|
GOWER , a seigniory and See also:district in the See also:county of Glamorgan, lying between the See also:rivers Tawe and Loughor and between See also:Breconshire and the See also:sea, its length from the Breconshire border to See also:Worm's See also:Head being 28 m., and its breadth about 8 m. It corresponds to the See also:ancient commote of Gower (in Welsh Gwyr) which in See also:early Welsh times was grouped with two other commotes stretching westwards to the Towy and so formed See also:part of the principality of Ystrad Tywi. Its early association with the See also:country to the See also:west instead of with Glamorgan is perpetuated by its continued inclusion in the See also:diocese of St See also:David,, its two rural deaneries, West and See also:East Gower, being in the archdeaconry of See also:Carmarthen. What is meant by Gower in See also:modern popular usage, however, is only the See also:peninsular part or "See also:English Gower " (that is the Welsh Bro-wyr, as distinct from Gwyr proper), roughly corresponding to the See also:hundred of See also:Swansea and lying mainly to the See also:south of a See also:line See also:drawn from Swansea to Loughor.
The numerous See also:limestone caves of the See also:coast are noted for their immense deposits of See also:animal remains, but their traces of See also:man are far scantier, those found in See also:- BACON
- BACON (through the O. Fr. bacon, Low Lat. baco, from a Teutonic word cognate with " back," e.g. O. H. Ger. pacho, M. H. Ger. backe, buttock, flitch of bacon)
- BACON, FRANCIS (BARON VERULAM, VISCOUNT ST ALBANS) (1561-1626)
- BACON, JOHN (1740–1799)
- BACON, LEONARD (1802–1881)
- BACON, ROGER (c. 1214-c. 1294)
- BACON, SIR NICHOLAS (1509-1579)
Bacon Hole and in Paviland See also:cave
being the most important. In the See also:Roman See also:period the See also:river Tawe, or the See also:great morass between it and the See also:Neath, probably formed the boundary between the See also:Silures and the Goidelic See also:population to the west. The latter, reinforced perhaps from See also:Ireland, continued to be the dominant See also:race in Gower till their See also:conquest or partial See also:expulsion in the 4th See also:century by the sons of Cunedda who introduced a Brythonic See also:element into the district. Centuries later Scandinavian rovers raided the coasts, leaving traces of their more or less temporary occupation in such See also:place-names as Burry Holms, See also:Worms Head and Swansea, and probably also in some cliff earthworks. About the See also:year 11oo the conquest of Gower was undertaken by See also:- HENRY
- HENRY (1129-1195)
- HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
- HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
- HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
- HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
- HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
- HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
- HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
- HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
- HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
- HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
- HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
- HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)
Henry de See also:Newburgh, first See also:earl of See also:Warwick, with the assistance of See also:Maurice de Londres and others. His followers, who were mostly Englishmen from the See also:marches and See also:Somersetshire with perhaps a sprinkling of Flemings, settled for the most part on the See also:southern See also:side of the See also:peninsula, leaving the Welsh inhabitants of the See also:northern See also:half of Gower practically undisturbed. These invaders were probably reinforced a little later by a small detachment of the larger See also:colony of Flemings which settled in south See also:Pembrokeshire. bloated mounds, which in some cases See also:developed into castles, were built for the See also:protection of the various manors into which the district was parcelled out, the castles of Swansea and Loughor being ascribed ,to the earl of Warwick and that of See also:Oystermouth to Maurice de Londres. These were repeatedly attacked and burnt by the Welsh during the 12th and 13th centuries, notably by See also:Griffith ap Rhys in 1113, by his son the See also:Lord Rhys in 1189, by his grandsons acting in See also:concert with See also:Llewelyn the Great in 1215, and by the last See also:Prince Llewelyn in 1257. With the See also:Norman conquest the feudal See also:system was introduced, and the manors were held in ca See also:pile of the lord by the See also:tenure of See also:castle-guard of the castle of Swansea, the ca put baroniae.
About 1189 the lordship passed from the Warwick See also:family to the See also:crown and was granted in 1203 by See also:- KING
- KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
- KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
- KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
- KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
- KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
- KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
- KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
- KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
- KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
- KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
- KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)
King See also:John to See also:- WILLIAM
- WILLIAM (1143-1214)
- WILLIAM (1227-1256)
- WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
- WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
- WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
- WILLIAM, 13TH
William de See also:Braose, in whose family it remained for over 120 years except for three See also:short intervals when it was held for a second See also:- TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
- TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
- TIME, STANDARD
time by King John (1211-1215), by Llewelyn the Great (1216-1223), and the Despensers (c. 1323-1326). In 1208 the Welsh and English inhabitants who had frequent cause to complain of their treatment, received each a See also:charter, in similar terms, from King John, who also visited the See also:town of Swansea in 1210 and in 1215 granted its merchants liberal privileges. In 1283 a number of de Braose's tenants—unquestionably Welshmen—See also:left Gower for the royal lordship of Carmarthen, declaring that they would live under the king rather than under a lord marcher. In the following year the king visited de Braose at Oystermouth Castle, which seems to have been made the lord's See also:chief See also:residence, after the destruction of Swansea Castle by Llewelyn. Later on the king's See also:officers of the newly organized county of Carmarthen repeatedly claimed See also:jurisdiction over Gower, thereby endeavouring to reduce its status from that of a lordship marcher with semi-See also:regal jurisdiction, into that of an See also:ordinary constituent of the new county. De Braose resisted the claim and organized the English part of his lordship on the lines of a county See also:palatine, with its own comilatus and See also:chancery held in Swansea Castle, the See also:sheriff and See also:chancellor being appointed by himself. The inhabitants, who had no right of See also:appeal to the crown against their lord or the decisions of his See also:court, petitioned the king, who in 1305 appointed a See also:special See also:commission to enquire into their alleged grievances, but in the following year the de Braose of the time, probably in alarm, conceded liberal privileges both to the burgesses of Swansea and to the English and Welsh inhabitants of his " county " of English Gower. He was the last lord seignior to live within the seigniory, which passed from him to his son-in-See also:law John de See also:Mowbray. Other troubles befell the de Braose barons and their successors in See also:title, for their right to the lordship was contested by the Beauchamps, representatives of the earlier earls of Warwick, in prolonged litigation carried on intermittently from 1278 to 1396, the Beaucnamps being actually in See also:possession from 1354, when a decision was given in their favour, till its reversal in 1396. It then reverted to the Mowbrays and was held by them until the 4th See also:duke of
See also:Norfolk exchanged it in 1489, for lands in See also:England, with William See also:Herbert, earl of See also:Pembroke. The latter's granddaughter brought it to her See also:husband See also:Charles See also:Somerset, who in 15o6 was granted her See also:father's subtitle of See also:Baron Herbert of See also:Chepstow, See also:Raglan and Gower, and from him the lordship has descended to the See also:present lord, the duke of See also:Beaufort.
Gower was made subject to the ordinary law of England by its inclusion in 1535 in the county of Glamorgan as then re-organized; its chancery, which from about the beginning of the 14th century had been located at Oystermouth Castle, came to an end, but though the Welsh acts of 1535 and 1542 purported to abolish the rights and privileges of the lords marchers as conquerors, yet some of these, possibly from being regarded as private rights, have survived into modern times. For instance, the seignior maintained a See also:franchise See also:gaol in Swansea Castle till 1858, when it was abolished by See also:act of See also:parliament, the See also:appointment of See also:coroner for Gower is still vested in him, 411 writs are executed by the lord's officers instead of by the officers of the sheriff for the county, and the lord's rights to the See also:foreshore, treasure trove, felon's goods and wrecks are undiminished.
The characteristically English part of Gower lies to the south and south-west of its central See also:ridge of Cefn y Bryn. It was this part that was declared by See also:Professor See also:Freeman to be " more See also:Teutonic than See also:Kent itself." The seaside fringe lying between this See also:area and the town of Swansea, as well as the extreme See also:north-west of the peninsula, also became anglicized at a comparatively early date, though the place-names and the names of the in-habitants are still mainly Welsh. The present line of demarcation between the two See also:languages is one drawn from Swansea in a W.N.W. direction to Llanrhidian on the north coast. It has remained practically the same for several centuries, and is likely to continue so, as it very nearly coincides with the southern outcrop of the See also:coal See also:measures, ,the See also:industrial population to the north being Welsh-speaking, the agriculturists to the south being English. In 1901 the Gower rural district (which includes the Welsh-speaking industrial See also:parish of Llanrhidian, with about three-sevenths of the See also:total population) had 64.5 % of the population above three years of See also:age that spoke English only, 5'2% that spoke Welsh only, the See also:remainder being bilinguals, as compared with 17 % speaking English only, 17.7 speaking Welsh only and the See also:rest bilinguals in the Swansea rural district, and 7% speaking English only, 55.2 speaking Welsh only and the rest bilinguals in the Pontardawe rural district, the last two districts constituting Welsh Gower.
More than one-See also:fourth of the whole area of Gower is unenclosed See also:common See also:land, of which in English Gower fully one-half is apparently capable of cultivation. Besides the See also:demesne manors of the lord seignior, six in number, there are some twelve See also:mesne manors and fees belonging to the Penrice See also:estate, and nearly twenty more belonging to various other owners. The tenure is customary See also:freehold, though in some cases described as See also:copyhold, and in the ecclesiastical See also:manor of Bishopston, descent is by See also:- BOROUGH (A.S. nominative burh, dative byrig, which produces some of the place-names ending in bury, a sheltered or fortified place, the camp of refuge of a tribe, the stronghold of a chieftain; cf. Ger. Burg, Fr. bor, bore, bourg)
- BOROUGH [BURROUGH, BURROWE, BORROWS], STEVEN (1525–1584)
borough English. The holdings are on the whole probably smaller in See also:size than in any other area of corresponding extent in See also:Wales, and See also:agriculture is still in a backward See also:state.
In the Arthurian romances Gower appears in the See also:form of Goire as the See also:island See also:home of the dead, a view which probably sprang u. p among the Celts of See also:Cornwall, to whom the peninsula would appear as an island. It is also surmised by See also:Sir John Rh Ys that See also:Malory's Brandegore (i.e. See also:Bran of Gower) represents the See also:Celtic See also:god of the other See also:world (Rhys, Arthurian See also:Legend, 16o, 329 et seq.). On Cefn Bryn, almost in the centre of the peninsula, is a cromlech with a large capstone known as See also:Arthur's See also:- STONE
- STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
- STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
- STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
- STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
- STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
- STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
- STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
- STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)
Stone. The unusually large number of See also:cairns on this See also:- HILL
- HILL (0. Eng. hyll; cf. Low Ger. hull, Mid. Dutch hul, allied to Lat. celsus, high, collis, hill, &c.)
- HILL, A
- HILL, AARON (1685-175o)
- HILL, AMBROSE POWELL
- HILL, DANIEL HARVEY (1821-1889)
- HILL, DAVID BENNETT (1843–1910)
- HILL, GEORGE BIRKBECK NORMAN (1835-1903)
- HILL, JAMES J
- HILL, JOHN (c. 1716-1775)
- HILL, MATTHEW DAVENPORT (1792-1872)
- HILL, OCTAVIA (1838– )
- HILL, ROWLAND (1744–1833)
- HILL, SIR ROWLAND (1795-1879)
hill, given as eighty by Sir See also:Gardner See also:Wilkinson, suggests that this part of Gower was a favourite See also:burial-place in early See also:British times.
See Rev. J. D. See also:Davies, A See also:History of West Gower (4 vols., 1877-1894) ; See also:Col. W. L1-See also:Morgan, An Antiquarian Survey of East Gower (1899); an See also:article (probably by Professor Freeman) entitled " Anglia Trans-Walliana " in the Saturday See also:Review for May an, 1876; " The Signory of Gower " by G. T. See also:Clark in Archaeologic Cambrensis for 1893-1894; The Surveys of Gower axd Kilvey, ed. by See also:Baker and See also:- GRANT (from A.-Fr. graunter, O. Fr. greanter for creanter, popular Lat. creantare, for credentare, to entrust, Lat. credere, to believe, trust)
- GRANT, ANNE (1755-1838)
- GRANT, CHARLES (1746-1823)
- GRANT, GEORGE MONRO (1835–1902)
- GRANT, JAMES (1822–1887)
- GRANT, JAMES AUGUSTUS (1827–1892)
- GRANT, ROBERT (1814-1892)
- GRANT, SIR ALEXANDER
- GRANT, SIR FRANCIS (1803-1878)
- GRANT, SIR JAMES HOPE (1808–1895)
- GRANT, SIR PATRICK (1804-1895)
- GRANT, U
- GRANT, ULYSSES SIMPSON (1822-1885)
Grant-See also:Francis (1861-1870). (D. LL.
End of Article: GOWER
Additional information and Comments
There are no comments yet for this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.
Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.
|
del.icio.us it!