 
 Casvvell Bay ......... 7 
 
 Valley of the Rhymney ....... 9 
 
 Bishopston Valley . . . . . . . .11 
 
 The Garth Mountain ..... .14 
 
 Mewslade Bay . . . . . . . .15 
 
 Geological Section from the Black Mountain in Car- 
 marthenshire to the sea near Bridgend . . .18 
 Sandstone at Kairoak Farm, Roath Park . . .19 
 
 Penarth Cliffs 24 
 
 Section of the Lower Lias at Lavernock . . .26 
 
 The Taff 31 
 
 Ogmore Castle . . . . . . . .34 
 
 Kenfig Pool . . . . . . . . .41 
 
 Penarth .......... 47 
 
 Dunraven Bay ........ 50 
 
 Worms Head . . . . . . . . -53 
 
 Rhossilli Bay ......... 54 
 
 Oxvvich Marsh . . . . . . . -58 
 
 Mumbles Head . . . . . . . .61 
 
 Port Eynon Bay . . . . . . . .62 
 
 A Glamorganshire Farm . . . . . .76 
 
 Briton Ferry ......... 84
 
 x ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Oakwood Pit, Maesteg 88 
 
 Coal Trains on their way to the Docks . . . .91 
 
 Limestone Quarry, near Porthcawl . . . . -93 
 
 Cardiff Docks . . . . . . . . .100 
 
 Barry Docks . . . . . . . . .102 
 
 King's Dock, Swansea . . . . . . .104 
 
 Caerphilly Castle . . . . . . . .112 
 
 Neolithic Implements found at Cowbridge . . .121 
 
 St Lythan's Cromlech . . . . . . .123 
 
 King Arthur's Stone . . . . . . .125 
 
 Ogam Stone . . . . . . . . .126 
 
 The Goblin Stone . . . . . . . .127 
 
 Roman baths, Gelligaer . . . . . . .129 
 
 Llandaff Cathedral . . . . . . . -13.5 
 
 Ewenny Priory Church . . . . . . .137 
 
 St Illtyd's, Llantwit Major 138 
 
 Newton Church . . . . . . . 139 
 
 Churchyard Cross, St Donat's . . . . .140 
 
 Fonmon Castle . . . . . . . .142 
 
 Oystermouth Castle . . . . . . .143 
 
 Coity Castle and Church . . . . . .144 
 
 Old Town Hall, Llantwit Major . . . . -147 
 
 Sker Hovise . . . . . . . . .148 
 
 Tudor Gardens, St Donat's Castle . . . . .149 
 
 Neath Abbey . . . . . . . . .151 
 
 Cutting on the Road near the Mumbles . . . 153 
 
 Porthkerry Viaduct. . . . . . . .156 
 
 Cardiff Town Hall and Law Courts . . . .161 
 
 Cowbridge Grammar School . . . . . .163 
 
 University College, Cardiff . . . . . .164 
 
 Admiral Sir Thomas Button . . . . . .167 
 
 Beau Nash . . . . . . . . .169 
 
 John Crichton Stuart, 2nd Marquis of Bute . . -171
 
 XI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Aberthaw Village . . . . . . . 173 
 
 Bridgend . . . . . . . . .175 
 
 Cheriton Church . . . . . . . .177 
 
 Merthyr Tydfil 183 
 
 Swansea . . . . . . . . . .187 
 
 MAPS AND DIAGRAMS 
 
 Glamorganshire, Physical ..... Front Co<ver 
 
 ,, Geological ..... Back Co*ver 
 
 Geological Table ...... to face p. \ 7 
 
 Kngland and Wales, showing Annual Rainfall . . 64 
 Sketch Map showing the Chief Castles of Wales and the 
 
 Border Counties ..... to face p. 141 
 
 Diagrams . . . . . . . . .190 
 
 The illustrations on pages 19, 121. 123, 127, and 129 are 
 from blocks kindly lent by the Cardiff Naturalists' Society. The 
 Ogam Stone on p. 126 is sketched from an illustration in the 
 Archaeologia Cambrensis. The Geological Section on p. i 8 is from 
 a map by Messrs G. Philip and Son. 
 
 The illustrations on pages 4, 7, 1 1, 15, 24, 34, 47, 50, 53, 54, 
 58, 62, 100, 102, 104, 112, 125, 135, 137, 139, 140, 142, 143, 
 144, 148, 149, 153, 156, 161, 173, 175, and 187, are reproduced 
 from photographs by Messrs Frith & Co.; those on pp. 41, 76, 
 88,93, 1 3^j 147, and 163, are from photographs by Mr F. Evans; 
 those on pp. 9, 14, 31, 84, and 164, are from photographs by 
 Mr Osborne Long; those on pp. 61, 91, and 151, are reproduced 
 by permission of the G. W. Rly. Co.; those on pp. 167 and 171 
 are from photographs by Mr Alfred Freke; that on p. 26 is from 
 a photograph by Mr W. T. Cooper; and that on p. 183 is from a 
 photograph by the Royal Photographic Co. The sketch map of 
 the castles is from a drawing by Mr C. J. Evans.
 
 i. County and Shire. The name 
 Glamorgan. 
 
 " County " and " shire " are now loosely used as 
 equivalent terms. Originally they admitted of a distinc- 
 tion. "Shire" is an Anglo-Saxon word which at first 
 denoted a portion of land " shorn " (for the words have the 
 same derivation) from a larger territory for the satisfaction 
 of a particular tribe. With the consolidation of the Anglo- 
 Saxon rule the word lost its early tribal significance, 
 and came to mean merely a territorial division for the 
 administration of justice and for the collection of taxes. 
 The " shire-reeve " (sheriff) was the official responsible 
 for the discharge of both these functions. As Wales was 
 never conquered by the Saxons, "shire" in the early 
 sense of the word had no application to the Principality. 
 Our Teutonic ancestors referred to its inaccessible 
 fastnesses as " Wales," the land of strangers. The 
 Welsh called it "Cymru," the land of fellow-country- 
 men. It retained its ancient political independence until 
 it was conquered piecemeal by the Normans; and when it 
 was eventually annexed by the English crown and parcelled 
 out after the English model into shires, the latter word 
 had long acquired its purely administrative meaning. 
 
 w. G. i
 
 2 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Glamorganshire, though regarded from Norman times 
 as a shire, had a much better claim to be called a county, 
 for the latter term was of Norman introduction, and 
 represented the Norman method of local government. 
 Though the Normans retained the English form of 
 political administration, they altered its character. Their 
 method of government was less democratic and more 
 arbitrary. The land passed by right of conquest from 
 the people into the hands of the king, who let it out on 
 feudal tenure to his counts, and each shire in consequence 
 became a county. As the predominant feature of Norman 
 rule was government by force, the natives were assessed 
 in men as well as in money, and " county " and " shire " 
 became the names of the same area in its military and 
 civil aspects. The sheriff collected the king's revenue 
 and administered the king's justice, and the count com- 
 manded the king's men. In the border counties the 
 control of the Crown was much weaker, and in Wales, 
 where dominion was gradually acquired by private ad- 
 venture, it scarcely existed at all. The conquered terri- 
 tory was looked upon more or less as the personal property 
 of the lord who secured it and he governed it much as 
 he pleased. As Glamorganshire on its acquisition by 
 the Normans obtained a regular administration of justice 
 nominally under the jurisdiction of the crown, it was 
 technically regarded as a shire, though it was really ruled 
 by its lord, whose officer its sheriff was. 
 
 In the reign of Henry VIII, when the whole of Wales 
 was formally incorporated with the English dominions 
 and divided into shires, the boundaries of the original
 
 COUNTY AND SHIRE 3 
 
 county of Glamorgan underwent a slight alteration. 
 The limits of the Norman lordship had followed the 
 lines of the old Welsh kingdom of Morganwg, and had 
 extended from the Usk to the Tawe. Under the Tudor 
 readjustment the district of Gwynllwg between the Usk 
 and the Rhymney was thrown into the newly-formed 
 shire of Monmouth, and by way of compensation the 
 lordship of Gower was added to the county of Gla- 
 morgan. 
 
 Under the modern system of local government, 
 "county" and "shire" are again beginning to lose their 
 acquired identity. The " shire " is now little more than 
 a geographical division, and the county has once more 
 become the real administrative area. Their limits are no 
 longer quite the same. From the county of Glamorgan 
 have been taken away the county boroughs of Cardiff, 
 Swansea, and Merthyr, which for governmental purposes 
 are independent units, though they still belong geographi- 
 cally to Glamorganshire. 
 
 The name " Glamorgan " is merely a popular cor- 
 ruption of Gwlad-Morgan y " the land of Morgan," an 
 appellation which it derived from one of its early princes. 
 Its alternative title Morganwg arose, from a common Welsh 
 habit of designating a territory by adding wg to the name 
 of its ruler. 
 
 12
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 2. General Characteristics. 
 
 The predominant feature of Glamorganshire is its 
 commercial importance. It is not only the foremost 
 county in Wales, but one of the richest provinces in the 
 kingdom. Its industrial development has been one of 
 
 Three Cliffs Bay and Pennard Castle 
 
 the wonders of the age. A century and a half ago half 
 of the shire was a highland wilderness valuable only to 
 the sportsman and the sheep farmer. To-day these once 
 solitary wastes are some of the most thickly populated 
 districts in Britain. The physical features of the county 
 have conspired to give it this leading commercial posi- 
 tion. Like the rest of Wales it is in parts exceedingly
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 5 
 
 mountainous. The hills lie piled up in great masses across 
 half the county, but instead of barring its progress, they 
 have been the chief cause of its phenomenal prosperity. 
 Figuratively speaking, they have proved to be mountains 
 of gold, for they are a vast storehouse of mineral treasure. 
 Their yield of coal is prodigious, and there are immense 
 deposits of limestone, as well as some iron ore. 
 
 Second only in importance to the mountains is the 
 extensive sea-board with which the county is fringed. 
 Though a great part of the coast is commercially useless, 
 and the number of its natural harbours are comparatively 
 few, yet it possesses several tidal estuaries which engineer- 
 ing skill has converted into docks, and the Glamorganshire 
 ports are some of the busiest shipping centres in the 
 kingdom. 
 
 But its rich mineral deposits are not the only source 
 of wealth which the county possesses. Glamorgan was 
 once famous for its fertility, and to-day it does not alto- 
 gether belie its early agricultural reputation. Between 
 the hills and the sea rolls a wide undulating plain which 
 provides extensive pasturage for cattle, and furnishes an 
 admirable soil for the cultivation of wheat. And the 
 hills, though of little use in themselves for agricultural 
 purposes, nevertheless form a serviceable screen for the 
 crops in the lowlands. 
 
 Glamorganshire, besides being a wealthy and bountiful 
 land, abounds also in historical interests. Few counties 
 possess so many memorials of antiquity. Everywhere 
 are to be found traces of primitive life, as well as of the 
 civilisation which succeeded it. On the hills are the
 
 6 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 earthworks and sepulchral monuments of the disinherited 
 Celts, and the plains are studded with the ruined castles 
 of the invaders who supplanted them. 
 
 Artistically, too, the county is not without its attrac- 
 tions, though it has sacrificed much of its former beauty 
 to its commercial prosperity. It no longer preserves the 
 clear streams and wooded dells for which it was once 
 famous, for the rivers are polluted and the valleys are 
 sombre and sunless. The smoke of innumerable collieries 
 and furnaces clouds the atmosphere, and the once luxuriant 
 vegetation has been replaced by tiers of cottages; but 
 outside the industrial districts many of its charms survive. 
 The hills remain massive and majestic, and their rugged 
 outlines and far-reaching prospects still charm the lover 
 of scenery. The most fascinating region is the coast, 
 which in places is quite remarkable for its grandeur. 
 The Gower peninsula is in this respect especially notable. 
 Its precipitous cliffs and sandy bays are nowhere surpassed 
 for picturesque effectiveness. 
 
 3. Size. Shape. Boundaries. 
 
 Glamorganshire is situated at the south-east extremity of 
 Wales, and is the most southerly of all the Welsh counties. 
 It lies between 51 24' and 50 48' N. latitude, and be- 
 tween 3 5' and 4 19' W. longitude. Its boundaries are 
 partly artificial and partly natural. On the south it is 
 washed entirely by the waters of the Bristol Channel, 
 which separates it from the opposite coasts of Somerset
 
 8 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 and Devon ; on the north it is bordered by Breconshire 
 and Carmarthenshire ; on the east the Rhymney river 
 forms the natural line of demarcation between it and 
 Monmouthshire; and on the west it is partly surrounded 
 by the combined waters of the Bristol Channel and the 
 Burry Inlet, and partly adjoins Carmarthenshire, from 
 which it is divided by the Loughor river. 
 
 Except on the north its outlines are well defined, and 
 its bold projection into the Bristol Channel gives it a 
 marked individuality. The eastern boundary scarcely 
 needs tracing in detail, for it follows strictly the course 
 of the Rhymney river from its source, near Troed-y- 
 Milwyr, the northern extremity of the county, to its 
 mouth, two miles east of Cardiff. The western border-line 
 may be described with equal brevity. It begins north- 
 wards near Pantyffynnon in the valley of the Loughor, 
 and descends the stream till it falls into the Burry Inlet 
 at Loughor. The northern frontier lies amongst the 
 mountains, and except for the fact that the border-line 
 roughly corresponds to the northern limits of the South 
 Wales coalfield, there are few natural features along 
 its course to serve as landmarks, and it is chiefly an 
 imaginary line across the hills ; but it occasionally 
 acquires sharper definition by pursuing the beds of such 
 highland water-courses as trend more or less eastwards 
 and westwards. The chief valleys it presses into its 
 service are the upper reaches of the lesser Taff, and the 
 Cynon, the Sychnant Gorge, the Perddyn, and the upper 
 Amman. It abruptly leaves the latter, however, at Cwm 
 Amman, and cedes a rectangular corner to Breconshire
 
 SIZE SHAPE BOUNDARIES 9 
 
 by turning directly southwards to Nant Melyn, at the 
 head of Cwm-y-Gors, and then pursuing its way across 
 the mountains to the Cathan valley, which conducts it 
 to meet the western boundary near Pantyffynnon. The 
 places which roughly indicate its course from east to 
 west are Troed-y-Melwyr, Pontsticill, Vaynor, Pant, 
 Llwycoed, Hirwain, Pont Nedd Fychan, Gaer encamp- 
 
 Valley of the Rhymney 
 (showing the Llanbradach viaduct) 
 
 ment on the Perddyn, Ystalyfera, Brynamman, Cwm 
 Amman, Nant Melyn, and Pantyffynnon. A line con- 
 necting these outposts (some of which lie just outside the 
 county border) would roughly describe it. 
 
 In outline the county is exceedingly irregular, and in 
 shape it somewhat resembles a shoulder of mutton with
 
 10 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the knuckle pointing down channel, and representing 
 the peninsula of Gower. Its extreme length from the 
 Rhymney river near Ruperra to Worms Head is 54 miles, 
 and its greatest width from Rhoose Point to Old Pitwell 
 near Dowlais is 29 miles. It has a total area of 811 
 square miles or 518,865 acres; and in point of size ranks 
 second amongst the Welsh counties, being exceeded only 
 by Carmarthenshire. Since its limits were originally 
 fixed by Act of Parliament in the reign of Henry VIII, 
 its boundaries have remained unaltered. 
 
 4. Surface and General Features. 
 
 We generally speak of a county as flat, or mountainous, 
 or diversified; but it is impossible to sum up the charac- 
 teristics of Glamorganshire in any one comprehensive 
 phrase. A glance at the map will show that it exhibits 
 not only great irregularity of outline, but remarkable in- 
 equality of surface. Few counties show within similar 
 limits such striking contrasts. So diverse are the features 
 presented that different districts scarcely appear to belong 
 to the same land. Soil, surface, flora, climate, and pro- 
 ductions are all dissimilar, and even the inhabitants display 
 divergent characteristics. 
 
 The county naturally falls into three well-marked 
 divisions, whose differences are so striking that they have 
 from time immemorial been regarded as three separate 
 localities. There is a mountainous region in the north, 
 an undulating champaign in the south, and an irregular
 
 SURFACE AND GENERAL FEATURES 11 
 
 and hilly peninsula in the west. The northern uplands 
 were anciently called Blaenau Morganivg, the table-land 
 in the south was named Bro Morganwg^ and the western 
 peninsula was spoken of as Gwyr or Gower. Bro Mor- 
 ganwg is still frequently referred to as T Fro or the Vale. 
 A line drawn from east to west across the centre of the 
 county would divide the mountains from the plain. 
 
 Bishopston Valley 
 
 Gower might almost be regarded as a continuation of 
 the plain out of which the waters of Swansea Bay have 
 washed the connecting territory. 
 
 Bro Morganwg comprises a tract of undulating land 
 some 10 miles broad by 22 miles long. It is bordered 
 on the south by the Bristol Channel and extends north- 
 wards as far as Llantrissant ; eastwards and westwards
 
 12 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 it stretches from the Rhymney to the Ogmore. Shut 
 in between the mountains and the sea, it' forms the 
 Glamorganshire lowlands ; but its designation of the 
 Vale of Glamorgan is somewhat misleading, for it is in 
 reality an undulating and hilly plateau ranging from 
 50 to 2OO feet in altitude and rising in the centre to 
 a table-land almost double that height. Seawards it 
 terminates in a line of precipitous cliffs. It is watered 
 by its own streams, which have scored its surface with 
 a number of valleys, and it enjoys its own climate. 
 Except for the commerce which collects round the sea- 
 ports of Cardiff and Barry, it is almost entirely devoted 
 to agricultural purposes, for which it is extremely 
 suitable. It has been termed the "Garden of Wales." 
 Though fairly well timbered, it is not sufficiently varied 
 in feature to be strikingly picturesque, except in the 
 centre, where the green monotony of the landscape is 
 broken by the pleasant valley of the Daw. But what 
 it lacks in scenery it makes up for by the number of its 
 medieval antiquities. Nearly every village has the crum- 
 bling remains of a castle. 
 
 Blaenau Morganwg is very different, the transition 
 from the plain to the highlands being exceedingly 
 abrupt. The mountains rise like a wall round the 
 northern edge of the Vale. Their general aspect is stern 
 and forbidding, but the real beauty of the county was 
 formerly to be found in their silent and solitary recesses. 
 Everywhere the hills are furrowed with deep and secluded 
 valleys which were once luxuriant with foliage and lively 
 with the splash of falling torrents. Now everything is
 
 SURFACE AND GENERAL FEATURES 13 
 
 changed. The district has become one vast workshop, 
 and the landscape is blurred with the smoke of innumer- 
 able collieries and furnaces. 
 
 The mountain system of Glamorganshire is extremely 
 complicated. Broadly speaking all the Glamorganshire 
 hills are buttresses to the still higher mountains of Brecon- 
 shire. Though bold and precipitous they lack individuality, 
 and baffle the observer by their multitudinous array. Their 
 massed effect is, however, very striking. Roughly, these 
 highlands fall into three principal groups, which for the 
 sake of convenience may be termed the eastern, western, 
 and central ranges. The central block is in plan a wedge- 
 shaped mass of hills enclosed between the Nedd (Neath) 
 and Cynon rivers. Right in the north at the apex of the 
 triangle formed by these divergent streams rises the lofty 
 summit of Craig-y-Llyn (1969 ft.), the monarch of 
 Glamorganshire mountains, and radiating more or less 
 southwards like the ribs of a fan from this common 
 centre are a number of almost equally high spurs, Cefn 
 Gwyngul (1489 ft.), Cefn Tadfernol (1692 ft.) and Cefn 
 Rhondda (1567 ft.), Mynydd William Merrick (1769 ft.), 
 Crug-yr-Afon and Mynydd Llangeinor (1859 ^' an( ^ 
 1755 ft.), Mynydd Caerau (1823 ^0> anc * Cefn Mawr 
 (1560 ft.). On either side of this central cluster of 
 mountains are a number of parallel ridges forming the 
 eastern and western systems. Beyond the Cynon in the 
 east, as we pass westward from the Rhymney, are Cefn 
 Brithdir (1460 ft.), Cefn Gelligaer (1570 ft.), Cefn 
 Merthyr (1292 ft.), and Mynydd Aberdare and Mynydd 
 Merthyr (1346 ft. and 1336 ft.). On the west, on the
 
 14 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 other side of the Nedd, is the Graig-lwyd group, which 
 at its highest point attains 1575 ft., Mynydd March 
 Hywel (1371 ft.), Mynydd Alt-y-grug (1113 ft.), Cefn 
 Gwrhyd (968 ft.), Mynydd-y-Garth (1057 ^-) Bryn 
 Mawr (1153 ft.), Mynydd-y-Gwair (1226 ft.), and Graig 
 Fawr (883 ft.). Though this is a tolerably complete 
 enumeration of the various folds into which the northern 
 
 The Garth Mountain 
 
 surface of the county is crumpled, it is by no means an 
 exhaustive catalogue of all the hills which the county 
 contains. Two eminences which are very conspicuous 
 from the lowlands should be mentioned. They are the 
 Garth mountain (1009 ft.), which lies to the north-west 
 of Cardiff, and Mynydd Margam (1409 ft.), a very 
 interesting hill which rises immediately behind the village
 
 SURFACE AND GENERAL FEATURES 15 
 
 of that name. The summits of all these hills are wild 
 and desolate, and their bleak solitudes offer a striking 
 contrast to the teeming valleys at their feet. Though a 
 source of wealth to the mine owner, they are used by the 
 farmer chiefly as sheep-runs. They abound everywhere 
 in prehistoric antiquities. 
 
 Gower y our third division, forms the western portion 
 of Glamorganshire, and in its general features is sharply 
 
 Mewslade Bay 
 
 differentiated from the rest of the county. It exhibits, 
 however, the same characteristic contrast between hill 
 and plain. There is a mountainous district in the north 
 which falls within the limits of the coalfield, and is now 
 one of the most populous and busy localities in the shire ; 
 and there is a sea-bound pastoral district in the south. The 
 name is now generally restricted to this rocky peninsula 
 which forms such an eccentric termination to the county
 
 16 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 on the west. It is a wild and solitary land almost sur- 
 rounded by the sea. In measurement it is 1 8 miles long and 
 8 miles broad, and has an acreage of 80 square miles. It is 
 chiefly remarkable for its bold and diversified coast scenery. 
 Few districts can show such an extensively serrated shore, 
 for it has 45 miles of sea-board. Compared with the 
 varied beauty of the cliffs, the interior is somewhat bald 
 and featureless. A low ridge of hills Cefn-y-Bryn 
 some 600 feet in height, runs diagonally across the penin- 
 sula, and in the extreme west rises a ridge of bare and 
 breezy downs of equal altitude. Though woods occa- 
 sionally clothe the more sheltered sides of the cliffs, 
 Gower as a whole is treeless. With the exception of 
 one or two pretty glens its valleys and watercourses are 
 few. Agriculture is the prevailing occupation, but the 
 fields yield scanty crops compared with the prodigal 
 harvests in the Vale of Glamorgan. It is in consequence 
 a sparsely populated region, and the villages are remote 
 and little visited except by tourists. Like the rest of the 
 county the peninsula abounds in antiquities. 
 
 5. Geology and Soil. 
 
 The geological character of Glamorgan is comparatively 
 simple. All the rocks have been formed by the action 
 of water ; there are none of igneous origin. Apart from 
 the alluvial deposits along the estuaries of the rivers, there 
 are only five systems represented within the county, the 
 Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Triassic, and Jurassic.
 
 NAM as or 
 SYSTEMS 
 
 Recent 
 Pleistocene 
 
 Pliocene 
 Miocene 
 Eocene 
 
 Cretaceous 
 Jurassic 
 
 Triassic 
 
 Permian 
 Carboniferous 
 
 Devonian 
 Silurian 
 Ordovician 
 Cambrian 
 Pre- Cambrian 
 
 SUBDIVISIONS 
 
 Metal Age Deposits 
 Neolithic 
 
 Palaeolithic ,, 
 Glacial ,, 
 
 ICromer Series 
 Weybourne Crag 
 Chillesford and Norwich Crags 
 Red and Walton Crags 
 Coralline Crag 
 
 Absent from Britain 
 
 Fluviomarine Beds of Hampshire 
 
 Bagshot Beds 
 
 London Clay 
 
 Oldhaven Beds, Woolwich and Reading 
 
 Thanet Sands [Groups 
 
 Chalk 
 
 Upper Greensand and Gault 
 
 Lower Greensand 
 
 Weald Clay 
 
 Hastings Sands 
 
 Purbeck Beds 
 
 Portland Beds 
 
 Kimmeridge Clay 
 
 Corallian Beds 
 
 Oxford Clay and Kellaways Rrx-k 
 
 Cornbrash 
 
 Forest Marble 
 
 Great Oolite with Stonesfield Slate 
 
 Inferior Oolite 
 
 Lias Upper, Middle, and Lower 
 
 Rhaetic 
 Keuper Marls 
 Keuper Sandstone 
 Upper Bunter Sandstone 
 Bunter Pebble Beds 
 Lower Bunter Sandstone 
 
 Magnesian Limestone and Sandstone 
 
 Marl Slate 
 
 Lower Permian Sandstone 
 
 Coal Measures 
 Millstone Grit 
 Mountain Limestone 
 Basal Carboniferous Rocks 
 
 Upper 
 Lower 
 
 rj evonian an( j O ld Red Sand- 
 stone 
 
 Lndlow Beds 
 Wenlock Beds 
 Llandovery Bed* 
 
 Caradoc Beds 
 l.landeilo Beds 
 Arenig Beds 
 
 Tremadoc Slate* 
 
 Lingula Flags 
 
 Menevian Beds 
 
 Harlech Grits and Llanberis Slate* 
 
 No definite classification yet made 
 
 CHARACTERS OP ROCKS 
 
 Superficial Deposits 
 
 Sands chiefly 
 
 Clays and Sands chiefly 
 
 Chalk at top 
 Sandstones, Mud and 
 Clays below 
 
 Shales, Sandstones and 
 Oolitic Limestones 
 
 Red Sandstones and 
 Marls, Gypsum and Salt 
 
 Red Sandstones and 
 Magnesian Limestone 
 
 Sandstones, Shales and 
 Coals at top 
 Sandstones in middle 
 Limestone and Shales belou 
 
 Red Sandstones, 
 Shales, Slates and Lime- 
 stones 
 
 Sandstones, Shales and 
 Thin Limestones 
 
 Shales, Slates, 
 Sandstones and 
 Thin Limestones 
 
 Slates and 
 Sandstones 
 
 Sandstones, 
 Slates and 
 Volcanic Rocks
 
 GEOLOGY AND SOIL 17 
 
 But the distribution of these various formations is so 
 extremely unequal that the list may be virtually reduced 
 to two the Carboniferous and the Jurassic. Of these 
 two the Carboniferous so largely predominates that seven- 
 eighths of the surface of the shire comes under this 
 classification. It will be seen that the geological map 
 in its main features roughly follows the geographical 
 divisions of the county. The whole of the northern high- 
 lands consists of Coal Measures ; the Vale of Glamorgan 
 is Lias ; and the peninsula of Gower is Mountain 
 Limestone. The Silurian, Devonian, and Triassic forma- 
 tions are only sparsely represented. Their rocks occur 
 in patches, and form no very striking feature in the 
 geological field. Taken in the order of their formation, 
 the various systems will be found distributed over the 
 following areas : 
 
 The Silurian rocks, though occurring in such large 
 masses elsewhere in South Wales, are only very scantily 
 exhibited in Glamorganshire. They are found on the 
 extreme eastern verge of the county and nowhere else. 
 On the banks of the Rhymney there is a small bed of 
 shales, sandstones, and mudstones, which projects across 
 the border from Monmouthshire. 
 
 The Old Red Sandstone, which forms the bulk of 
 the adjoining counties of Breconshire and Monmouth- 
 shire, continues as far as the river Taff, dips right under 
 Glamorganshire in a south-westerly direction, and only 
 reappears within the county as a small outcrop between 
 Cardiff and Bridgend, and as a range of hills running 
 across the surface of the peninsula of Gower. The 
 
 w. G. 2
 
 f -' 
 o
 
 GEOLOGY AND SOIL 19 
 
 depression caused by the disappearance of the Old Red 
 Sandstone forms a trough in which the Coal Measures lie. 
 The Carboniferous system is the prevailing formation 
 of the county. All the massive hills of the north belong 
 to it, and the vast area over which it extends is the cause 
 
 Sandstone at Fairoak Farm, Roath Park 
 
 of the great prosperity of the shire. The coal-bearing 
 rocks, though lying above the Old Red Sandstone, do not 
 rest immediately upon it. They are underlaid every- 
 where by an intermediate bed of Mountain Limestone and 
 Millstone Grit, which are also classified as Carboniferous 
 
 2 2
 
 20 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 rocks. Prior to the Carboniferous epoch, the Red Sand- 
 stone hills of Breconshire formed the shore of some shallow 
 and clear sea, and Glamorganshire was a submerged ledge 
 of rock upon which a multitude of coral animals subse- 
 quently laid down this thick floor of limestone. The 
 limestone bed not only underlies the whole of the 
 Glamorgan coalfield, but forms a thick rim round its 
 southern edge. The deposit varies from 500 to 1000 
 feet in thickness. The rock is found elsewhere, besides 
 at the bottom of the coal basin. It occurs immediately 
 below the Lias in some portions of the Vale, where it 
 occasionally breaks out on the surface. It forms some 
 of the most prominent points along the coast, and is 
 exposed as a long stretch of low rocks between Porthcawl 
 and Sker Point. It again appears as the predominant 
 geological feature in the peninsula of Gower, where it 
 can be seen upheaved at a considerable angle in the bold 
 cliffs which form the coast. Some of the cliffs in this 
 district are characteristically perforated with caverns, 
 which on their first exploration were found thickly strewn 
 with the bones of extinct animals. 
 
 Between the Mountain Limestone and the Coal 
 Measures is a deposit of Millstone Grit varying from 
 250 ft. to 1000 ft. in thickness. It comes to the surface 
 at the foot of the hills stretching as a thin tract of 
 territory between Caerphilly and Llantrissant. It appears 
 again as a longish patch north of Bridgend. It is a coarse 
 quartzose sandstone frequently used for millstones, but 
 locally known in the coalfield as the " Farewell " rock. 
 Its general position in Wales is at the base of the Coal
 
 GEOLOGY AND SOIL 21 
 
 Measures, and the miner who reaches it regards it as a 
 signal to abandon further search. 
 
 The South Wales coalfield stretches from Pontypool 
 to St Bride's Bay, and has an area of 1000 square miles, 
 of which Glamorganshire possesses about half. The 
 extreme length is 90 miles, and the breadth varies from 
 21 miles in Glamorganshire to i miles in Pembrokeshire. 
 It rests in a sort of pear-shaped trough with the widest 
 end towards the east. The greatest depth at which coal 
 lies is calculated to be about 6650 feet. Across the basin 
 run two anticlinal folds, one stretching from Risca to 
 Aberavon, and the other from Cwm Neath to Kidwelly. 
 Swansea Bay makes a large encroachment upon the 
 Glamorganshire coalfield, and a colliery near the shore 
 at Port Talbot is worked beneath the Channel. Though 
 the Coal Measures have an estimated thickness of 7000 ft., 
 the actual seams of coal vary only from I to 6 ft. 
 thick, and are thinnest and most numerous in the west. 
 The seams are divided one from another by intervening 
 masses of sandstone, which in some cases are as much 
 as 500 ft. thick. The layers of sandstone are again 
 interspersed with deposits of shale, which measure in 
 thickness from 10 to 50 feet. Most seams of coal rest 
 upon a co-extensive cushion of clay, which varies from 
 6 inches to IO feet in depth. This underclay is in South 
 Wales, though not elsewhere, an invariable accompani- 
 ment of the coal, and is believed by some to be the soil 
 in which the vegetation forming the coal originally grew, 
 as in some cases it contains rootlets. It is a soft sandy 
 shale extensively used in the manufacture of fire-bricks.
 
 22 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 The absence of soda and potash salts, possibly abstracted 
 by the plant life which once flourished above it, preserves 
 it from fusion when exposed to the action of heat. 
 
 The coal seams, which lie in three series, are known 
 as the Upper Coal Measures or Upper Sandstones, the 
 Pennant Grit, covering most of the coalfield, and the 
 Lower Coal Measures. In the Upper Coal Measures 
 the coal is highly bituminous and inflammable, and is 
 used chiefly for domestic purposes, and for the production 
 of coal gas and coke. In the Pennant Grit series the 
 coal is much less plentiful and is sandwiched in between 
 beds of hard sandstone, which are frequently quarried for 
 building and paving. This coal readily cakes and is 
 employed largely in the manufacture of " patent fuel." 
 The Lower Coal Measures produce the famous steam 
 coal, so invaluable for boiler furnaces. It contains a 
 much larger percentage of carbon than the inflammable 
 varieties, and produces in consequence a much fiercer 
 heat and less smoke. Glamorganshire supplies virtually 
 all the larger navies of the world with their fuel. As 
 the coal seams spread towards the north-west the coal 
 becomes still less bituminous in character, and to the north 
 of Swansea in the valleys of the Tawe and Twrch it is 
 almost purely anthracitic and smokeless. 
 
 Though some violent upheaval has lifted the Coal 
 Measures to their present position as lofty hills, there is 
 little doubt that they were first laid down at the bottom 
 of some lagoon into which a number of muddy streams 
 were constantly discharging a large quantity of earthy 
 sediment. Rank vegetation sprang up on the more
 
 GEOLOGY AND SOIL 23 
 
 elevated portions of these swamps, which, owing to their 
 unstable nature, subsequently sank. The plants which 
 covered these spongy deposits consisted chiefly of gigantic 
 mosses and ferns. The forests so formed disappeared 
 or were renewed as the land fell or rose. The mud 
 eventually hardened into shales, and the coal seams are 
 the compressed remnants of these vanished jungles. Some 
 violent shrinkage of the earth's crust in ages long subse- 
 quent to its formation raised the coalfield to its present 
 altitude. The valleys which score the surface of the hills 
 are not the folds into which the hills were thrown, but 
 the furrows ploughed out of their surface by the torrents 
 which coursed down their sides. The streams which 
 now wind their way at the bottom of the gorges are the 
 shrunken survivals of these ancient rivers. The Lower 
 Coal Measures are rich in ironstone and contain a 
 number of marine shells and Entomostraca. In the Upper 
 Measures the only fossil foimd, other than the remains of 
 plant life, is the shell Anthracosia. 
 
 The Triassic rocks which occur within the county 
 are found chiefly as patches of dolomitic conglomerate 
 near Llandaff, St Fagan's, Coychurch, Pyle, and Newton 
 Nottage, and are overlaid by Keuper Red Marls in 
 the neighbourhood of Bridgend. In the conglomerate 
 of Newton Nottage have been found the footprints of 
 some gigantic three-toed bird or reptile. A slab from the 
 district bearing this impression is now exhibited in the 
 Cardiff Museum. The geological formation of Penarth 
 Head, where the rocks also belong to this series, is 
 extremely interesting. At the base of the cliff is a
 
 24 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 foundation of red Triassic marls, and upon these reposes 
 a 28-foot bed of green Rhaetic marls. Above this may 
 be seen a larger bed of black shales, 24 feet thick, con- 
 taining a bone-bed rich in the scales and teeth of fishes 
 and reptiles. This is capped, as the coast trends towards 
 Lavernock Point, with a deposit of white Lias, 18 feet in 
 
 Penarth Cliffs 
 
 thickness, and composed of grey and brown sandy shales. 
 The marls are quarried in the neighbourhood of Llandough 
 and are ground up for brick-making. 
 
 The Lias of Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire is 
 represented by the Lower Lias only, and borders the 
 southern part of these counties and the South Wales
 
 GEOLOGY AND SOIL 25 
 
 coalfield. It occurs more or less in patches, the greatest 
 development being in the district known as the Vale of 
 Glamorgan, between Barry and Bridgend, where remark- 
 ably fine sections can be seen in the cliffs along the seashore. 
 
 All along the coast from Lavernock Point to the 
 mouth of the Ogmore river the Lower Lias shales and 
 grey limestone rest upon the Rhaetic beds, and con- 
 stitute the long series of cliffs which form the shore 
 line of the Vale of Glamorgan. These rocks extend 
 inwards as far as Cowbridge, and compose the floor of 
 the Vale. At Southerndown they form a conglomerate 
 which represents an ancient beach, and may be seen 
 resting on the upturned edge of the Mountain Limestone. 
 As may be observed from an inspection of the cliffs the 
 stratification of the Lias rocks is extremely regular. The 
 rocks consist of bands of blue limestone six inches in 
 thickness, between which are interposed layers of shale, 
 sometimes called, on account of their perfect lamination, 
 paper shales. The White Lias series contain a large 
 number of fossils, including shells and the star-fish 
 Ophiolepsis Damesii. From the Blue Lias rocks have 
 been obtained more than fifty species of corals, and a 
 great many Ammonites. Saurian remains are also not 
 infrequent, Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus being found in 
 the large quarries attached to the cement works at Penarth. 
 
 As one travels westward the thickness of the Lias in- 
 creases. The total depth in the district round Newport is 
 only about 30 feet, at Penarth and Lavernock the deposits 
 attain a thickness of about 130 feet, but in the neighbour- 
 hood of Aberthaw they reach several hundred feet.
 
 Section of the Lower Lias at Lavernock
 
 GEOLOGY AND SOIL 27 
 
 Generally speaking, the deposits consist of layers of 
 blue or blue-grey argillaceous limestone alternating with 
 blue, white, or yellowish shales and clays, the blue shales 
 often containing notable quantities of iron pyrites. In the 
 east the clays and shales predominate and the deposits 
 attain their most aluminous character ; westward they 
 become more siliceous and also more calcareous, the beds 
 of stone greatly predominating. 
 
 Surface deposits of alluvial matter occur at the estuaries 
 of all the rivers and along the valleys of the Nedd and Tawe. 
 Extensive tracts of marshy land have been formed between 
 the mouth of the Rhymney and Penarth Head, and at 
 the foot of the hills in the neighbourhood of Aberavon. 
 There is a patch of undrained bog at Crymlyn between 
 the estuaries of the Nedd and Tawe, and some extensive 
 salt marshes line the southern shores of the Burry Inlet. 
 The movements of glaciers in the county have left some 
 traces. The accumulations of sand and gravel which 
 are found in most of the river valleys, though generally 
 attributed to excessive rainfalls in prehistoric times, may 
 really be of glacial origin. There is a glacial drift near 
 Cardiff consisting of pebbles and boulders of Old Red 
 Sandstone and other rocks lying immediately to the north. 
 A number of "erratics" from the local Carboniferous 
 Limestone and Millstone Grit are scattered about the 
 Ely valley. But the most interesting deposit is at Pencoed, 
 where well-polished boulders of rocks foreign to the 
 district have been found, which microscopic examination 
 has shown to have been brought from North Wales by 
 glacial action.
 
 28 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Large boulders of Millstone Grit or Conglomerate 
 are also frequently met with in Gower. 
 
 Iron ore is found in the form of haematite in deposits 
 amongst the Mountain Limestone, and a great deal of 
 ironstone is obtainable amongst the lower Coal Measures. 
 The chief iron-ore district lies in the neighbourhood of 
 Merthyr, Dowlais, and Aberdare ; and deposits have been 
 worked near Pentyrch. Gypsum occurs in small beds 
 near Penarth. 
 
 The soil of the different localities varies very con- 
 siderably both in character and value. In the Vale of 
 Glamorgan it is a deep rich loam of unusual fertility and 
 light to handle. It is peculiarly suitable for the production 
 of wheat. The underlying substratum of limestone adds 
 considerably to its quality, but gives it a very stony 
 appearance when turned over. The north, on the other 
 hand, is a very barren region. The damp peaty earth 
 with which the mountains are thinly covered is very 
 poor, and the drier patches are too gravelly to be of any 
 service to the agriculturist. In Gower again the soil, 
 though it varies a good deal, as a rule lacks both depth 
 and virtue. It ranges from a loose red earth to a thick 
 yellowish clay, and is occasionally interspersed with beds 
 of sand. In general it yields only a moderate return for 
 the labour involved in its tillage.
 
 WATERSHED AND RIVERS 29 
 
 6. Watershed and Rivers. 
 
 Glamorganshire is particularly well watered. It 
 abounds in rivers, though none of them are of any 
 great size. They are all short, and take their rise either 
 within the county or else amongst the Brecon hills just 
 beyond its borders. The watershed lies entirely in the 
 north, and all the streams run southwards and empty 
 themselves into the Bristol Channel. They were at 
 one time distinguished for the picturesqueness of their 
 surroundings, but their beauty has now disappeared before 
 the pitiless ravages of industrial progress. None of the 
 rivers are in themselves of much value as waterways, for 
 they are narrow, rapid, and shallow. They have neverthe- 
 less played an important part in the industrial development 
 of the county, for their valleys are the commercial arteries 
 of the district, and the estuaries into which they empty 
 themselves have provided the harbours which now place 
 the mineral wealth of Glamorgan at the disposal of the 
 world. The rivers may be conveniently regarded as 
 falling into three distinct groups, which form the eastern, 
 western, and central drainage systems of the county. 
 The easterly basin comprises the Rhymney, TafF, and 
 Ely rivers, which flow in a south-easterly direction. The 
 westerly basin consists of the Nedd, Tawe, and Loughor, 
 which flow south-west. The central basin is drained by 
 the Ogmore, Kenfig, and Avon, the first two of which 
 flow southwards, and the last south-west. A subordinate 
 group of streams, of which the principal constituent is 
 the Daw, drain the Vale of Glamorgan.
 
 30 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 The Rhymney has its birth in Breconshire, but for 
 the remainder of its career it forms the dividing line 
 between Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire. Receiv- 
 ing the Bargoed brook on its way, it follows a fairly 
 consistent course southwards ; but, before it eventually 
 reaches the Channel, it has to make an awkward detour 
 to the east to work round the obstructing ridge of Cefn 
 Carnau. The valley through which it flows, though 
 exceptionally rich in minerals, is bare and otherwise 
 lacking in interest. At Caerphilly, however, there stands 
 at the entrance of an adjoining vale one of the most 
 famous of the ruined castles of Wales. Below Caerphilly 
 the scenery improves until, leaving its gorge, the river 
 twists itself as a muddy estuary across the flats of Cardiff. 
 
 Unlike the solitary Rhymney, the Taff is a veritable 
 family of rivers. Rising as a twin stream in Breconshire, 
 it follows a double course as far as the large industrial 
 town of Merthyr, where the greater Taff and lesser Taff 
 unite. At Quaker's Yard the river receives a further 
 accession to its waters in another Bargoed brook, and at 
 Abercynon its volume is again swollen by the Cynon 
 river, which likewise descending from the Brecon high- 
 lands flows, past the large and populous towns of Aberdare 
 (which stands on one of its feeders) and Mountain Ash. 
 Another stream falling into the Cynon before it joins the 
 Taff is the Aman ; and the Clydach, which waters a very 
 busy little glen, reaches the Taff later. At Pontypridd 
 the Taff is joined by two other important tributaries, the 
 Rhondda Fawr and the Rhondda Fach. Both of these 
 streams have their source in the spurs of Craig-y-Llyn,
 
 WATERSHED AND RIVERS 
 
 31 
 
 and pass through one of the most populous districts in 
 South Wales. The valleys through which they flow 
 contain some of the finest steam coal in the world, and 
 they have in consequence of its discovery undergone a 
 remarkable transformation. The two Rhondda rivers 
 coalesce at Forth, and empty their united current into 
 
 The Taft 
 
 (showing the Garth in the distance) 
 
 the Taft at Pontypridd. The position of Pontypridd at 
 the confluence of these valleys makes it a sort of general 
 clearing-house for the vast traffic of the district. It 
 borrows its name from a remarkable one-arched bridge 
 which a local mason named Edwards built in 1750 across 
 the TafF. Five miles above Cardiff the Taff emerges from 
 the mountains and makes its way across the level plain to
 
 32 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the sea. Before the river reaches Cardiff it glides past 
 the peaceful city of LlandafF, whose rural seclusion 
 conceals its long and chequered history. The cathedral 
 is pleasantly situated on the banks of the stream. The 
 wide tidal estuary by which the TafF finally discharges its 
 waters into the Channel has given Cardiff the opportunity 
 of becoming one of the largest ports in the kingdom. 
 
 The Ely river is a short stream rising amongst the 
 hills behind the mining village of Ton-yr-Efail. For a 
 short distance it wanders amongst the mountains, and then 
 uniting itself with the Mychedd brook it creeps through a 
 narrow pass near Llantrissant (Llantrisaint) into the Vale 
 of Glamorgan. The town of Llantrissant is perched on 
 a knoll above the river, and its position at the mouth of 
 the defile made it in medieval times a place of much 
 strategical importance, and its castle was strongly fortified. 
 Below Llantrissant the Ely receives the Afon Clun, and 
 then meanders southwards across the Vale to Peterston, 
 where there are the remains of another castle. At 
 Peterston it suddenly turns eastwards, and flowing past 
 the castle and battle-field of St Fagan's reaches Ely, 
 where it again bends southwards and finally finds its 
 way into the estuary of the TafF at Penarth, where it 
 forms a natural harbour. Some fine docks have been 
 constructed beneath the headland to supplement the 
 commercial conveniences of the river. 
 
 The rivers of Mid-Glamorgan, like their eastern and 
 western neighbours, run a short impetuous course amongst 
 the hills before they seek a more sluggish channel in the 
 plains on their way to the sea. In number they are
 
 WATERSHED AND RIVERS 33 
 
 three the Ogmore, the Kenfig, and the Avon. The 
 Ogmore collects together a number of converging streams 
 which have their origin amongst the cluster of lofty hills 
 which are massed together in the centre of the county. 
 The Ogmore proper, like the Taff, is a combination of 
 dual streams, the Ogmore Fawr and the Ogmore Fach, 
 which rise on either side of Carn Fawr (a spur of the 
 central hills) and unite at Blackmill. At Abergarw the 
 joint river receives the turbulent waters of the Garw, 
 which comes rushing down the valley between Mynydd 
 Llangeinor and Mynydd Caerau. At St Bride's it effects 
 a junction with a less impetuous but more important 
 tributary, the Llynfi, which rises on the western side of 
 Mynydd Caerau, and passes the busy mining centres of 
 Maesteg and Tondu. Thenceforth the Ogmore flows 
 a placid stream through the town of Bridgend, below 
 which it unites with the waters of the Ewenny, and then 
 empties itself into the Bristol Channel near Button by 
 an estuary remarkable for its vast accumulations of sand. 
 The old priory church on the banks of the Ewenny, 
 and the crumbling ruins of Ogmore Castle near the 
 estuary, invest it with considerable antiquarian interest. 
 The Alun brook, which is a tributary of the Ewenny, 
 cuts its way through a small but singularly picturesque 
 gorge to join the larger stream, and furnishes the land- 
 scape with a very striking and unexpected feature. The 
 Kenfig is little better than a streamlet, and descends from 
 the steep slopes of Mynydd Margam to push its way to 
 the sea through the sandy wilderness known as the Kenfig 
 Burrows. The Avon is a larger river, which rises as a 
 w. G. 3
 
 34 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 mountain brook on the slopes of Crug-yr-Afon, and 
 joining itself to the Corwg a stream descending from 
 the lofty spurs of Craig-y-Llyn strikes out a south- 
 westerly course for Swansea Bay. Before discharging 
 its waters here at Aberavon it collects two other 
 tributaries, the Pelena and the Dyffryn. The course 
 of the river is walled in all the way by bare and rugged 
 
 Ogmore Castle 
 
 hill sides, and its banks are lined with collieries and 
 iron-works, which send down their products for shipment 
 to the extensive dock at Port Talbot at the mouth of 
 the river. 
 
 The rivers of West Glamorgan are the Nedd, the 
 Tawe, and the Loughor, and they all flow more or less 
 in a south-westerly direction. The Nedd, the most
 
 WATERSHED AND RIVERS 35 
 
 famous of the three, may be said to be the queen of 
 Glamorganshire rivers. It wins its popular reputation, 
 however, chiefly before it enters the county, when still 
 a mere cluster of mountain burns. The four streams 
 which unite to form the " full fed " river the Hepste, 
 the Mellte, the Nedd, and the Perddyn all rise amongst 
 the solitudes of the Breconshire Vans, and are celebrated 
 not only for their wild and romantic surroundings, but 
 for the numerous cascades in which they abound. But if 
 these earlier beauties belong to Breconshire, Glamorgan- 
 shire can still claim some share in making the river what 
 it is, for it furnishes for its channel a still beautiful, but 
 sadly tarnished valley. The course of the river is short. 
 Collecting its scattered sources together it enters the 
 county at Pont Neath Vaughan and flows with a fairly 
 straight course south-west into Swansea Bay. Passing on 
 its way the mining villages of Glyn Neath and Resolven 
 it allies itself at Aberdulais with its most considerable 
 tributary, the Dulais, which flows down to join it from 
 the heights of Mynydd-y-Drum, and below the town of 
 Neath it is further augmented by the Clydach. On its 
 right bank a little below the town stand the grimy ruins 
 of Neath Abbey. At the busy little port of Briton 
 Ferry the valley again narrows and the river makes its 
 escape into Swansea Bay through a bold and picturesque 
 defile. Two small waterfalls occur on the course of the 
 Nedd, and on the Melincourt brook near Resolven there 
 is a slender cataract some 80 feet in height. 
 
 The Tawe also rises amongst the Breconshire Vans, 
 and pursuing a course almost parallel with that of its 
 
 32
 
 36 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 sister river the Nedd, falls into Swansea Bay at Swansea. 
 Its chief tributaries are the Twrch an impetuous stream 
 which comes down from the Black Mountains and meets 
 it at Ystalyfera and another Clydach which joins it at 
 Clydach. The Twrch marks practically the northern 
 limits of the coalfield, and in its valley are situated most 
 of the valuable anthracite seams. The valley of the 
 Tawe is now a scene of industrial desolation crammed 
 with smelting works. The capital of this sulphurous 
 region is Landore. At Swansea the estuary of the Tawe 
 forms a very fine entrance to the large and spacious docks 
 which belong to the town. 
 
 The Loughor is the only Glamorganshire river 
 which rises in Carmarthenshire, and it remains in part 
 a Carmarthenshire stream throughout, for it forms the 
 boundary between that county and Glamorganshire. 
 The only contribution which Glamorganshire makes to 
 its waters is the little river Dulais, which rises on 
 the slopes of Mynydd-y-Gwair, but another stream, 
 compounded of the Afon Lliw and the Afon Llan, falls 
 into its estuary below the town of Loughor. Some 
 miles before the Loughor joins the sea it forms a long 
 and shallow lagoon which abruptly narrows at Loughor 
 town, and opening again into a wide and sandy estuary 
 changes its name to the Burry Inlet. 
 
 The streams which water the Vale of Glamorgan are 
 the Daw river and the Cadoxton and Colhugh brooks. 
 The Daw runs a short but very picturesque course from 
 Llansannor to the sea. Passing the old-fashioned town 
 of Cowbridge it winds its way through a wide and
 
 WATERSHED AND RIVERS 37 
 
 prettily wooded vale, which is sprinkled with the remains 
 of ancient castles. Picking up the Llancarfan brook, 
 which scoops its way through a deep defile past the site 
 of the ancient monastery of Llancarfan, it finally empties 
 itself into the sea by a wide and marshy estuary at 
 Aberthaw. Aberthaw was once a small port, but is now 
 only a village. An ancient harbour is said to have once 
 existed also at the mouth of the Colhugh brook, which 
 flows into the Channel below Llantwit Major, but all 
 trace of it has vanished. The business which has forsaken 
 the Daw and the Colhugh has, however, come to the 
 Cadoxton river, for at its mouth have been created the 
 gigantic docks of Barry. 
 
 The streams which drain the peninsula of Gower 
 are few and trivial. They are the Clyne river, which 
 flows across the eastern end of the peninsula and falls 
 into Swansea Bay ; the listen brook, which waters the 
 centre and empties itself into Oxwich Bay ; and the Burry 
 brook in the western extremity, which flows northwards 
 and joins the Burry Inlet near Cheriton. 
 
 7. Natural History. 
 
 Geology shows us that the surface of the earth has 
 at various times undergone alterations and changes of 
 a stupendous nature. Great mountain chains have been 
 elevated, new seas have been formed, vast land-masses 
 have disappeared. Some of these changes are exemplified 
 in our own country. We know, for example, that at
 
 38 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 one time and that, geologically speaking, at no very 
 remote period Britain was not insular, but formed part 
 of the European continent. In the caves of Derbyshire, 
 Devon, Gower, and many other places are found the 
 bones of extinct animals identical with those disinterred 
 in neighbouring continental countries, or dredged up from 
 the bed of the North Sea. Again, in many places around 
 our coasts are to be seen, at extreme low water, the 
 remains of forests buried beneath the sea. Though just 
 off the west coast of Ireland the sea bottom sinks rapidly 
 to very deep soundings, the North Sea is everywhere 
 very shallow, and if London could be placed in it, the 
 dome of St Paul's would be seen standing well above its 
 surface. Great Britain and Ireland are thus examples of 
 what are known to geologists as " recent continental 
 islands," and subsidence, erosion, and other geological 
 changes have turned dry land into the North Sea, and 
 broad river valleys into the Bristol and English Channels. 
 But, at some earlier period, when still forming part of 
 the continent, our land was for a time submerged. The 
 existing fauna and flora destroyed by this subsidence had 
 thus to be replaced from the continental lands lying to the 
 south-east. Slowly these new immigrants worked their 
 way north-westward as the land again rose and afforded 
 suitable conditions, but as it was not long before separation 
 occurred and Britain became insular, not all the species 
 existing on the continent were able to establish themselves 
 in our land. We should thus expect to find that those 
 parts of the country nearest the continent were richer in 
 species and those furthest off poorer, and this proves to be
 
 NATURAL HISTORY 39 
 
 the case both with plants and animals. Britain has fewer 
 species than France and Belgium ; and Ireland, which 
 was probably separated still earlier, has fewer than 
 Britain. 
 
 Both plants and animals depend for their existence 
 upon suitable climatic conditions and upon a favourable 
 environment. The British Isles are not of sufficient 
 extent to exhibit great climatic diversity, but they have 
 considerable variety of physical feature. The consequence 
 is that much the same plants and animals are to be found 
 in different parts of the kingdom where the same physical 
 conditions prevail. The absence of any particular species 
 in a locality where it might naturally be looked for, is 
 generally due to accidental or artificial causes. Other 
 things being equal, those places enjoy the greatest advan- 
 tage from a naturalist's point of view which lie nearest to 
 those regions whence the original stock was derived. As 
 the stream of migration was from the south-east, the 
 southern counties are usually the richest in objects of 
 natural history. Glamorgan occupies a fairly good 
 geographical position in this respect, and its physical 
 peculiarities have made it a suitable habitation for the 
 many different kinds of wild life which have from time to 
 time reached its shores. Mountain, plain, and seashore 
 all have their own special denizens, and there are still 
 large tracts of uncultivated and sparsely-populated territory, 
 where they can flourish undisturbed. In one respect the 
 naturalist has reason to complain that the county has been 
 unfortunate. Some of its most secluded recesses, once the 
 favourite haunts of bird, beast, and flower, have in recent
 
 40 
 
 years undergone vigorous commercial exploitation, with 
 the result that many interesting things have been destroyed 
 or greatly reduced in numbers. The streams especially 
 have suffered much by the pollution of their waters, and 
 the fish for which they were once famous have disappeared. 
 Generally speaking, however, the fauna of Glamorganshire 
 is well up to the average in interest. Most of the species 
 met with in other counties are represented somewhere 
 within its borders. The red deer, however, once common 
 and still found in the opposite highlands of Somerset and 
 Devon, does not now roam the hills of Glamorgan. The 
 wild cat has been exterminated, the polecat is rare, the 
 otter has been greatly reduced in numbers, and the badger 
 now is not very often met with. The seals which once 
 frequented the shores of the Severn for the sake of the 
 salmon have abandoned their visits. Seven, at least, of 
 the twelve species of English bat are found in the county. 
 There are the usual common rodents, but the hare is 
 scarce, and the water vole is not common. The brown 
 rat, unknown in England before the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century, is of course the common species of 
 the county, but the black rat still occurs. 
 
 Birds, except in the colliery districts, where they find 
 little shelter and many enemies, are fairly numerous, 
 though they only exist in any very great variety in special 
 localities. The singularly diversified character of the 
 county is favourable to a miscellaneous bird life, but the 
 destruction of much of the woodland has deprived it of 
 some of its earlier wealth in this respect. Of the birds of 
 prey the peregrine falcon, the buzzard, and the long-eared
 
 NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 41 
 
 owl are occasional visitants. The merlin is sometimes 
 seen. The greater and lesser spotted woodpecker breed 
 in the county, but not in great numbers. The nightingale 
 is reported to have been sometimes met with, but all 
 attempts to naturalise it have failed. The sea coast is 
 the most interesting district to the ornithologist. The 
 
 Kenfig Pool 
 
 neighbourhood of Worms Head in particular is the breed- 
 ing ground of a prodigious number of sea-fowl, which 
 nest in these solitudes. Amongst the less common kinds 
 of waders and swimmers to be met with are the great 
 crested grebe, the great black-backed gull, and the stormy 
 petrel. The cormorant is frequently to be observed 
 perched on the ledges of the cliffs, but the bi'.tern, once
 
 42 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 fairly common, is now very rare, and only comes during 
 hard winters. 
 
 The rivers have been almost entirely denuded of their 
 former occupants. Even dace and chub have disappeared. 
 Curious changes in the live-stock of streams and pools 
 sometimes occur from natural causes. Kenfig Pool was 
 once noted for the immense quantity of pike it contained, 
 but none are to be found there now. The naturalist will 
 however find in the products of the shores some com- 
 pensation for what he has lost in the rivers. The sandy 
 creeks and rock pools of the Gower peninsula in particular 
 will provide him with numerous and varied specimens 
 of marine life. The curious little blenny, which spends 
 half its time out of the water, is occasionally found in 
 Swansea Bay, and there, too, are sometimes captured 
 the sword-fish, the globe-fish, and the flying-fish. The 
 limestone coast of Gower abounds in Crustacea and 
 mollusca of all kinds. 
 
 The entomologist will find plenty to interest him in 
 Glamorganshire. The warrens of Merthyr Mawr, the 
 Crymlyn burrows and bog, and the sandhills of Oxwich 
 Bay have always been the favourite preserves of the insect 
 hunter. Butterflies and moths in great variety are to 
 be found in the Vale of Glamorgan and in the Gower 
 peninsula. Some of the rarer specimens, however, only 
 make their appearance during favourable summers. 
 
 The flora of Glamorgan is much more abundant and 
 varied than the fauna. Some species common here are 
 only of local occurrence elsewhere. The plant life of a 
 locality is determined by its soil as much as by climatic
 
 NATURAL HISTORY 43 
 
 and physical considerations. Both the diversity of its 
 physical structure and its mixed geological character have 
 made the county peculiarly rich in the variety of its 
 botanical specimens. In descending from the hills to the 
 plains, or to the rich and sheltered valleys, one is struck at 
 once by the luxuriance of the vegetation displayed. It is 
 like coming from a desert to a garden. The peculiarities 
 of the maritime region are again very discernible. In 
 approaching the coast one becomes aware of the proximity 
 of the sea long before it is reached. Trees are scarce 
 and stunted. A new set of flowering plants replaces the 
 old favourites of wood and meadow. Grasses, reeds, and 
 rushes straggle along the sand and pebbles. The influences 
 of soil are equally marked. The elevated limestone tracts 
 around Morlais Castle show a much more exuberant plant 
 life than the ridges of Pennant Grit on the other side of 
 the valley of the TafFj and the flora of the hard limestone 
 headlands of Gower is distinct in many particulars from 
 that of the softer lias rocks which fringe the Vale of 
 Glamorgan. Even within the same geological area 
 differences can be noted. The white down of the cotton 
 grass shows in great patches on the boggy sides of the 
 hills but does not appear on their rocky summits ; and the 
 grasses and lichens which cling to the cliffs within reach 
 of the spray are very different from the dwarf shrubs and 
 rushes which cover the sand dunes, or from the plants on 
 the salt marshes overflowed by the tide. Roughly speak- 
 ing there are three well-defined botanical zones the hills 
 and valleys of the Coal Measures, the Vale, and the sea 
 coast, each with its own characteristic vegetation. The
 
 44 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 mountains frequently exhibit a sub-alpine element in the 
 flora, and the valleys are specially distinguished by the rich- 
 ness of their bramble growths. These are extraordinarily 
 abundant : of the 190 forms of Rubus known to Britain, 
 nearly 60 are found in the Rhondda and Cynon valleys. 
 The Vale is the garden of Glamorgan. In the spring 
 the banks and meadows are a blaze of colour. Here 
 lime-loving plants abound, and Clematis vitalba is a great 
 feature of the hedges and woods. The forest trees chiefly 
 seen in the fields are the ash, beech, elm, and sycamore, 
 whilst the oak, birch, alder, fir, and larch clothe the sides 
 of the hills. The wych elm is believed to be a native 
 in Glamorgan and is said to stand the sea air better 
 than any other tree except the sycamore, which likewise 
 flourishes freely. 
 
 The plants of the sea-coast, though not so showy, are, 
 however, botanically the most interesting. The marshes, 
 bogs, sand and shingle, and the lias and limestone cliffs, 
 present a flora of great richness and variety. The wind- 
 tossed sandhills near Kenfig and Merthyr Mawr are 
 carpeted with miniature briars and brambles, and nowhere 
 does the viper's bugloss grow as it does on these dunes. 
 About Nash Point is to be seen the tuberous thistle, 
 Cnicus tuberosusy elsewhere native only in Wiltshire, and 
 near the coast the rare fen-orchid (Liparis Loeselii] has 
 been met with. The peninsula of Gower may be almost 
 regarded as a region apart, so special is its vegetation. 
 It is a botanist's paradise. Here is found the one species 
 in these islands peculiar to Glamorgan, Draba aizoides, 
 the yellow "whitlow-grass" of the Alps and Pyrenees.
 
 NATURAL HISTORY 45 
 
 Its cousin, Draba (Erophila) verna, is more common. 
 At Park Mill is the hairy cress, Arabis hirsuta, and on 
 the sands in the neighbourhood appears the sea heron's- 
 bill, Erodium maritimum, and occasionally the sea-barley 
 or squirrel-tail, Hordeum maritimum. The yellow rock- 
 rose, Helianthemum canum^ is found on Cefn-y-Bryn and 
 Worms Head, and the meadow clary (Salvia pratensis] 
 and Osmunda regain are amongst the less common plants 
 to be met with in the peninsula. Sometimes a foreigner 
 has been introduced into the county by accident. One 
 of the oraches, Atrlplex pedunculata, has been discovered 
 at Aberavon, borne thither probably in ballast. 
 
 The shores of Glamorgan are not as a rule so richly 
 draped with seaweed as other parts of the coast. Ulva 
 porphyra, however, is plentiful off Gower, and is turned 
 by the natives into laver bread, and together with samphire 
 (Crithmum maritimum] is sold as an edible commodity in 
 Swansea market. 
 
 8. A Peregrination of the Coast. 
 
 The seaboard of Glamorganshire is remarkable both 
 for its extent and variety. Throughout the 88 miles of 
 frontage which it exposes to the sea it can furnish an 
 illustration of almost every possible coastal characteristic. 
 But though its features are so varied they lie for the most 
 part grouped together in fairly uniform sections. Roughly 
 speaking there are three distinct districts the rock-bound 
 fringe of the Vale of Glamorgan, the sandy shores of
 
 46 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Swansea Bay, and the rugged and serrated peninsula of 
 Gower. The scenery, though nowhere wanting in 
 interest, is artistically unequal. It improves as one 
 proceeds down channel. The long lines of cliffs which 
 for the most part border the plain are almost monotonous 
 in their regularity, and lack both the background of 
 encircling mountains which give such charm to the fine 
 panorama of Swansea Bay, and the romantic fascination 
 of the wild and jagged rocks of Gower. It is impossible 
 to do more than give a very sketchy outline of this 
 extensive and interesting region. 
 
 From the mouth of the Rhymney, whose tortuous 
 estuary separates the coast of Glamorganshire from that 
 of Monmouthshire, a long and featureless expanse of 
 alluvial deposit stretches to the mouth of the Taff, round 
 which is gathered the great city and port of Cardiff. 
 Extensive docks have been cut in the moors, and a forest 
 of factory chimneys mingles in the picture with the masts 
 of the shipping in the harbour. On the other side of the 
 estuary of the Taff, which also receives the waters of the 
 Ely river, rises the fine headland of Penarth. It stretches 
 like a gigantic wind-screen across the mouth of the port, 
 and beneath its shelter vessels can ride at anchor in 
 the roads in perfect security. Some smaller docks at 
 Penarth lie immediately below the headland and furnish 
 further accommodation for the immense business of the 
 port. The headland carries no lighthouse, but the church 
 on the summit of the hill is a well-recognised landmark 
 both with the sailor and the landsman. Penarth, besides 
 being a favourite residential suburb of Cardiff, has become
 
 A PEREGRINATION OF THE COAST 47 
 
 something of a watering-place and possesses a pier and 
 promenade. Prominent though Penarth Head is, it is not 
 seen by vessels coming up channel, for the coast trends 
 for 2^ miles directly southwards to Lavernock Point 
 before it bends westwards. The cliffs between these two 
 promontories are of great geological interest. Lavernock 
 Point, like Penarth Head, is unlighted, for the channel is 
 
 Penarth 
 
 sufficiently illuminated by a lighthouse on the Flat Holm, 
 which stands in mid-channel three miles south-east of the 
 point, and forms an appendage to the port of Cardiff. One 
 and a half miles south-west of Lavernock, lying in close 
 proximity to the shore, is the small island of Sully, a low 
 ledge of grass-grown rock carrying on its summit a small 
 earthwork. A flat but rocky shore fringes the mainland
 
 for three miles between here and the neighbouring Barry 
 Island, and midway, standing back from the sea in a 
 cluster of trees, is the village of Sully, where are the 
 foundations of a castle. At Barry the land again abruptly 
 rises, and the ridge terminates in the cliffs of Barry Island, 
 now insular only in name, for an embankment carrying 
 both a road and a railway connects it with the shore. 
 
 A strange transformation has taken place in recent years 
 in Barry and its neighbourhood. From a rural hamlet it 
 has become a flourishing port, for a magnificent series of 
 docks has been made beneath the shelter of the island, 
 which forms a natural breakwater, and a large town has 
 grown up on the hilly slopes behind the docks. The 
 district still possesses some vestiges of antiquity ; on the 
 island are the remains of a small chapel, and on the 
 mainland is the ruined gateway of a castle. The island is 
 indented by a little sandy bay, which provides the public 
 with a bathing place. A small arm of the sea, which 
 once formed the straits, separates Treharne's Point, the 
 most westerly extremity of the island, from Coldknap 
 Point on the mainland, and beyond the latter opens the 
 charming little bay of Porthkerry, floored with pebbles 
 and walled in with limestone cliffs and banks of foliage. 
 On the top of the cliffs is an entrenchment known as the 
 Bulwarks. A wall of lias cliffs, so regular in stratification 
 that it looks like a piece of unfinished masonry, extends 
 without interruption from Porthkerry to the mouth of 
 the Daw, where a cluster of homely-looking cottages 
 forms the village of Aberthaw. An occasional sloop 
 resting on the oozy banks of the estuary and awaiting a
 
 A PEREGRINATION OF THE COAST 49 
 
 cargo of lime is the only reminder that Aberthaw was 
 once a port. On the other side of the stream a wide 
 promontory of low-lying land, called the Lays, spreads as 
 far as Breaksea Point, the most southerly extremity of 
 Glamorgan. Beyond the point Limpert Bay, overlooked 
 by the village of Gileston, divides the promontory from 
 Summerhouse Point, where is another ancient encamp- 
 ment. Here the cliffs again rise and run with but little 
 intermission as far as the estuary of the Ogmore, a 
 distance of 1 1 miles. Several interesting features, how- 
 ever, occur in the almost unbroken line of cliff. Two 
 miles beyond the Summerhouse, the Colhugh brook finds 
 its way through a narrow vale into the sea. On the 
 summit of the cliff overhanging the left bank of the stream 
 are some more earthworks, known as the Castle Ditches, 
 and a mile up the glen lies the ancient town of Llantwit 
 Major, the site of a famous Celtic monastery. A mile 
 beyond the mouth of the brook are the Tresilian caves, a 
 series of caverns scooped by the waves out of the sides of 
 the cliff and once notorious as a resort for smugglers. 
 Standing on the cliffs beyond the caves is St Donat's 
 Castle, a modernised medieval residence of some repute, 
 and in a glen between the castle and its watch tower is 
 St Donat's church. At St Donat's the cliffs bulge boldly 
 into the sea and terminate westwards in Nash Point, one 
 of the most conspicuous headlands in the Bristol Channel. 
 The point is lighted by a pair of lighthouses, which also 
 serve to warn the mariner off the dangerous Tusker reef 
 beyond. 
 
 The coast, which from Lavernock has hitherto kept a 
 w. o. 4
 
 50 
 
 consistent course westwards, here trends north-west as far 
 as the mouth of the Nedd, but it retains its cliffy character 
 only until it reaches the estuary of the Ogmore, where 
 the shore becomes a vast wilderness of sand. The last 
 noteworthy feature which it exhibits before changing its 
 aspect is Dunraven Head, which breaks off into the sea 
 in a sheer wall of rock some 200 feet in height. Behind 
 
 Dunraven Bay 
 
 the headland lies Dunraven Castle, and close by is the 
 little watering-place of Southerndown. 
 
 Two miles beyond Southerndown the Ogmore river 
 runs out into a sand-locked bay which may be regarded 
 as commencing the second section of the Glamorgan 
 coast, for here the scenery undergoes an abrupt and 
 striking change. From a series of unbroken cliffs we
 
 A PEREGRINATION OF THE COAST 51 
 
 pass to a region of unrelieved sand. The sand indeed is 
 everywhere. The bay is not only floored with it, but is 
 encircled by a chaos of wind-tossed dunes piled up in 
 places into fantastic pyramids. Hidden behind the 
 engulfing sand-hills are the village and ancient church of 
 Newton Nottage. Beyond the bay the underlying rocks 
 emerge for a while from their sandy envelope to form 
 the promontory of Porthcawl Point, on which stands 
 the popular watering-place of Porthcawl. The town 
 possesses a small dock, but it has now abandoned its 
 trade and given itself up to the entertainment of its 
 summer visitors. The rocks are low, but line the shore 
 for three miles to Sker Point, where the sand begins again, 
 and forms an arid wilderness all the way to Port Talbot, 
 a distance of six miles. In the midst of this waste is 
 Kenfig Pool, a large sheet of fresh water around which a 
 few scattered houses mark the site of the now obliterated 
 town of Kenfig. A gaunt fragment of its castle may 
 still be seen protruding from the sand. 
 
 Nine miles beyond Porthcawl the Avon divides the 
 ancient town of Aberavon from its flourishing suburb 
 Port Talbot, which possesses some extensive docks and 
 works. At Aberavon, which stands on the further side 
 of the river, commences the wide sweep of Swansea Bay. 
 The bay is shut in with high hills and thickly encircled 
 with sands ; and at Briton Ferry the entrance to the Nedd 
 river, which falls into the middle of the bay, has to be 
 protected by long breakwaters. Briton Ferry possesses a 
 dock, and smaller vessels can go three miles higher up the 
 river to Neath. Four miles of burrows, which form a 
 
 42
 
 52 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 fringe to an extensive morass, Crymlyn Bog, reach from 
 the mouth of the Nedd to the estuary of the Tawe, where 
 a dense cloud of smoke indicates the position of Swansea. 
 Opening into the estuary are a number of imposing docks, 
 and the valley of the Tawe has been converted into a 
 vast scene of industrial activity chiefly concerned with 
 copper-smelting. Beyond the Tawe the bay sweeps 
 round in a graceful curve of six miles to the Mumbles 
 Head, its western extremity. 
 
 At the Mumbles the Glamorganshire coast enters 
 upon its third phase, for here commence the wild and 
 beautiful cliffs of Gower. The Mumbles Head, an 
 elevated limestone ridge, terminates in a couple of rocky 
 islets, one of which carries a lighthouse and signalling 
 station. At the northern foot of the headland lies the 
 village of Oystermouth, the local centre of the oyster 
 fisheries, where there are a pier and a ruined castle. Its 
 chief attraction is, however, the splendid view of Swansea 
 Bay which it commands. The contour of the Gower 
 coast is so extremely complicated that it is impossible to 
 trace it in any detail. From the Mumbles Head to 
 Worms Head it measures 20 miles, and for the most part 
 it consists of a series of precipitous cliffs indented with a 
 number of sand-strewn bays, all alike beautiful and quite 
 charming in their variety. Between the Mumbles and 
 the next prominent headland, Pwlldu, are Langland 
 and Caswell Bays, both favourite resorts with holiday- 
 makers. Beyond Pwlldu Head opens the extensive bay of 
 Oxwich. Though walled at its extremities with lofty 
 cliffs, which in places exhibit some interesting bone
 
 54 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 caverns, the centre of the bay is a sandy hollow overlooked 
 by the ruins of Pennard and Penrice castles, and another 
 ruined mansion clings to the wooded slopes of Oxwich 
 Point. On the further side of this massive promontory is 
 another bay, in which nestles the village of Port Eynon, 
 and from Port Eynon Point a wild and impressive series 
 of cliffs stretch for five miles to the Worms Head, which 
 
 Rhossili Bay 
 
 forms the western termination of the peninsula. This 
 wall of rock is pierced in places with caverns, the most 
 remarkable of which is known as the Culver Hole. The 
 " Worm," which forms such a fantastic finial to the 
 county, is a long and narrow ledge of limestone, projecting 
 into the sea and ending abruptly in a wedge-shaped crag, 
 some 2OO feet high. Its resemblance to a dragon, from 
 which it takes its name, is very remarkable. On the
 
 A PEREGRINATION OF THE COAST 55 
 
 northern side of Worms Head are the village and bay of 
 Rhossili. The bay faces west and behind it rises a chain 
 of breezy downs, which form some of the highest land in 
 Gower. The northern extremity of this extensive bay is 
 formed by the Llangenydd Burrows and the little islet 
 of Burry Holm, whereon is a ruined chapel. Overlooking 
 the burrows is the camp-crowned hill of Llanmadoc, 
 whence the coast turns abruptly eastward to form the 
 Burry Inlet, a shallow and sand-choked estuary which 
 separates the peninsula from the opposite coast of Carmar- 
 thenshire. A long tongue of land, the Whiteford Burrows, 
 obstructs the mouth of the inlet, and the Glamorgan 
 shore henceforth subsides into a lengthy and uninteresting 
 tract of salt-marshes which stretches all the way to the 
 mouth of the Loughor river. Standing on the ridge of 
 land which walls in the marsh are the villages of 
 Llanmadoc, Cheriton, and Llanrhidian, and between the 
 latter two places are the remains of Landimore and 
 Weobley castles. At Penclawdd, near the Loughor end 
 of the estuary, cockles are found in great numbers. 
 
 9. Coastal Gains and Losses: Sand= 
 banks and Lighthouses. 
 
 In prehistoric days the coast of Glamorganshire must 
 have been much nearer that of Somerset than at present. 
 The estuary of the Severn was then but a "silver streak " 
 dividing Wales from England, and the bed of the Bristol 
 Channel was an extensive tract of forest land. " There
 
 56 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 rolls the deep where grew the tree." Beds of peat and 
 remnants of submerged forests are still to be seen off both 
 the Welsh and English shores. A considerable subsidence 
 took place, which let in the sea and enlarged the estuary 
 of the Severn until it assumed the dimensions of the 
 present Bristol Channel. The original bed of some of 
 the Glamorganshire rivers is 60 feet below the surface of 
 the silt at their mouths. This process of enlargement is 
 still going on. Everywhere the coast is undergoing slow 
 and steady modification. The encroachments of the sea 
 are taking place chiefly at the expense of the Welsh shore. 
 The detached masses of rock which occasionally crop up 
 in the channel were once part of the mainland, and have 
 become isolated from the parent shore by the action of 
 the waves. The beach which fringes the cliffs both of 
 the Vale of Glamorgan and the peninsula of Gower is 
 floored with slabs of rock which once formed the founda- 
 tions of the cliffs when they stood further out to sea. 
 
 The alteration of the coast-line depends, of course, 
 upon the general set of the currents and the character of 
 the shore ; and a glance at the map will show the kind 
 of alteration which we should expect along the coast of 
 Glamorganshire. The general trend of the Channel 
 currents under the stimulus of the prevailing south-west 
 winds is towards the north-east. The peculiar and exten- 
 sive projection of the Glamorganshire coast exposes it to 
 the full fury of the Atlantic storms. It is evident that 
 under such circumstances it will undergo a constant 
 process of denudation. If land is deposited at all, it will 
 be deposited in those coastal recesses which receive the
 
 COASTAL GAINS AND LOSSES 57 
 
 backwash of the tide, or in those places where rivers can 
 with least hindrance deposit the silt which they bring 
 down from the hills. Fortunately the coast of Glamor- 
 ganshire is fenced throughout the greater part of its 
 length with a wall of high and fairly hard cliffs, which 
 enables it to resist to a large extent the vigorous assault 
 of the Atlantic breakers. The toughest rocks are those 
 which line the peninsula of Gower. There the wasting 
 of the land is not very considerable. The lias cliffs which 
 border the Vale of Glamorgan are much more easily 
 disintegrated, and from time to time they fall in great 
 masses. Here the erosion is fairly rapid, but is to some 
 extent impeded by the underlying limestone which shows 
 itself in the isolated masses of Sully and Barry Islands. 
 The sea is, however, making the greatest inroads on the 
 shores of Ogmore and Swansea Bays. Almost within 
 living memory the road which connected Swansea with 
 the Mumbles ran along a tract of foreshore now habitually 
 covered with the tide. 
 
 On the other hand some compensation is being offered 
 by the sea for this lost land in the shape of various 
 deposits. The most considerable of these gains are the 
 alluvial plains formed at the mouths of rivers. A great 
 deal of valuable land has been created between the 
 estuary of the Rhymney and Penarth Head. This has 
 been made not only by the soil brought down by the 
 rivers, but in still greater measure by the mud washed up 
 by the sea. The fields so won from the tide have to be 
 preserved from inundation by the erection of sea-walls. 
 There is again another tract of low-lying land spread at
 
 58 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the mouth of the Daw. Some land has been reclaimed 
 behind Oxwich Bay, though considerable difficulty is 
 still experienced in keeping the tide out, and probably 
 both Crymlyn Bog and the Llanrhidian marsh are only 
 awaiting the enterprise necessary to convert these desolate 
 morasses into valuable pasture land. Far less serviceable 
 than these estuarine deposits are the vast accumulations of 
 
 Oxwich Marsh 
 
 sand which occur at frequent intervals along the coast. 
 At the mouth of the Ogmore, on the eastern side of 
 Swansea Bay, in Oxwich Bay, and along the shores of 
 the Burry Inlet are, as we have seen, immense quantities 
 of blown sand. These sand-drifts are only the wastage 
 of the rocks, which have been reduced to powder by the 
 ceaseless pounding of the waves. They are deposited by
 
 COASTAL GAINS AND LOSSES 59 
 
 tidal currents and, by cutting off the underlying mud 
 flats from the action of the sea, cause an extension of the 
 land. Their advance is, however, scarcely less destructive 
 than the encroachment of the waves. At Kenfig a 
 fertile land has been turned into a wilderness. The 
 dunes are formed by the persistent and regular action 
 of the south-westerly breezes, which are always carrying 
 the sand further inland. Its forward march can only be 
 arrested by the intervention of vegetation, and the dwellers 
 in these sand-infested localities are under an obligation to 
 plant the marram-grass (Psamma arenaria\ which has been 
 found most efficacious in stopping the progress of these 
 moving hills. In some places the channel currents sweep 
 along rounded boulders and pebbles, which are occasionally 
 thrown up by strong winds into long banks like the pebble 
 ridge at Coldknap Point. 
 
 The sand is as great a source of trouble to the sailor 
 as to the landsman. Owing in a great measure to the 
 numerous sandbanks, the navigation of the Bristol Channel 
 is notoriously dangerous. One-seventh of the total 
 wrecks which take place around the coasts of Britain 
 occur within its waters ; and the Welsh shore is chiefly 
 responsible for the fatalities. The fairway to the 
 Channel ports lies much nearer the Welsh side than the 
 English, and the prevailing storms beat down directly 
 upon the Welsh coast. The chief sandbanks are the 
 Cardiff Grounds, a patch of sand lying almost parallel 
 with Penarth Head ; the Old I -fathom Bank, three miles 
 south of Sully Island ; the Nash, Middle Nash, and West 
 Nash Banks, a long ridge stretching eight miles west of
 
 60 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Nash Point ; the Scarweather Sands, an immense bank 
 three miles west of Porthcawl ; the Outer Green Grounds 
 at the entrance of Swansea Bay ; the Green Grounds 
 and the Mixon Sands off the Mumbles Head ; the East 
 and West Helwick Banks, a long narrow ridge nearly 
 nine miles long, south of Worms Head ; the Hooper Sands 
 at the mouth of the Burry Inlet; and the Llanrhidian 
 and Bacas Sands which choke the estuary of the Loughor 
 river. In addition to these sandbanks there are one or 
 two outlying reefs of rock which add to the dangers 
 of the coast. The Wolves are submerged rocks lying 
 between Penarth Head and the Flat Holm, the Tusker is 
 a well-known and dangerous reef at the entrance of 
 Ogmore Bay, and the White Oyster Ledge is a small 
 shelf of rock south of the Mumbles. 
 
 The Glamorganshire coast, however, is well lighted, 
 and all the banks and obstructions are indicated by buoys. 
 The chief lights are the Monkstone Beacon, the Flat 
 Holm lighthouse, the Breaksea lightship, the twin light- 
 houses on Nash Point, the Scarweather lightship, the 
 Mumbles lighthouse, and the lighthouse on Whiteford 
 Point. Of these the most conspicuous are the light- 
 houses on the Flat Holm, Nash Point, and Mumbles 
 Head. On the Flat Holm at the south extremity of 
 the island is a white tower 99 feet high carrying an 
 occulting light visible for 18 miles. The two tall Nash 
 lighthouses stand near the edge of the cliff 1000 feet 
 apart, and carry fixed lights which are visible for 19 
 miles. The Mumbles light is mounted on the outer of 
 the two islets and periodically eclipses. Its flash can be
 
 62 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 seen for 17 miles. In addition to the lights already 
 enumerated, the harbours of Cardiff, Penarth, Barry, 
 Porthcawl, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry, and Swansea have 
 their own distinguishing beacons, and there are illuminated 
 buoys to mark the fairway for vessels approaching the 
 ports. 
 
 Port Eynon Bay 
 
 In spite of these precautions, however, maritime 
 disasters are still very frequent on the shores of the 
 Bristol Channel, and the protective work of the Trinity 
 House has to be supplemented by the rescue work of the 
 National Lifeboat Institution. There are lifeboat stations 
 at Penarth, Porthcawl, the Mumbles, and Port Eynon.
 
 CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 63 
 
 10. Climate and Rainfall. 
 
 The climate of a country is, briefly, the average 
 weather which it, as a rule, experiences. This depends 
 upon a variety of circumstances of which it is only 
 possible to enumerate the chief. The proverbial un- 
 certainty of the weather shows how multitudinous are 
 the influences which affect it. If it were possible to 
 ascertain them all, the weather could be predicted with 
 absolute precision. The weather in some parts of the 
 world is much more capricious than in others because 
 the circumstances which determine it are less constant 
 and regular. The climate of England is peculiarly fickle 
 because the atmospheric conditions prevailing on these 
 shores are in an habitual state of alteration. 
 
 The two chief features of the climate of a country are 
 the temperature and the rainfall, or the amount of sunshine 
 and rain that on an average it receives ; and these are 
 determined by two principal considerations, its distance 
 from the equator and from the sea. The sun is the great 
 source of heat, and the nearer a country is to the equator, 
 the more sunshine does it receive, and the higher will be 
 its temperature. The sea, on the other hand, is the 
 great reservoir of moisture, and the closer a country is to 
 the sea, the damper will be the atmosphere, and the 
 greater, in consequence, will be the rainfall. But prox- 
 imity to the sea likewise affects the temperature. Water 
 is heated more slowly than land, and does not cool so 
 quickly. A country, therefore, which borders the sea
 
 ENGLAND & WALES 
 
 ANNUAL RAINFALL 
 
 tatute Miles 
 
 (The figures give the approximate annual rainfall in inches.)
 
 CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 65 
 
 does not experience such varieties of temperature as one 
 further away. In other words, its climate is more 
 equable. The climate of Britain is much more equable 
 than that of countries in the same latitude, for it is not 
 only entirely surrounded by the sea, but owing to the 
 prevalence of south-west winds in the Atlantic the warm 
 waters of the southern regions reach its shores and have a 
 great effect in raising the temperature. So strong is the 
 influence of the north-eastward-moving mass of warm 
 water that the temperature in England varies rather from 
 west to east than from north to south. The ordinary 
 winter of the Shetland Islands hardly differs from that of 
 the Isle of Wight, whilst London is some six degrees 
 colder in winter than Cornwall. 
 
 But though latitude and seaboard are the two chief 
 circumstances which determine the climate of a country, 
 they are not the only factors. Amongst other agents 
 which influence it are the altitude of the country, its 
 configuration, its vegetation, and its soil. The higher a 
 land is, the colder it is ; partly on account of the chilliness 
 produced by the more rapid evaporation of its moisture 
 and partly on account of its exposure. The highest 
 regions are regions of perpetual snow. A mountainous 
 country is, however, not only a cold country but a wet 
 one, because the clouds are driven up the sides of the 
 hills into the higher and colder regions of the atmosphere, 
 and have a portion of their moisture condensed into rain. 
 Again, the configuration of the land may modify the 
 climate experienced. A range of hills often shelters the 
 plains at its feet from cold winds and frosts. The slopes 
 
 w. G. 5
 
 66 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 exposed to the sun not only absorb its heat but radiate it, 
 and so make the surrounding districts warmer. On the 
 other hand, if not so advantageously situated, hills may 
 obstruct the sunlight, and throw a cold shadow over the 
 valleys below. Again, hills not only modify the tem- 
 perature of a locality, but they considerably influence its 
 rainfall. If they stand close to the seaboard, they chill the 
 moisture-laden air which passes over their summits, and the 
 condensed vapour falls in rain on them and on the districts 
 immediately behind them, so that owing to intervening 
 mountain-barriers lands lying away from the sea are 
 frequently wetter than those on the coast. Vegetation 
 also produces moisture. A fruitful land has sometimes 
 been made a wilderness by being stripped of its trees. 
 Soil likewise affects the climate. A light porous soil makes 
 a country drier and less susceptible to fog than a thick 
 heavy soil. Even the industries of a locality are not 
 without their influence on its climate. The smoke of a 
 manufacturing district will not only obscure the sky and 
 shut out the sunshine, but it impregnates the air with 
 solid particles upon which moisture is readily deposited, 
 and the atmosphere is, in consequence, rendered thick 
 and rnuggy. 
 
 A consideration of these facts will enable us both to 
 determine with some degree of exactness the climatic 
 conditions of Glamorganshire and to account for their 
 peculiarity. 
 
 The very extensive seaboard of our county prevents 
 it from experiencing great variations of heat or cold, for 
 the proximity of the sea moderates both the heat of the
 
 CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 67 
 
 summer and the cold of the winter. The climate of 
 Glamorgan is not only very temperate but also remark- 
 ably equable. The average temperature of England is 
 48 F., that of Glamorgan is 50. The Greenwich 
 average is 49. The mean temperature in the summer 
 is 62, that of the winter is 38, which shows only a 
 difference of 24. The maximum temperature recorded 
 in 1912 was 84-1, and the minimum 18*8. So genial 
 are the summers that grapes ripen in the open, and 
 so mild are the winters that myrtles, magnolias, and 
 fuchsias flourish out of doors. But so varied are the 
 physical features of the county that the climate, though 
 equable as a whole, displays remarkable variations in 
 parts. The south-east portions of the county are slightly 
 warmer than the south-west. The hilly district of the 
 north is particularly cold in winter, as the elevation is so 
 considerable, and, roughly, the temperature falls 1 with 
 every 270 feet rise in altitude. The average winter 
 temperature at Cardiff is 37 but at Dowlais only 33, 
 though Dowlais is only 22 miles north of Cardiff. On 
 the other hand, owing to the moderating influence of 
 the sea, the hilly districts are in summer hotter than the 
 coast, the thermometer often registering as much as 
 85 Fahr. in the shade. Though its climate is much 
 warmer than that of many other places in the British 
 Isles, Glamorganshire enjoys less sunshine than other 
 counties similarly situated. The smoke of its innumerable 
 furnaces and its frequent sea mists make the atmosphere 
 thick and murky. The sunniest districts in England get 
 on an average 1 800 hours of bright sunshine yearly, out 
 
 52
 
 68 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 of a possible 4450. Cardiff in 1908 received 1669 hours 
 and in 1912 only 1353. Other parts of the county, 
 especially some of the gloomy mining valleys, receive 
 much less. 
 
 Let us now turn to the rainfall. Owing to the 
 prevalence of moisture-laden south-west winds from the 
 Atlantic, the climate of the British Isles is particularly 
 humid, and one of the wettest parts of Britain is Wales. 
 The west and south-west districts receive the most rain, 
 as the winds part with a great deal of their moisture as 
 they pass eastwards. The Welsh mountains form a rain 
 screen for central England. The rate at which the 
 rainfall diminishes as we pass from west to east is easily 
 seen from the map. The western counties of Wales 
 have an average rainfall of from 40 to 60 inches and in 
 the central districts of Wales it varies between 60 and 80 
 inches. In some of the eastern counties of England it 
 averages less than 25 inches. Glamorganshire, owing to 
 its extraordinary diversity of surface, has a very variable 
 rainfall. Though it is drier than many other portions of 
 Wales, its climate is in general considerably wetter than 
 that of England as a whole. The average rainfall of 
 Glamorgan is 50 inches, that of Merionethshire, the 
 wettest part of Wales, is 80 inches (though in particular 
 spots it may be very much higher than this), whilst the 
 general average for England only amounts to about 33 
 inches. The quantity of rain received by different parts 
 of the county, however, varies very considerably. The 
 wettest district is the mountainous region in the north, 
 and the driest is the sea coast of the Vale of Glamorgan.
 
 CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 69 
 
 The centre of the humid zone is the neighbourhood of 
 Craig-y-Llyn. The Rhondda valley in particular has a 
 bad reputation : it catches all the storms that float over 
 the mountains. The gauge at Treherbert at the top of 
 the valley records an average of 77 inches. This figure 
 is, however, surpassed by the returns from Glyncorrwg on 
 the south slope of Craig-y-Llyn, which yield an average 
 of 83*32. On the other hand the amount of rain on the 
 seaboard of the Vale of Glamorgan is very moderate. At 
 Cadoxton only 32*65 inches fall, and at Fonmon Castle 
 36*49 inches on an average. In the neighbourhood of 
 Cardiff the figures are rather higher. It will be noticed 
 that the rainfall bears a fairly constant relation to the 
 altitude, the difference in height between the places giving 
 the highest and lowest returns being 697 feet. A curious 
 exception to this rule is, however, furnished by the returns 
 from Cwm Bargoed overlooking the Rhymney valley, 
 where the altitude is 1225 feet. Here the fall recorded in 
 1912 was 78*91 inches, and the average is given as 61*88, 
 figures which are scarcely higher than those obtained in 
 other places of little more than half the altitude. But 
 this is the exception which proves the rule. 
 
 Glamorganshire, unfortunately, does not possess the 
 clear skies and transparent atmosphere of less busy regions. 
 The general humidity of the climate and the prevalence 
 of smoke make the air as a rule hazy. Fogs are of 
 frequent occurrence in the Bristol Channel, but they are 
 generally of a drifting character. Ground fogs are not 
 prevalent except in the low-lying neighbourhood of 
 Cardiff" and in the vale of Neath. The hills are, however,
 
 70 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 frequently wreathed in mist, and the atmosphere of the 
 mining valleys is exceedingly murky, for the altitude of 
 the adjoining mountains prevents the smoke from dis- 
 persing. 
 
 ii. People Race. Language. Popula= 
 tion. 
 
 We generally speak of the Ancient Britons as the 
 aboriginal inhabitants of this island, and we regard the 
 Welsh as the chief survivals of the stock. As a matter 
 of fact Wales is no more the home of one ancient people 
 than it is of one ancient language. Many races have 
 reached its shores, and have contended amongst them- 
 selves for the possession of its soil. Some have perished 
 and some still survive ; but nearly all have left memorials 
 of their sojourn amongst its vales and hills. The earliest 
 traces of human occupancy are the flint implements of a 
 race of rude hunters who shared with the beasts of the 
 field which they pursued the scanty shelter of the cave. 
 It is not, however, to these that we must look for the 
 early progenitors of the Welsh people. The Welshman 
 of to-day is the offspring of two distinct races of immi- 
 grants who pressed westwards from different parts of the 
 continent. 
 
 The first comer was the Iberian, short, swarthy and 
 long-headed, who arrived possibly from the northern 
 shores of the Mediterranean. The Iberian was succeeded 
 by the Celt, who came from some colder home on the
 
 PEOPLE RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 71 
 
 plains of northern Europe. The Celt was tall and fair, 
 and with weapons of bronze and iron he dispossessed and 
 enslaved the simpler and less instructed Iberian armed 
 only with weapons of flint. The Celts came in two 
 successive bands, the Goidels or Gaels and the Brythons, 
 whose arrival was separated by a wide interval of time. 
 The Goidels arrived at a very early period perhaps 
 1 200 B.C. and brought with them weapons of bronze. 
 They swept over Britain and Wales, and spread even to 
 the shores of Ireland. It was not until the fourth cen- 
 tury B.C. that the Brythons made their appearance, and 
 when they came, they came armed with implements of 
 iron. Their conquest of Britain was sufficiently com- 
 plete to give to its people the familiar name of Britons. 
 How far they succeeded in occupying Wales is a moot 
 point. Probably for a time they penetrated only into the 
 central parts of the Principality, and did not overrun 
 the country until after the departure of the Romans in 
 the fifth century A.D. But it is not to either Goidel or 
 Brython that the Welsh owe all their peculiarities. The 
 Welshman of Glamorgan, at any rate, is not purely and 
 entirely a Celt. All through the contest between Gael 
 and Briton the Iberian survived, living side by side with 
 his successive Celtic masters. To-day two types of 
 people exist, the one short and dark, the other tall and 
 fair, each of whom may be regarded as perpetuating the 
 original characteristics of the two different races. Every- 
 where in Wales these two types are to be met with, but 
 nowhere is the dark skin of the Iberian more plainly 
 exhibited than in the county of Glamorgan. To-day the
 
 72 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 dark type is the predominating element in the population, 
 and it is to his Iberic blood that the native no doubt owes 
 his imaginative and emotional nature. 
 
 Glamorganshire has, however, become the home of 
 still another people. Besides the Welshman, there is the 
 Englishman. Iberian, Goidel, and Brython in course of 
 time forgot their racial differences, and coalesced into one 
 nation. They became Cymry " fellow countrymen." 
 But the Englishman has always been regarded as an alien. 
 This is due in some measure to the fact that he came 
 originally in the train of the Norman conqueror. The 
 English district is the district which was overrun by the 
 Norman nobles, whose followers settled down on the 
 land which they annexed. The inhabitants of the Vale 
 of Glamorgan, which corresponds with the Norman 
 sphere of influence, are much less Welsh than their 
 neighbours in the hills. The district round Llantwit is 
 peculiarly English. The people of Gower are not only 
 English in race but English in speech. Some have found 
 an explanation of the foreign character of these districts 
 in a tradition that Henry I planted colonies of Flemings 
 both at Llantwit and in Gower. The tradition, however, 
 lacks historical confirmation. If the Flemings came to 
 these parts at all, they probably came in the train of the 
 Conqueror's Flemish lieutenants, some of whom settled 
 in Somerset and sallied forth from their strongholds on 
 the banks of the Parret to seek further adventure in 
 Wales. The maritime position of these localities is in 
 part an explanation of their peculiarity. Since the 
 Norman opened up Wales to the Englishman, there has
 
 PEOPLE RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 73 
 
 been a constant commerce between the Welsh and 
 English shores of the channel, and there seems some 
 reason to believe that Gower at any rate has been largely 
 peopled from Somerset. The change in the industrial 
 character of the county generally has still further leavened 
 the population. The inhabitants of the sea-ports are now 
 largely cosmopolitan. In the mining districts also there 
 has been a considerable influx of outsiders, not only from 
 England but from Scotland and Ireland. 
 
 If there is some difficulty in tracing the pedigree of 
 the Welshman, there is none in tracing the source of his 
 language. The Brythonic invasion, though it did not 
 exterminate the Iberian and the Goidel, nevertheless com- 
 pletely eradicated their languages. The Welshman, unlike 
 his kinsman in Scotland and Ireland, does not use the 
 Gaelic but the Brythonic tongue. The only trace of his 
 mixed ancestry in his speech is his method of arranging 
 his words a peculiarity which seems to indicate the 
 lingering influence of earlier idioms. In one respect the 
 Celt is debtor to the Roman. The Roman occupation 
 was merely an historical interlude, but it lasted long 
 enough for the Welsh tribesman not only to borrow from 
 the Roman soldier certain military and domestic terms 
 but to acquire the art of writing. Before the Roman 
 occupation the Celt appears to have had no method of 
 transcribing his language beyond the rude Ogam signs. 
 When at last he learnt to write he wrote in Roman 
 characters. 
 
 The complete disappearance of Gaelic left Welsh the 
 universal language of Wales. Now, however, in South
 
 74 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Wales, English is proving a formidable rival. Everyone 
 in Glamorganshire can speak English, though for senti- 
 mental reasons Welsh is still largely adhered to. It is 
 computed that 35 per cent, of the population use Welsh 
 as the habitual vehicle of conversation. The Welsh- 
 speaking districts are chiefly in the north and west. In 
 Cardiff the Welsh-speaking population scarcely numbers 
 lOper cent, of the inhabitants, whereas in the neighbour- 
 hood of Swansea half the people, it is said, habitually use 
 Welsh. The dialect of the county, owing probably to 
 the intermixture of races and the persistence of Iberic 
 influence, possesses many peculiarities. It is especially 
 soft in character, and its vocabulary retains many archaic 
 words. English is universally employed in the peninsula 
 of Gower, but though it bears a certain resemblance in 
 phraseology to the West Saxon speech of Somerset, it is 
 spoken with a Welsh accent and intonation. 
 
 Though the population of Glamorganshire does not 
 rival in number that of some of the large industrial 
 counties in the north of England, yet nowhere has 
 growth been more rapid. In a century its inhabitants 
 increased more than ten-fold. In 1801 the estimated 
 population was 70,879. In 1901 it was recorded as 
 859,931. Now it has reached 1,121,062. In the last 
 decade its people have multiplied more rapidly than those 
 of any county in England and Wales outside the metro- 
 politan area. Glamorganshire now contains more than 
 half the total population of Wales. Compared with the 
 average population of England and Wales there are 1382 
 people to every square mile as against 669 in England
 
 PEOPLE RACE, LANGUAGE, ETC. 75 
 
 and 271 in Wales. In other words there are twice as 
 many people to a square mile in Glamorganshire as there 
 are in England, and five times as many as in Wales. 
 There are now in Glamorganshire nearly two people to 
 every acre of ground. Contrasting these returns with 
 those of the individual counties at the extreme ends of 
 the scale, the population of Glamorganshire is about 
 seventeen times as dense as that of Westmorland, the 
 most thinly inhabited of all the English counties, and 
 twenty-eight times as dense as that of Radnorshire, which 
 stands at the bottom of the list of Welsh counties. The 
 population is very unevenly distributed. The three largest 
 towns, Cardiff", Swansea, and Merthyr, contain together 
 more than a third of the total population of the county. 
 In recent years there has been a large shifting of the 
 population. People have flocked from the country into 
 the towns and mining districts. Both the Vale of 
 Glamorgan and the peninsula of Gower have been 
 depleted of their inhabitants. On the other hand many 
 once rural districts have, owing to mining operations, 
 become densely populated. The Rhondda valleys, for 
 instance, formerly one of the most sparsely populated 
 districts in the county, now have over 152,000 inhabitants 
 and are, after Cardiff, the largest urban area in Wales. 
 
 12. Agriculture. 
 
 Though Wales is largely an agricultural district, its 
 exceedingly mountainous character makes it compare 
 unfavourably with England in its agricultural returns.
 
 76 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 In England 24^ million acres are in cultivation out of 
 a total of 32 millions. Mountainous land possible for 
 grazing purposes, but unsuitable for other agricultural 
 uses, amounts to two million acres. In Wales the 
 mountainous land reaches a much higher proportion. 
 In Glamorganshire the mountain and heath land useless 
 
 A Glamorganshire Farm 
 
 for the purposes of the farmer covers 132,818 acres. 
 Out of a total area of 518,865 acres only 261,363 acres 
 little more than half are under cultivation. Of these, 
 51,847 acres are arable land, and 209,516 are laid down 
 in permanent grass, of which 74,067 acres is hay grass, 
 and 125,449 Pasture. Woodland accounts for 25,712
 
 AGRICULTURE 77 
 
 acres. The proportion of pasture land is generally 
 tending to increase. The cereals chiefly grown are oats, 
 wheat, and barley. Of these oats take 10,635 acres > 
 wheat 4296 acres, and barley 5576 acres. Rye is but very 
 slightly cultivated, only a few acres being grown. Of 
 the other crops raised, potatoes cover 1620 acres, turnips 
 6185 acres, and mangolds 1397, while of clover and other 
 fodder there are 20,169 acres. Of land devoted specially 
 to the production of fruit, 264 acres are employed in the 
 cultivation of marketable varieties, of which apples, ac- 
 counting for 231 acres, are the most important feature. 
 Only small quantities of strawberries, currants, goose- 
 berries, plums, and cherries are grown. Vineyards have 
 been tried with fair success at Penarth and on the sunny 
 slopes near Castle Coch, and experimental crops of 
 tobacco have been produced in the neighbourhood of 
 Cardiff. Of the total amount of land under crops 
 of various kinds 14,371 acres are cultivated by the 
 owners and 246,992 by tenants. 
 
 Though the more fertile parts of Glamorganshire 
 are very suitable for the production of corn, the farmer 
 has found it more profitable to turn his fields into grass. 
 The immense increase in the size of the towns has given 
 rise to an enormous demand for milk and dairy produce, 
 and the facilities which the ports afford for the importa- 
 tion of cheap feeding-stuffs have led the agriculturist to 
 prefer the rearing of cattle to the cultivation of wheat. 
 Large numbers of cattle are therefore bred upon the 
 pastures. Glamorganshire in days gone by produced a 
 breed of cattle of its own, but this distinctive variety
 
 78 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 has now almost disappeared. There is now no uni- 
 formity in the kind of cattle fed in the county. The 
 herds are extremely miscellaneous, Herefords, Devons, 
 and shorthorns are met with indiscriminately. The 
 abundant rainfall and warm climate make the herbage 
 rich and luxuriant, and the cattle reared on the 
 Glamorganshire pastures compete on equal terms for the 
 favour of the butcher with the best west of England 
 beasts. Butter is made in large quantities and cheese 
 is manufactured to some extent. At Caerphilly a soft 
 white cheese is produced which was once peculiar to 
 the county, but it is now manufactured under the same 
 name on the other side of the Channel. The number 
 of cattle in the county is given as 56,071, and the 
 horses amount to 17,806. 
 
 The mountain and moorland are used very largely for 
 sheep rearing. There are now 319,607 sheep within the 
 confines of the county. Those fed on the mountains are 
 chiefly a small nimble-footed kind which is of little use 
 to the wool-merchant, though their mutton is highly 
 esteemed. On the plain the flocks are, like the cattle, 
 very varied in breed. Leicesters and Downs perhaps 
 predominate, but almost every variety, long and short 
 woolled, white-faced and black, may be met with. Pigs 
 are reared to some small extent, chiefly by cottagers, but 
 they are not bred in such quantities as formerly. They 
 now amount to 17,915. 
 
 Glamorganshire farms are as a rule of considerable 
 size, but agriculture, generally speaking, is somewhat 
 backward, and farmers are inclined to adhere to the
 
 AGRICULTURE 79 
 
 older methods. Lime, which is a natural constituent of 
 the soil, is much employed, large quantities of limestone 
 being burnt, and the lime spread on the fields. 
 
 13. Industries and Manufactures. 
 
 The industries of Glamorgan, if not of recent intro- 
 duction, are all of recent growth, and their development 
 has followed closely on the opening-up of the coalfield. 
 The prosperity of the county depends on its stock of 
 coal. The exhaustion of the coal-supply would be 
 followed at once by a complete commercial collapse. 
 The rise of the county into the front rank of manufac- 
 turing centres has been the work of the last hundred and 
 fifty years. A century and a half ago Glamorganshire 
 was known chiefly as an agricultural district. Beyond 
 a little coal-mining, copper-smelting, and " hardware " 
 manufacture, no other industry existed. To-day its 
 volume of trade is surpassed by few counties in the 
 kingdom. In spite, however, of the phenomenal amount 
 of business done, its industries are of a rather restricted 
 range. Apart from the coal and metal trades and their 
 allied businesses, the manufactures are few, and consist 
 chiefly of brick and tile making, pottery manufacture, 
 chemical works, rubber works, brewing, and paper and 
 flour mills. The enterprises in connection with the 
 coal and metal trades are, on the contrary, most varied 
 and extensive. Every branch and ramification of these 
 industries is represented. Iron, copper, nickel, silver,
 
 80 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 and zinc smelting, the manufacture of steel rails, bolts, 
 and bars, steel wire and tubes, armour-plates, chains, 
 anchors, steam-engines, rolling stock, winding and hauling 
 machinery, colliery plant, galvanized sheets, tin and terne 
 plates, patent fuel and fire-bricks, are all carried on. 
 
 The early history of iron smelting in the county is 
 obscure. The beds of iron cinders which have been 
 discovered at Ely and St Nicholas seem to show that 
 the Romans were not altogether unacquainted with the 
 mineral resources of Glamorgan. In the former district 
 a small foundry hearth has been unearthed on the site of 
 a Roman building, but there were no indications that the 
 furnace had been used for producing iron except for 
 domestic purposes. Of the local manufacture of iron 
 in medieval days we know little. The existence of 
 " bloomeries," or old smelting-hearths worked by hand- 
 bellows, shows that iron must have been made to some 
 extent by the inhabitants. Leland speaks of ironworks 
 existing in the neighbourhood of Llantrissant in 1539. 
 Furnaces are said to have been in operation at Aberdare 
 in the days of Edward VI, and bars of old iron discovered 
 amongst local ash-heaps seem to confirm the tradition. 
 In the reign of Elizabeth two iron furnaces are recorded 
 as having been set up at Radyr in the Taff valley by Sir 
 W. Mathew, and a Government Order of 1602 prohibits 
 one of his descendants from " casting ordnance at his 
 furnace near Cardiff" lest the facilities of transport offered 
 by the port might tempt him to supply the Spaniards with 
 guns. In 1666 another furnace was in full swing at 
 Hirwain, and in 1680 John Morgan and Roger Powell
 
 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 81 
 
 established a smelting-hearth at Caerphilly. But if the 
 industry existed, it can only have been on a small scale, 
 for as late as 1740 the total output of iron from Glamor- 
 ganshire was only 400 tons a year. It was not until the 
 middle of the eighteenth century that the industry really 
 commenced in South Wales. Its pioneers were Anthony 
 Bacon and John Guest. In 1758 a Mr Lewis of the 
 Van, who had already started a small furnace at Pentyrch, 
 secured the services of John Guest, a Staffordshire man, 
 to open new works at Dowlais. The undertaking grew 
 into the famous Dowlais ironworks, which is now one of 
 the leading industries in the country. In 1763 Anthony 
 Bacon, who was M.P. for Aylesbury, began the Plymouth 
 and Cyfarthfa ironworks, and in 1782 in conjunction 
 with Samuel Homfray he transferred his furnaces to 
 Penydarren. The Cyfarthfa works were subsequently 
 purchased by Richard Crawshay, " the iron king," who 
 so extended the undertaking that by the beginning of 
 the nineteenth century these works alone were employing 
 over 1000 men. It was to the Plymouth and Cyfarthfa 
 works that the Government turned for cannon during the 
 early stages of the American War of Independence. 
 
 The first real impetus to the development of the 
 Glamorganshire iron trade came from the discovery of 
 the suitability of coal for smelting purposes. It had been 
 customary to extract iron from the ore entirely by the 
 agency of charcoal, which was obtained by stripping the 
 local woods. It was the substitution of coal for charcoal 
 which opened the new industrial era for South Wales. 
 The success of the early ironmasters stimulated the 
 
 6
 
 82 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 foundation of other enterprises, and by the middle of the 
 nineteenth century Glamorganshire iron was as famous 
 as the products of Staffordshire. The extreme cheapness 
 with which steel can now be produced has led to its 
 almost universal adoption in the place of iron for manu- 
 facturing purposes. Nearly all the large ironworks are 
 fitted with "converting" furnaces for the production 
 of steel. The annual output of iron now amounts to 
 500,000 tons, and the output of steel to about the same 
 quantity. The number of iron and steel furnaces in the 
 county is 20, and they employ between them 15,000 men. 
 The chief centres of the iron and steel industry are Briton 
 Ferry, Cardiff, Clydach, Dowlais, Gowerton, Landore, 
 Melincryddan, Merthyr, Pontardawe, Port Talbot, Port 
 Tennant, Swansea, and Ystalyfera. 
 
 Copper-smelting, like the iron trade, made an early 
 commencement in Glamorgan. In 1564 a London com- 
 pany, which already possessed copper-works in Cornwall, 
 extended their activities to the other side of the Channel, 
 and erected a " meltinge-house " at Neath, where the 
 industry was carried on by Dutch and German workmen. 
 In 1717 a Dr Lane established a smelting furnace at 
 Landore, and that locality has now become the metro- 
 polis of the trade. The amount of copper ore im- 
 ported into the port of Swansea exceeds 200,000 tons 
 annually, and the quantity of metal produced is over 
 21,000 tons. The chief copper-smelting furnaces are 
 at Briton Ferry, Cardiff, Cwmavon, Landore, Llansamlet, 
 Morriston, Neath, Port Talbot, Skewen, Swansea, and 
 Taibach. Glamorganshire practically monopolises the
 
 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 83 
 
 manufacture of zinc. Swansea alone produces nineteen- 
 twentieths of the total output of this metal in the United 
 Kingdom. Gold, silver, nickel, and lead ores are also 
 largely smelted in the same neighbourhood. Swansea 
 has been called the "metallurgical capital of the world." 
 Within four miles of the town there are 140 works 
 engaged in smelting operations of one sort or another. 
 No less than 36 different kinds of metallic ores are there 
 treated, and the number of men employed in the industry 
 exceeds 30,000. 
 
 Although the tin mines of Cornwall were some of the 
 best known sources of the mineral wealth of England and 
 were worked from the earliest times, yet it was not until 
 the seventeenth century that Englishmen acquired the art 
 of tin-plate making. It was apparently introduced into 
 England from the continent by Andrew Yarranton, a 
 Parliamentary soldier. The industry was first taken up 
 in Pontypool in Monmouthshire, and from thence soon 
 spread into South Wales ; but it was not till coal began 
 to be used in the manufacture of iron that it exhibited 
 any considerable signs of development. In Glamorgan- 
 shire it has now been carried on for more than a century. 
 Unfortunately the trade is subject to violent fluctuations, 
 but in good seasons it reaches enormous proportions. In 
 the Swansea district alone (which is the chief seat of the 
 industry) the output frequently amounts to six million 
 boxes. The principal centres of manufacture are Aberavon, 
 Aberdulais, Briton Ferry, Clydach, Gorseinon, Landore, 
 Llansamlet, Llantrissant, Melincryddan, Melingruffydd, 
 Morriston, Neath, Pontardulais, Skewen, Taibach, and 
 
 6- 2
 
 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 85 
 
 Ystalyfera. The trade in galvanized sheets is nothing like 
 so extensive. Swansea, which exports over 400,000 tons 
 of tin, terne, and black plates, only exports a little over 
 40,000 tons of galvanized sheets. 
 
 An enormous business is now done in the county in 
 the manufacture of patent fuel. A process for utilising 
 small coal by grinding it up with pitch and pressing it 
 into blocks was patented by a Mr Wood in the middle 
 of the nineteenth century. The process has since been 
 considerably improved, and huge quantities of this arti- 
 ficial fuel are now shipped for consumption abroad. The 
 total quantity exported from the various Glamorganshire 
 ports amounts to well over a million and a quarter tons. 
 
 The timber trade is another very important local in- 
 dustry. Vast quantities of pitwood are required in the 
 collieries for roof props, and there is a very large demand 
 for sawn timber and boards for general purposes. All the 
 larger docks are furnished with extensive timber floats, 
 and saw-mills are numerous. The importation of pit- 
 wood amounts to a million tons and that of ordinary 
 timber to a quarter of a million tons. 
 
 Engineering in all its varied branches mining, 
 marine, and general is carried on extensively in the 
 neighbourhoods of Cardiff, Neath, Pontypridd, Swansea, 
 and Tondu. At Pontypridd there is a large chain and 
 cable works, and at Cardiff a Lloyd's Proving House. 
 There is a certain amount of sail-making done at Cardiff, 
 but the substitution of the steamer for the sailing-vessel 
 has led to a great decline in this industry. Brattice cloth 
 for use in collieries is manufactured also at Cardiff. At
 
 86 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Penarth and Rhoose there are large works for the pro- 
 duction of Portland cement, which consists of a combina- 
 tion of lime and silica. The hard nature of the calcareous 
 rocks in Glamorganshire seems to prevent the general 
 extension of the industry ; but sufficiently suitable ma- 
 terial is found for its production in the blue lias rocks of 
 the Vale. Aberthaw at one time had a wide reputation 
 for furnishing a hydraulic lime which naturally possessed 
 the essential qualities of cement. Brick and tile making 
 is carried on at Bridgend, Cardiff, Gowerton, Merthyr, 
 Neath, Penarth, Pencoed, and Swansea. 
 
 Glamorganshire once made a name for itself in the 
 world of art by the manufacture of a very superior kind 
 of porcelain, but the business has now died out. The 
 first kilns were started at Swansea in 1750 for the 
 manufacture of earthenware. After a preliminary effort 
 to produce "opaque china," an attempt was made in 1814 
 to manufacture real porcelain. In the same year a rival 
 factory, which had been established by Billingsley at 
 Nantgarw in the Taff valley, removed also to Swansea, 
 but in 1817 returned to its original home. Porcelain 
 continued to be produced there until 1822. The Swansea 
 kiln prolonged its operations for two years later, when it 
 reverted once more to the manufacture of earthenware. 
 The Glamorganshire porcelain, which is still much sought 
 after by connoisseurs, is described as " possessing a trans- 
 lucent body equal, if not superior, to that of the finest 
 old Sevres." A coarse kind of drab and white ware is still 
 manufactured at an old-established kiln at Ewenny, and a 
 red and black pottery is made at Swansea. Architectural
 
 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 87 
 
 and decorative terra-cotta is produced in large quantities 
 at Pencoed. 
 
 Brewingis extensivelycarried on in Aberdare,Bridgend, 
 Cardiff, Merthyr, Neath, Pontypridd, Swansea, and 
 other places. Paper mills exist at Ely, vitriol is made at 
 Gorseinon, and at Cardiff there is a huge flour-mill and 
 biscuit factory. 
 
 14. Mines and Minerals. 
 
 It seems unlikely that the Romans, who valued Britain 
 chiefly for its minerals, and who made good use of the 
 lead and tin mines on the opposite shores of the Bristol 
 Channel, were unacquainted with the mineral resources 
 of South Wales. There are the remains of some ancient 
 zinc and lead mines at Merthyr Mawr which may be of 
 Roman origin. It was probably the unsettled state of the 
 country which prevented the Romans from developing to 
 any extent the minerals of Glamorgan. There is some 
 mention of iron mining in the laws of Hywel Dda, the 
 great Welsh legislator of the tenth century, which shows 
 that mining traditions were current in the district after the 
 departure of the Romans. In medieval times Glamorgan 
 was known to possess both iron and coal, but the easy 
 terms on which mining rights were let by the Norman 
 landowners suggest that they had no suspicion of the 
 riches within their reach. The Normans themselves had 
 too much fighting to do to find time for commercial 
 undertakings, and mining, like agriculture, was left for
 
 88 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 development to the monks. The abbey of Margam 
 seems to have been in quite early days concerned in the 
 mining industry in Glamorgan. Early in the thirteenth 
 century the monks obtained for paltry acknowledgments 
 the right to search for iron, lead, and coal upon the lands 
 of neighbouring landowners, and the abbey amongst 
 
 Oakwood Pit, Maesteg 
 
 (One of the oldest in the county) 
 
 other property at the Dissolution is recorded as possessing 
 a coal mine at Cefn Cribwr. There is also in existence 
 at Swansea a fourteenth century charter by which William 
 de Breose empowers one of his tenants to dig " pit-coal " 
 out of his estates, and in 1547 William Herbert secured
 
 MINES AND MINERALS 89 
 
 authority from Edward VI to work the iron ore obtain- 
 able in the neighbourhood of Llantrissant. Little is 
 known, however, of the use which either monks or 
 private individuals made of these mining rights. 
 
 Though, as already stated, ironworks appear to have 
 existed in Glamorgan in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
 centuries, there is little to show what methods were 
 employed for obtaining the ore. Probably both iron and 
 coal mining were carried on but fitfully until the middle 
 of the eighteenth century. The first attempt to develop 
 the mineral resources of the county in anything like a 
 systematic fashion or on an adequate scale was made by 
 one of the Morgans of Ruperra, who in 1 748 purchased as 
 a speculation the mineral rights of the manor of Senghe- 
 nydd and sublet his interest in them to enterprising men 
 like Lewis of the Van and Anthony Bacon. These 
 facilities led to the establishment of the works at Cy- 
 farthfa and Dowlais. The ironstone was already at hand. 
 It occurred chiefly in the form of yellow limonite in 
 pockets at irregular intervals along the belt of Mountain 
 Limestone which girdles the coalfield. The ore was 
 secured by tunnelling the limestone, which itself served 
 as a flux in the subsequent smelting operations. It was 
 only when charcoal began to get scarce and the suitability 
 of coal as a substitute was discovered that any attention 
 was paid to the coalfield. The coal was secured by means 
 of pick and shovel wherever it cropped out at the surface. 
 Whenever faults or other difficulties were met with, the 
 workings were abandoned and a new seam opened else- 
 where.
 
 90 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 The demand for coal which was originally created 
 by the iron trade was further stimulated by the invention 
 of the steam-engine, and the need for larger supplies 
 of domestic fuel. The only thing which checked the 
 more rapid development of the coal-mining industry 
 was the lack of adequate means of transport. The con- 
 struction of the Glamorganshire Canal in 1795 and the 
 subsequent development of the railway made it possible 
 to distribute the products both of the iron furnace and 
 the coal mine to distant parts. In 1840 the first cargo 
 of coal was shipped at Cardiff. The constantly increasing 
 demand for fuel soon made more efficient methods of 
 mining necessary, and in 1850 the first pit was sunk in 
 the neighbourhood of Aberdare. In 1865 the Ogmore 
 valley was opened to the miner, and very soon every 
 valley in Glamorganshire was being energetically ex- 
 ploited. In 1910 there were 408 collieries within the 
 county, and the men employed numbered 134,712. The 
 total production of the whole of the South Wales coalfield 
 in that year reached 48,700,000 tons. In 1912 the amount 
 brought to the surface was 50,116,264 tons, out of a 
 total of 260,567,552 tons raised in the United Kingdom. 
 About 260 tons of coal are raised for every person 
 employed. It is estimated that, notwithstanding the 
 enormous output, there still remain in the Welsh coal- 
 field 28,000,000,000 tons of workable coal, which at 
 the present rate of production (50 million tons) will last 
 500 years. 
 
 Whilst coal mining has so enormously increased, iron 
 mining has, on the other hand, considerably declined.
 
 MINES AND MINERALS 91 
 
 Numerous seams of clay-band ironstone occur in the 
 lowest beds of the Coal Measures and were once 
 extensively worked for smelting purposes, but the im- 
 portation of cheap foreign ores of greater purity has led 
 to the disuse of the native material. Scarcely 10,000 
 tons of native ore are now obtained annually, whereas 
 668,482 tons of foreign ore were imported into Cardiff, 
 and 161,936 tons into Swansea in 1910. 
 
 . . . 
 
 Coal Trains on their way to the Docks 
 
 Lead mining, though apparently begun by the 
 Romans, has never prospered in Glamorganshire. Small 
 veins of galena can be detected in several places, and 
 attempts have been made to work them in the neighbour- 
 hood of Draethen, Cowbridge, and Brocastle, but without 
 success. There is a small deposit of gypsum in the 
 district of Penarth. An effort was made to work it
 
 92 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 between Penarth and Lavernock, but owing to the 
 softness of the overlying strata the venture proved un- 
 remunerative. 
 
 There are several quarries in the county. The stone 
 chiefly used for building is the Pennant Grit from the 
 upper and middle Coal Measures. It is worked chiefly 
 at Pontypridd, Treforest, Llanbradach, Nelson, and 
 Quaker's Yard. It is a fine-grained and hard calcareous 
 sandstone of a blue colour, but soon changes to yellow 
 owing to the oxidization of its iron compounds. The 
 Triassic rocks in the neighbourhood of Bridgend once 
 yielded a good even-grained sandstone known as "Qua- 
 rella." The Silurian sandstones obtainable near Cardiff 
 are employed for walling and rough building. 
 
 Limestones are much used. Those from the Lias 
 beds of the Vale of Glamorgan, owing to intervening 
 bands of shale, are easily quarried and are fairly uniform 
 in thickness, but they weather badly. The variety known 
 as t( Sutton Stone" has proved more serviceable. The 
 Radyr stone a coarse limestone breccia, occurring at 
 Cadoxton, Radyr, and near Porthcawl once found 
 favour with builders for ornamental purposes. The 
 Carboniferous limestone is not generally a building stone 
 on account of its hardness and the difficulty of dressing 
 it. It was, however, employed very largely in the con- 
 struction of the Barry docks, and has proved itself the 
 best road-metal in the district. It is quarried at Wenvoe, 
 Walnut Tree, Thornhill, Hirwain, Cowbridge, and Barry. 
 The Old Red Sandstone is but little used, as it is too soft ; 
 and the Millstone Grit is very sparsely employed. The
 
 MINES AND MINERALS 
 
 93 
 
 Lias limestone is quarried for lime-burning and cement- 
 making at Penarth, Rhoose, Bridgend, and Pyle. 
 
 Large quantities of fire-clay are obtained from the 
 coalfield, and a number of collieries near the southern 
 outcrop have brickyards connected with them to utilise 
 the clay obtained in the workings. Another kind of 
 
 Limestone Quarry, near Porthcawl 
 
 fire-brick which is much esteemed is made by crushing 
 the Millstone Grit. For ordinary brick-making the red 
 Triassic clays from the neighbourhood of Roath, Penarth, 
 Cogan, and Llandough are extensively used. The clays 
 of the Old Red Sandstone near Llanishen, and the alluvial 
 clays of the Cardiff moors, also furnish fairly satisfactory
 
 94 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 brickfields. The clay used in pottery-making is chiefly 
 obtained from the bands found interspersed between the 
 limestones of the Lias formation. 
 
 15. Fisheries and Fishing Stations. 
 
 Probably on account of its proximity to the Atlantic, 
 whence its stock of fish is being constantly replenished, 
 the Bristol Channel is a valuable and prolific fishing 
 ground. So considerable is the supply that not only are 
 there several Welsh fishing-fleets, but trawlers from Hull 
 and Brixham find it worth their while to come into 
 Welsh waters. The visits of these strangers would 
 probably be even more frequent if the Channel provided 
 a more varied list of marketable fish to tempt them from 
 their own grounds. The chief fishing-stations within the 
 county are Cardiff, Swansea, and the Mumbles. 
 
 The methods employed in the capture of the fish vary 
 according to the different species, but are usually either 
 trawling, surface fishing, or dredging. Trawling, which 
 accounts for two-thirds of the fish captured, goes on all 
 the year round, and is employed for the capture of soles, 
 hake, skate, ray, haddock, bream, ling, cod, conger eel, 
 whiting, and pollack. The vessels used are steam-boats 
 of about 70 tons register, manned by nine hands. Cardiff 
 possesses a fleet of 17 of these trawlers, and Swansea 30. 
 Neither of the ports possesses sailing boats ; but from 
 April to September a number of Brixham sailing trawlers, 
 each worked by a crew of five hands, make Swansea their
 
 FISHERIES AND FISHING STATIONS 95 
 
 headquarters. The quantity of fish landed during 1912 at 
 Cardiff was 141,007 cwts., and at Swansea 174,231 cwts., 
 the value of the respective hauls being ^83,265 and 
 yf 1 30,982. The total quantity of fish caught off the 
 coasts of England and Wales during 1912 amounted 
 to 14,612,000 cwt., representing a value of nearly 
 ^8,900,000, of which one-third was taken by trawlers. 
 
 The trawling grounds extend over an area from 20 to 
 50 miles west of Lundy Island, though the boats some- 
 times pursue the fish as far as the coast of Ireland, the 
 Bay of Biscay, and the shores of Morocco. The "trawl" 
 used in catching the fish is a net attached to a heavy beam 
 of from 42 to 50 feet in width. The beam is secured at 
 each end to a wire rope, which is worked from a steam 
 capstan, and by this means the net is dragged along 
 the bottom of the sea. Each net is furnished in front 
 of its mouth with a thick " foot-rope " which acts as 
 a stirrer to disturb the soles and other flat fish which 
 lie basking in the sand. Trawling is only feasible in 
 sandy areas. 
 
 The most valuable and plentiful of these bottom fishes 
 is the sole. The Bristol Channel has been described as 
 "the home of the sole." A single trawler will in good 
 seasons secure a catch of from 8 to 14 cwt. in a three 
 days' cruise. Its season is from December to the begin- 
 ning of May. Cod also spawn freely ofF the Glamorgan- 
 shire coast. Whiting, hake, and conger eel are abundant 
 in the Bristol Channel, but lemon soles, plaice, and haddock 
 are scarce, and the halibut is seldom met with. 
 
 Surface fishing is chiefly done by means of "drift nets"
 
 96 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 and "seines," which are mostly handled by the crews of 
 sailing boats. They are large nets weighted at the bottom, 
 and buoyed upright in the water by floats. Drift fishing 
 is usually pursued at night, as the darkness hides the net 
 from the fish. The species most generally secured by 
 the drift net are mackerel and herrings, which swim about 
 in shoals. Mackerel are at times very plentiful, and a 
 single boat will sometimes catch as many as 30 or 40 
 thousand in a night. The total quantity of mackerel 
 captured by the Glamorganshire fleet in 1909 was valued 
 at ^1298. The coast of South Wales seems to be one 
 of their favourite breeding grounds. The herring which, 
 either fresh or dried, forms such a universal article of diet 
 is also very common in the Channel. Though generally 
 supposed to be an East Coast fish, it reaches its highest 
 perfection in the west. It is plentiful in the winter, but 
 the finest fish are secured in the summer a circumstance 
 probably due to some change in the character of its food. 
 The sprat also haunts the Channel, attracted possibly by 
 the abundance of young shrimps. They appear chiefly 
 from October to December, and are invariably pursued 
 by numbers of whiting, which feed on them freely. 
 
 The lamprey, from a surfeit of which Henry I is said 
 to have died, is largely caught in the higher reaches of 
 the Channel. They make their way up the freshwater 
 streams for the purpose of spawning. 
 
 Another method of capturing surface fishes is by 
 "whiffing," which consists in dragging an unweighted 
 net after a row-boat ; but the method is only effective in 
 the case of fish, like the pollack, which occasionally
 
 FISHERIES AND FISHING STATIONS 97 
 
 frequent the very top of the water. "Stop and stake" 
 fishing is occasionally resorted to at the Mumbles and 
 elsewhere where a long stretch of fore-shore is exposed 
 by the receding tide. Nets are suspended from poles 
 placed at intervals along the beach, and the fisherman 
 secures whatever the tide happens to leave behind. This 
 haphazard process is looked upon with great disfavour by 
 the trawler, who believes that it destroys vast numbers 
 of immature fish which frequent the bays and creeks at 
 spawning time. Hook and line fishing is freely indulged 
 in, chiefly for the sake of the sport which it affords. Cod, 
 halibut, pollack, and mackerel are easily caught in this 
 way. 
 
 The Mumbles is the chief station for oyster fishing, 
 and the fisher-folk there devote themselves almost exclu- 
 sively to that business. The Mumbles dredging-fleet 
 consists of about 20 sailing smacks, carrying three hands 
 apiece. The amount of other fishing done by these 
 vessels is small. Out of the ^1760 worth offish landed 
 here in 1909 only 26 worth was put down as "wet" 
 fish. The boats go out to scour the deeper waters of 
 Swansea Bay by means of dredges. The oysters are 
 scooped up and then placed on beds close to shore to 
 mature and await the demands of the market. 
 
 Of the fish which divide their time between the sea 
 and the rivers the most valuable is the salmon. The 
 total value of the British salmon fisheries is about 
 ^800,000. The salmon is really a salt-water fish which 
 goes up the rivers and estuaries to spawn. The im- 
 purities with which the Glamorganshire rivers are 
 
 w. G.
 
 98 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 impregnated have now practically closed them to the 
 ascent of the salmon and sewin. 
 
 The eel, unlike the salmon, is naturally a freshwater 
 fish, but leaves the rivers and seeks the sea at spawning 
 time. Immense numbers of young eels, or elvers as they 
 are called, ascend the tidal rivers and are netted as they 
 go up, whilst the mature fish are caught in the estuaries 
 as they go down. 
 
 16. Shipping and Trade. Chief Ports. 
 
 Though there are six large shipping centres in 
 Glamorganshire Cardiff, Penarth, Barry, Port Talbot, 
 Briton Ferry, and Swansea there are technically only 
 three ports Cardiff, Port Talbot, and Swansea. A "port" 
 in strictness is a Customs port, and its limits are defined 
 by the Treasury for convenience in collecting revenue. 
 Though quite distinct ports in the ordinary sense of the 
 word, Penarth and Barry are for statistical purposes 
 grouped together with Cardiff, whilst Briton Ferry is 
 grouped with Port Talbot. Before 1846 there was only 
 one officially recognised port in South Wales, the limits 
 of which extended from Chepstow to Llanelly. It seems 
 to have been called the port of Cardiff or the port of 
 Swansea, according to the relative importance of the 
 cwo places at the time. All the other harbours on the 
 Welsh side of the Channel were "sub-ports" or "creeks." 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that the rise of the Glamor- 
 ganshire ports was one of the outstanding features of
 
 SHIPPING AND TRADE 99 
 
 the commercial history of the nineteenth century, both 
 Cardiff and Swansea have behind them a very venerable, 
 if a not too respectable, record as sea-faring places. As 
 early as 1326 Cardiff was created for the time being a 
 "Market of the Staple," and during the next century it 
 continued to be a place of both export and import. In 
 the sixteenth century, however, it appears to have become 
 a mere resort of pirates. The ill repute of Cardiff possibly 
 accounted for the rise of Swansea, for in the reign of 
 Elizabeth the port of Swansea contributed several ships 
 to fight the Spanish Armada. There is, however, a 
 suspicion that the vessels fitted out at Swansea instead 
 of scouring the Spanish main, may have helped to swell 
 the fleet of illicit traders which ransacked the Bristol 
 Channel from the port of Cardiff. Swansea, in any case, 
 seems to have kept the lead which it had obtained, for in 
 the eighteenth century, when Cardiff had sunk to the 
 position of a "creek" of Bristol, its rival was doing a 
 very considerable trade. In 1768 the vessels cleared 
 from the port numbered 694, and the registered tonnage 
 was recorded as 30,631. The prospects of Cardiff, on 
 the other hand, were regarded as hopeless, especially in 
 that particular in which it has now become so famous. 
 In 1775 the official Customs report stated that "no coals 
 are exported from Cardiff nor ever can be, its distance 
 from the water rendering it too expensive for any such 
 sale." Nothing perhaps shows more strikingly the mag- 
 nitude of the industrial revolution brought about by the 
 development of the Glamorganshire coalfield than a com- 
 parison between the position of Cardiff then and now. 
 
 72
 
 100 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 In little more than a century Cardiff has become the 
 largest coal-exporting port in the world, the first port in 
 the United Kingdom for the volume of its foreign 
 exports, and the third in point of tonnage cleared. 
 Swansea can exhibit almost equal signs of progress, and 
 Barry and Port Talbot have been entirely created. 
 The business done at the Glamorganshire docks is 
 
 Cardiff Docks 
 
 almost entirely in the form of exports, of which coal 
 forms the bulk. Except for timber, grain, potatoes, and 
 metallic ores the import trade is comparatively insig- 
 nificant, and does not equal even in the aggregate that 
 done at Bristol. Foreign cattle, however, are brought in 
 large numbers to Cardiff, which has special accommodation 
 for their slaughter and storage. 
 
 The foundation of Cardiff's prosperity was laid by
 
 SHIPPING AND TRADE 101 
 
 the second Marquis of Bute, who in 1839 spent a fortune 
 of ^350,000 in the construction of a dock. Since that 
 time dock has followed dock, and the record of the port 
 has been one of uninterrupted and phenomenal growth. 
 Cardiff now possesses five docks, besides timber floats and 
 graving-docks. The total area covered by the wet docks 
 is 163 acres. 
 
 The imports consist of iron ore, pig iron, timber, 
 pit wood, grain, wood-pulp, flour, potatoes, and general 
 merchandise. In 1912 they amounted in the aggregate 
 to 2,096,392 tons. The exports consist of coal, coke, 
 patent fuel, steel rails, pig iron, bricks, and general 
 merchandise. In 1912 they reached the large total of 
 10,405,579 tons. The figures for the Customs port 
 (including Penarth and Barry) in 1909 place Cardiff 
 first of all the ports in the kingdom as regards foreign 
 tonnage. Its record for 1912 was 8,170,231 tons as 
 against 6,928,920 tons cleared from London. In the 
 export of coal Cardiff easily takes the premier position 
 in the world, its record for 1912 being 20,084,021 tons 
 compared with 16,232,462 tons exported from the Tyne 
 ports. Of this huge total the local port of Cardiff con- 
 tributed not quite half. 
 
 The Penarth docks comprise a dock and a basin, 
 constructed respectively in 1865 and 1881; they occupy 
 together an area of 26 acres. Additional facilities for 
 business are afforded by the tidal harbour alongside the 
 docks, which has a total frontage of 15,000 feet and an 
 area of 55 acres. The exports, which are similar to those 
 of Cardiff, amounted in 1912 to 4,190,786 tons, of which
 
 102 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 over four millions were coal and coke. The imports, 
 however, were only 110,080 tons. 
 
 The rise of Barry has been remarkable. In a quarter 
 of a century it has grown from a rural hamlet to one of 
 the largest coal ports in the Channel. The quantity of 
 coal and coke exported in 1912 actually exceeded that 
 shipped at Cardiff, the figures being 9,732,606 tons as 
 
 Barry Docks 
 
 against 9,601,648. The number of vessels cleared in 
 1912 was 3140, with an aggregate tonnage of 4,358,653 
 tons. Barry is at present little more than a coal port, 
 but it has, perhaps, almost a finer prospect than any 
 other port in the county. It owes its existence to a 
 demand for greater shipping facilities than Cardiff 
 could at the moment supply. The docks are three in
 
 SHIPPING AND TRADE 103 
 
 number, and cover a total area of 114 acres. There 
 are three large graving-docks and some timber ponds 
 of 41 acres. Barry possesses one advantage of which 
 none of the rival Channel ports can boast, for the docks 
 can be entered at all states of the tide, and owing to the 
 absence of rocks and shoals they can be approached with 
 ease. The exports in 1912 were 10,371,775 tons. 
 
 Porthcawl possesses a small dock of seven acres, and 
 once did a brisk trade in coal, but the dock has now been 
 dismantled and practically abandoned. 
 
 The decline of Porthcawl has been more than coun- 
 terbalanced by the rise of its neighbour Port Talbot at the 
 mouth of the Avon, which is now an exceedingly busy 
 place. It has two large docks covering together 92 acres, 
 and a large graving-dock. The harbour has a fine entrance, 
 but owing to the sandy nature of the locality it has to be 
 kept free by constant dredging. Port Talbot thrives largely 
 on its exportation of coal, but it has likewise secured a con- 
 siderable import trade. 
 
 Briton Ferry possesses a small dock of 14 acres, which 
 is kept busily employed, and though this to a large extent 
 provides a harbour for Neath, yet vessels of less than 400 
 tons can proceed two miles up the river to Neath itself, 
 where they lie alongside the quays. 
 
 Swansea, though now outstripped by its ancient rival 
 Cardiff, is yet a port of very considerable importance and 
 magnitude. In some ways it is the most interesting port 
 in Glamorganshire, for its trade is far more varied than 
 that of any of the others. Though it exports a very 
 large quantity of coal, coke, and patent fuel, yet it is by
 
 104 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 no means exclusively a coal port. One very important 
 feature of its trade is the importation of the various 
 metallic ores required by the different smelting works in 
 the neighbourhood. Amongst the exports tin plates figure 
 largely. In 1912 the imports amounted to 1,021,583 tons, 
 and the exports to 5,282,590 tons, of which 3,898,135 
 were coal and coke. The number of vessels cleared from 
 the port in 1912 was 5638, witb a total tonnage of 
 
 King's Dock, Swansea 
 
 3,028,383 tons. The port possesses four docks covering 
 a total area of 133 acres. The oldest dock was constructed 
 in 1852 by damming the river Tawe, which has now to 
 find its way to the sea by a new cut. The latest dock, 
 the King's Dock a splendid sheet of water was opened 
 in 1909. It can accommodate the largest vessel afloat and 
 is entered by a fine deep-sea lock 875 feet in length. 
 There are large floats and graving-docks.
 
 17- History of Glamorganshire. 
 
 There is no recorded history of Glamorgan before 
 the coming of the Romans. Together with the present 
 counties of Brecon and Monmouth it was at the com- 
 mencement of the Roman occupation in the possession of 
 the Silures, a people of mixed Iberic and Goidelic race, 
 who were eventually reduced by Sextus Julius Frontinus. 
 He is reputed to have achieved the pacification of the 
 country by the construction of an elaborate system of 
 military works. In any case his operations were com- 
 pletely successful, and by A.D. 78 he had obtained a 
 secure hold over South Wales, and it only remained for 
 his successor, Agricola, to complete the subjugation of 
 the North. 
 
 We are again without knowledge of the life of the 
 people under the rule of their Roman masters. The 
 absence of history is some evidence of the success of the 
 Roman administration. Probably Wales was regarded as 
 a disturbed area which required watching. The Roman 
 legions were kept massed on the frontiers to overawe 
 the unruly tribesmen. The headquarters of the troops 
 were at Caerleon, and subsidiary camps were established 
 at Cardiff and Gelligaer. The fact that the natives 
 retained their own language shows that national feeling 
 was by no means extinct, though doubtless customs were 
 to some extent modified by contact with the Romans. 
 
 After the departure of the Romans at the beginning 
 of the fifth century the most important event for South
 
 106 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Wales was the Brythonic invasion from the north. 
 Until the fifth century the Brythons do not appear to 
 have advanced further south than the territory of the 
 Ordovices in Central Wales. They allowed the Goidels 
 to remain in undisturbed possession of the scuth. On the 
 withdrawal of the Romans, however, the Brythons overran 
 Ceredigion and gradually pushed their way between the 
 Tawe and the Towy, but it was not until the sixth and 
 seventh centuries that they appear to have overflowed 
 into Dyfed and Morganwg. In the end so complete 
 was their conquest that all trace of the earlier Goidel 
 supremacy disappeared and with it the language. 
 
 The Brythons, however, were not long left in peaceful 
 possession of their new conquests. In the sixth century 
 another foe the Saxon had appeared on the eastern 
 shores of Britain. By the middle of the seventh century 
 they had reached the frontiers of Wales and it was probably 
 the pressure of this fresh invasion that gave the Welsh 
 whatever solidarity as a nation they have since possessed. 
 Iberian, Goidel, and Brython all became "Cymry," or 
 fellow-countrymen. We once more lack reliable infor- 
 mation as to what actually took place. The early history 
 of Glamorgan is especially obscure. It was however 
 from Morgan Mwynfawr in the eighth century that this 
 part of the realm subsequently acquired its permanent 
 appellation of Morganwg. The Saxons seem to have 
 made but little advance into South Wales, though the 
 native princes were no doubt constantly employed in 
 repelling their attacks. In 720, for instance, Ethelbald 
 of Mercia is said to have descended on Gwent and
 
 HISTORY OF GLAMORGANSHIRE 107 
 
 Morganwg and to have pillaged the district, but in spite 
 of these raids, Offa's Dyke on the English side of the 
 Wye remained the permanent line of demarcation 
 between the Welsh and their invaders. In the ninth 
 century the incursions of the Saxons were varied by the 
 ravages of the Danes. In 877 the "black pagans" are 
 reputed to have laid waste long stretches of land on the 
 fertile shores of Morganwg, 'and in 896 to have come 
 again and devastated Gwent and Gwynllwg. The Norse 
 names of some of the localities on the coast probably 
 mark the temporary sojourning places of the sea-rovers. 
 
 The Scandinavian peril put an end for a time to 
 English and Welsh antagonism, and with a view to 
 protecting their territories from these Danish onslaughts 
 the South Wales princes put themselves under the pro- 
 tection of Alfred the Great, whose victory over the 
 common foe in 878 made them look to him as their 
 champion in the hour of distress. These good relations 
 were maintained with the English during the reign of 
 Edward the Elder, who gave proof of his friendliness to 
 the Welsh by materially helping them during a vigorous 
 Danish raid on the coast of Morganwg in 915. In spite 
 of these vicissitudes Morganwg remained under the rule 
 of its own princes, the descendants of Hywel ap Rhys, 
 till the eleventh century. In 1043 a Gwentian prince, 
 in the person of Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, came to the 
 throne and extended his power over the neighbouring 
 kingdom of Deheubarth. His dynasty, however, was 
 short lived. The last native prince was lestyn ap Gwr- 
 gant, who seized the realm on the fall of Gruffydd's son
 
 108 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Caradoc. It was at the hands of lestyn that Morganwg 
 lost its independence. lestyn's downfall was occasioned 
 by the arrival of the Normans. The real history of the 
 Norman conquest of Glamorgan is strangely obscure. 
 It is difficult to unravel the facts from the fiction with 
 which they are interwoven. The story is told with 
 much circumstantiality by the Welsh chroniclers, but 
 their narratives are quite at variance with the little that 
 is really known. 
 
 Some sort of an agreement seems to have been arrived 
 at between William the Conqueror and Rhys ap Tewdwr, 
 the ruler of Deheubarth, by which the Welsh prince 
 secured undisturbed possession of his dominions in return 
 for a fixed tribute ; but the Conqueror's death put an 
 end to the arrangement. The hand of Rufus was not 
 strong enough to hold back any longer the turbulent 
 Norman barons, and Rhys fell in battle in a vain attempt 
 to prevent the Normans from entering Breconshire. 
 In 1093 Fitzhamon, a kinsman of Rufus, who already 
 possessed the lordship of Gloucester, pushed westwards ; 
 and in an incredibly short time the whole of the district 
 between the Usk and the Avon was in his hands. In his 
 wake came a swarm of Norman adventurers who carried 
 their standards across Gower into Carmarthenshire. By 
 1094 a chain of fortresses extended from Newport to 
 Pembroke, and five years later Henry Beaumont, Earl of 
 Warwick, added to the Norman dominions the peninsula 
 of Gower. Not only were the lowlands of Glamorgan 
 in the possession of Fitzhamon and his followers, but the 
 mountainous district of the north was at least nominally
 
 subject to his authority. What the Norman could not 
 conquer he was content to rule, and the Welsh were 
 allowed to retain their hold upon Senghenydd the 
 district of Caerphilly on the acknowledgment of Fitz- 
 hamon's jurisdiction. The lordship of Glamorgan be- 
 came thus practically coterminous with the old kingdom 
 of Morganwg. Richard de Grenville secured an inde- 
 pendent sphere on the banks of the Nedd, and the land 
 between the Nedd and the Avon, perhaps on account of 
 its mountainous character, was allotted to a Welsh chief- 
 tain, Caradoc ap lestyn. 
 
 The subsequent history of Glamorgan is a record of 
 the efforts of the Normans to retain possession of the 
 territory they had won. Fitzhamon died in 1107 and 
 was succeeded by Robert of Caen, the natural son of 
 Henry I, who had married Fitzhamon's daughter. He 
 died in 1147, and was succeeded by his son Earl 
 William. Henry II twice traversed Glamorgan with a 
 view to advertising his sovereignty, but his visits did 
 little to sober the restlessness of the Welsh. The death 
 of Earl William in 1183 was followed by a local rising 
 under the leadership of Caradoc, the Welsh lord of 
 Avon, in the course of which Cardiff and Kenfig were 
 burnt and the security of Neath threatened. The close 
 connection which already existed between the lordship 
 of Glamorgan and the English crown was for a while 
 renewed by the succession of Prince John to the Welsh 
 estates of Earl William, whose heiress he married ; but 
 on John's contracting a second marriage the lordship 
 passed to Richard de Clare, the husband of another
 
 1 10 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 daughter. For more than a century Glamorgan remained 
 in the hands of this powerful house, and its history is 
 bound up with the story of their fortunes. 
 
 In the thirteenth century occurred the elder Llewelyn's 
 struggle to secure Welsh independence, but though the 
 prince ravaged Gower in the interest of his son-in-law, 
 John de Breose, and kept the country generally in a state 
 of unrest, no event of any importance took place on 
 Glamorgan soil. Under the leadership of the younger 
 Llewelyn, the English possessions in Glamorgan were 
 threatened. In 1257 the Welsh prince burst into the 
 county and destroyed the castle of Llangynwyd, and in 
 1271 demolished the castle which Gilbert the Red had 
 begun at Caerphilly. But though Llewelyn was allowed 
 to retain for a while his hold upon the northern half of 
 Meisgyn, the final hopes of Welsh liberty were extin- 
 guished when Edward I crushed his power and pushed 
 his victorious arms to Carnarvon. The conquest of the 
 rest of Wales in nowise altered the political status of 
 Glamorgan. It still remained for all practical purposes 
 the personal possession of the de Clares, though subject 
 nominally to the supremacy of the crown. On the 
 death of the last de Clare at Bannockburn the lordship 
 again changed hands. By a matrimonial alliance the 
 inheritance was secured by the Despensers. Once more 
 there was trouble on the Welsh border. In 1315 the 
 rapacious Hugh le Despenser annexed the district of 
 Senghenydd, which had hitherto been regarded as a 
 semi-independent Welsh lordship. Llewelyn Bren, the 
 aggrieved chieftain, appealed for justice to the English
 
 HISTORY OF GLAMORGANSHIRE 111 
 
 crown. Failing to obtain redress he collected a con- 
 siderable army and laid waste the land of Glamorgan. 
 So threatening became the situation that the Earl of 
 Hereford was deputed to put down the rebellion. Llewelyn, 
 realising the hopeless nature of the struggle, retired to the 
 mountains and after a short resistance capitulated. He 
 was pardoned and liberated, but falling subsequently into 
 the hands of Sir W. Fleming, Despenser's lieutenant, 
 he was dragged through the streets of Cardiff, hanged 
 and quartered. For this act of lawlessness Fleming was 
 himself afterwards gibbeted a circumstance which shows 
 that the Crown sometimes made its authority felt within 
 the limits of the lordship. The exactions of Despenser 
 soon raised against him a more formidable foe than 
 Llewelyn Bren. The Earl seized Caerphilly, which was 
 claimed by Roger Mortimer, and some further attempts 
 to enrich himself at the expense of other nobles led to the 
 formation of a powerful coalition of Marcher lords who 
 were bent upon his destruction. This private feud set 
 the whole kingdom in a blaze. Edward II's refusal to 
 get rid of his favourite caused the outbreak of hostilities. 
 The queen, who had made common cause with the dis- 
 contented nobles, collected an army and pursued the king 
 to Bristol, where the elder Despenser fell into her hands. 
 The king with the younger Despenser took to flight and 
 made an attempt to reach Lundy Island. He was, how- 
 ever, driven on to the coast of Glamorgan, and after 
 shutting himself up for a time in the castle of Caerphilly, 
 eventually sought an asylum in the abbey of Neath. 
 Again he made a futile effort to escape, but with
 
 Despenser fell into the hands of his enemies at Llan- 
 trissant. Despenser was at once hanged and the lordship 
 of Glamorgan was conferred on Mortimer. 
 
 The next political upheaval which convulsed the 
 county was the insurrection of Owain Glyndwr. Owain 
 had no claims to sovereignty, though he sprang from 
 royal blood, but he was not without political ideals, and 
 he possessed a contagious enthusiasm which won all 
 hearts. His almost invariable good fortune and personal 
 adroitness obtained for him amongst the imaginative 
 Welshmen the reputation of a necromancer. The open- 
 ing of his career was like that of Llewelyn Bren. He 
 flew to arms by way of reprisal for some personal injury, 
 and the success which attended his earlier movements 
 kindled in him the ambition to become a national deliverer. 
 At one time he seemed likely to achieve his desire. A 
 campaign of plunder in South Wales and a victory over 
 Lord Grey at Pilleth in 1402 awoke once more the 
 dream of Welsh independence, and Glyndwr became the 
 idol of his countrymen. He followed up his victory by 
 ravaging Gwent and Glamorgan. He burnt the town of 
 Cardiff and destroyed the Bishop's palace at Llandaff. 
 The next year the revolt of the Percys, who had allied 
 themselves with their old antagonist, seemed to put 
 success almost within his grasp ; but the defeat of the 
 younger Percy at Shrewsbury dashed his hopes. The 
 disaster did not, however, cause Glyndwr to relax his 
 hold upon South Wales. All the castles from Newport 
 to Pembroke were in distress, and the King made a futile 
 expedition as far as Carmarthen to relieve them. In 
 w. G. 8
 
 1 14 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 1404, according to local testimony, Glyndwr was again 
 in Glamorgan, and after destroying the castles of Penlline, 
 Llandough, Llanblethian, Flemingston, Talyfan, Mala- 
 fant, and Penmark, he gained a sanguinary but indecisive 
 victory over his opponents at Stalling Down near Cow- 
 bridge. This proved his last substantial success. In 1405 
 the Welsh chieftain's star began to wane. Prince Henry 
 defeated his army in both Gwent and Brycheiniog. His 
 exploits had been brilliant rather than fruitful, and these 
 reverses, coupled with his previous failure to make any 
 real headway, destroyed his prestige. The politic offer of 
 liberal terms to deserters caused his army gradually to 
 melt away, and though for some years afterwards he 
 continued to give trouble, his cause was hopelessly ruined. 
 After carrying on a desultory and fitful guerrilla warfare 
 amongst the mountains until 1413, he eventually came 
 to a nameless grave. 
 
 On the accession of Henry VII the Welsh in a sense 
 came to their own again. Henry was on his father's 
 side a Welshman, and one of the first things he did was 
 to confer the lordship of Glamorgan, of which Richard III 
 had been the last holder, upon his uncle Jasper Tudor. 
 Jasper's rule proved popular, and did something to prepare 
 the way for the final incorporation of Wales with the 
 English crown. In the reign of Henry VIII a change 
 in administration was effected. The county of Gla- 
 morgan formally became a shire, and its boundaries 
 were readjusted. The district of Gwynllwg was given 
 to Monmouthshire and the peninsula of Gower was 
 added to Glamorganshire. The gain to the county was
 
 HISTORY OF GLAMORGANSHIRE 115 
 
 considerable. The shire became entitled to send repre- 
 sentatives to the English Parliament, and all lawsuits 
 came under the direct cognisance of the English courts. 
 
 In 1539 the Glamorganshire monasteries, which had 
 already experienced the heavy hand of Glyndwr, were 
 suppressed, and with them fell the friaries, which, on 
 account of their popular sympathies, Glyndwr had spared. 
 In the days of Elizabeth, Cardiff got into bad repute. 
 Owing to the expansion of local commerce the Bristol 
 Channel became infested with pirates, who preyed on 
 the sea-going vessels. Their depredations were con- 
 nived at by the people of Cardiff, who found in the 
 disorganisation of trade an excellent opportunity for 
 cheating the revenue. The town became notorious as 
 the resort of desperados, and the town authorities were 
 not without reason suspected of encouraging their illicit 
 practices. Sir T. Button was commissioned to put an 
 end to this illegal traffic, but the smuggling went on to 
 the end of the century, when Edmund Mathews was 
 prosecuted for clandestinely supplying the Spaniards with 
 cannon. 
 
 In the Stuart period the county again became involved 
 in political turmoil. As a whole it was strongly royalist, 
 and it loyally responded to the king's demand for ship- 
 money, probably under the mistaken impression that the 
 ships were to be used for the protection of the maritime 
 trade. The enthusiasm, however, gradually gave place 
 to indifference, which soon developed into sullen oppo- 
 sition. On the outbreak of hostilities the popular resent- 
 ment against these frequent imposts began to display
 
 116 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 itself, and an additional cause of offence was given when, 
 after a disastrous skirmish near Tewkesbury, in which 
 the Glamorganshire levies had suffered severely, the 
 Marquis of Hertford was replaced as commander of the 
 South Wales forces by Lord Herbert, a papist. The 
 royal cause was rendered still more unpopular by the 
 exactions of Colonel Gerard, who had been despatched 
 by Prince Rupert to clear Glamorganshire of the Parlia- 
 mentary forces. After the decisive battle of Naseby the 
 King became a fugitive and sought a temporary asylum 
 at Raglan. From thence he journeyed to Cardiff in the 
 hope of raising a fresh force in Glamorgan. But Charles 
 was soon made aware how completely he had alienated 
 public sympathy. A formal meeting was arranged be- 
 tween the King and the people at St Fagan's, but the 
 demeanour of the crowd was so threatening that Charles 
 withdrew in fear from the conference. After some 
 further negotiations in which the King undertook to 
 grant all the popular demands, a half-hearted promise of 
 support was given. But it was not kept, and the royal 
 fugitive had to leave without the army which he came to 
 seek. After the final collapse of the King's cause, a futile 
 attempt was made by the royalists in 1648 to take ad- 
 vantage of the dissensions between the Independents and 
 Presbyterians and to effect a fresh rising. Siege was laid 
 to Cardiff Castle, but the investing force was easily dis- 
 persed at the approach of the Parliamentary army. In 
 the following year, however, a sudden revival of royalist 
 hopes was brought about in an unexpected way. Major- 
 General Laugharne, the commander of the Parliamentary
 
 HISTORY OF GLAMORGANSHIRE 117 
 
 forces in South Wales, disappointed, it is said, at the 
 inadequate reward of his services, forsook his party. He 
 carried over with him not only his officers but his army. 
 Cromwell himself hastened to Wales to crush the dis- 
 affection. The rebellion was over, however, before he 
 arrived. Laugharne advanced from Pembroke into Gla- 
 morgan, and encountering Colonel Horton, who had been 
 sent forward by Fairfax to intercept him, at St Fagan's, at 
 once attacked him. The combat was most sanguinary, 
 and ended in the complete defeat of Laugharne and the 
 practical annihilation of his army. The battle of St 
 Fagan's was the last event of national importance in the 
 annals of Glamorgan. The subsequent story of the 
 shire is the history of its rapid commercial development, 
 and of its religious revival through the efforts of the early 
 Methodists. The only incidents which have since oc- 
 curred to break the peace of the county were industrial 
 riots in the Merthyr district in 1802 and 1816 consequent 
 upon the lowness of wages. 
 
 18. Antiquities. 
 
 We have no written record of the history of our land 
 antecedent to the Roman invasion in B.C. 55, but we 
 know that Man inhabited it for ages before this date. 
 The art of writing being then unknown, the people of 
 those days could leave us no account of their lives and 
 occupations, and hence we term these times the Prehistoric 
 period. But other things besides books can tell a story, 
 and there has survived from their time a vast quantity of
 
 1 18 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 objects (which are daily being revealed by the plough 
 of the farmer or the spade of the antiquary), such as 
 the weapons and domestic implements they used, the huts 
 and tombs and monuments they built, and the bones of 
 the animals they lived on, which enable us to get a fairly 
 accurate idea of the life of those days. 
 
 So infinitely remote are the times in which the earliest 
 forerunners of our race flourished, that scientists have not 
 ventured to date either their advent or how long each 
 division in which they have arranged them lasted. It must 
 therefore be understood that these divisions or Ages of 
 which we are now going to speak have been adopted for 
 convenience sake rather than with any aim at accuracy. 
 
 The periods have been named from the material of 
 which the weapons and implements were at that time 
 fashioned the Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age ; the 
 Neolithic or Later Stone Age ; the Bronze Age ; and 
 the Iron Age. But just as we find stone axes in use at 
 the present day among savage tribes in remote islands, so 
 it must be remembered that weapons of one material 
 were often in use in the next Age, or possibly even in a 
 later one ; that the Ages, in short, overlapped. 
 
 Let us now examine these periods more closely. 
 First, the Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age. Man was now 
 in his most primitive condition. He probably did not 
 till the land or cultivate any kind of plant or keep any 
 domestic animals. He lived on wild plants and roots and 
 such wild animals as he could kill, the reindeer being then 
 abundant in this country. He was largely a cave-dweller 
 and probably used skins exclusively for clothing. He
 
 ANTIQUITIES 119 
 
 erected no monuments to his dead and built no huts. He 
 could, however, shape flint implements with very great 
 dexterity, though he had as yet not learnt either to grind 
 or to polish them. There is still some difference of opinion 
 among authorities, but most agree that, though this may 
 not have been the case in other countries, there was in 
 our own land a vast gap of time between the people of 
 this and the succeeding period. Palaeolithic man, who 
 inhabited either scantily or not at all the parts north of 
 England and made his chief home in the more southern 
 districts, disappeared altogether from the country, which 
 was later re-peopled by Neolithic man. 
 
 Neolithic man was in every way in a much more 
 advanced state of civilisation than his precursor. He 
 tilled the land, bred stock, wove garments, built huts, 
 made rude pottery, and erected remarkable monuments. 
 He had, nevertheless, not yet discovered the use of the 
 metals, and his implements and weapons were still made 
 of stone or bone, though the former were often beautifully 
 shaped and polished. 
 
 Between the Later Stone Age and the Bronze Age 
 there was no gap, the one merging imperceptibly into the 
 other. The discovery of the method of smelting the ores 
 of copper and tin, and of mixing them, was doubtless a 
 slow affair, and the bronze weapons must have been ages 
 in supplanting those of stone, for lack of intercommuni- 
 cation at that time presented enormous difficulties to the 
 spread of knowledge. Bronze Age man, in addition to 
 fashioning beautiful weapons and implements, made good 
 pottery, and buried his dead in circular barrows.
 
 120 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 In due course of time man learnt how to smelt the 
 ores of iron, and the Age of Bronze passed slowly into 
 the Iron Age, which brings us into the period of written 
 history, for the Romans found the inhabitants of Britain 
 using implements of iron. 
 
 We may now pause for a moment to consider who 
 these people were who inhabited our land in these far-off 
 ages. Of Palaeolithic man we can say nothing. His 
 successors, the people of the Later Stone Age, are believed 
 to have been largely of Iberian stock ; people, that is, from 
 south-western Europe, who brought with them their 
 knowledge of such primitive arts and crafts as were then 
 discovered. How long they remained in undisturbed 
 possession of our land we do not know, but they were 
 later conquered or driven westward by a very different 
 race of Celtic origin the Goidels or Gaels, a tall, light- 
 haired people, workers in bronze, whose descendants 
 and language are to be found to-day in many parts of 
 Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. Another Celtic 
 people poured into the country about the fourth century 
 B.C. the Brythons or Britons, who in turn dispossessed 
 the Gael, at all events so far as England and Wales are 
 concerned. The Brythons were the first users of iron in 
 our country. 
 
 The Romans, who first reached our shores in B.C. 55, 
 held the land till about A.D. 410; but in spite of the 
 length of their domination they do not seem to have left 
 much mark on the people. After their departure, treading 
 close on their heels, came the Saxons, Jutes, and Angles. 
 But with these and with the incursions of the Danes and
 
 ANTIQUITIES 121 
 
 Irish we have left the uncertain region of the Prehistoric 
 Age for the surer ground of History. 
 
 The earliest stone implements in Wales were found 
 on the floors of the caves of Gower. Beneath layers of 
 stalagmite were discovered a number of flint flakes and 
 a fine flint arrow-head. The rough unpolished nature 
 of the weapon has caused it to be assigned to the Palaeo- 
 
 Neolithic Implements found at Cowbridge 
 
 lithic or early Stone Age, when men were accustomed to 
 chip instead of polishing their tools. Palaeolithic remains 
 are, however, extremely scanty in South Wales. Of the 
 Neolithic or later Stone Age relics are more numerous. 
 A fine polished axe-head, now in the British Museum, 
 was found at Cardiff, and another good specimen pierced 
 with a hole for a handle was turned up at Llanmadoc in 
 Gower. It is now commonly supposed that the men who
 
 122 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 used the polished stone tools were of the Iberian race. 
 The Goidels who succeeded them were furnished with 
 implements of bronze. Their weapons were the axe, 
 sword, spear, and knife. The specimens found vary 
 considerably in efficiency, and show that the early Celtic 
 artificer only gradually learnt the mastery of his craft. 
 It was left to the Brython to bring with him the more 
 effective iron weapon. The Brython had been eight or 
 nine centuries in Britain before he penetrated into South 
 Wales, but there is no reason to suppose that the Goidels 
 of Glamorgan retained the use of bronze weapons until 
 the Brythonic conquest in the fifth century of our 
 era. They must have learnt to some extent the use of 
 iron from contact with their Brythonic neighbours in the 
 centre of Wales. Numerous specimens of iron and bronze 
 instruments are to be seen in the Cardiff Museum. 
 
 Besides the implements and fragments of pottery dis- 
 covered casually in different localities, there are several 
 prehistoric monuments in various parts of the county. 
 Glamorganshire as a whole is particularly rich in such 
 remains. The chief objects of antiquarian interest are 
 encampments, cromlechs, barrows, cairns, stone circles, 
 and menhirs or long stones. 
 
 Encampments are very numerous, and are to be found 
 on the summits of many of the hills, and in one or two 
 elevated positions on the shore. They consist of a series 
 of embankments and ditches thrown round the top of a 
 hill or drawn across the corner of some projecting cliff to 
 render the situation more difficult of approach. Probably 
 in time of warfare the tribesmen gathered their cattle and
 
 ANTIQUITIES 
 
 123 
 
 other belongings within these enclosures and further forti- 
 fied them by the erection of a wooden stockade. It is 
 difficult to assign these earthworks to any particular period. 
 Probably they were used in all periods. The positions 
 
 St Lythan's Cromlech 
 
 were no doubt re-fortified more effectually as each new 
 race succeeded to the inheritance of the old. The form 
 of the camp varied with the nature of the ground, though 
 the Romans seem invariably to have made their entrench- 
 ments rectangular.
 
 124 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Next to these early methods of warfare we know 
 most about ancient methods of sepulture. The principal 
 sepulchral monuments are cromlechs (or dolmens), barrows, 
 cairns, and menhirs. A cromlech is a group of stones 
 arranged like a table. A flat slab is supported horizontally 
 on three or more upright stones. Together, these formed 
 a chamber in, or under which the dead man was placed, the 
 corpse being sometimes supplied with his weapons and a 
 food vessel. The cromlech was in some cases covered with 
 a mound of earth. In the case of most cromlechs, however, 
 the earth has either been removed or never existed, and 
 the chamber is exposed. The largest cromlech in Great 
 Britain is near St Nicholas, and this still retains evident 
 traces of the mound which once covered it. In the same 
 neighbourhood, near Dyffryn House, is another very fine 
 specimen, which is completely exposed ; and a third well- 
 known example is Arthur's Stone on the summit of 
 Cefn-y-Bryn in Gower. It is evident from the unwrought 
 condition of the stones that they belong to a very early 
 age, and they are now generally assigned by antiquaries 
 to the Neolithic or Iberian period. 
 
 The Celts introduced cremation. The ashes were 
 enclosed in a vessel and then placed in a small chamber 
 built like a miniature cromlech and called a cist-faen. 
 Some of these little stone chests were surrounded by a 
 circle of upright stones. Though the large stone circles 
 like Stonehenge and Avebury may have been used for 
 worship and were possibly also rude astronomical appli- 
 ances, there is little doubt that the smaller circles, such 
 as those found in Glamorganshire, were merely sepulchral
 
 ANTIQUITIES 
 
 125 
 
 monuments. They probably belong to the Bronze or 
 Goidelic period. The chief stone circles in the county 
 are on Carn Llechart near Llangyfelach, on Cefn-y- 
 Gwrhyd near Llangiwg, and on Drummau Hill near 
 Neath. 
 
 Sometimes the bodies or ashes of the dead were placed 
 
 King Arthur's Stone 
 
 in mounds or barrows. A great number of these exist in 
 different parts of the county, generally on the hill tops, 
 or in the vicinity of some ancient trackway. When the 
 barrow contains a chamber it is probably an Iberic tomb; 
 if it contains no chamber, it is probably of Celtic con- 
 struction. In some cases where the earth was scanty,
 
 126 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the grave was covered with a heap of stones called a cairn, 
 though many of the cairns seen on the tops of the highest 
 hills are merely landmarks. A barrow of very large size 
 is generally called a tumulus, and was probably a place 
 of general sepulture, though some of them may have 
 been ancient signalling stations. A very fine tumulus 
 occurs on the top of Crug-yr-Afon in the centre of the 
 county. 
 
 The menhir (maen-hir or long stone) is another form 
 of sepulchral monument, also believed to be of Goidelic 
 
 origin. It is simply an unhewn 
 or roughly-shaped stone or slab 
 placed upright in the earth, 
 often of large size. Of these 
 there are many in the county. 
 Very interesting are certain 
 stones with a roughly-cut in- 
 scription giving the dead man's 
 name in Welsh or Latin or 
 sometimes in both languages. 
 $ The most remarkable examples 
 Ogam Stone near Kenfig o f t h e kind in Glamorgan- 
 shire are the stones at Kenfig 
 
 and Loughor. These have the epitaph cut not only on 
 the face of the stone in Latin, but in "Ogams" as they are 
 called, notches cut on either side of the edge of the stone. 
 These characters are now recognised as a Gaelic method 
 of writing. As they were executed in post-Roman times, 
 it is evident that the Goidelic language could not have 
 disappeared from Wales until after the departure of the
 
 ANTIQUITIES 
 
 127 
 
 Romans. It is argued from this fact that the Brythonic 
 tribes did not overrun South Wales until the fifth century 
 
 The Goblin Stone 
 
 A.D. Some, however, maintain that the stones may have 
 been erected by immigrants from Ireland.
 
 1 28 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Amongst the more notable of the other inscribed 
 stones scattered about the county are the Bodvoc stone 
 on Margam mountain, the Tome stone at Margam, the 
 Teyrnoc stone on Cefn Brithdir, a defaced stone on Cefn 
 Gelligaer, and the Macaritinus stone near Neath. 
 
 The relics of the Roman period are few. They 
 consist chiefly of encampments and the foundations of 
 villas and military fortifications. Three Roman roads 
 traversed Glamorgan, the Via Julia which came out of 
 Monmouthshire and skirting the coast crossed the low- 
 lands from Cardiff to Loughor ; the Sarn Hir which ran 
 over Gelligaer mountain from Cardiff to Brecon ; and 
 the Sarn Helen, which traversed the vale of Neath and 
 connected Neath with Brecon. It is very doubtful 
 whether these roads were originally of Roman construc- 
 tion. They were probably ancient trackways utilised by 
 the Romans for the movements of troops. There were 
 four military stations along the route of the Via Julia 
 Tibia Amnis, Bovium, Nidum, and Leucarum. Tibia 
 Amnis is now generally identified with Cardiff. That 
 Nidum and Leucarum were Neath and Loughor is sug- 
 gested by the similarity of the names, but there is no 
 agreement about the situation of Bovium. Cowbridge, 
 Bonvilston, and Boverton all claim to have been the 
 site. 
 
 The discovery of the foundations of a gateway, some 
 bastions, and portions of a Roman wall surrounding the 
 grounds of Cardiff Castle prove, as former rectangular 
 embankments suggested, that the castle stands on the 
 site of a considerable Roman fortification. More recent
 
 o
 
 130 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 excavations have disclosed another Roman fortress and 
 the fragments of some baths near Gelligaer. Both places 
 were probably permanent garrison stations on the Welsh 
 frontier. Roman camps exist at Caerau and Bonvilston, 
 on the supposed line of the Via Julia ; also at Penydarren 
 and near Colbren on the north border, on Mynydd- 
 y-Gaer near Bridgend and on Mynydd Margam. The 
 foundations of Roman buildings have been unearthed 
 at Ely near Cardiff, and at Llantwit Major, but the 
 infrequency of such discoveries, and the general absence 
 of evidences of domestic life, tend to show that the 
 county was occupied by the Romans only in a military 
 sense, and that the ancient inhabitants were but little 
 influenced by Roman civilisation, though the Latin in- 
 scriptions on the standing stones prove that they must 
 have acquired some Roman customs. 
 
 19. Architecture (a) Ecclesiastical. 
 
 Though Glamorganshire possesses one or two notable 
 churches, its display of ecclesiastical architecture is, on the 
 whole, disappointing. The reason for this is not far to 
 seek. Architecture depends for its development both 
 upon an adequate supply of building material and upon 
 the existence of a body of skilled workmen. There is 
 an abundance of stone in Glamorgan, but it does not 
 lend itself to the finest manipulation; and the political 
 condition of the county was too disturbed to give the 
 Welsh much chance of acquiring the art of building. 
 The English practically learnt their architecture from
 
 ARCHITECTURE ECCLESIASTICAL 131 
 
 the Normans, who were the most accomplished craftsmen 
 of the day. But while in England the Norman conquest 
 eventually took the form of a racial amalgamation, in 
 Wales it remained a foreign occupation. The Welsh 
 had little social and religious intercourse with their 
 Norman masters. The buildings which the Normans 
 themselves reared were either castles, or monasteries for 
 the accommodation of foreign monks. Ecclesiastical 
 architecture as a rule owed its growth to the influence 
 of the monasteries. They supplied the resources and 
 trained the workmen. But the Welsh disliked the 
 monks almost as cordially as they hated the barons. 
 They regarded them as foreign garrisons in spiritual 
 guise; so that Welsh architecture profited but little by 
 the existence of the monasteries. 
 
 The Norman conquest, by the dislocation of national 
 life, likewise prevented Welsh ecclesiastical art from de- 
 veloping on its own lines. That it had a tradition of its 
 own is abundantly proved by the existence of the large 
 number of elaborately-worked crosses which are scattered 
 up and down the Principality. Glamorganshire is rich in 
 them. There are two especially fine collections of them 
 within the county, one at Llantwit Major and the other 
 at Margam. Both of these places were active centres of 
 church life before the coming of the Norman, and both 
 must have possessed schools of skilled workmen. The 
 crosses usually take the form of an upright pillar or a 
 wheel cross, highly ornamented with an intricate pattern 
 of plait work in bold relief, and, as their inscriptions show, 
 they were mostly sepulchral monuments. Sometimes 
 
 92
 
 132 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 they bear in addition a rude attempt at figure sculp- 
 ture. They are probably not earlier than the eighth 
 or ninth centuries, and many of them are mutilated. 
 Besides the groups at Margam and Llantwit there are 
 some good specimens at Merthyr Mawr, Coychurch, and 
 Llangan. At the latter place the cross exhibits a crude 
 representation of the Crucifixion. In the churchyard of 
 Llandough near Cardiff there is a fine but imperfect 
 specimen of a figured cross. No Celtic churches have 
 come down to us, but many of the existing churches 
 were no doubt built on sites consecrated by ancient 
 ecclesiastical associations. At Llantwit Major and Llan- 
 carfan were Welsh monastic institutions, and the cathedral 
 of LlandafF perpetuates the Welsh episcopal traditions of 
 the place. There are some fine examples of Norman 
 and English ecclesiastical architecture within the county, 
 but the best buildings are, as we should naturally expect, 
 monastic in origin. The parish churches, as a rule, are 
 small and poor. 
 
 A preliminary word on the various styles of English 
 architecture is necessary before we consider the churches 
 and other important buildings of our county. 
 
 Pre-Norman or (as it is usually, though with no great 
 certainty termed) Saxon building in England was the 
 work of early craftsmen with an imperfect knowledge 
 of stone construction, who commonly used rough rubble 
 walls, no buttresses, small semi-circular or triangular 
 arches, and square towers with what is termed " long- 
 and-short work " at the quoins or corners. It survives 
 almost solely in portions of small churches.
 
 ARCHITECTURE ECCLESIASTICAL 133 
 
 The Norman conquest started a widespread building 
 of massive churches and castles in the continental style 
 called Romanesque, which in England has got the name 
 of "Norman." They had walls of great thickness, semi- 
 circular vaults, round-headed doors and windows, and 
 massive square towers. 
 
 From 1150 to 1200 the building became lighter, the 
 arches pointed, and there was perfected the science of 
 vaulting, by which the weight is brought upon piers and 
 buttresses. This method of building, the " Gothic," 
 originated from the endeavour to cover the widest and 
 loftiest areas with the greatest economy of stone. The 
 first English Gothic, called " Early English," from about 
 1 1 80 to 1250, is characterised by slender piers (commonly 
 of marble), lofty pointed vaults, and long, narrow, lancet- 
 headed windows. After 1250 the windows became 
 broader, divided up, and ornamented by patterns of 
 tracery, while in the vault the ribs were multiplied. The 
 greatest elegance of English Gothic was reached from 
 1260 to 1290, at which date English sculpture was at 
 its highest, and art in painting, coloured glass making, 
 and general craftsmanship at its zenith. 
 
 After 1300 the structure of stone buildings began to 
 be overlaid with ornament, the window tracery and vault 
 ribs were of intricate patterns, the pinnacles and spires 
 loaded with crocket and ornament. This later style is 
 known as " Decorated," and came to an end with the 
 Black Death, which stopped all building for a time. 
 
 With the changed conditions of life the type of build- 
 ing changed. With curious uniformity and quickness
 
 134 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the style called " Perpendicular " which is unknown 
 abroad developed after 1360 in all parts of England and 
 lasted with scarcely any change up to 1520. As its name 
 implies, it is characterised by the perpendicular arrange- 
 ment of the tracery and panels on walls and in windows, 
 and it is also distinguished by the flattened arches and the 
 square arrangement of the mouldings over them, by the 
 elaborate vault-traceries (especially fan-vaulting), and by 
 the use of flat roofs and towers without spires. 
 
 The medieval styles in England ended with the 
 dissolution of the monasteries (1530 1540), for the 
 Reformation checked the building of churches. There 
 succeeded the building of manor-houses, in which the 
 style called " Tudor " arose distinguished by flat-headed 
 windows, level ceilings, and panelled rooms. The orna- 
 ments of classic style were introduced under the influences 
 of Renaissance sculpture and distinguish the "Jacobean " 
 style, so called after James I. About this time the pro- 
 fessional architect arose. Hitherto, building had been 
 entirely in the hands of the builder and the craftsman. 
 
 Llandaff Cathedral is not only the principal but also 
 the most noteworthy ecclesiastical building in the county. 
 It is one of the few cathedrals built strictly in the form 
 of a parallelogram. It is a long structure of many styles 
 standing on the right bank of the Taff. It was com- 
 menced by Bishop Urban in 1120 on the site of some 
 earlier fabric and underwent constant alteration and 
 extension up to the end of the fifteenth century. After 
 the Reformation, when it was despoiled of its possessions, 
 it fell into decay, from which it was not rescued until
 
 Llandaff Cathedral
 
 136 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the middle of the last century. It consists of a nave, 
 choir, chapter-house, and Lady chapel. Its finest feature 
 is the west front, which is flanked by two lofty towers. 
 The earliest portions of the church are the richly sculp- 
 tured Norman archway at the east end of the choir and 
 the two Norman doorways in the north and south 
 walls of the nave. The nave and west front are Early 
 English, and the chapter-house, which has a characteristic 
 vault, is of the same period, but rather later in date. 
 The Lady chapel, which is also vaulted, is a good example 
 of early Decorated work, and was built between 1285 
 and 1287, when the earlier Gothic architects were feeling 
 their way to a more elaborate style. The presbytery and 
 aisles were remodelled a little later, when the Decorated 
 style was fully developed. The only feature belonging 
 to the Perpendicular period is the north-west tower, 
 which is said to have been erected by Jasper Tudor. 
 Its companion tower, which carries a spire, is modern. 
 
 Next to LlandafF Cathedral, the finest church in the 
 county is Ewenny Priory. It is the most splendid 
 example of pure Norman architecture in Wales. The 
 building is cruciform, with a massive central tower, and 
 consists of nave, choir, and south transept. The north 
 transept has been demolished, but otherwise the fabric is 
 unimpaired. The barrel-vaulting of the choir is parti- 
 cularly noteworthy. With the exception of the gateway 
 the monastery has been demolished. 
 
 Margam church is another example of Norman work. 
 It was once the nave of a large Cistercian monastery, 
 the choir of which has been destroyed. Adjoining it,
 
 ARCHITECTURE ECCLESIASTICAL 137 
 
 however, are the ruins of a beautiful chapter-house, which 
 is a splendid specimen of Early English architecture. The 
 foundations of the dismantled choir and some fragments 
 of the domestic buildings still remain. 
 
 Neath Abbey, which is traditionally reputed to have 
 been the work of the same architect, is of Early English 
 
 Ewenny Priory Church 
 
 style. The church, which was once regarded as one or 
 the most splendid ecclesiastical edifices in Wales, is very 
 ruinous, but a large vaulted chamber in the adjacent 
 buildings is in a good state of preservation. A most 
 interesting but rather uncouth structure is the church of 
 Llantwit Major. It belongs chiefly to the thirteenth
 
 138 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 and fifteenth centuries, and exhibits the usual monastic 
 arrangement. The building is divided into two by a 
 central tower. At the west end are the ruins of a Lady 
 chapel, with an adjoining chamber, and on the rising 
 ground above are a gateway and a circular columbarium. 
 A priory and some habitations of Black and Grey Friars 
 existed at Cardiff, but these have disappeared, though 
 the foundations of the latter can still be traced. 
 
 St Illtyd's, Llantwit Major 
 
 Of the parochial churches the most notable are 
 Llancarfan, Coity, and Coychurch. There are Norman 
 doorways at Marcross and Rhossili ; Llancarfan has some 
 Transitional Norman arcades; Cheriton is a good example 
 of Early English ; Coity, Coychurch, and St Fagan's are 
 striking examples of the Decorated period; and St John's, 
 Cardiff, is Perpendicular and has a particularly fine tower.
 
 ARCHITECTURE ECCLESIASTICAL 139 
 
 A peculiar feature of some of the Glamorganshire 
 churches is their provision for defence in case of necessity. 
 Ewenny Priory was enclosed by fortifications, and the 
 church itself was made to minister to the security of the 
 monks. The nave is shut off from the rest of the build- 
 ings by a stone wall, and the battlements of the massive 
 
 Newton Church 
 
 tower are pierced with loopholes for arrows. The tower 
 of Newton Nottage is built almost like a castle keep and 
 still shows the brackets for the support of the wooden 
 staging which accommodated the defenders. The churches 
 on the Gower coast have likewise towers capable of 
 affording security in times of peril.
 
 Churchyard Cross, St Donat's
 
 Sketch Map showing the Chief Castles of Wales and the Border Counties
 
 ARCHITECTURE ECCLESIASTICAL 141 
 
 Woodwork is rare in the county. There is a poor 
 screen and some stalls at Cowbridge, and the dilapidated 
 remnants of a once rich screen at Llancarfan. Gileston 
 church has a fine old door. Llantwit Major possesses 
 a beautiful stone screen, and there is a curiously carved 
 stone pulpit at Newton Nottage. Llanmaes church 
 shows some medieval frescoes, and there are some later 
 mural paintings at St Donat's. Several churches retain 
 portions of their churchyard crosses, but only Llangan, 
 St Donat's, and St Mary Hill preserve them in their 
 entirety. 
 
 20. Architecture (&) Military. 
 
 The military architecture of Glamorganshire offers a 
 very striking contrast to the ecclesiastical. The churches 
 are few and poor, the castles were numerous and splendid. 
 There were over 40 within the confines of the county. 
 They were not, however, all residential castles ; some 
 were merely garrison stations or military block-houses. 
 They were all the work of the Norman conquerors or 
 their descendants, though the ancient Welsh princes are 
 credited with having had castles of some sort. The 
 Normans had their own military methods, and the first 
 thing they did to secure the foothold they obtained in 
 Welsh territory was to erect at frequent intervals and in 
 suitable positions temporary fortresses of turf and stakes. 
 These were moated mounds crowned by a stockade and 
 enclosed by a rampart. Upon the mound was eventually
 
 142 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 erected a stone donjon or keep. The distribution as well 
 as the design of these fortresses was determined by 
 strategical considerations. They were part of a system 
 which had in view the defence of the whole territory as 
 well as the protection of personal estates. The Normans 
 had not been long in the country before they drew a 
 string of permanent castles right across the southern 
 
 Fonmon Castle 
 
 portion of the county from the Taff to the Loughor 
 river. Fortresses were also erected to guard the passes 
 from the hills and to watch the approaches from the 
 shore. 
 
 The typical Norman fortress consisted of a strongly- 
 built rectangular keep, which contained the living rooms 
 and store cellars. This was generally surrounded by an 
 outer court protected by high and embattled walls and
 
 ARCHITECTURE MILITARY 143 
 
 encircled by a moat. The construction naturally varied 
 with the peculiarities of the site, which was chosen 
 both for its importance and inaccessibility. Various im- 
 provements in the art of castle-building were made from 
 time to time as experience suggested. In the times of 
 Richard I and John the keep became circular in form, 
 and drum towers were placed at the angles of the outer 
 court, which enabled the garrison to clear the walls of 
 
 Oystermouth Castle 
 
 assailants. In the reign of the Edwards a new type of 
 fortress was introduced. The keep was first removed 
 from the centre and placed upon the walls, and the 
 enclosure was divided into two courts ; but towards the 
 end of the period the keep was altogether discarded, and 
 the courts instead of being adjacent were made concentric, 
 the dwelling rooms being ranged round the inner ward. 
 The fortifications were buttressed with drum towers and
 
 144 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the gateways were much strengthened. Many of the 
 later castles were elaborate and extensive structures in 
 which comfort as well as security was considered, and 
 were provided with suites of apartments for the owner's 
 family, a large banqueting hall, and a chapel. The 
 original Norman castles often underwent reconstruction 
 
 D 
 
 or were rebuilt in later times. 
 
 Coity Castle and Church 
 
 Most of the Glamorganshire castles are now in ruins. 
 Some, like St George's and Scurlage, have quite dis- 
 appeared ; others, like Sully and Llangynwyd, have been 
 razed to the foundations. The hill forts of Castell 
 Morgraig and, perhaps, Morlais seem never to have 
 been completed. Cardiff and Castell Coch have been 
 recently reconstructed, and Fonmon and St Donat's, 
 though retaining some of their original features, have
 
 ARCHITECTURE MILITARY 145 
 
 been transformed into residences and have seldom lacked 
 an occupant. Some are noteworthy merely for their 
 picturesqueness, whilst others are typical of their class. 
 Ogmore preserves a fragment of its rectangular keep ; 
 at Cardiff the keep is polygonal, but characteristic of 
 its period. Oystermouth has some Decorated tracery. 
 Coity possesses two adjacent courts, with the keep on the 
 walls ; and Caerphilly (see p. 112) is a famous and typical 
 example of a concentric castle of the most elaborate kind. 
 Weobley is probably a late fortress. Some of the medieval 
 towns were walled for defence. Cardiff, Kenfig, and 
 Cowbridge were so protected. Kenfig has disappeared, 
 and the fortifications of Cardiff have been destroyed, 
 but Cowbridge still retains one of its gateways and a few 
 fragments of walling. 
 
 21. Architecture (c) Domestic. 
 
 We shall look in vain for early Welsh houses. A 
 Welshman lived for the most part an out-of-doors life ; 
 his ideas of personal comfort were limited and he went in 
 constant fear of disturbance. His property therefore was 
 always of a movable kind which could be packed up at 
 the first alarm and carried off to the mountains. His 
 house was merely a rude timber structure in which the 
 chief and his men ate and slept together round the same 
 hearth, with their horses near at hand. The Englishman's 
 house, on the other hand, was literally his castle. It was 
 both dwelling-place and fortress, for his security depended 
 
 w. G. 10
 
 1 46 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 not on the rapidity of his movements but on the strength 
 of his walls. Before the fifteenth century domestic archi- 
 tecture in Wales can scarcely be said to have existed. 
 The Welsh kept to their primitive dwelling in the moun- 
 tains, and the Norman lord shut himself up in his castle. 
 The peasants herded in hovels round the strongholds, and 
 the houses of the townsmen were mostly of wood, and 
 were promptly pulled down in cases of fire. It was not 
 until the rise of the country gentry as a separate class 
 that domestic architecture underwent any great develop- 
 ment. 
 
 The manor house as first constructed was simply a 
 large hall, the upper half of which was reserved for the 
 master and his family, and the lower allotted to the 
 servants. There were separate sleeping apartments, and 
 the larger halls were provided with a " solar " or with- 
 drawing room for the ladies, and a gallery for minstrels. 
 Though not military in character, the building was made 
 capable of defence and was sometimes moated. In Tudor 
 times, when the protection of the regular law did away 
 with the necessity of fortifications, personal comfort was 
 much more studied. Houses became more elaborate and 
 commodious. The household no longer lived a common 
 life, and privacy was obtained by adding to the number 
 of separate apartments. In the seventeenth century 
 architecture became more artificial. Architects who had 
 studied abroad came back with foreign ideas and began to 
 decorate houses with classical ornaments. This taste, 
 however, displayed itself chiefly in the more pretentious 
 buildings. Our domestic architecture never quite lost
 
 ARCHITECTURE DOMESTIC 
 
 147 
 
 touch with the Gothic traditions of the Middle Ages, 
 and the smaller mansions and country cottages remained 
 
 \ 
 
 Old Town Hall, Llantwit Major 
 
 picturesque and homely. In the reign of Queen Anne 
 houses became more regular and stifter in style, though 
 they managed to preserve an air of stateliness. Later, 
 
 10 2
 
 148 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 architectural taste declined, and grace of outline was 
 sacrificed to considerations of utility. 
 
 There are few early houses in Glamorganshire, though 
 a number of Tudor mansions display earlier features. 
 An example of an early residence which approximated to 
 a castle is the ancient episcopal palace at LlandafF, which 
 was destroyed by Glyndwr in 1402. Llantwit Major 
 
 Sker House 
 
 town-hall is a purely domestic building dating perhaps 
 in substance from the fifteenth century. The quaint- 
 looking hospice of St John at Bridgend is a fifteenth 
 century building of the humbler kind. Llanmihangel 
 Place was originally a fifteenth century castellated man- 
 sion, but Tudor gables have taken the place of the castel- 
 lations and the great hall has been divided into separate
 
 ARCHITECTURE DOMESTIC 
 
 149 
 
 chambers. Castell-y-Mynach, near Creigiau, though 
 chiefly a seventeenth century building, still retains a 
 chamber and an open timbered roof of the fifteenth 
 century. Traces of fifteenth century work appear like- 
 wise in the walls of Flemingston Court, which was 
 once a fortified manor house, though its chief feature is a 
 typical Jacobean hall. Characteristic examples of six- 
 teenth century architecture are to be found in Nottage 
 
 
 
 Tudor Gardens, St Donat's Castle 
 
 Court, which contains some good panelled rooms, 
 Llancaich House, Sker House, and St Fagan's Castle, 
 a many-gabled mansion erected in 1578 within the 
 fortifications of an ancient castle. Beaupre, which was 
 transformed from a castle into a manor house, exhibits a 
 beautiful renaissance doorway added to its inner court in 
 1600 by a Bridgend mason named Twrch. St Donat's
 
 150 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Castle, a very composite building of almost all periods 
 from Norman times downwards, contains a good deal of 
 seventeenth century work, and some of its state apart- 
 ments are embellished with the carving of Grinling 
 Gibbons. Llansannor Court is a picturesque Jacobean 
 manor house. Within the precincts of Neath Abbey are 
 the ruins of a mansion built in 1650 out of the wreckage 
 of the monastery, and incorporating some ecclesiastical 
 features. The remains of the Herbert House at Cardiff, 
 built out of the material of the Grey Friars habitation, 
 comes down from Tudor times, as do the ruins of Llan- 
 trithyd Place. A good example of a house illustrating 
 the architectural changes introduced in the eighteenth 
 century, is Cefn Mably on the banks of the Rhymney, 
 where the original gables have been replaced by dormer 
 windows. Nash Manor is another Tudor building with 
 eighteenth century additions. Ruperra Castle, though 
 popularly attributed to Inigo Jones, was rebuilt after a 
 fire in 1783, though it preserves its original seventeenth 
 century porch. The Bishop's house at Llandaff, Briton 
 Ferry Manor, and the Gnoll near Neath, belong entirely 
 to the eighteenth century, and are very characteristic of 
 the time. 
 
 In the rural districts of Glamorgan the cottages have 
 a distinct character and conform more or less to one type. 
 They are low beetled-browed buildings, with thick squat 
 chimneys and a steep overhanging thatch, which curves 
 itself over the upper storey windows. Their appearance, 
 though a little singular, is not unpicturesque. An almost 
 universal feature of these humbler country homes is the
 

 
 152 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 whitewash on their walls. The custom is of imme- 
 morial antiquity, and frequent reference to the " white 
 cots " of Morganwg is made in the songs of the bards. 
 
 In the Gower peninsula a different type of cottage is 
 seen. The dwelling is roofed with faggots, and thatched 
 with sedge, and in the walls are bed-places. 
 
 22. Communications Pastand Present. 
 
 The art of road-making is in the British Isles a 
 modern accomplishment, and Wales was one of the last 
 districts where it made progress. In the prehistoric ages 
 communication was established by trackways across the 
 mountains, for a hill path afforded both directness and 
 security, and loads could be carried on the backs of 
 animals. Many of these ancient pathways, marked at 
 intervals by burial mounds, can still be traced amongst 
 the hills between the Rhondda and Avon rivers. The 
 Romans were great road builders, though the roads which 
 they built in England were comparatively few and were 
 constructed chiefly for military purposes. It is doubtful 
 whether they made any roads in Wales at all. Though 
 three Roman roads have been mentioned, and were 
 unquestionably used as highways, yet there is nothing 
 to indicate that they were planned or paved in the usual 
 Roman fashion. They probably ran along the line of 
 some earlier trackway. Several portions of causeway, 
 probably of Roman date, are, however, existent in the 
 county.
 
 COMMUNICATIONS 153 
 
 From the time of the Romans almost to our own days 
 Glamorganshire had practically no proper roads, and as 
 late as 1780 the only coal brought to Cardiff was on 
 horseback, and occasionally in barrows. At the beginning 
 of the nineteenth century a Parliamentary enquiry was 
 held as to the character of the roads in South Wales, and 
 a few main turnpike roads were constructed, in the face of 
 
 Cutting on the road near the Mumbles 
 
 much popular opposition, between the more important 
 towns, but little was done to open up communication 
 with the outlying districts of the north, except by the 
 construction of canals and tramways. The roads re- 
 mained few and poor until the abolition of the turnpikes, 
 and the establishment of a general system of road super- 
 vision. Great improvements have been effected in the 
 character of the roads within the past 30 years, but
 
 154 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 though much care is now bestowed upon their upkeep, 
 Glamorganshire can perhaps hardly claim to be pre-eminent 
 for its highways. As a rule they are somewhat narrow, 
 though their surface is excellent. In the neighbourhood 
 of the towns their improvement in condition is very 
 marked. Two main highways run across the centre of 
 the county from east to west ; one puts Cardiff in con- 
 nection with Neath and the western parts of the shire, 
 the other with Bridgend by way of Llantrissant. Some 
 good roads run up the valleys of the Taff and Nedd and 
 put both Cardiff and Neath in communication with 
 Merthyr, whilst another excellent high road leaves Swansea 
 for Carmarthen. There are a large number of fairly good 
 secondary roads connecting the villages, and the roads in 
 Gower, once extremely poor, are now much improved. 
 
 Glamorganshire to some degree owes the comparative 
 backwardness of its roads to the rapid extension of its 
 railway system. The country is admirably served in 
 this respect. A perfect network of lines covers the face 
 of the land, and the remotest valleys have been rendered 
 accessible by the engineer. With the exception of 
 the Metropolis, Glamorganshire has more railways to 
 the square mile than any other part of the kingdom. 
 The railway naturally developed out of the tramroad, 
 and Glamorganshire can claim the honour of having first 
 discovered the possibilities of the locomotive. In 1802 
 a tramway was laid down from Merthyr to Abercynon for 
 the conveyance of the product of the ironworks to the 
 Glamorganshire Canal, which had previously been con- 
 structed. Over this track an experimental journey was
 
 COMMUNICATIONS 155 
 
 made by Trevithick's high-pressure locomotive in -1804. 
 The first regular railway constructed in Glamorgan was 
 the Taff Vale, which commenced running between Mer- 
 thyr and Cardiff in 1841. 
 
 Glamorganshire is now chiefly served by the Great 
 Western, which absorbed the old South Wales Railway, 
 and runs across the lowlands from Cardiff to Loughor. 
 It has a number of local branches, and by means of the 
 Vale of Neath line works also round the northern border 
 of the county. Two other trunk lines, the London and 
 North Western and the Midland, have connections 
 between Swansea and the north ; the former also reaches 
 Merthyr from Abergavenny. A great number of local 
 lines bring the coal traffic from the hills to the coast. 
 The Taff Vale and Rhymney railways link Cardiff with 
 the eastern coalfield. The Barry railway serves the Barry 
 docks, and the Port Talbot and the Rhondda and Swansea 
 Bay lines are the channels by which the coal from the 
 centre of the county reaches Swansea. The latter line 
 penetrates the hills by a remarkable tunnel, two miles 
 in length. A picturesque viaduct carries the Vale of 
 Glamorgan railway across the glade of Porthkerry Park 
 to Bridgend, a long trestle bridge takes the Great Western 
 line over the Loughor river into Carmarthenshire, and 
 a fine iron-girdered viaduct spanning the Rhymney valley 
 enables the Barry railway to reach the Monmouthshire 
 coalfield. 
 
 Though railways are the most efficient means of 
 transport they were not the earliest. The age of railroads 
 was preceded by an era of canals. Rivers are the natural
 
 1 56 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 channels of communication, but as none of the local rivers 
 are navigable except at their estuaries, artificial waterways 
 had to be constructed before the mineral wealth of the 
 hills could reach the towns. The first canal to be made 
 was the Glamorganshire Canal, which linked together 
 Merthyr and Cardiff. Begun in 1790, it was opened for 
 traffic in 1794, but the entire canal was not completed 
 
 Porthkerry Viaduct 
 
 till 1798. The difficulty of the fall of 600 feet between 
 the two places had to be overcome by means of locks. 
 In 1818 the canal was taken up the Cynon valley to 
 Aberdare, and was afterwards extended from Cardiff to 
 the sea. An almost contemporaneous undertaking was 
 the construction of the Vale of Neath Canal from Glyn 
 Neath to Aberdulais, the course of which was subsequently 
 lengthened as far as Briton Ferry. Thirty years later
 
 COMMUNICATIONS 157 
 
 the Tennant Canal was cut from Port Tennant, near 
 Swansea, along the edge of the Crymlyn bog to Aber- 
 dulais in the Neath valley, and was carried across the Nedd 
 by an aqueduct. Another engineering work executed 
 about the same time was the Swansea Canal, which estab- 
 lished communication between Swansea and the rich 
 mineral district lying to the north. It runs up the Tawe 
 valley to Ynysbydafau in Brecon, a distance of 17 miles, 
 and though not as long as the Glamorgan Canal, the 
 difficulties of construction were even greater, for it rises 
 873 feet. Though the canals in Glamorganshire, as 
 elsewhere, were soon superseded by the railways, they 
 have nowhere been worked with greater profit or enjoyed 
 a longer period of prosperity. The traffic on them has 
 now largely diminished, and some are obsolete. It has 
 been said that the Act which authorised their construction 
 was the Magna Charta of the county's prosperity. 
 
 23. Administration. 
 
 The political institutions of the Welsh were to a large 
 extent determined by the physical peculiarities of the 
 country which they inhabited. A land of mountains is 
 seldom favourable to the social cohesion of its people. 
 Wales never possessed any political unity. It was divided 
 up into a number of petty kingdoms which were con- 
 stantly at war one with another. The most that even 
 the statecraft of the great Llewelyn could accomplish 
 was to gather these principalities together into a sort of 
 loose federation. Originally each of these Welsh kingdoms
 
 1 58 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 probably represented the "gwlad" or tribal area, dis- 
 tinguished one from another by differences of dialect and 
 custom. Each kingdom consisted of a number of " can- 
 trefs," which were the regions occupied by particular 
 clans. Their limits corresponded in some degree with 
 geographical distinctions. The kingdom of Morganwg 
 was said to consist of seven cantrefs Gorfynydd, which 
 stretched from the mouth of the Tawe to the estuary of 
 the Daw ; Penychen, which reached from the Daw to the 
 Taff; Y Breiniol, which lay between the Taff and the 
 Rhymney ; Gwynllwg, which was the territory enclosed 
 between the Rhymney and the Usk ; Gwent Iscoed and 
 Gwent Uchcoed, which lay between the Usk and Wye ; 
 and Ewias and Erging, which were beyond the Monnow 
 on the outlying borders of Herefordshire. The cantrefs 
 displayed considerable independence, and had their own 
 courts, but with the inevitable Welsh tendency to dis- 
 integration, as tribal ties became weaker, they eventually 
 split up into smaller divisions, called "commotes," 
 which were possibly assemblies of families, and which, 
 like the cantrefs themselves, were ruled by their own 
 customs and decided their own quarrels without much 
 reference to any superior authority. Gower or Gwyr 
 was a commote of one of the cantrefs of the kingdom 
 of Deheubarth, and included not only the cliff-bound 
 peninsula but the wilder country to the north between 
 the Tawe and the Loughor. Among the Welsh, blood 
 relationship was the one great bond, and the basis of the 
 social organisation was the family. The political system 
 was patriarchal, not territorial, and was built up on a
 
 ADMINISTRATION 159 
 
 foundation of kinship. The people were spread over the 
 country in occupation of their own personal holdings and 
 not, as in England, collected together in villages. To 
 attain political union amid such conditions, except under 
 the pressure of external necessity, was an impossibility, 
 and political exigencies led eventually to the fusion of 
 allied cantrefs into a small kingdom under the rule of the 
 tribal head. 
 
 At the Norman conquest, so far as it effectually 
 prevailed, the old Celtic system disappeared. The kingdom 
 became the Norman lordship, and the lands were parcelled 
 out to the different tenants on strict feudal tenure. The 
 government was autocratic and arbitrary. Each fief, and 
 each of the manors into which the fief was divided, had 
 its own petty courts, but they severally exercised their 
 authority under the paramount control of the county 
 court of the lord, which recognised only the superior 
 jurisdiction of the crown. The maintenance of the 
 peace was a matter of local rather than of national 
 concern, and the administration of justice was summary. 
 The physical characteristics of the country and the 
 independent spirit of the natives, however, compelled the 
 Normans to modify to some extent their accustomed 
 system. The more inaccessible regions were left in 
 possession of the native chieftains, and were very largely 
 allowed to retain their own laws and customs, though the 
 overlord sometimes found it necessary to assert his authority 
 by the expulsion of a local ruler. In Glamorganshire the 
 districts of Senghenydd, Meisgyn, Glyn Rhondda, and 
 Avon were under native rulers, and even the lordship of
 
 160 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Coity, though exercised by a Norman, is said to have 
 retained to some extent its local customs. There is little 
 doubt, however, that as time went on these native chieftains 
 gradually assimilated their methods of government to the 
 Norman system. 
 
 At the final incorporation of Wales with the English 
 dominions in the reign of Henry VIII, the whole ad- 
 ministration of justice passed directly into the hands of 
 the crown. The lordship became a true shire, and was 
 henceforth entitled to be represented in Parliament. The 
 King's judges came on circuit to administer justice at the 
 Great Session or Assize, and a number of local magistrates 
 were appointed to deal with smaller offences at the petty 
 sessions. Lords Lieutenant were appointed as the King's 
 representatives, and the Sheriff became the King's executive 
 officer for the enforcement of the law within the confines 
 of the shire. For the better preservation of the peace 
 and the punishment of the evil doer the shire was divided 
 into a number of hundreds under the supervision of the 
 Sheriff's bailiff. For legislative purposes each county and 
 the corporate towns were accorded a representative in 
 Parliament. Glamorganshire sent two members ; one for 
 the county, and one for the combined boroughs of Cardiff, 
 Cowbridge, Llantrissant, Kenfig, Aberavon, Neath, 
 Swansea, and Loughor. 
 
 In the reign of Elizabeth in consequence of the 
 increase of pauperism, due in part to the suppression of 
 the monasteries, which had up to their dissolution acted 
 as the voluntary almoners of the poor the old parochial 
 system was made a feature of civil government. Each
 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 
 161 
 
 parish became responsible for the maintenance of its own 
 poor, and the affairs of the parish were managed by the 
 Vestry. For the convenience of administration, however, 
 the parishes have since been grouped into Unions. 
 
 This system of government has lasted practically into 
 modern times. The Reform Act of 1832 and the 
 Redistribution Act of 1885 introduced changes in the 
 
 Cardiff Town Hall and Law Courts 
 
 Parliamentary arrangements, and in 1889 a great extension 
 of local government took place. The whole system of 
 county administration was remodelled. County Councils 
 were established for the general government of the shire, 
 and the larger towns were made into county boroughs. 
 The smaller corporate towns were allowed to retain their 
 municipal powers, and localities which possessed no 
 
 w. G. 
 
 1 1
 
 162 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 municipalities were placed under the control of Urban 
 Councils, or grouped together under the authority of 
 Rural Councils, according to the character of the popula- 
 tion. The management of parish matters, which had 
 hitherto been in the hands of the vestry, was transferred 
 to a parish council, and the administration of the Poor 
 Law was left, as before, to the existing Unions. 
 
 There are now within the county 3 county boroughs, 
 3 municipal boroughs, 15 urban and several rural district 
 councils, and, for the administration of the Poor Law, 
 9 Poor Law Unions. The county boroughs are Cardiff, 
 Swansea, and Merthyr Tydfil ; the municipal boroughs 
 are Aberavon, Cowbridge, and Neath. There are 126 
 civil parishes, and they are grouped together in Hundreds. 
 The County Council consists of 88 members in all, 
 22 aldermen and 66 councillors. The aldermen sit for 
 six years and are elected by the council, the councillors 
 sit for three years and are chosen by the electors. 
 
 For the administration of justice, the county is placed 
 under the jurisdiction of a Lord Lieutenant, a High 
 Sheriff, and about 350 magistrates. It is included in the 
 South Wales Circuit, and the Assizes are held alternately 
 at Cardiff and Swansea. 
 
 Glamorganshire has now ten Parliamentary repre- 
 sentatives. The county itself is divided into five districts 
 Mid, Southern, Eastern, Rhondda, and Gower each 
 of which returns one member. The combined boroughs 
 of Cardiff, Cowbridge, and Llantrissant ; the town of 
 Swansea ; and the district of Swansea, likewise return 
 each a member, and the Merthyr district returns two.
 
 ADMINISTRATION 
 
 163 
 
 Ecclesiastically the eastern half of the county is in the 
 diocese of Llandaff, and contains the Cathedral city; 
 while Swansea and Gower belong to the diocese of 
 St David's. 
 
 The educational progress of Glamorganshire has been 
 as remarkable as its industrial development. Before the 
 
 Cowbridge Grammar School 
 
 passing of the Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889 
 there were only four secondary schools in the shire, and, 
 during the century preceding, practically the only place of 
 regular instruction in the county at all was the ancient 
 Grammar School of Cowbridge. Such education as 
 existed was given by means of Sunday Schools and the 
 so-called " Circulating Schools," which were bands of
 
 164 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 itinerating schoolmasters who visited the farmsteads to 
 give occasional instruction to the inmates. These edu- 
 cational deficiencies were to some extent corrected at the 
 beginning of the nineteenth century by the establishment 
 in the industrial districts of "workshop" schools in 
 connection with the larger works. The rural districts 
 
 University College, Cardiff 
 
 had to content themselves with such learning as could be 
 obtained at the dame's school. The passing of the 
 Education Act of 1870 made school attendance com- 
 pulsory for the young, and brought into existence the 
 School Boards. In 1889 special education committees 
 were appointed to look after the interests of secondary 
 education; but by the subsequent Act of 1902 the whole
 
 ADMINISTRATION 165 
 
 of the intermediate and elementary education of the 
 county was placed in the hands of the County and 
 Borough Councils, who have special committees to deal 
 with the subject. There are now 20 intermediate and 
 over 400 elementary schools in the county. The Uni- 
 versity College of Cardiff was opened in 1883, and has 
 since become one of the constituent Colleges of the 
 University of Wales. In addition to this centre of 
 higher education there is at Swansea a Technical School, 
 and a college for training female elementary teachers. 
 
 24. The Roll of Honour. 
 
 Welshmen have never lacked ability or enterprise, 
 and many have attained to considerable distinction. 
 Their fervent and imaginative temperament has fre- 
 quently been wedded to more practical qualities, and 
 men of affairs as well as poets and preachers have sprung 
 from Welsh soil. Glamorganshire, however, has con- 
 tributed comparatively few names of first-rate eminence 
 to the roll of Welsh celebrities, though it has produced 
 many whose achievements have been sufficiently notable 
 to rescue their memories from oblivion. It is only possible 
 here to give the names of the most remarkable. 
 
 Notwithstanding its stormy history Glamorganshire 
 has had few soldiers of renown. All the prominent 
 leaders were either foreigners or Welshmen from other 
 counties. Of the local heroes the most celebrated was 
 Ivor Bach, the great little lord of Senghenydd, whose
 
 166 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 exploit in scaling the walls of Cardiff Castle is still 
 recounted with pride. From the same district came 
 Llewelyn Bren, whose insurrection for a time disturbed 
 the complacency of the English barons. Another man 
 of the mountains whose fame still lives amongst his 
 native haunts of the Rhondda was Cadwgan-y-Fwyell, 
 the trusty henchman of Glyndwr. Colonel Philip Jones, 
 the friend of Cromwell, lived at Fonmon, and Cromwell 
 himself had distant connections with the county, for his 
 great-grandfather, whose original name was Williams, was 
 a native of Llanishen. In later times Sir William Nott 
 (1782-1845), the son of a Neath publican, distinguished 
 himself by his successful military operations at Candahar. 
 
 In spite of its maritime character Glamorganshire has 
 reared few sailors of eminence. The most prominent were 
 Admiral Sir Thomas Button (d. 1634), a native of Cardiff 
 who explored Hudson's Bay, and did good service by 
 suppressing the Channel pirates ; and Admiral Mathews 
 of Llandaff (1670-1751), whose promising career was 
 ruined by the miscarriage of his expedition against the 
 French at Toulon. 
 
 In religious devotion the Welsh have always been 
 conspicuous. A number of noteworthy ecclesiastics 
 and divines have been connected with Glamorganshire's 
 religious history, though they have not all been sons of 
 the soil. The association of the names of Teilo and 
 Dyfrig with the see of Llandaff is probably fanciful. 
 Cadoc, the reputed founder of Llancarfan, on the contrary, 
 undoubtedly exercised considerable influence in the locality, 
 though he sprang from the princely house of Gwynllwg.
 
 THE ROLL OF HONOUR 
 
 167 
 
 Another equally famous name in the annals of local 
 monasticism is that of Illtyd, the head of Llantwit Major. 
 Of the bishops of Llandaff the most famous were Urban 
 
 Admiral Sir Thomas Button 
 
 (c. 1107), the builder of the first Norman cathedral, who 
 is reputed to have been of local birth ; William Morgan, 
 the translator of the Welsh Bible, who occupied the see
 
 168 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 from 1595 to 1 60 1 and was the first Welshman to preside 
 over the diocese after a lapse of three centuries ; and 
 Morgan Owen, Laud's chaplain. Of the many Non- 
 conformist divines to whom the county has given birth 
 the most eminent were Christopher Love (1618-1651), 
 a Cardiff Presbyterian, who acquired notoriety for his 
 anti-monarchical opinions, but was eventually put to death 
 as a Royalist ; Thomas Llewelyn of Gelligaer (d. 1783), 
 a Biblical scholar ; Dr Richard Price, the philosopher, 
 1723-1791 ; and T. W. Davies, a native of Gower, a 
 Nonconformist historian of repute. Christmas Evans 
 (1766-1838), though not a Glamorganshire man, attained 
 wide celebrity for his pastoral labours at Caerphilly 
 and Cardiff. The most distinguished local Papist was 
 Sir E. Carne of Cowbridge (d. 1561), who acted as 
 ambassador at Rome for both Mary and Elizabeth. 
 
 Several notable men of letters have had associations 
 with the county though they have not all been Welshmen. 
 To Caradoc of Llancarfan (d. 1157) we owe some of 
 the legendary matter which has built up the Arthurian 
 romances. John Walters (d. 1794), rector of Llandough 
 near Cowbridge, was an eminent Welsh lexicographer. 
 John Sterling, whose life Carlyle wrote, spent his early 
 days at Llanbleddian ; Lady Charlotte Guest, the trans- 
 lator of the Mabinogiori) was the wife of Sir John Guest, 
 the Merthyr ironmaster ; the voluminous Ann Kemble, 
 sister of Mrs Siddons and popularly known as "Ann 
 of Swansea," passed most of her life at Swansea ; 
 R. D. Blackmore, the novelist, sojourned for a time at 
 Newton Nottage ; and Thomas Bowdler, the notorious
 
 THE ROLL OF HONOUR 
 
 169 
 
 expurgator of Shakespeare, is buried at Oystermouth. The 
 local poets have been more numerous than distinguished. 
 The birthplace of Dafydd ap Gwilym(i 330-68) is doubtful, 
 
 Beau Nash 
 
 but in no part of Wales was he held in higher honour than 
 in Glamorgan. Swansea claims, though on insufficient 
 evidence, to have given birth to John Gower (d. 1402)
 
 170 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 the personal friend of Chaucer. Amongst less notable 
 songsters were Meirig Dafydd, Dafydd Benwyn (c. 1560), 
 Rhys Brydydd, Llewelyn Sion, Lewis Morganwg (1500- 
 1540) and Thomas Leyson of Neath (1569-1607). Gla- 
 morganshire's most notable musicians were W. T. Rees 
 (b. 1838), a Bridgend collier, and Joseph L. Parry of 
 Merthyr, Professor at Cardiff College (1841-1903). 
 
 There are few scholars of more than local celebrity. 
 Sir Edward Stradling of St Donat's (1529-1609) was a 
 generous patron of learning and renowned as a collector 
 of manuscripts, and other members of the same family 
 won repute for scholarship. One of the earliest pioneers 
 of Welsh education was Sir Leoline Jenkins of Llantrissant 
 (1625-85), the second founder of Jesus College, Oxford ; 
 and another statesman who helped to complete the edu- 
 cational system of the Principality was the first Lord 
 Aberdare (1815-1893), the first vice-chancellor of the 
 University of Wales, who was born at St Nicholas. 
 
 Two Glamorganshire men of humble parentage won 
 considerable local reputations as antiquaries. One was 
 Edward Williams, better known as " lolo Morganwg" 
 (1743-1826), a mason of Penon, and the other Evan 
 Davies (1816-84), a watchmaker of Pontypridd. An 
 antiquary of wider fame was George Clark (1809-98) 
 who, though not a native, spent a large part of his life 
 as manager of the Dowlais ironworks and wrote on 
 archaeological subjects. 
 
 Of legal celebrities the most notable occupants of the 
 Bench were Judge David Jenkins of Hensol (1582-1663), 
 whose learning procured for him the sobriquet of " the
 
 John Crichton Stuart, and Marquis of Bute
 
 172 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Pillar of the Law"; Sir John Nichol of Llanmaes 
 (1751-1838), who was a judge of the Admiralty and 
 Vicar General; and Sir William Grove (1811-1896), 
 born at Swansea, who combined a Judgeship in the High 
 Court of Justice with great distinction as a physicist and 
 electrician, being Professor at the London Institution from 
 1840 to 1847. 
 
 Amongst local craftsmen Richard Twrch of Bridgend 
 the designer of the renaissance porch at Beaupre, and 
 William Edwards (c. 1755) the builder of the single-arch 
 bridge at Pontypridd, should be remembered. Glamorgan- 
 shire has contributed one notable figure to the world of 
 fashion in Richard Nash, "Beau Nash" (1674-1762), 
 the famous M.C. of the Bath routs, who was a Swansea 
 man. 
 
 Of the great captains of industry whose enterprise 
 revolutionised the commercial prospects of the county 
 the most conspicuous were Dr Lane, the founder of the 
 copper-smelting trade; Sir J. Guest, Richard Crawshay, 
 and Richard Fothergill, the ironmasters ; and John 
 Crichton Stuart, 2nd Marquis of Bute, the creator of 
 modern Cardiff.
 
 25. THE CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 
 OF GLAMORGANSHIRE. 
 
 (The figures in brackets after each name give the population 01 
 the place in 1911, from the official returns, and those at 
 the end of each paragraph are references to the pages in the 
 text.) 
 
 Aberavon (10,505), a municipal and market town at the 
 mouth of the Avon. The town, wedged in between the 
 
 Aberthaw Village 
 
 mountains and Swansea Bay, possesses a promenade and some 
 extensive sands. Its corporate charter was obtained as early 
 as 1158 A.D., and it once enjoyed Parliamentary privileges.
 
 1 74 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Collieries and tin-plate works are the chief sources of employ- 
 ment, (pp. 34, 51, 1 60, 162.) 
 
 Aberdare (50,830), a market town in the Cynon valley. It 
 is a place of modern growth and owed its early prosperity to the 
 Abernant ironworks. It now depends chiefly on its collieries, 
 (pp. 28, 30, 87, 90.) 
 
 Aberthaw, a village and decayed port at the mouth of the 
 Daw. It was once famous for its lime, which was used by 
 Smeaton in the construction of the Eddystone Lighthouse, (pp. 
 37, 49, 86.) 
 
 Barry (33,763), a large sea-port in the south of the county. 
 Its career has been one of extraordinary prosperity. Fifty years 
 ago it did not exist ; to-day it is one of the most promising ports 
 in South Wales, and its docks are some of the finest in Glamorgan. 
 The town forms an amphitheatre round the docks, and comprises 
 the districts of Cadoxton, Barry Dock, Barry, and Barry Island. 
 The last, now an island only in name, is regarded as the local 
 holiday quarter, and possesses a bathing place. On the summit 
 of the cliff are the foundations of an ancient chapel, and on the 
 mainland is the gateway of a medieval castle, (pp. 25, 37, 48, 102.) 
 
 Bishopston (893), a village in the south of the Gower 
 peninsula. A charming glen runs down from the village to the 
 sea. Overhanging the mouth of the valley is Pwlldu Head, a fine 
 limestone promontory crowned by a camp. (p. 52.) 
 
 Boverton, a hamlet near Llantwit Major, believed by some 
 to have been the Ro<vium of the Romans. Neariit are the ruins 
 of a fortified manor house, Boverton Place, (p. 128.) 
 
 Bridgend (8021), a market town on the Ogmore river, 
 which divides it into two quarters, Old Castle and New Castle. 
 Each township formerly possessed a fortress, but the ruins of 
 New Castle, which retains a Norman gateway, alone remain, 
 (pp. 20, 25, 86, 93, 148.)
 
 CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 175 
 
 Briton Ferry (8472), a sea-port at the mouth of the Nedd, 
 deriving its importance from its docks, and steel and tin-plate 
 works, (pp. 35, 51, 82, 103.) 
 
 Caerau (237), a village four miles west of Cardiff. The 
 church stands on an eminence, which is surmounted by a large 
 Roman camp. (p. 130.) 
 
 Caerphilly (32,844), a market town on the east border of 
 the county, seven miles north of Cardiff. The town, which is 
 
 Bridgend 
 
 pleasantly situated at the foot of Cefn Carnau, owes its large 
 population to the neighbouring colliery district of the Rhymney 
 valley, though even in the seventeenth century its market rivalled 
 that of Cardiff. It is chiefly notable for the ruins of its famous 
 castle, built by Gilbert de Clare in the thirteenth century, and 
 enlarged by the Despensers. In size it is second only to Windsor, 
 and possesses a fine hall and some very elaborate outworks. In 
 the vicinity are one or two old manor houses, (pp. 20, 30, 1 1 1, 145.)
 
 Cardiff (182,259), a county and parliamentary borough on 
 the Taff, and the principal town in Glamorgan. Though Cardiff 
 has been termed the Welsh Chicago, it is a place of considerable 
 antiquity. As Tibia Amnis it was a military station of importance 
 in Roman days, and one of its gateways has been discovered in 
 the grounds of the castle, which was built on the lines of the 
 Roman rampart. The castle itself is an elaborate modern 
 restoration of the medieval fortress, but the ruins of the Norman 
 keep built by Robert of Caen stand on a moated mound in the 
 centre of the court. The Curthose tower is said to have been for 
 20 years the prison of Robert of Normandy. Besides the castle 
 the only other ancient building in the town is St John's church, 
 a fifteenth century edifice with a fine Perpendicular tower. The 
 old church of St Mary, which was connected with a Benedictine 
 priory, was destroyed by a flood in 1607. Cardiff also once 
 possessed some habitations of Black and Grey Friars, and the 
 ruins of the house which Lord Herbert built out of the material 
 of the latter still stand near the City Hall. Though always a 
 port, Cardiff's commercial prosperity dates only from the middle 
 of the last century. It now possesses a splendidly equipped series 
 of docks, and it is the largest coal port in the world. The town 
 is well built and its streets are spacious. A fine group of 
 buildings consisting of the City Hall, the Assize Courts, the 
 Welsh National Museum, and the University College have been 
 erected in Cathays Park, and there is a large library in another 
 part of the town. (pp. 3, 27, 31, 46, 80, 82, 95, 98, 99, 101, 109, 
 in, 113, 115, 116, 128, 138, 144, 145, 160, 165.) 
 
 Castell Coch, a castle on the slopes of Cefn On, three 
 miles south-west of Caerphilly, which takes its name from the 
 ruddy tint of its walls. The present structure is a modern 
 restoration of the original building, which was probably intended 
 to guard the pass of the Taff. On the hill side are Lord Bute's 
 well-known vineyards, (pp. 77, 144.)
 
 CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 177 
 
 Cheriton (128), a village in the north-west of the Gower 
 peninsula. The church is Early English, and at Llandimore 
 are some remains of a fifteenth century castle. On North Hill 
 Tor is a Danish camp. (pp. 55, 138.) 
 
 Coity, a village near Bridgend. It possesses a fine cruciform 
 Decorated church, and the crumbling remains of a large castle, 
 once the seat of the Turbervilles. (pp. 138, 145.) 
 
 Cowbridge (1167), a municipal borough and market town 
 pleasantly situated in the centre of the Vale of Glamorgan on the 
 
 Cheriton Church 
 
 banks of the Daw. It shares in the Parliamentary representation 
 of Cardiff. The church has a curious Early English tower, and 
 near it are some fragments of the ancient town walls and one of 
 the gateways. The Grammar School was refounded in the time 
 of James II. The neighbouring hill of Stalling Down was the 
 scene of a sanguinary encounter between Glyndwr and the English 
 forces in 1405. (pp. 25, 36, 114, 141, 145, 160, 162, 163.) 
 W. G. 12
 
 178 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Coychurch (1391), a village near Bridgend possessing a 
 handsome cruciform church of the Transitional Decorated period. 
 In the churchyard are two Celtic crosses, (pp. 23, 132, 138.) 
 
 Dinas Powis, a village five miles south-west of Cardiff, 
 where there are the remains of a castle. 
 
 Ewenny (357), a parish on the Ewenny river near Bridgend, 
 notable as the site of a Benedictine priory founded in 1140 by 
 Maurice de Londres. The church remains almost intact and is a 
 fine example of Norman work. The gateway and portions of the 
 external wall of the monastery also survive, (pp. 33, 136.) 
 
 FlemingSton (69), a village 35 miles south-east of Cowbridge 
 overlooking the Daw. Near the church is a once fortified manor 
 house with a Jacobean hall. (p. 149.) 
 
 Gelligaer (35,521), a village on the east border of the 
 county 14 miles north of Cardiff overlooking the Rhymney 
 valley. It was once a Roman military station, and considerable 
 remains of the fortifications have recently been unearthed. In 
 the neighbourhood are the populous colliery villages of Brithdir, 
 Bargoed, Hengoed, and Pontlottyn. (pp. 128, 130, 168.) 
 
 Glyncorrwg (8688), a colliery district amongst the hills, 
 six miles north of Maesteg. (p. 69.) 
 
 Gorseinon, a village near Loughor depending on vitriol and 
 tin-plate works. The ancient parish church of Llandeilo Talybont 
 is interesting. At the neighbouring village of Gowerton are 
 some extensive steel works. 
 
 Hirwain, a populous colliery suburb of Aberdare, four 
 miles north-west of the town. (pp. 9, 92.) 
 
 Kenfig (301), a village amongst the sand-warrens near 
 Porthcawl. It was once a corporate and parliamentary borough, 
 but the town was overwhelmed by the sand in the sixteenth 
 century. A fragment of its castle may still be seen amongst 
 the dunes, and the local public house was once the town hall.
 
 CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 179 
 
 The old municipal mace is in the Cardiff Museum. In the 
 centre of surrounding sand-hills is Kenfig Pool, a sheet of water 
 two miles round, and on the road to Margam is an Ogam stone, 
 (pp. 42, 44, 51, 59, 91, 109, 126, 145, 160.) 
 
 Laleston (706), a village near Bridgend where are the 
 remains of a cromlech. 
 
 Llanbleddian (745), the mother parish of Cowbridge. On 
 a knoll overlooking the village are the remains of St Quintin's 
 castle, (pp. 114, 1 6 8.) 
 
 Llancarfan (446), a village in the valley of the Carfan 
 brook, a feeder of the Daw. It was the site of a famous Celtic 
 monastery founded by St Cadoc in the sixth century. The church 
 has a transitional Norman arcade, and the remains of a fine screen. 
 On a neighbouring hill is an ancient camp. (pp. 132, 138, 
 166, 168.) 
 
 Llandaff (9142), a cathedral city on the banks of the Taff, 
 near Cardiff. It was a bishopric of importance before the coming 
 of the Normans, but the present cathedral dates from the twelfth 
 century, and though retaining its Norman doorways, belongs 
 chiefly to the Early English and Decorated periods. It possesses 
 a number of interesting monuments. On the high ground above 
 the cathedral are the ruins of the ancient episcopal palace destroyed 
 by Glyndwr in 1402. (pp. 23, 32, 113, 134-6, 150, 167.) 
 
 Llanddewi (120), a parish in the west of Gower in the 
 vicinity of which are the sites of Llanddewi and Scurlage castles, 
 (p. 144-) 
 
 Llandough, a village near Penarth, once the site of a Celtic 
 monastery, and still retaining a fine specimen of a Celtic pillar 
 cross. There is another village of the same name near Cow- 
 bridge, (pp. 25, 93, 132.) 
 
 Llangan (207), a small village 3^ miles north-west from 
 Cowbridge possessing an interesting example of a sculptured 
 
 12 2
 
 180 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 wheel cross of Celtic workmanship, and an almost perfect 
 fifteenth century cross, (pp. 132, 138.) 
 
 Llangenydd, a village on the west verge of Gower, once 
 the site of a monastery. On Harding Down are some earthworks, 
 (p. 55-) 
 
 Llangyfelach, a parish five miles north of Swansea. On 
 one of the neighbouring hills is a stone circle, and in the church- 
 yard is the base of a Celtic cross, (p. 125.) 
 
 Llangynwyd (2098), the mother parish of Maesteg, near 
 which are the remains of a castle destroyed by the younger 
 Llewelyn, (pp. no, 144.) 
 
 Llanmadoc (149), a village on the north-west extremity 
 of the Gower peninsula. In the churchyard is a Celtic cross, 
 and on the summit of the neighbouring hill is a large camp. 
 The shore is overhung in places by some prominent limestone 
 tors beneath which are bone caverns, (p. 55.) 
 
 Llanmaes (142), a village four miles south from Cowbridge. 
 The church contains some mural frescoes. Near it are the ruins 
 of Malafant Castle, (pp. 114, 141.) 
 
 Llanmihangel (30), a parish near Cowbridge possessing 
 a fine fifteenth century manor house remodelled in Tudor times, 
 (p. 148.) 
 
 Llanrhidian, a village in Gower bordering on the Burry 
 inlet. In the vicinity are the ruins of Weobley Castle, and on 
 the ridge of Cefn-y-Bryn is the famous cromlech, Arthur's Stone. 
 The parish also possesses more than one menhir and some traces 
 of a camp. (pp. 55, 58, 124, 145.) 
 
 Llansamlet (3801), a parish in the Swansea industrial zone 
 overlooking the Tawe valley, thriving chiefly on tin-plate and 
 spelter works, (p. 82.)
 
 CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 181 
 
 Llantrissant (50,929), a market town on the north edge of 
 the Vale of Glamorgan, and a contributory borough to Cardiff. It 
 is chiefly remarkable for its romantic situation on the brow of a hill 
 overlooking the lowlands. The eminence is crowned by the ruins 
 of a castle said to have been destroyed in the insurrection of 
 Llewelyn Bren. On the opposite hill is a camp. Iron ore was 
 once worked in the neighbourhood, which is now occupied by 
 colliery villages, (pp. 20, 32, 80, 83, 113, 160, 162, 169.) 
 
 Llantrithyd, a village three miles eastward from Cowbridge, 
 possessing an interesting church and the ruins of a Tudor manor 
 house, (p. 150.) 
 
 Llantwit Major (i 188), a quaint old town \\ miles south- 
 west of Cowbridge on the Colhugh brook, and to the antiquary one 
 of the most attractive places in the county. In the sixth century 
 it was the seat of a monastery presided over by St Illtyd, though 
 nothing remains from Celtic times but a collection of ninth century 
 crosses in the church, which dates from the thirteenth century and 
 is of peculiar interest. The town possesses a medieval town 
 hall, and the ruins of a manor house. In a neighbouring field 
 were discovered the foundations of a Roman villa. Overlooking 
 the shore are some earthworks, (pp. 37, 49, 130, 131, 137, 138, 
 148, 167.) 
 
 Loughor (41 1 8), a decayed town at the mouth of the Loughor 
 river eight miles north-west of Swansea, generally identified with 
 the Roman Leucarum. At the vicarage is an Ogam stone made 
 out of a Roman altar, and by the side of the river are the ruins 
 of a medieval castle, (pp. 7, 36, 126, 128.) 
 
 Maesteg (24,977), a flourishing town in the Llynfi valley 
 some six miles eastward of Port Talbot, owing its existence to its 
 former ironworks but now chiefly dependent upon its collieries, 
 which stretch from the adjoining village of Garth northwards to 
 Caerau. (p. 33.)
 
 182 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Marcross (95), a village near- Nash Point, six miles south- 
 west of Cowbridge. The church contains a Norman chancel arch, 
 and in the parish are the remains of a cromlech. (pp. 49, 
 60, 138.) 
 
 Margam (14,713, including Port Talbot), a village four 
 miles south-east from Aberavon, noteworthy for its once prosperous 
 Cistercian monastery founded by Robert of Gloucester in 1147. 
 The site of the abbey is now occupied by a mansion, in the 
 grounds of which are the ruins of the choir and chapter-house. 
 The parish church, a late Norman building, was the nave of the 
 minster and contains a fine collection of Celtic crosses and 
 sepulchral slabs. There are several inscribed stones and camps 
 on the neighbouring hills, (pp. 14, 88, 128, 131, 136.) 
 
 Merthyi* Mawr (i 89), a parish near Bridgend on theOgmore 
 river. In the churchyard are some effigies and Celtic crosses, and 
 two other crosses are at Merthyr Mawr House. The shore is 
 remarkable for its extensive sand-warrens, on the edge of which 
 stand the remains of Candleston Castle. Among the sand-hills 
 have been discovered remains of a large prehistoric burial-place, 
 (pp. 87, 132.) 
 
 Merthyr Tydfil (80,990), a county and parliamentary 
 borough in the north-east corner of the county, now the third 
 most important town in the county and the metropolis of the iron 
 trade. Adjoining it are the Dowlais ironworks, and the neigh- 
 bouring collieries are very numerous. To the north of the 
 town are the ruins of Morlais Castle, a feudal outpost, (pp. 3, 
 30, 81, 82, 86, 87, 89, 144, 162, 169.) 
 
 Monknash (78), a village on the Bristol Channel, near 
 the Nash. It borrows its prefix from some remains of monastic 
 buildings. 
 
 Mountain Ash (42,246), a typical colliery town in the 
 Cynon valley 3^ miles south-east of Aberdare. (p. 30.)
 
 CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 183 
 
 Nantgarw, a village in the Taff valley once celebrated for 
 its porcelain, (p. 86.) 
 
 Neath (17,586) the Nidum of the Romans a municipal 
 borough and market town on the Nedd. In medieval times it 
 possessed both a castle and an abbey, the ruins of which still 
 remain. The abbey, described by Leland as the "fairest abbey in 
 Wales," was founded for Cistercians by Richard de Granville in 
 nil, and was Early English in style. Portions of the church 
 
 Merthyr Tydfil 
 
 survive, but the site is chiefly occupied by the ruins ot a seventeenth 
 century mansion erected out of its materials and incorporating 
 some of its domestic buildings. The town now is the centre of a 
 busy industrial district abounding 'in tin-plate and copper works. 
 On the summit of Mynydd Drummau are a stone circle and a 
 menhir, (pp. 35, 82, 86, 125, 128, 137, 150, 162.) 
 
 Newton Nottage (3444, including Porthcawl), a village 
 on Ogmore Bay near Porthcawl. The church has a fortified 
 tower and a curious stone pulpit. Between the church and the
 
 184 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 sea is a well which fills only when the tide is out. Nottage Court 
 is a Tudor manor house, (pp. 23, 51, 139, 149, 168.) 
 
 Ogmore Valleys, a thickly populated colliery district 
 through which flow the Ogmore and Garw rivers. The chief 
 villages are Nantymoel, Gilfach Coch, Blackmill, Blaengarw and 
 Pontycwmmer. (pp. 33, 90.) 
 
 Oxwich (178), a village in the south of Gower, on the 
 shores of a large and beautiful bay.- The church is interesting, 
 and on the headland are the ruins of a castle, (pp. 52, 58.) 
 
 Oystermouth (6098), a seaside resort on the west side of 
 Swansea Bay, better known from its outstanding islets as the 
 Mumbles. The village possesses a pier and the picturesque ruins 
 of a castle. Beyond the headland are Langland and Caswell 
 Bays, two favourite bathing-places, (pp. 52, 60, 97, 145, 168.) 
 
 Penarth (15,488), a watering place and port on the Ely 
 estuary, two miles south of Cardiff. Its proximity to Cardiff and 
 its fine position on the top of a cliff have made it a favourite 
 residential quarter. It possesses some docks and a pier. A section 
 of Rhaetic rocks, from their extensive exposure on the headland, 
 are known as " Penarth Beds." (pp. 23, 46, 75, 86, 101.) 
 
 Penmark (495), a village in the south of the Vale of 
 Glamorgan three miles west of Barry, where are the ruins of a 
 castle. Fonmon Castle, a modernised Norman stronghold, is also 
 in the neighbourhood, (pp. 69, 144, 166.) 
 
 Pennard (245), a parish in Gower on the east side of Oxwich 
 Bay. Overlooking a sandy creek are the ruins of a castle, and 
 the face of the cliffs are perforated with bone caverns. The 
 neighbouring village of Parkmill is much visited for its 
 picturesqueness. (p. 54.) 
 
 Penrice (2 15), a village in Gower near Oxwich Bay possessing 
 the picturesque ruins of a once strong and extensive castle, (p. 54.)
 
 CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 185 
 
 Peterston-super-Ely (389), a village in the Vale of 
 Glamorgan, six miles west of Cardiff, where are a few fragments 
 of a castle, (p. 32.) 
 
 Pontardulais, a village in the Loughor valley, the centre 
 of a busy district occupied chiefly in tin-plate manufacture. 
 
 Pontypridd (43,211), a large market and colliery town at 
 the confluence of the Rhondda and Taff rivers forming a natural 
 focus upon which the immense traffic from the contiguous mining 
 valleys converges. It possesses a remarkable one-arched bridge, 
 and on the hill-side overlooking the town is a modern stone 
 circle. Hopkinstown and Treforest are industrial suburbs. 
 (PP- 3', 85, 87, 169.) 
 
 Port Eynon (207), a village in the south of the Gower 
 peninsula standing on its own bay, and possessing some fine cliff 
 scenery. In the neighbourhood are the Culver Hole and the 
 Paviland Caves, (p. 54.) 
 
 Porthcawl (3444, including Newton Nottage), a popular 
 watering place on the west side of Ogmore Bay. It possesses a 
 dock, but its shipping trade has now vanished. Near it is Sker 
 House, a decayed Tudor manor house, associated with Blackmore's 
 Maid of Sker. (pp. 51, 103, 149.) 
 
 Porthkerry (i8i),a parish near Barry overlooking a pretty- 
 bay. On the cliffs are some earthworks known as "the Bulwarks." 
 (pp. 48, 155.) 
 
 Port Talbot (14,002, including Margam), a flourishing 
 port on the east side of Swansea Bay, with some extensive docks 
 and steel works, (pp. 34, 103.) 
 
 Rhondda Valleys (152,781), the most productive colliery 
 district in the county, comprising the villages along the banks of 
 the two Rhondda rivers and their tributaries. It is celebrated for 
 its steam coal, and is densely populated. The chief places are 
 
 125
 
 186 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Blaen Rliondda, Treherbert, Treorky, Pentre, Ystradyfodwg, 
 Llwynypia, Clydach, Tonypandy, Ferndale, Tylorstown, and 
 Forth. On the hill side near Llwynypia once stood the Franciscan 
 Friary of Penrhys. (p. 30.) 
 
 Rhossili (246), a village at the south-west extremity of Gower 
 near the Worms Head. The cliff scenery is bold and impressive, 
 and behind the bay rise extensive downs on which are some pre- 
 historic antiquities, (pp. 55, 138.) 
 
 St Athan (360), a village near the mouth of the Daw six 
 miles south-east of Cowbridge. The church has some interesting 
 monuments, and on the banks of the river are the ruins of East 
 Orchard castle. 
 
 St Bride Major (783), a village four miles south of 
 Bridgend in a fold of Ogmore Down. The church has some 
 monuments, and near the confluence of the Ewenny and Ogmore 
 rivers is the ruined keep of Ogmore Castle, (pp. 33, 145.) 
 
 St Donat's a village one mile east of Nash Point possessing 
 a residential castle of great interest. In the churchyard is a fine 
 medieval cross, (pp. 49, 141, 144, 169.) 
 
 St Pagan's (549), a village four miles west of Cardiff. 
 A desperate engagement between the Royalist and Parliamentary 
 forces took place in the neighbourhood in 1648. St Fagan's 
 Castle is a large Tudor residence built on the site of a medieval 
 stronghold. The church exhibits some Decorated work. (pp. 32, 
 H7> '39 '49-) 
 
 St Hilary (138), a village two miles south-east of Cowbridge 
 overlooking the valley of the Daw. In the parish are the ruins 
 of Beaupre Castle which possesses a fine renaissance porch, 
 (p. 149.)
 
 188 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 St Mary Hill (177), a parish four miles east of Bridgend 
 noted for its annual horse fair. The church is a prominent 
 landmark and possesses a good medieval cross, (p. 114.) 
 
 St Nicholas (370), a village mid-way between Cardiff and 
 Cowbridge. In the neighbourhood are some remarkable cromlechs. 
 
 (p. 124.) 
 
 Southerndown, a watering place four miles south ot 
 Bridgend. The coast is geologically interesting. Behind a lofty 
 headland is Dunraven Castle, a modern mansion occupying tradi- 
 tionally the site of an early castle, (p. 50.) 
 
 Sully (314), a village on the Bristol Channel two miles east 
 of Barry. Near the church are the foundations of a castle 
 and close to the coast is a small island on which is a camp, 
 (pp. 48, 144.) 
 
 Swansea (114,663), a county and parliamentary borough 
 at the mouth of the Tawe, and the second largest port and town 
 in the county. It is supposed to have originated as a Scandinavian 
 settlement, but its real history begins with the Norman castle 
 built by the Earl of Warwick on his conquest of Gower. The 
 ruins of this castle as reconstructed by Bishop Gower in 1330 stand 
 in the centre of the town and show some Decorated arcading. 
 The town itself occupies a fine situation on the shores of its bay, 
 and the suburbs are spread over the adjoining hill side. In spite 
 of its long history it has few antiquities. The chief public 
 buildings are the Town Hall, Royal Institution, and Free Library. 
 The church, though modern, has an ancient chapel attached. 
 The local commerce is immense, and the town possesses some 
 magnificent docks. It is the metropolis of the copper trade and 
 owing to the number and variety of its smelting works it has 
 been termed the metallurgical capital of the world. There are 
 more than 150 furnaces for the treatment of different kinds of 
 ores within four miles of the town. (pp. 3, 48, 52, 82, 85, 88, 
 98, 99, 1 03 , 162, i 68.)
 
 CHIEF TOWNS AND VILLAGES 189 
 
 Swansea Valley (111,950), the populous district lying to 
 the north of Swansea. It consists of a long string of industrial 
 villages following the course of the Tawe, the chief of which are 
 Ystalyfera, Llanguick, Pontardawe, Clydach, Morriston, and 
 Landore. The old Swansea canal runs through the valley, which 
 abounds in collieries and copper, steel, and chemical works. The 
 northern portion contains some valuable anthracite seams. At 
 Ystalyfera there is some striking rock scenery, and on a hill 
 near Llanguick are the remains of a stone circle, (pp. 36, 82, 
 83, 85, 135.) 
 
 Tondu, a market town at the junction of the Llynfi and 
 Ogmore valleys, depending on collieries and ironworks, (p. 33.) 
 
 (505), a village 42 miles south-west from Cardiff 
 which once possessed two castles, Wenvoe and Wrinstone. 
 
 Ystradowen (228), a village two miles north of Cowbridge 
 near which are some fragments of Talyfan Castle.
 
 190 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 England & Wales 
 
 
 Wales 
 
 37.337.537 acres 
 
 4,778,182 
 
 
 acres 
 
 Glair 
 518,86; 
 
 organ 
 acres 
 1 
 
 Fig. i. The Area of Glamorganshire compared with 
 that of England and Wales 
 
 England & Wales 
 36,070,492 
 
 Wales 
 2,025,202 
 
 Glamorgan 
 1,121,062 
 
 Fig. 2. The Population of Glamorganshire compared 
 with that of England and Wales
 
 DIAGRAMS 
 
 191 
 
 Radnorshire 50 Lancashire 2554 
 
 England and Wales 618 
 
 Wales 271 
 
 Glamorganshire 1382 
 
 Fig. 3. Comparative Density of Population to the 
 square mile in 191 1 
 
 (Each square represents a sq. mile and each dot ten persons) 
 
 United Kingdom 
 260,567,552 Tons 
 
 South Wales 
 50,116,264 
 
 
 Fig. 4. Output of Coal from the S. Wales Coalfield in 
 1912 compared with that of the United Kingdom
 
 192 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 - -i860 1 
 
 1870- - 
 
 - -1-880- - 
 
 - -1890- - 
 
 - -1900 - - 
 
 1910 
 
 Tons 
 10 million 
 
 Fig. 5. Comparative Increase in the Output of Coal from 
 the S. Wales Coalfield during the last 50 years 
 
 1863- -> ; 
 
 -1870 ! 
 
 -1890 - - 
 
 -1900 
 
 -1910- 
 
 Total Tonnage 
 Imports & Exports 
 4,035,827 Tons 
 4,323,089 
 8,273,029 ,, 
 
 21,895,445 
 28,349,033 ,, 
 
 Fig. 6. Growth in Trade of the Glamorganshire Ports 
 during the last 50 years 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 70i879 
 231,849 
 317.752 
 397.859 
 
 5"933 
 687,218 
 
 859.931 
 
 8oi-| 
 
 1851 
 1861 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - - -1881- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ion 
 
 
 
 Fig. 7. Growth in the Population of Glamorganshire 
 during the last century
 
 DIAGRAMS 
 
 193 
 
 and Bare Fallow (570 acres) 
 
 Fig. 8. Proportionate Area under Corn Crops 
 in Glamorganshire in 1912 
 
 Wheat I Barley 
 4,296 acres \ 5,576 acres 
 
 Fig. 9. Proportionate Areas of chief Cereals 
 in Glamorganshire in 1912
 
 194 
 
 GLAMORGANSHIRE 
 
 Fig. 10. Proportionate Areas of land in 
 Glamorganshire in 1912 
 
 Fig. ii. Proportionate numbers of Live Stock 
 in Glamorganshire in 1912
 
 DIAGRAMS 
 
 195 
 
 United Kingdom 
 1,343,601,761 
 
 Fig. 12. Value of Glamorganshire Imports and Exports 
 compared with that of the United Kingdom in 1912 
 
 Other Areas 
 293 Square Miles 
 
 Coal-field 
 518 Square Miles 
 
 Fig. 13. Proportionate Areas of Coal-producing 
 and other districts in Glamorganshire
 
 Customs Port of Cardiff 
 
 (including Barry) 
 
 ^20,096,887 
 
 Fig. 14. Comparative Value of Imports and Exports at 
 the various Glamorganshire ports in 1912 
 
 Fig. 15. Comparative Volume of Trade of the 
 chief Glamorganshire ports in 1912 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 BMVERSITY OF CALm>RH 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 EA 
 
 710 
 
 (55*11
 
 S -r an. s e a B 
 
 GEOLOGICAL MAP OF 
 
 GLAMORGAN 
 
 The, Cambridge TTnurerstty fres
 
 ,!?,9. U . E . R N REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000 996 957 7 
 
 1