Port Eynon (also spelt Port Einon, Porth Einon in Welsh) is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

within the

City and County of Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, located on the far south tip of the

Gower Peninsula Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

within the designated

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. The A4118 from Swansea city centre terminates here. The community has its own elected community council, and had a population of 597 in 2011. and includes the hamlet of Llanddewi.

Village

The village itself is fairly small and extends from the beach to the top of the hill. Port Eynon village has two

fish and chip shops A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop, is a (often fast food) restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and c ...

and a gift shop at the sea front, a

Youth Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...

, two

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, and a cafe /surf shop. The Youth Hostel is a converted lifeboat house, situated on the south end of the bay, near the salt house. A neighbouring village, Overton, is to the north west of Port Eynon and footpaths from Overton lead to Overton Mere, a stony and rocky beach. Also, the village of Horton is at the east end of the main beach, approximately half a mile from Port Eynon. Public transport is good throughout the season, and buses link the beaches so one can walk to a beach and catch the bus back. Port Eynon is situated on the Wales Coastal path and is well signposted from Rhossili and Oxwich.

History

Port Eynon is thought to be named after Prince Einion of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...

or an 11th-century

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

named Eynon. Eynon is a surname in Wales and the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in the village shows gravestones with this surname. It is believed that the prince built Port Eynon castle which no longer exists. Smuggling is thought to have been a common engagement of the local residents in the 17th century to 19th century. A derelict "salt house" used for extracting

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

from sea water is located a quarter of a mile from the village, just off Port Eynon Point. In the second half of the 18th century, through to 1919, a

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

was operated from Port Eynon. On several occasions, the lives of lifeboatmen were lost at sea on rescues. On 1 January 1916 the lives of three young men were lost in when the lifeboat went to the assistance of ''SS Dunvegan'' which was shipwrecked off

Oxwich Oxwich is a village on the Gower Peninsula, in the city and county of Swansea in south Wales. Oxwich is part of the small community of Penrice which extends from the village of Horton to Oxwich Bay, and as of 2001 recorded a population of 454 i ...

point. A memorial to these men exists in the village churchyard. Copies of news articles on the disaster can be seen on the wall of the local fish and chip shop in Port Eynon.

Port Eynon Bay

Port Eynon Bay is a very popular

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

resort beside the village of Port Eynon. Port Eynon Point is the most southerly point of the Gower Peninsula. Both Port Eynon and Horton beaches have suffered from denudation of their sand cover, possibly caused by dredging activities in the Bristol Channel, though in recent years the sand cover has greatly improved.

Notable residents

* The singer and actor

Walter Glynne Walter Glynne (4 January 1890 – 29 July 1970) was a Welsh operatic and concert tenor who was also a popular recording artist. Early life and D’Oyly Carte Thomas Glyn Walters was born at Loughor, Glamorgan, the oldest of five children of E ...

(1870–1945) lived and died here.England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 for Thomas Glyn Walters, 1970: Ancestry.com
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References

External links

Information on Port Eynon villagewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Port Eynon and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Swansea Communities in Swansea Populated places on the Gower Peninsula Seaside resorts in Wales