Pennard - Castle and Church
Pennard village, contains, the remains of a castle and a church.
Pennard Castle. Henry d Beaumont, Earl of Warwick conquered the Gower Peninsula during the 12th century, and it was then that the construction of Pennard Castle started. When completed Pennard was one of his demesne manors.
Overlooking the mouth of Pennard Hill and Three Cliffs Bay,
the castle was built out of limestone spur.
It was naturally protected on both the North and West sides by surrounding
cliffs. To the east a church of St.
Mary’s was built and here a settlement grew.
During the 13th and 14th centuries the
castle was controlled by William de Braose and his son, also, William. It was during this time that the timber defences
were replaced. A new gatehouse was built
as an entrance. The new walls were built
from local red sandstone and the limestone from the old castle. Pennard may have been rebuilt for the de
Braose due to Penmaen castle being abandoned due to the encroaching sand dunes
During the 16th century, Pennard castle was gradually
being abandoned due to the encroaching sand dunes. The South Wall had collapses by 1741, with further
losses by 1795. The ruins of the castles
provided subject matter for artists of the time. By 1879 after large cracks appeared in the
southern tower of the gatehouse, which led to a partial collapse.
Discussions during 1922, by Pennard Golf Course, who owned
the land and Royal Institution and the Cambrian Archaeological Association on
the future of the castle. The joint
committee formed a funds, in order to repair the stonework. With the work being extensive, the gatehouse
was repaired during 1923 and 1924 where concrete was used. The South Wales collapsed during the early
1960s. 1963, urgent masonry repairs were
carried out in a combination of the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works and
the Gower Society.
Today, the Gatehouse survives with parts of the Walls on the
North and East. The ruins are now
protected as Grade II and a scheduled ancient monument.
The ‘old’ St. Mary church, Pennard, was built close to
Pennard Castle. This church was abandoned
during the 16th century due to the sand dunes.
The present church, also dedicated to St. Mary, was built
during the 18th century, in the style of the 13th
century. It is here that three notable poets are buried. Vernon Watkins, Henri Webb and Night Jenkins.
Vernon Watkins
Vernon Watkins born 1906, Maesteg, having been brought up in Swansea. His parents, William Watkins and
Sarah Phillips, lived at “Redcliffe” at Caswell Bay.
Vernon Watkins
Vernon's later education was at Repton School, Derbyshire and
Magdalene College, Cambridge.
When returning to Swansea for a bank job, 1935, Vernon met
Dylan Thomas, Vernon was the only person that Dylan took from when writing
poetry.
Vernon and Dylan, were part of the Swansea Group, known as
the “Kardomah Boys”. The other
members of the group were composer Daniel Jenkyn Jones, writer Charles Fisher
and artists Alfred Janes and Mervyn Levy.
During the Second World War, Vernon worked as cryptographer
at Bletchley Park. It was here where
Vernon met Gwendolyn Davies. The couple married
during 1944, at St. Bartholomew-the Great, London.
Vernon’s passion was for poetry. His first book of poems, Ballard of the Mari
Llwyd was published 1941. Vernon for
severely hours of the night. After retiring
from the bank, 1966, Vernon was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Literature
from University of Wales.
His published works included
The Lady and the
Veil, 1945
The Lady with the Unicorn,
1948
The Death Bell,
1954
The North Sea,
1955
Cypress and Acacia,
1959
Affinities,
1962
Fidelities,
1968
October 1967, whilst employed by the University of Washington,
to teach a course of modern pottery.
Vernon whilst playing tennis at Seattle died.
His body was returned to Great Britain, where he was buried
at Pennard church.
Vernon Watkins's blue plaque on the former
Lloyds bank
St. Helen's Road/Beach Road
October 2014, the Swansea Council, unveiled a blue plaque on
the building on the corner of St. Helens Road and Beach Street, where Vernon
spent 38 years working for Lloyds Bank.
Other works were published after his death.
Harri Webb
Tycoch Road, Swansea
Harri Webb, born 1920, Swansea. Born at Tycoch Road. The family soon moved to Catherine Street,
Swansea. His family were a working-class
family.
Having been awarded a Local Education Authority scholarship,
Harri studied languages at University of Oxford. Affected by the death of his mother, he graduated
with a 3rd during 1941.
During the Second World War, Harri volunteered to serve with
the Royal Navy, where he an interpreter. Harri was demobbed 1946, Scotland.
Harri Webb
Returning to Wales, after the Second World War, Harri
finally was employed as a librarian during 1954 at Merthyr Tydfil. Two years later, he published Dic Penderyn
and the Merthyr Rising of 1831, a pamphlet about the recalls the story of
the Rebellion. 1964, Harri, became a
librarian of Mountain Ash. While at Mountain Ash, Harri lived in a
house, known as Garth Newydd, a house given to the town during the Great
Depression, and subsequently owned to nobody.
Harri’s first poems, The Green Desert were published 1969. 1972, Harri moved to Cwmbach, before retiring
1974, the year, that A Crown For Branwen were published.
Harri Webb's grave
Pennard church
Later in life, Harri, remained at Cwmbach before moving to a
nursing home in Swansea. New Year’s Eve,
1994, Harri died. He was buried at Pennard
church.
Harri other works included
Rempage and Revel,
1977
Poems and Points,
1983
Tales from Wales,
1984
With further publications published after his death.
Nigel Jenkins
Nigel Jenkins
Nigel Jenkins born 1949, Gower. He brought up on the farm of the former
Kilvrough Estate. He was educated at University of Essex.
Nigel came to the attention of Welsh Arts Council’s with his
Three Anglo-Welsh Poets a collaboration with Tony Curtis and Duncan
Bush. During 1976, Nigel was given the
Eric Gregory Award.
During the course of his life, Nigel, published several collections
of poetry including
Circus, 1979
Song and Dance,
1981
Warhead, 1981
Practical Dreams,
1983
Ground Common,
1985
Love is a Four-letter
Word, 1988
Acts of Union,
1990
Remember Tomorrow,
1997
Ambush, 1998
A Body of
Questions, 2002
Blue 101, 2002
Hotel Gwales,
2006
O for a gun,
2007
Nigel was a former newspaper journalist, in 1996, won the
Wales Book of the Year for his travel book Gwalia in Khasia, 1995. Nigel was a lecturer at Swansea University,
where he taught Creative Media Writing.
Nigel Jenkins' grave
Pennard church
At the time of his death, Nigel was living in Mumbles. Nigel died January 2014, where he was buried
at Pennard church.
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