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![PENRHYN-COCH](webphotos/penrhyncoch.jpg)
PENRHYN-COCH
GRID REFERENCE: SN 646840
AREA IN HECTARES: 381.3
Historic Background
The northern part of this area lay within Strata Florida Abbey’s
Y Dywarchen Grange in the Medieval Period. Traditionally the administrative
centre of the grange was at Cwrt, which lies within this area. Williams
(1990, 57) records a water mill and ancient barn here with gallows on
the hill above. Following the Dissolution, a small independent estate
- Court Farm - seems to have been carved out of the monastic lands, before
being incorporated into the Gogerddan estate. The history of the small,
nucleated village of Penrhyn-coch is un-researched and therefore not known.
It is likely that it is a late development, and the morphology and map
evidence indicate a small settlement here until the late 19th century.
A church was not constructed until 1881 (Jones 1998, 499). It is a similar
story for the smaller hamlet of Pen-bont Rhydybeddau, although this settlement
seems to have been established in the 18th and 19th centuries to serve
the metal mines in this area, and those of Cwm Daren and Twll y Mwyn located
in neighbouring areas. Dispersed farmsteads represent the ancient settlement
pattern of the area. These farms are likely to be of some antiquity; they
certainly date to the late 18th century, and in all probability have their
origins in the Medieval Period. By the late 18th century properties formed
part of the holdings of the Gogerddan, Crosswood or Court Farm estates.
Estate maps (NLW Gogerddan 67; Crosswood 345, 346; R.M. C22; Scott Archer
20; Vol 38, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14) depict several of the farms in a landscape
of small, irregular fields and regular strip-like fields - essentially
a landscape similar to today. Some of the fields depicted on the estate
maps seem to be enclosed strips, indicating the former presence of a sub-divided
field system out of which the present landscape has evolved. The 20th
century has witnessed a rapid expansion of the village of Penrhyn-coch,
with a new housing estate, a sports field and other developments. Metal
mining in this area was concentrated at Bronfloyd. This was worked in
the 17th century, with its richest period in the 19th century. Production
finally ceased in 1892 (Bick 1988, 26-28). The garden at Pen-y-berth Farm
is recorded on the Welsh Historic Garden Database.
![PENRHYN-COCH](webphotos/penrhyncoch2.jpg)
![PENRHYN-COCH](webphotos/penrhyncoch3.jpg)
Description and essential historic landscape components
This area is centred on the valleys of the Afon Stewi and Nant Silo,
and includes the valley floors and lower slopes. There is a height range
of 50m to 110m. The field pattern of small irregular enclosures and regular
strip-enclosures has survived intact for at least two centuries. This
includes a long, distinctive boundary between enclosed strips and former
unenclosed land on the north side of the Stewi valley. Field boundaries
comprise earth banks topped with hedges. Close to Penrhyn-coch and on
the valley floors hedges are in fair to good condition, but on the higher
valley sides and towards the eastern end of the area they are becoming
overgrown and derelict. Wire fences augment most hedges. At the eastern
end, close to Broginin, dry-stone walls form some of the boundaries. Farmland
is now almost entirely improved grazing. There are small stands of deciduous
trees, especially on the valley floors, and a small conifer plantation.
The western end of this area is dominated by the village of Penrhyn-coch,
which sprawls across the valley floor. There are two older cores to the
village. One is centred on a stone-built 19th century church and includes
stone and brick built 19th century ‘villas’ as well as typical
late 19th century worker houses. The second is at a higher level and consists
of short terraces of rendered stone single storey worker cottages with
a chapel as a focus. Extensive (for upland Ceredigion) late 20th and early
21st century housing developments, a school and services now connect these
two older cores. Modern housing is also located at Pen-bont Rhydybeddau,
but here the historic core of bare stone detached and semi-detached worker
houses in the typical regional Georgian style of the late 19th century
is still largely intact. Several of these buildings are listed. Other
late 19th century worker houses are distributed across the area, but agriculture
is the main function of the dispersed buildings. Farmhouses are mid-to-late
19th century, are relatively small, of two storeys and in the typical
Georgian vernacular style – gable end chimneys, central front door,
and two windows either side of the door and one above. Some have several
ranges of stone outbuilding set around a yard, but most have just two
to three ranges. Some farms are not working now and their outbuildings
have been converted to other uses, such as light industry. Working farms
have modern agricultural buildings, with very extensive ranges on larger
farms.
The remains of Bronfloyd lead mine, including buildings, processing floors
and tips are an important component of the historic landscape.
The recorded archaeology in this area mainly comprises post-Medieval
extant secular and ecclesiastical buildings and metal mine remains. However,
a time-depth element to the landscape is provided by a Roman coin hoard,
a Bronze Age round barrow and a Bronze Age burnt mound or hearth.
To the south and north former unenclosed land clearly defines this landscape
area. The landscape area to the west has not yet been defined, while to
the east the woodland and small fields of the upper valley of the Afon
Stewi represent a substantially different character area.
Base map reproduced from the OS map with the permission
of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery
Office, © Crown Copyright 2001.
All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright
and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence Number: GD272221 |