Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Until 1974, Gower was administered as a

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

. It was then merged with the county borough 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 ...

. From 1974 to 1996, it formed the Swansea district. Since 1996, Gower has been administered as part of the unitary authority of the City and County of Swansea. Since its establishment in 1999, the Gower Senedd constituency has only elected Labour members. The Gower constituency in Westminster had previously also elected only Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) since 1908; the longest run (with Normanton and Makerfield) of any UK constituency. This ended in 2015 when the Conservatives took the seat. In 2017, it returned to Labour. The area of both constituencies covers the peninsula and the outer Gower areas of Clydach, Gowerton, Gorseinon, Felindre, Garnswllt and encompasses the area of the historic Lordship of Gower apart from the city of Swansea.

Geography

About in area, Gower is known for its coastline, popular with walkers and outdoor enthusiasts, especially surfers. Gower has many caves, including Paviland Cave and Minchin Hole Cave. The

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

is bounded by the Loughor Estuary to the north and Swansea Bay to the east. Gower Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers 188 km², including most of the peninsula west of

Crofty The Gower Peninsula ( cy, Gŵyr) in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It contains over twenty villages and communities. Villages Bishopston Bishopston (, or historically ''Llanme ...

, Three Crosses,

Upper Killay The Gower Peninsula ( cy, Gŵyr) in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It contains over twenty villages and communities. Villages Bishopston Bishopston (, or historically ''Llanm ...

Blackpill Blackpill (or Black Pill) is a suburban area of Swansea, Wales, beside Swansea Bay, about southwest of the city centre. Description Blackpill falls into the Mayals ward. The area is centred on a seafront building on Mumbles road, which onc ...

and Bishopston. The highest point of Gower is The Beacon at Rhossili Down at 193 metres (633 ft) overlooking Rhossili Bay. Pwll Du and the Bishopton Valley form a statutory Local Nature Reserve. The southern coast consists of a series of small, rocky or sandy bays, such as Langland and

Three Cliffs Three Cliffs Bay () (), otherwise Three Cliff Bay, is a bay on the south coast of the Gower Peninsula in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. The bay takes its name from the three sea cliffs that jut out into the bay. Pennard Pill, a large stre ...

, and larger beaches such as Port Eynon,

Rhossili Rhossili ( cy, Rhosili; ) is both a small village and a community (Wales), community on the southwestern tip of the Gower Peninsula in Wales. It is within the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the United Kingdom. The village has a Loca ...

and Oxwich Bay. The north of the peninsula has fewer beaches, and is home to the cockle-beds of

Penclawdd Penclawdd ( cy, Pen-clawdd) is a village in the north of the Gower Peninsula in the county of Swansea, Wales. Historically, it was part of Glamorgan. Penclawdd is most famous for its local cockle industry which goes back for many years to Roman ...

. The northern coast is mainly salt marsh, and is used for raising Gower salt marsh lamb which was awarded protected status in 2021. The interior is mainly farmland and common land. The population mainly resides in small villages and communities with some

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

development in eastern Gower; part of the Swansea Urban Area.

History

Stone Age

Wales is known to have been inhabited since at least the Upper Paleolithic period, and the Gower Peninsula has been the scene of several important archaeological discoveries. In 1823, archaeologists discovered a fairly complete Upper Paleolithic human male skeleton in Paviland Cave. They named their find the Red Lady of Paviland because the skeleton is dyed in red ochre, though later investigators determined it was actually a male. This was the first human fossil to have been found anywhere in the world, and is still the oldest ceremonial burial anywhere in Western Europe. The most recent re-calibrated

radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was dev ...

in 2009 indicates that the skeleton can be dated to around 33,000 Before Present (BP). In 1937 the Parc Cwm long cairn was identified as a Severn-Cotswold type of chambered long barrow. Also known as Parc le Breos burial chamber, it is a partly restored Neolithic chambered tomb. The megalithic burial chamber, or " cromlech", was built around 6,000 BP. In the 1950s, members of Cambridge University excavating in a cave on the peninsula found 300–400 pieces of flint related to toolmaking, and dated it to between 14,000 and 12,000 BC. In 2010, an instructor from

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

exploring

Cathole Cave Cathole Cave, Cat Hole Cave or Cathole Rock Cave, is a cave near Parc Cwm long cairn at Parc le Breos, on the Gower Peninsula, Wales. It is a steep limestone outcrop, about north of the cromlech along the Parc le Breos Cwm valley and near the ...

discovered a rock drawing of a red deer from the same period. This may be the oldest

cave art In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,000 ye ...

found in Great Britain.

Bronze Age

Gower is also home to menhirs or standing stones from the Bronze Age. Of the nine stones, eight remain today. One of the most notable of the stones is Arthur's stone near

Cefn Bryn Cefn Bryn is an ancient ridge in Britain. It is a 5-mile-long Old Red Sandstone ridge in south Wales, in the heart of the Gower Peninsula, in the City and County of Swansea. Local people colloquially refer to it as the "backbone of Gower", as ...

. Its 25-ton capstone was most likely a glacial erratic (a piece of rock/conglomerate carried by glacial ice some distance from the rock outcrop from which it came): the builders dug under it and supported it with upright stones to create a burial chamber. The remains of Sweyne Howes on Rhossili Down, Penmaen Burrows Tomb (Pen-y-Crug) and Nicholaston Long Cairn are three other well-known Neolithic chambered tombs. During the Bronze Age, people continued to use local caves for shelter and for burying their dead. Bronze Age evidence, such as funeral urns, pottery and human remains, has been found in Tooth Cave at Llethryd,

Culver Hole Culver may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Culver Down, Isle of Wight United States *Culver, Indiana, a town in northern Indiana *Culver, Kansas, a city in north-central Kansas *Culver, Kentucky, an unincorporated community *Culver, Missour ...

(Port Eynon) and

. With the transition into the Iron Age, hill forts (timber fortifications on hill tops and coastal promontories) and earthworks began to appear. The largest example of this type of Iron Age settlement in the Gower Peninsula is Cilifor Top near Llanrhidian.

Roman era

Roman occupation brought new settlement. The Romans built Leucarum, a rectangular or trapezoidal fort at the mouth of the

River Loughor The River Loughor () ( cy, Afon Llwchwr) is a river in Wales which marks the border between Carmarthenshire and Swansea. The river is sourced from an underground lake at the Black Mountain emerging at the surface from Llygad Llwchwr which trans ...

, in the late 1st century AD to house a regiment of Roman auxiliary troops. Its remains are located beneath the town of Loughor. Stone defences were added to the earthen ditch and rampart by AD 110 and the fort was occupied until the middle or end of that century. However, it was later abandoned for a time and in the early 3rd century the ditch naturally silted up. It appears to have been brought back into use during the reign of

Carausius Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius (died 293) was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, during the Carausian Revolt, declaring himself emperor in Britain and no ...

who was worried about Irish raids, but was abandoned again before the 4th century. A Norman castle was later built on the site.

Anglicisation

Following the Norman invasion of Wales the commote of Gŵyr passed into the hands of English-speaking barons, and its southern part soon became

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

. In 1203

King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...

(1199–1216) granted the Lordship of Gower to William III de Braose (died 1211) for the

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

of one knight's fee. It remained with the

Braose family The House of Braose (''alias'' Breuse, Brewes, Brehuse,Richardson ''Magna Carta Ancestry'' pp. 136–137 Briouze, Brewose etc., Latinised to de Braiosa) was a prominent family of Anglo-Norman nobles originating in Briouze, near Argentan, Orne ...

until the death of William de Braose, 2nd Baron Braose in 1326, when it passed from the family to the husband of one of his two daughters and co-heiresses, Aline and Joan. In 1215 a local lord, Rhys Gryg of Deheubarth, claimed control of the peninsula, but in 1220 he ceded control to the Anglo-Norman lords, perhaps on the orders of his overlord, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. As an Anglo-Norman peninsula isolated from its Welsh hinterland but with coastal links to other parts of south Wales and southwest England, it developed its own Gower dialect of English.

Glamorgan

In 1535, the Act of Union resulted in the Lordship of Gower becoming part of the historic county of

with the southwest part becoming the hundred of

Present day

Agriculture remains important to the area with tourism playing an ever-increasing role in the local economy. The peninsula has a Championship status golf course at Fairwood Park just off Fairwood Common, which twice hosted the Welsh PGA Championships in the 1990s. Meanwhile, the Gower Golf Club at Three Crosses hosts the West Wales Open, a two-day tournament on Wales' professional golf tour, the Dragon Tour. Gower is part of the Swansea travel to work area.

Landmarks

There are six castles on the Gower Peninsula:

Landimore Landimore ( cy, Llandîmôr)Owen, H.W & Morgan, R. ''Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales'' 2007 Gomer Press, Llandysul is a hamlet on the north coast of the Gower, in the City and County of Swansea, south Wales. To the north are the extensive ...

Castlealso known as Bovehill Castle Oystermouth Castle,

Oxwich Castle Oxwich Castle ( cy, Castell Oxwich) is a Grade I listed castle which occupies a position on a wooded headland overlooking Oxwich Bay on the Gower Peninsula, Wales. Although it may occupy the site of an earlier fortification, it is a castle in nam ...

Pennard Pennard (previously Llanarthbodu) is a village and community on the south of the Gower Peninsula, about 7 miles south-west of Swansea city centre. It falls within the Pennard electoral ward of Swansea. The Pennard community includes the larger ...

Castle,

Penrice Castle Penrice Castle ( cy, Castell Pen-rhys) is a 13th-century castle near Penrice, Swansea on the Gower Peninsula, Wales. Nearby is a neo-classical mansion house built in the 1770s. The mansion is a Grade I listed building and the surrounding gardens ...

Weobley Castle Weobley Castle may refer to: *Weobley Castle, Herefordshire *Weobley Castle, Gower See also *Weoley Castle Weoley Castle is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is part of the Weoley local authority elec ...

and numerous cairns and standing stones. Four beaches have

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-gov ...

and Seaside (2006) awards for their high standards:

Bracelet Bay Bracelet Bay is a small bay on the south of the Gower Peninsula. It is the first bay one comes to after leaving Swansea Bay Swansea Bay ( cy, Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, Ri ...

, Caswell Bay, Langland Bay and Port Eynon Bay. Five other beaches have been given the Green Coast Award 2005 for "natural, unspoiled environment": Rhossili Bay, Mewslade Bay, Tor Bay,

Pwll Du Bay Pwlldu Bay or Pwll Du Bay ( cy, Bae Pwll Du) is a small beach on the south Gower Peninsula coast in south Wales. It is one of the more remote beaches and is not easily accessible by car, but there are several good footpaths leading to it. The ...

, and

Limeslade Bay Limeslade Bay is a small cove just to the west of Bracelet Bay in the south east corner of the Gower Peninsula, near Swansea in south Wales. It is a sheltered, mainly rocky beach with little sand. Bathing is possible. There is a car park in the ...

. Other beaches:

Llethryd Tooth Cave

The Llethryd Tooth Cave, or Tooth Hole cave, is a Bronze Age ossuary site in a limestone cave, about 1,500 yards (1.4 km) north north west of the Parc Cwm long cairn cromlech, on private land along the Parc Cwm valley, near the village of Llethryd. In 1961 the cave was rediscovered by

cavers Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is ...

, who found human bones. An excavation was carried out by D.P. Webley & J. Harvey in 1962 revealing the disarticulated remains (i.e. not complete skeletons) of six adults and two children, dated to the Early Bronze Age or Beaker culture. Other finds are now held at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff: Early Bronze Age, or Beaker, collared urn pottery; flaked knives; a scraper; flint flakes; a bone spatula; a needle & bead; and animal bones – the remains of domesticated animals, cat and dog. Archaeologists

Alasdair Whittle Alasdair William Richardson Whittle, (born 7 May 1949) is a British archaeologist and academic, specialising in Neolithic Europe. He was Distinguished Research Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University from 1997 to 2018. Whittle was born o ...

and Michael Wysocki note that this period of occupation may be "significant", with respect to Parc Cwm long cairn, as it is "broadly contemporary with the secondary use of the tomb". In their article published in The Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society (vol.64 (1998), pp. 139–82) Whittle and Wysocki suggest corpses may have been placed in caves near the cromlech until they decomposed, when the bones were moved to the tomb – a process known as '' excarnation''. At 1,525 m long (nearly 1 mile), the Tooth Cave is the longest cave in Gower. It has tight and flooded sections, and so is kept locked for safety.

Representation in the media

* Mumbles set the scene for a six-part drama ''Ennals Point'' featuring Welsh actor

Philip Madoc Philip Madoc (born Philip Arvon Jones; 5 July 1934 – 5 March 2012) was a Welsh actor. He performed many stage, television, radio and film roles, and was recognised for having a "rich, sonorous voice" and often playing villains and office ...

. The series focused on the local lifeboat crew (1982) * The

Susan Howatch Susan Howatch (born 14 July 1940) is a British author. Her writing career has been distinguished by family saga-type novels which describe the lives of related characters for long periods of time. Her later books have also become known for their ...

novel '' The Wheel of Fortune'' is primarily set in and near the Gower Peninsula, which plays an important part in the plot of the novel (1984) * The film, ''Gower Boy'', by artist Gee Vaucher and musician Huw Warren''a gentle, contemplative exploration of the Gower Peninsula in Wales''debuted at the 14th Raindance Film Festival (2006) * Rhossili and Worm's Head feature in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' episode '' New Earth'' (2006) * Rhossili Bay beach has been a location for the Lloyds Banking Group adverts featuring the iconic black horse galloping along the miles of sandy beach. * A fictional village in 1918, near The Worm's Head, is the location of a Charles Todd atmospheric mystery novel, "A Forgotten Place" (2018)

References

Library

* ''Prehistoric Gower, The Early Archaeology of West Glamorgan'', by J. G. Rutter, 1949 (published by Welsh Guides, York Street, Swansea) * ''Gower'', by Olive Phillips, 1956 (published by Robert Hale Limited, London) * ''Gower Journey'', by A. G. Thompson, c1960 (self published by the author, Principality Chambers, Swansea) * ''Portrait of Gower'', by

Wynford Vaughan Thomas Lewis John Wynford Vaughan-Thomas ( né Thomas) (15 August 1908 – 4 February 1987) was a Welsh newspaper journalist and radio and television broadcaster. In later life he took the name Vaughan-Thomas after his father. Early life and educa ...

, 1976 (published by Robert Hale Limited, London) () * ''The Gower Coast: A Coastline Walk And Guide To The History, Legends, Shipwrecks & Rescues, Smuggling, Castles & Caves, Including The Story Of The Dollar Ship'', by George Edmunds, 1979 () * ''The Gower Peninsula'', by Lawrence Rich (for The National Trust) () * ''The Story of Gower'', by Wendy Hughes, 1996 () * ''Historic Gower'', by Paul Davies, 1997 () * ''Gower: A Guide to Ancient and Historical Monuments on the Gower Peninsula'', by Diane M. Williams for

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

: Welsh Historic Monuments, 1998 () * ''Images of Wales: Gower Peninsula'', by David Gwynn, 2002 () * ''The People of Gower'', by Derek Draisey, 2003 () * ''Gower Rogues'', by Derek Draisey, 2006 () * ''Gower'', by Jonathan Mullard (in The New Naturalist Library, HarperCollins) () * ''Gower in History: Myth, People, Landscape'', by

Paul Ferris Paul Ferris may refer to: * Paul Ferris (composer) (1941–1995), English film composer * Paul Ferris (footballer) (born 1965), Northern Irish former footballer and now physiotherapist * Paul Ferris (Scottish writer) (born 1963), Scottish writer and ...

, 2009 () * ''Gower'', by Nigel Jenkins & David Pearl, 2009 () * ''Real Gower'', by Nigel Jenkins, 2014 () * ''Black Apples of Gower'', by Iain Sinclair, 2015 ()

External links

Gower Hidden History blog

Gower Wildlife blog

Visual Guide to Gower
*
BBC Gower website

The official website of The Gower Society
{{Conservation_designations_in_Wales Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales