Llanharan is a parish covering some 3,000 acres and
is dominated by the scarp ridge known as Garth Maelwg.
The mountain provides splendid views over the Vale of Glamorgan
and is steeped in folklore and history. Until a few generations
ago, the Brenin Llwyd or Grey Monarch of the Mists was
believed to inhabit this mountain and woe betide anyone
caught in his grasp! A walk from Llanharan towards Llantrisant
over the mountains will still take you to the site of "The
Beacons", where before the 1700s the Militia met to muster
and show arms. In later times this beacon would be lit
to celebrate coronations. A short distance to the east
is the location of the popular Egg Wells, whose sulphurous
waters attracted hundreds of summer visitors to sample
their curative properties and enjoy the fairground atmosphere.
Perhaps those who tramped up to Caer Rocks would have claimed
this the best walk of all. Many a mountain walker have
disputed the origin of the words, "Dduw Cariad Yw"(God
is Love) but have marvelled at the hundreds of smaller
inscriptions carved on the rocks for posterity.
If you descend the mountain and wish
to see the lovely pre-industrial village begin at the Square,
Llanharan. Look across at "The High Corner" which dates back at least to
1700. This pub was originally called "The Corner House" and
by the 1770s it served as a chapel! The High Corner even
before being enlarged in the mid 19th century was able to
cater for the annual influx of sporting men of the chase,
who came to Llanharan for the hunting season in the time
of Richard Hoare Jenkins. Local farmers paid their rents
here twice a year. In an age when some husbands over indulged
in drink, wives were grateful to powerful preachers who denounced
the demon drink. When Evan Roberts, the evangelist, came
to the Square in 1905 it is said that he converted a whole
rugby team!
High Corner House
Turn right at the pub
and suddenly you will enter "an olde worlde" village that still charms the eye.
This typical estate linear village on the banks of the Ewenny
Fach must have been one of the largest and prettiest villages
in the Border Vale with its fine local brown stone buildings
and short terraces. Originally, it was entirely dependent
on the squire and in its Victorian heyday comprised of a
Smithy, a Dame School, a Malt House, a Shoemakers' "factory",
a Corn Mill, the Church and some pretty thatched cottages.
The Church of St Julius and Aaron
The Church is worth a visit though
it is often locked. It was designed by John Prichard and
built by J Rees of Bridgend in the Decorated Victorian
Gothic Style. The cost of constructing it was just over
a £1,000. Built chiefly of local pennant
sandstone it has been described by Geoffrey Orrin as,
" …… one of Prichard's fine village churches".
One of the earliest references to it is in 1563 when it was a chapel annexed
to Llanilid but I think it is much older than this and probably belonged to the
Tewkesbury Abbey possession in Glamorgan in 12th century.
Right: General view of the church interior
Some interesting people are buried
in this Church. They include, "The Three Ladies of Lanelay" whom
the 19th century diarist David Jones of Wallington's father
described as the,
"oddest little women he had ever seen".
The three ladies were Eleanor, Joan and Ann Bassett who were the last of the
Bassets of Lanelay. They had lived in great seclusion at Lanelay Hall until their
deaths.
Surprisingly, four High Sheriffs of Glamorgan are at rest here with easily the
most interesting of all being Richard Hoare Jenkins of Llanharan House, who died
in 1856. It was he who played a role in suppressing the Merthyr Riots of 1831
but he found the execution of Dic Penderyn one of the most unpalatable of his
civic duties.
Left: Stained glass window of St Julius Church
Do spend a minute or two reading the details on the Powell
plaque. You will be able to see the name Margaret Powell
who was the wife of a Llanharan Squire, the Reverend Gervase
Powell. She was, in the opinion of David Jones, Sheridan's
immortal comic character Mrs Malaprop. Jones quotes a delightful
malapropism of hers that may well have referred to Llanharan
House,
"A turpentine walk through a scrubbery is a very nice reproach to a house".
Legend has it that one of Margaret Powell's children inherited the family trait!
Apparantly Margaret's daughter told a friend that her husband had added a crocodile
to his will! We know that Richard Sheridan's relations with the Welsh gentry
were not friendly for he fought two duels with Thomas Mathew of Llandaff Court.
Mathew in all likelihood was a prototype for one of Sheridan's celebrated characters
so why not Mrs Powell? Was the great 18th century dramatist intrigued by Mrs
Powell's Breconshire accent or her possible unwillingness or shyness to speak
fluent English in polite Bath society as Welsh was her first language? One will
never know for certain but she is worthy of mention in Llanharan's annals.
Plaque on the wall of St Julius Church
Llanharan Schools
When you return to the
Square you will pass the old Blacksmith's on your right.
Interestingly, the premises doubled up as a smithy and
a school in mid Victorian times, just as the Bear Inn doubled
up as a public house and school in nearby Llanharry .
This school was run by a lady from Blackmill, who as well
as being a needle-work specialist, taught the 3Rs. Soon
this school moved to another building nearer to the Church,
where the Scouts and Guides now meet. It was here the charismatic, "Bugs" Smith
taught and this school may have been a National School.
Mrs Sarah Holland Miles in her autobiographical account
called "Dros yr Ysgwydd" had fond memories of this school
and tells an amusing tale of how she was saved an embarrassing
ordeal during an Inspection Day. Her task was to have knitted
a stocking, which was to have been assessed by the Inspector.
However, due to her nervousness, she could not complete
the task and she was rescued whilst the inspector wasn't
looking. Her kind-hearted teacher had tossed a half-finished
stocking her way! In November 1890, a School Board was
formed. Two years later a school was built in nearby Chapel
Road for 200 pupils. This school served Peterston and Llanilid
until in 1904 a new school was built in Brynna .
When Llanharan had expanded westward especially after the
Powell Duffryn Colliery was opened in the 1920s a third
school was erected at Dolau. This third school was said
at the time to possess the finest buildings and equipment
in all Wales and the West Country.
Writers Galore
If you should glance up at the Old Blacksmith's you will
see a clock dedicated to the memory of Tegwen Lewis (right),
a fine local poet who won 29 chairs and 3 crowns at local
eisteddfodau. The clock is also a testimony to the fact that
Llanharan takes its writers seriously. The village boasts
a surprising number of writers. The earliest known writer
was a gifted 15th century bard Rhys Brydydd of Blaen Cynllan
and others include David Evans (Dewi Haran) (1812-1895),
the Reverend John Morgan (1827-1903) and Sarah Holland Miles
(1873-1965). In more recent times George Williams of Llanharan
House, the Reverend Bob Morgan, John Harris, David Francis
Les Servini and Terry Witts are all literary sons of Llanharan.
Of the modern writers, perhaps Terry Witts deserves a special mention. He lived
all his life in Llanharan and so took great pride in the history of his forefathers.
This enthusiasm bore fruit in a series of books called "The Forgotten Years",
which concentrate on the history of Llanharan from the Age of Squirearchy to
the time when Coal was King. His text is supported by a treasure trove of old
photographs.
Right: The clock and plaque on the old
blacksmiths
Llanharan House
About a mile down Llantrisant
Road in a splendid setting stands Llanharan House, which
has been the source of great interest to the local writers
Terry Witts and David Francis. The house has been the home
of 4 or 5 families including the Powells, the Jenkinses
, the Blandys (latterly known as the Blandy Jenkins) and
the Williamses. Rees Powell built the present house in
the late 1740s, but was there a Ty Mawr (Big House) at
Llanharan before the Powells arrived in 1700? Around the
time of the Fire of London (1666) a gentleman called Evan
Rees had a property where Llanharan House now stands, though
it may have been a smaller house. Was Rees the first in
a line of Squires of Llanharan? As with many landowners
through the ages Llanharan squires also combined the hunting
shooting and fishing life with dedicated public service.
For example, John Blandy Jenkins served as Sheriff of Berkshire
and Chairman of Glamorgan County Council from 1895-1915
and Mr George Williams and his son Owen have both served
as High Sheriffs of Glamorgan in recent years. The owners
of Llanharan House have over the years provided hospitality
to some famous personalities including the King of Greece
and Mrs Margaret Thatcher.
The Mining Village
To understand where and
how Llanharan developed as a coal-mining village after
1885 you must now walk along the Dolau or Bridgend Road
as it later became known. Leaving the Square you will cross
the railway bridge and recognise the sort of terrace houses
that you would have found in any mining valley. The Ewenny
Fach valley itself was too narrow to absorb a rapid growth
in population. This rise in numbers of incomers did not
begin with the sinking of pits. It started with the coming
of the South Wales Railway in 1850 and continued with the
opening of iron mines near Pontyclun and Llanharry. After
1872 many tin workers also came to live not only in Llanharan
village but in "Tin Works Row" near Tylagarw. But when
three collieries started to expand to the north and west
of Llanharan in the 1880s it was obvious that many more
houses were need to accommodate the colliers and their
families. Between 1891 and 1901 some 80 new houses were
erected and by the turn of the century the expanding village
was able to accommodate just over 1000 inhabitants. Of
the incomers many arrived from England, especially from
The Forest of Dean, where coal mining was in sharp decline.
From 1900 until the P.D.'s Colliery closed in 1962 the
area westward along the Bridgend Road became the commercial
heart of a relatively flourishing mining village that survived
even the Depression Years.
As you walk along this main artery road look for clues to indicate its previous
economic prosperity. I doubt whether you would ever guess that over a 60 year
period this long street dissected an area that boasted a railway station, dairy,
cinema, police station, an undertakers, 2 billiard halls, library, bakery, co-operative
store, bank, garage, coal merchant, Post Office, tennis courts, several cafes,
church hall, 5 chapels and around 20 shops selling all kinds of produce.
Not all new settlers lived along this main road: the nouveau rich settled in
Chapel Road, while many of the miners and other blue collar workers were housed
in council accommodation on the road leading to Brynna.
The glory days of Bridgend Road did not last long after the last colliery closed
and by 1970 even prominent councillors were calling Llanharan "a dying village".
Apart from Carmel Chapel and a few shops, all the above- mentioned amenities
have disappeared one by one and for a while Llanharan became something of a ghost
town.
Survival
Llanharan did not die
or sink into severe deprivation like some valley communities
have done. It has been saved partly by a great deal of
housing development in the last 30 years in Peterston parish,
Llanharry Road and Bryncae.
Its geographical proximity to the M4 and the prosperous Vale
of Glamorgan also gave the village additional opportunities.
The strong community spirit already prevalent at the local
pubs and clubs was further enhanced in the 1990s with the
erection of a vibrant Drop in Centre and Community Shop.
These two developments have done much to keep the spirit
of community alive and kicking.
More recently, a Regeneration Committee started asking the public to prioritise
the pressing needs of both young and old in the area. The closure of the old
Rugby club and its transformation into a state-of-the-art club-house (right)
on the site of the former British Legion has helped to provide premises for an
improving club that in 2004 was promoted to the Premier Division of the Welsh
Rugby Union. The renovation of the Pensioners Hall also secures a future meeting
place for older residents.
Right: Llanharran RFC
Finally, the establishment of the Dragon Film Studios
and Leisure Complex at the old Llanilid opencast site when
completed should further regenerate the economy of the village.
Left: The site of the old opencast mining
operations which is in the process of being turned into
a huge film making complex. One of the largest outside
of the USA
Peterston-super-Montem
Peterston-super-Montem,
as its name implies, is an upland parish situated about
6 miles north east of Bridgend and separated from Llanharan
and Llanilid by the tributary stream
called the Ewenny Fach.
.
Perhaps the best way to get an impression
of what the parish looked like before Brynna was developed
in the late 19th century is on foot. If you were to walk
from Gelli Fedi Road, Brynna up to the old church called
St Peter's, (Llanbad) that lies in ruins on the hillside
called Mynydd Portref you would be able to gain a view
of what the area may have looked like in a previous age.
Although the scenery is undoubtedly splendid, one gets
a feeling of strange isolation and you begin to wonder
why a church was ever built on this spot
No one is sure whether it is a Celtic or Norman church.
But it must have required a strenuous effort to attend divine
service over the centuries here. However, it may not have
been quite as isolated as it appears for it stood only yards
from the old ridge way road that ran from Llantrisant to
Neath. The church was popular with the bards of Glamorgan
and with couples wanting to get married. Amazingly, between
1736 and 1740 fourteen marriages were performed there, one
more than at the mother church at Llangrallo at Coychurch.
The Early Economy
If one looks down towards Brynna and Pencoed
one realises that a strictly pastoral economy with scattered
farmsteads was practised from the earliest times.
The boundaries of Peterston after the Norman conquest of Glamorgan coincided
with the manor of Newland, which was held successively by the lords of Coity.
But the manors of Llanharry and Peterston could not have been more different.
The 1631 Surveys make it clear that, unlike Llanharry, there was no village,
no copyhold land and customary tenants, little arable agriculture and no coal
mining. At Llanharry the coal was near the surface and exploited by the Sidneys
in Elizabeth 1's reign, but at Peterston the seams were too deep. There were
some villages along the ridge way road, but there was no sign of a village near
the old church or elsewhere in the parish. The only mill located in the parish
in 1631 was to be found in Llanharan village. Both parishes obviously shared
the same mill.
The lack of a village meant that the old St Peter's church became redundant and
ruinous by the early years of the 19th century. So in 1833 it was decided to
build a new church in a more accessible site not far from "The Eagle" inn. Mr
E. Davies of Tregroes erected it at a cost of £250. In order to preserve
historical continuity the builders reclaimed the bell, the font and the Elizabethan
chalice from the old church. During later restoration work in the 1880s even
the stones from Llanbad old church were carted down the mountain to improve the
new building.
If you had come to the parish twenty or so years after the new church was built
you would still have found no Brynna. There had been some early 19th century
coal mining at Nant Ciwc, but the only building in Brynna in 1843 was The Eagle.
Nearby you would have found Gelli Fedi Mill, Hendrewen Mansion and Brynna Gwynion,
which was an area of open wasteland that extended as far as the present village.
There was of course Bethlehem Chapel and a few cottages in Llanharan itself,
west of the Ewenny Fach. In actual fact the whole parish contained only about
40 homes in 1881.
Brynna
It was the sudden exploitation
of the southern outcrop between 1881 and 1901 at a number
of local collieries and drifts, especially South Rhondda,
Brynna Gwynion and Hendrewen that saw Brynna mushroom into
a thriving industrial village. The name Brynna is used
on church records about 1897, so can we assume that the
new village was first called Brynna Gwynion and later shortened
to Brynna? By 1901 the population had exploded to 600 (double
that of 1891) and there were over 100 dwellings there,
with more soon to come. At first, miners came from other
parts of Glamorgan, but soon colliers from England, especially
from The Forest of Dean, joined them. It is interesting
to note the integration of Welsh and English families who
were the first occupants of William Street in Brynna. Some
examples of family names include: - Combes, Jones, Gibby,
Williams, Young, Walters, Morgan, Hill, Ruck, Germain.
Perhaps they may still be relatives of these families still
living in Brynna!
To slake the thirst of some of these immigrant workers The Eagle was rebuilt
and was sited one house away from the old pub.
To cater for the spiritual needs of the growing village; Brynna Methodist Chapel
was built in 1908 to provide choice of worship for the growing community.
There was change too in education facilities. There had been earlier schools
in Peterston. For example, a Griffith Jones Circulating School was established
in the parish in 1747 but was sited in Llanharan village. This school probably
served both communities for it boasted 49 pupils. A Dame School had existed in
the 1870s and 80s and was kept by a genteel lady called Mrs Maria Habbakuk, who
was a member of the famous Guest family of Dowlais. This school was probably
located in 3 cottages on the road to Pencoed, a few hundred yards beyond the
Mountain Hare. It was then called Godre or Habbakuk's Row.
In 1904 children no longer had to travel to Llanharan for their schooling. In
that year, due to the rapid expansion of the village, a new school was built,
which was opened by Mrs Blandy Jenkins of Llanharan House. Brynna School then
accommodated 160 children and Mr D. Emlyn Davies was its first Head Teacher.
The year 2004 witnessed the centenary of the school. The unveiling of a memorial
clock on Brynna Square, a Centenary Ball, which was attended by famous pupils
like Stan Stennett and David Hughes and hundreds of others, the Edwardian School
Day and the winning of a prestigious History Award, marked the celebrations.
Should anyone want to know more about Brynna's history, you can read the late
T.J. Witt's "Forgotten Years" series. He wrote enthusiastically about mining,
agriculture, schools and sport. His work records the glory days of Brynna soccer
teams just after the war when they won the much coveted South Wales and Monmouthshire
Amateur Cup in 1949. He also writes about the late Evan Bowen who was an outstanding
goalkeeper and darts player.
Brynna Today
The older streets of the industrial village are still
easily recognisable, adjacent to the Eagle Hotel. Brynna,
however, has undergone a rapid second stage of development
over the past 40 years, which is completely unrelated to
coal mining. There has been considerable house building in
Brynna itself and further west at The Mountain Hare.
Right: The Church at Brynna
Below:In 2004 the school celebrated its 100th anniversary
and this picture shows the present headmaster with past
pupils stood in front of a mural on the school depicting
the past, present and future.
A young thriving community requires greater leisure facilities.
The two local inns and a modern Community Centre have provided
this, where weekly round of social and sporting activities
are enjoyed. The excellently managed Junior and Senior Football
Clubs have recently benefited from an extra football pitch
and a multi-sport floodlit hard court area at the Recreation
Field. The Church and Methodist Chapel still play an active
role in the life of the village and with a community focused
Primary School, an active Senior Citizens' Association and
a Complex for pensioners and disabled people at Tanybryn,
the needs of both young and old are quite well catered for
Llanilid
The easiest way to study the history of the
parish is to visit the church of St Ilid that stands in lonely
isolation in the fields. It has to be approached via a closed
gate and a short pathway. If you look carefully at the foot
of the north wall of the nave on the outside you may spot
some ancient foundations of an earlier church.
There has been much controversy over
the centuries about the age of Llanilid Church some of
which has been quite fanciful. It was once believed to
be the oldest church in Britain!
It seems likely that soon after the Norman conquest of Glamorgan the church was
re-dedicated to St Julitts or Julitta and some argue that Julitta is another
form of Ilid. If so then Ilid was a woman! Not far from the church is a little
wood and in it was a Rag Well. Sick people would visit it and toss their garments
into the water, which they believed would take away their illnesses. The church has some interesting medieval
earthworks adjacent to it. As you leave the church you
cannot miss a very impressive ring motte. The advancing
Normans may have constructed this as they pushed their
way northward against a stubborn Welsh resistance. If you
climb over the coffin stile and along a footpath southwest
from the church you will pass some more earthworks called "Gadlys". Scholars now believe that this
site was more of an administrative centre rather than a castle.
The "Gadlys" may have replaced the earlier ring motte
Right: St. Ilid Church Llanilid
Woodland, marsh and heath dominate the landscape naturally
discouraged a corn-growing and settled village economy. There
is one important exception to this pattern, namely, the medieval
manor of Milton, which had fertile arable land in it. Milton
Manor was scattered throughout Glamorgan and belonged to
the famous knights of St John of Jerusalem before 1338. This
romantic order may even have had a hospice for travellers
here.
The Llanilid portion was certainly based on a water mill, and
even as late as the 19th century there was a working mill,
a smithy, some cottages and an inn called "The Fox and Hounds". As one imbibes a wee drop of the elixir of life
in the present "Old Mill/ Harvester" that stands on the exact site today, one
can reflect on Llanilid's colourful history and its links with the exploits of
the Knights of St John
Left: The Old Mill/Harvester
The Hearth Tax Returns
of Charles II's reign tell us that in 1671 there were far
more houses and farms here than in the Victorian Age. But
there was no manor house then or later. The biggest house
was Trallwn with only 4 hearths.
Few people realise that this sleepy little hamlet was in the mid 18th century
one of the cradles of Methodism in Wales. There was a society established here
which was visited by the great Howel Harris. Indeed, we read in his Journals
that on April 27th 1745 he visited Penprisk and "nr Rhythyn" and later he was
at Pantrhythin. We know that the Methodist cause lingered on at Trallwn for thirty
years or so, for in 1771 there were still a few Methodists in the parish as Church
records of the time indicate.
St Ilid's church was badly neglected for the next two centuries, partly because
most landowners were absentee ones. By 1880 the church tower was exposed to the
elements, the bell was unsafe and the fabric about to fall down. Thanks to the
energies of the Rector, the Reverend John Morgan, John Prichard the Diocesan
architect restored the church in 1882-3 for some £875. John Morgan's tombstone,
not far from the church gate, does not mention this, or the fact that he was
a poet of some ability, whose "Welsh Home", pleased both Gladstone and Lord Tennyson.
Llanilid witnessed decline both in the number of houses and total population
from mid Victorian times.
In 1901 there were only 95 people living in Llanilid mostly in scattered farms
and labourers' cottages. This economic decline continued well into the 20th century.
However, the 1970s heralded the introduction of Open Cast Mining, the construction
of the M4 and later the recreational facilities of the St Mary Hill Golf Club
and the Old Mill that has gone some way to help arrest this decline. But the
greatest change to effect Llanilid in all its history is just around the corner
as the forthcoming £330 million Dragon Film Studios and Theme Park will
help regenerate the whole area. It is hoped that the rich habitat of local wild
life, especially of birds, will not be threatened by the vast changes.
