Rhydypennau is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the Genau'r-glyn district of

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

, Wales, approximately north-east of

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

. Along with the village of Pen-y-garn, Rhydypennau is now often considered to be part of the neighbouring village of

Bow Street Bow Street is a thoroughfare in Covent Garden, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. It connects Long Acre, Russell Street and Wellington Street, and is part of a route from St Giles, London, St Giles to Waterloo Bridge. The street was ...

. All three places stretch in a long narrow strip along the main Aberystwyth to Machynlleth road ( A487).

Toponymy

In his memoirs about growing up in Llanfihangel Geneu’r Glyn (

Llandre Llandre (), or Llanfihangel Genau'r Glyn, is a village in Ceredigion, Wales. It lies 5 miles north of Aberystwyth in the north-west of the county, on the road from Rhydypennau, Ceredigion, Rhydypennau to Borth. To the north of the community lies ...

), Pen-y-garn and Bow Street, Tom Macdonald (1900–80) recalls that the local pronunciation of Rhydypennau was ‘Rhypenne’.

Archaeology

An early Bronze-age copper thin-butted flat axe was found to the north-east of Rhydypennau Bridge. The axe has one smooth face, which is slightly hammered along its edges, whilst the other is irregular and shows traces of tooling.''Cardiganshire County History'', Vol 1 (1994), p. 217; Sambrook, Paul & Hall, Jenny, ''Arolwg Cymunedol Llandre Community Audit'', p. 33; National Monuments Record of Wales NPRN No. 405446

Services

Rhydypennau is centred on the junction of the A487 with the road towards

and

Borth Borth () is a village, seaside resort and community in Ceredigion, Mid Wales; it is located 7 miles (11 km) north of Aberystwyth, on the Ceredigion Coast Path. The community includes the settlement of Ynyslas and the population was 1,399 ...

. As well as a few houses, there is the Rhyd-y-Pennau Inn, Rhydypennau Garage, the Pennau craft centre, and Rhydypennau Farm. The old Rhydypennau School (which was closed in the late 1990s) overlooks the hamlet, whilst the present Rhydypennau school, Ysgol Rhydypennau, is located in Pen-y-garn. Bow Street Football Club's ground, Cae Piod, is also at Rhydypennau.

Notable residents

* T. Ifor Rees (1890–1977), author of travel books and ambassador

References

External links

1891 First Ed. 6" Ordnance Survey Map showing ''Rhyd-y-pennau''
{{authority control Villages in Ceredigion