Penbryn () is a small coastal village and
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
in
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, about from
Cardigan.
History
Corbalengi Stone
Standing in a field between Penbryn and
Tresaith
Tresaith (until recently, Treathsaith) is a coastal village in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberporth and Llangranog. It is linked to the former by a two-mile section of the Ceredigion Coast Path, part of the Wales Coast Path. Tresaith is within t ...
(grid reference SN28905137) is the 6th century Corbalengi Stone. This 1.4 metre high
monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
is believed to date from the post-
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
period and carries the inscription "CORBALENGI IACIT ORDOVS". The stone was first noted by
Edward Lhywd in 1695 who described it as being in a field near the church. It was originally associated with a cairn of smaller stones beneath which was discovered an urn of ashes and a Roman gold coin dating to AD 69 along with silver and bronze coins. The final word 'Ordovs' of the inscription (after IACIT, "lies") is believed to refer to the
Ordovices tribe of North Wales, with the suggestion that the stone was carved by local tribes in honour of a member of the Ordovices who had settled in the area.
Other readings and interpretations are: "''Cor Balenci jacit Ordous''", interpreted as: "The Heart of Balengus the Ordovician lies here", and "CORBALENGI LACIT ORDOVS" ("Lacit" = "thrashed", rather than "Iacit" = lies), in which case it would refer to a tribal battle between the Ordovices and the "Corbalengi". Although the Ordovices are reasonably well known, no other record of a Corbalengi tribe is known.
Church
The Grade I listed
church of St. Michael is of particular interest due to its medieval slate roof. The location of the church on a promontory above the sea is said to be from where Penbryn, meaning "Hill Head", derives its name. The church stands in a circular churchyard, suggesting its construction on a previous
Druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...
ical site, tradition being that this would leave nowhere for the devil to hide.
The church is built of local stone, with a 13th-century
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, a 14th-century
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...
and a 17th-century porch. The church was renovated in 1887 and 1957.
The ancient Llanborth mansion, owned by the
Vaughan
Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...
family, was on the site of the current farmhouse next to the beach car park, whilst the
Tudor mansion of Duffryn Hownant lay inland, higher up the valley. No evidence of either now remains. In the 18th century, Penbryn was well known as a landing place for smuggled goods, being described as a "dark country" by the
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
leader
Howell Harries on a visit to the area in the 1740s. The wooded valley through which the river Hoffnant flows to the beach is known as Cwm Lladron ("Robbers' Valley") to reflect this. During the 18th century the beach was also used as a landing place for fishing boats and trading vessels, including those bringing lime from south
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...
for use as fertiliser on the acidic soils of
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
. This trade had ceased by the 1860s due to the exposed and hazardous shoreline.
During the 19th century the Penbryn area was predominantly
Nonconformist in religious persuasion, and in June 1843 during the
Rebecca Riots
The Rebecca Riots () took place between 1839 and 1843 in West and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to levels of taxation. The rioters, often men dressed as women, took ...
, the vicar of the parish received a letter from "Rebecca" threatening to "cut off your arm and your leg and ....burn all that you have" should he refuse to return a family bible taken from a poor parishioner who was unable to pay his tithes.
Discontentment with the church and the tithe system continued throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and there was anti-tithe rioting in the 1880s and 1890s.
This resulted in regular requests by bailiffs visiting the area to collect tithe monies for police protection against attack. One such incident occurred on 19 March 1889, when police and bailiffs were set upon by an angry crowd wielding pitchforks and a knife.
Geography
Penbryn is in the valley of the
River Hoffnant, close to its mouth at Traeth Penbryn.
The community of Penbryn also includes the villages of
Tre-saith,
Brynhoffnant, Glynarthen, and Tan-y-groes.
Traeth Penbryn
Traeth Penbryn is a popular long sandy beach with a car park. It is owned by the
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
, and was a location in the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film ''
Die Another Day
''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was directed by Lee Tamahori, produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and written by Neal Purvis and Rober ...
''. There are several caves at the north end of the beach and at low tide a further large sandy bay can be accessed along the beach to the north and Tresaith can be reached to the west. Penbryn lies on the
Ceredigion Coast Path
The Ceredigion Coast Path () is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It is in length, running along the coast of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan to Ynyslas
...
with steep routes along the cliff tops.
Population and Governance
At the 2011 census the population of the community of Penbryn was 1,270, of whom 49.7% were able to speak
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, of or about Wales
* Welsh language, spoken in Wales
* Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales
Places
* Welsh, Arkansas, U.S.
* Welsh, Louisiana, U.S.
* Welsh, Ohio, U.S.
* Welsh Basin, during t ...
. This was a fall in Welsh speakers of 3.8% from the 2001 census. There is an electoral ward of Penbryn (for Ceredigion council) which extends beyond the Penbryn community and has a total population of 2,045.
Notes
External links
www.geograph.co.uk : Photographs of Penbryn and the surrounding area
{{authority control
Beaches of Ceredigion
Coast of Ceredigion
Villages in Ceredigion
National Trust properties in Wales