Llangennith
Llangennith
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 Llangennith
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| Llangennith shown within Swansea | |
| OS grid reference | SS4291 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SWANSEA |
| Postcode district | SA3 |
| Dialling code | 01792 |
| Police | South Wales |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
Llangennith (Welsh: Llangenydd/Llangynydd) is a village in Gower, in the City and County of Swansea, south Wales. It sits at a crossroads in northwest Gower: Moor Lane leads westwards to a caravan park near Rhossili Bay; while Burrows Lane leads northwards to a caravan park overlooking Broughton Bay. The village has a scattering of houses, centred on St Cenydd's church, and one pub - the King's Head. The neighbouring bay is popular with surfers.
The village of Llangennith clusters round a central village green and the church of St Cenydd (also Kyned/Cynydd) - the largest in Gower - which was founded in the 6th century, in the days of the undivided Church. According to legend the church was established as a hermitage by St Cenydd; but in 986 the early buildings were destroyed by Vikings. The present structure dates from the 12th century - it was consecrated in 1102 - when Norman war-lords were building castles and churches all over Gower, as elsewhere in Britain. The large fortified square tower is unusually placed north of the nave and features remnants of a significant Norman arch in its east wall, possibly associated with a small priory which was attached to the church through the Middle Ages. The church is the reputed burial place of Iestyn ap Gwrgant, the last ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg, who is said to have become a religious at Llangennith after being deposed by the Norman Robert Fitzhamon in 1090. The church contains the mutilated effigy of a 13th-century knight known locally as 'the Dolly Mare' and believed to represent a member of the de la Mere family who held lands nearby, and a significant Norman font. The church interior was restored and remodelled in the 1880s, and the interior floor raised by several feet to counteract damp. The remodelling was relatively restrained and the church retains many original features.
A recently rediscovered mediaeval niche in the chancel arch displays a significant carved slab of around the 9th century, featuring intricate Celtic knots. This is legendarily the former grave stone of St Cenydd and, until the nineteenth century remodelling, was set flat in the chancel floor.
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Wikipedia