Penrhys is a village in the
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
of
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vil ...
, Wales, situated on a hillside overlooking both valleys of Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach. It is situated around 1,100 ft above sea level and is a district of
Tylorstown
Tylorstown (Pendyrus) is a village and community located in the Rhondda valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is neighboured by the villages of Blaenllechau, Ferndale, Penrhys, Pontygwaith and Stanleytown.
History
B ...
. Until the late 16th century, Penrhys was one of the holiest sites for Christian pilgrims in Wales.
The site of Penrhys has a rich religious history dating back to medieval times, though few settlements other than farmsteads can be traced to the area. Penrhys is significant for a medieval monastery, the holy shrine of "Our Lady" built at the holy spring of Ffynnon Fair. During the early 16th century the antiquarian
John Leland wrote during his visit to the area that he saw ''"Penrise Village, where the Pilgrimage was"'', suggesting that a settlement had built up in the area. In 1538 the shrine was destroyed during the
English Reformation
The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
, and the area appeared to fall into decline. With the arrival of industrialisation in the
Rhondda Valley
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...
during the 19th century interest in the religious history of Penrhys increased. An archaeological dig at the old chapel was carried out in 1912 and a new statue of the Virgin Mary was unveiled in 1953. In February 1927 the first burial took place at Penrhys cemetery.
History
Early History
Three Bronze Age funerary sites have been identified in the locality of Penrhys, with the cemetery at ''Erw Beddau'' (English: Acre of graves), also associated with a latter battle between
Iestyn ap Gwrgant
Iestyn ap Gwrgant (or Jestyn ap Gwrgant) ( eng, Iestyn, son of Gwrgant) (1014 – 1093) was the last ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg, which encompassed the counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.
Lineage
Iestyn ap Gwrgant was the las ...
and
Rhys ap Tewdwr
Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 10 ...
(c. 1085–88).
The community was named ''Pen-Rhys-ap-Tewdwr'' (English: Rhys ap Tewdwr's Head), and a variety of traditions record Rhys ap Tewdwr as the original
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
of the later monastery and village. The traditions state that Rhys was pursued into the Rhondda by Iestyn ap Gwrgant following the battle of Hirwaun Wrgant, or by Norman forces after the battle at Brecon in 1093, and that Rhys was either beheaded at the site, or that his head was interred there.
Penrhys is often listed as one of the
Monastic grange
Monastic granges were outlying landholdings held by monasteries independent of the manorial system. The first granges were owned by the Cistercians and other orders followed. Wealthy monastic houses had many granges, most of which were largely a ...
s belonging to the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
Llantarnam Abbey
Llantarnam Abbey is a Grade II*-listed abbey of the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy and a former Cistercian monastery located in Llantarnam, Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen in southeast Wales.
History
It was founded as a daughter house o ...
, but Penrhys is also said to have been established by
Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
or his son,
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147 David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved ...
, and the earliest documentation of the site (a land grant of 1203) refers to Penrhys as 'a manor'.
[May, pg9.]
Centre of Pilgrimage
During the medieval period the area became an important pilgrimage centre, gaining great renown for ''Fynnon Fair'' (English: Mary's Well), the holy well that still exists today, it's chapel, shrine and
hostelry
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
created to accommodate the large number of pilgrims. Another tradition states that
Edward II of England
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...
took refuge here in 1326, prior to his eventual capture "North of Caerphilly".
Penrhys was a popular pilgrimage site throughout the
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
, until the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, when the shrine was dismantled and it's famous Statue of the Virgin removed to London where it was destroyed.
Industrial Penrhys
In 1904 the mining population of Rhondda was over 110,000 and still expanding rapidly. Although a 'fever hospital' had been constructed in nearby
Ystrad
Ystrad (also known as Ystrad Rhondda or Ystrad-Rhondda) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the Rhondda Fawr valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.
Description
As a community and ward Ystrad contains the neighbouring district of Gelli ...
, the threat of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
had become a concern to the Medical Officer of Health, who recommended a separate containment site. In 1906 the Health Committee purchased three acres of land at Penrhys, chosen for its accessibility to both Rhondda valleys and its distance from other habitable buildings. The smallpox hospital was completed in 1907 and at first served the Rhondda and later all of South Wales. In the 1970s the building was deemed unnecessary and was burnt to the ground by the South Wales Fire Service in 1971.
In 1927 Penrhys was chosen as the starting point for 'Red Sunday in Rhondda Valley'
hunger march
Hunger marches are a form of protest, social protest that arose in the United Kingdom during the early 20th century. Often the marches involved groups of men and women walking from areas with high unemployment, to London where they would protest ou ...
. The march was organised by the
South Wales Miners' Federation
The South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF), nicknamed "The Fed", was a trade union for coal miners in South Wales. It survives as the South Wales Area of the National Union of Mineworkers.
Forerunners
The Amalgamated Association of Miners (AA ...
and the Rhondda District, but lost support due to opposition from the
TUC. It was supported by the Communist party and the march went ahead supported by 270 marchers.
Modern Village
The village of Penrhys that exists today was first developed in 1966 as a new modern council housing development. Built between 1966 and 1969 by Alex Robertson, Peter Francis & Partners, the houses consisted of short two and three storey terraces with cement rendered concrete walls and monopitch roofs. When it was officially opened in 1968, it consisted of 951 houses, at the time the largest
public sector housing venture in Wales.
One of the innovative features of Penrhys village was the
district heating
District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...
system; under an agreement with the
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...
, water was heated in a central coal-fired boiler, and a network of insulated pipes served each house with space heating and hot water for domestic use, with the cost of heating included in the rent. This was designed and built during a period of low bulk energy costs, but proved very expensive following the
Oil Crisis of 1973
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
which increased the cost of energy. As heating cost increases had to be absorbed into the rent, the village became uneconomic for those residents who were not reliant on state benefits (which paid housing costs), and many of those in employment left the estate to move to other housing where they could have more control of heating costs.
The outflow of employed residents led to a process of social engineering (whether intentional or not) whereby those on unemployment or other state benefits were relocated into Penrhys from other council run estates (with the initial prospect of them a saving on separate heating costs). As a result of the concentration of socially impoverished residents during the 1970s and 1980s the village gained a poor reputation and was seen by many as an undesirable location. In an attempt to rejuvenate the village, the Priority Estate Programme was undertaken in the late 1980s with all houses refurbished and environmental improvements made throughout the community. This, though, proved unsuccessful as the reputation of Penrhys was so low that new occupants could not be found; this led to newly refurbished houses being vandalised as they stood empty. This in turn fueled the area's negative reputation.
By the 1990s the local authorities had begun a relocation program for Penrhys, with many buildings demolished once the tenants had been relocated. By the early 21st century much of the village had been demolished, leaving around 300 buildings remaining.
Historic buildings and religious sites
Medieval monastery
Many legends surround the old monastery at Penrhys, though the historicity of most has now been dismissed. It was originally believed that the monastery was Franciscan and built under the orders of
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
; another tale states that Welsh king
Rhys ap Tewdwr
Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 10 ...
was beheaded by the Normans at the site. Both these tales have been disproven, though many books hold these tales as fact. The village even takes its name from one of the legends as it was originally called Pen-Rhys ap Tewdwr (the head of Rhys ap Tewdwr). Surviving documents refer to the site as a 'manor' belonging to
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
Abbey of Llantarnam in Gwent
and the first mention of Penrhys was in a document regarding a grant of land to the abbey in 1203.
[May, pg9.] The manor may have originally been an outlying sheep farm or
grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
, but by the 15th century had become a place of pilgrimage. The manor consisted of three large buildings, a well, chapel and
hostelry
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
; the hostelry probably created as a service and commercial undertaking to accommodate the pilgrims.
Ffynnon Fair
![Ffynnon Fair, Penrhys 2014-09-04 - 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Ffynnon_Fair%2C_Penrhys_2014-09-04_-_1.jpg)
Ffynnon Fair (also: Ffynon Mair), St. Mary's Well, is a holy well which lies on the hillside overlooking the village of
Llwynypia
Llwynypia ( cy, Llwynypia ) is a village and community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a popu ...
. The well has been the focus of religious activity in Penrhys and is the oldest recorded Christian site in the Rhondda. It is recognised by some historians that the site may date back further, and could be pagan in origin. The waters from the well were believed to have the ability to cure ailments, particularly rheumatism and poor eyesight,
[Davis, Paul R. 'Historic Rhondda' Hackman (1989) pp. 27 ] and were reported by
Rhisiart ap Rhys
Rhisiart ap Rhys (fl. c. 1495 – c. 1510) was a Welsh-language poet from the cwmwd of Tir Iarll, Glamorgan.
He was the son of Rhys Brydydd and nephew, in all probability, to the poet Gwilym Tew
Gwilym Tew ( fl. 1460 – 1480) was a Welsh-la ...
as:
"There are rippling waters at the top of the rock
Farewell to every ailment that desires them!
White wine runs in the rill,
That can kill pain and fatigue!"
A vaulted stone building was built around the well which, although heavily restored, still exists today. The structure over the well is entirely built of local
Pennant Sandstone
The Pennant Measures is the traditional name for a sequence of sedimentary rocks of the South Wales Coalfield. They were also referred to as the Upper Coal Measures and assigned to the Westphalian 'C' and Westphalian 'D' stages of the Carbonifero ...
, with one side built into the sloping hillside.
[Slater, pg2.] The interior of the small rectangular building consists of stone benches around three walls; a cistern occupies the south wall. A niche in the north wall was said to have held a statue of Mary. The floor is paved with dressed flagstones.
The Shrine of "Our Lady"
Legend tells that a statue of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
appeared in the branches of an oak tree near to the holy well. The statue was said to have been incredibly beautiful and a gift from heaven. Many people tried to remove the statue from the tree but it resisted all attempts to the point where 'Eight oxen could not have drawn the Image of Penrhys from its place...' The statue would only allow itself to be retrieved once the chapel and shrine were built. The original statue survived at Penrhys until 1538
when, under
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's
dissolution of the monasteries,
Bishop Latimer wrote to
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...
suggesting the destruction of the shrine. With the shrine burned during the night, the statue was taken to London where it was publicly burned with other
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
artifacts.
![Our Lady of Penrhys 2014-09-04 - 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Our_Lady_of_Penrhys_2014-09-04_-_1.jpg)
The Shrine of Our Lady was still visited throughout the following centuries with records showing devotion up until 1842; though by this date little of the original shrine survived.
[Slater, pg8.] In the early 20th century Miss M. M. Davies of
Llantrisant
Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the town's name are SS ...
, a Catholic convert, supplied funds for the construction of a memorial church to be built at nearby
Ferndale. She would also procure a wooden replica of the original Statue of Penrhys.
In 1936, Rev P.J. Gibbons, parish priest of the church at Ferndale revived the pilgrimages and in 1939 the
Rhondda Borough Council, recognising the importance of the site, took measures to restore and protect the Holy Well.
On 2 July 1953 a new statue was revealed by
Archbishop McGrath at the site of the old chapel. Standing on a plinth and although much larger than the original, was carved from
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...
using the descriptions left behind in medieval Welsh poetry. More than 20,000 people attended the first pilgrimage after the erection of the new statue.
Due to its religious importance, Penrhys is part of the
Cistercian Way, and many people still make pious pilgrimages to the site every year.
Penrhys chapel
Penrhys chapel was originally built as part of the manor. Little remains of the building, though excavations in 1912 discovered that the chapel was made up of a nave and chancel divided by a cross-wall, with a series of buttresses on the outside of the nave. This original building was at some time destroyed or demolished and a new chapel rebuilt on the original foundations. Dressed stones and fragments of green glass discovered at the site place the chapel at no earlier than the 14th century.
The site now houses the modern statue of the Virgin Mary.
Transportation
Penrhys is served by the B4512 linking it to the A4058 at
Ystrad Rhondda
Ystrad (also known as Ystrad Rhondda or Ystrad-Rhondda) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the Rhondda Fawr valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.
Description
As a community and ward Ystrad contains the neighbouring district of Gelli ...
to the west and to the A4233 and Tylorstown to the east. Penrhys has no local railway station.
Sport
The Penrhys golf course is situated nearby.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
Heritage Trail:Penrhys
{{authority control
Holy wells in Wales
Shrines to the Virgin Mary
Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf