Felindre Farchog Explained

Country:Wales
Static Image:File:Pont Felindre Farchog - geograph.org.uk - 473985.jpg
Static Image Caption:The A487 bridge over the Nevern
Coordinates:52.0172°N -4.7695°W
Official Name:Felindre Farchog
Unitary Wales:Pembrokeshire
Constituency Westminster:Preseli Pembrokeshire
Constituency Welsh Assembly:Preseli Pembrokeshire
Post Town:Newport, Pembrokeshire
Postcode District:SA41
Postcode Area:SA
Dial Code:01239

Felindre Farchog (; rough English translation: mill village of the knight, or horseman) is a small village in the community of Nevern in Pembrokeshire, Wales, located around 7miles south-west of Cardigan, and within the parish of Bayvil. The A487 road from Cardigan to Newport runs through the village.

The village, on the River Nevern, consists of a few houses (including eight listed buildings, one a former college) and an inn.

History

There is a prehistoric earthwork in the south of the village, described as being circular and about 25m in diameter.[1] A number of small mines used to exist to the south-west of the village.[2]

To the east of the village the main road crosses the medieval bridge Pont Baldwyn over Nant Duad, believed to be named after Archbishop Baldwin who with Gerald of Wales campaigned and preached in the area in the late 12th century.[3] To the west, the River Nevern is crossed by an unnamed bridge.[4]

Felindre Farchog developed as a result of its position on the main route between the former ports of Cardigan and Newport, a road which is now part of the A487. In the 17th century the rural poor lived in earth houses, while a number of significant buildings were established nearby.[5]

Significant buildings

At the eastern end of the village is the College, a 17th-century building founded by Sir George Owen and modernised in 1852 by Sir Thomas Lloyd in Gothic style to house the Court of the Lordship of Cemais. The building became private accommodation in 1976.[6] A few yards northeast of the College is a pair of estate cottages, numbers 1 and 2 Pendre, Henllys Road, both listed Grade II, built about 1860. No.1 retains the original sash windows.[7] [8]

Cwmgloyne is a 17th-century Grade II listed mansion about half a mile north of the village. The house has been much altered since. Originally an estate with lands across several parishes, the estate was broken up towards the end of the 19th century.[9] [10]

Yr Hen Gapel is Grade II listed as a rare example of a small early chapel.[11] Built in 1791, it was rebuilt in 1810, converted to a Sunday School in 1857 and later in the 19th century became the vestry to Cana Chapel.[12] Cana Chapel is a Grade II listed building built in 1810, rebuilt in 1857, and still in use in 2006.[13]

The parish church of Saint Andrew at Bayvil, an early 19th-century Georgian building, is disused but upkept.[14] [15]

Wenallt is a Grade II listed farmhouse southeast of the village, listed for being a traditional 19th century farmhouse.[16]

Amenities

The Salutation Inn stands by the river in the centre of the village. It is marked on a pre-1850 parish map[17] and is believed to be part-16th century.

National Cycle Route 82 (Bangor to Fishguard) passes through the village.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Coflein: Felindre Farchog, enclosure. 9 September 2016.
  2. Web site: Mines in Pembrokeshire. 8 June 2014.
  3. Web site: Wikimedia Commons: Pont Baldwyn (photo and description). 9 September 2016.
  4. Ordnance Survey Landranger Map 145
  5. Web site: Dyfed Archaeological Trust: Eglwyswrw. 9 September 2016.
  6. Web site: Cadw: Walking with princes, saints and legends. 8 June 2014.
  7. Web site: British Listed Buildings: No.1 Pendre, Henllys Road. 9 September 2016.
  8. Web site: British Listed Buildings: No.1 Pendre, Henllys Road. 9 September 2016.
  9. Web site: British Listed Buildings: Cwm Gloyne. 9 September 2016.
  10. News: The Pembrokeshire Herald and General Advertiser. 27 September 1889. Eglwyswrw: Great property sale. 6 September 2016.
  11. Web site: Yr Hen Gapel: People's Collection Wales (RCAHMW). 9 September 2016.
  12. Web site: Welsh Religious Buildings Trust: Yr Hen Gapel. 9 September 2016.
  13. Web site: Welsh Religious Buildings Trust: Cana Welsh Independent Chapel. 9 September 2016.
  14. Web site: GENUKI - Bayvil. 8 June 2014.
  15. Web site: Friends of Friendless Churches - Bayvil. 8 June 2014.
  16. Web site: British Listed Buildings: Wenallt, A487. 9 September 2016.
  17. Web site: GENUKI Parish map no.21. 8 September 2016.