Penbrey, otherwise Pembrey (Penbre) - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
PENBREY, otherwise PEMBREY (PENBRE), a parish, formerly in the hundred of Kidwelly, but now annexed to Carnawllon, in the union of Llanelly, county of Carmarthen, in South Wales, 5 miles (W.) from Llanelly; containing 2850 inhabitants. The name of this place, signifying literally the head of a hill or promontory, is derived from its situation at the extremity of a mountainous ridge. The parish is bounded on the east by Llanelly, on the north by Llangendeirn, on the north-west by Kidwelly, and on the south by the river Burry and a wide tract of sands, dividing it from Gower in Glamorganshire. It comprises an area of 14,705 acres. The surface presents rather a barren appearance, with a few fertile spots interspersed, partly arable and partly pasture; the soil is of a clayey and a sandy quality, producing chiefly wheat and barley. There is a small portion of woodland, the prevailing timber consisting of elm and oak. Very little picturesque beauty is displayed, but the views that some parts command of sea and land are extensive and delightful; Tenby, and Lundy and Caldey islands, being discernible on a tolerably clear day. The parish is intersected by the Achddu stream, and separated from Kidwelly by the Gwendraeth Vawr. On the south is the very extensive sandy common already mentioned; it is overflowed occasionally by the tide, but affords good grazing land to numerous flocks of sheep, which the tenants of several farms in this and the adjoining parishes have the right of pasturing.
Penbrey contains some mineral wealth, and is thought to be rich in bituminous and hard coal, both being wrought in three collieries. The quality of the soft coal is peculiarly adapted to the production of gas, and other purposes; vast quantities of both sorts were formerly exported to various parts of the kingdom, and of late years it has been discovered that the hard coal can be used, as well as the bituminous, in the smelting of iron-ore. To facilitate the conveyance of the mineral produce of the district, a capacious harbour was constructed, in 1819, by the Penbrey Harbour Company, formed for the purpose, with a pier extending to a distance of 400 yards from the shore; but this harbour fell into disuse, being private property, and was superseded by another constructed to the north-east of it, under the provisions of an act of parliament, obtained in 1825, by a new company. A canal was also formed, connecting the port with the Kidwelly and Llanelly canal, and pursuing hence a northern course; the line of the South Wales railway passes through the parish, and in consequence of these and other advantages, Penbrey promises to become a place of great trade. In the year 1846, 1758 tons of pig-iron were shipped here, from the iron-works lately established in the Gwendraeth and other vales in this part of the county of Carmarthen. The harbour is sometimes called Burry Port, being near the entrance of Burry River; it is capable of holding eighty sail of large coasters, and possesses an excellent depth of water. This part of the coast, however, is of difficult navigation, and, to mariners unacquainted with it, the most fatal on the shores of the Bristol Channel. In November 1828, a French West Indiaman from Martinique was wrecked off Penbrey, and nearly all the crew and passengers perished, among the latter of whom were Colonel Coquelin and his daughter Adeline, niece of Josephine, ci-devant empress of France, who, with the other unfortunate sufferers, were buried in the churchyard of Penbrey, where a very handsome slab was erected to their memory, at the suggestion and under the auspices of John Hughes Rees, Esq.
The living is a discharged vicarage, endowed with £600 royal bounty, and £1400 parliamentary grant; present net income, £69, with a glebe-house; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Ashburnham, whose tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £700. The church, dedicated to St. Illtyd, is a spacious and handsome edifice in the later English style, containing sixty pews, all appropriated, with a small gallery, the seats in which are free: the register bears date 1725, and the sacramental cup 1574. At Llandury, a hamlet in the parish, is a commodious chapel of ease, where divine service is performed regularly on Sunday afternoon; and in the hamlet of Pendryn, or more properly, Penrhyn, was a chapel, called Cynnor, which is now in ruins, and the site used as a coal-yard. There are places of worship for Independents, Baptists, Calvinistic Methodists, and Wesleyans. A day school was endowed with £5 per annum, and a house and garden for the master, given by the late Rev. Mr. Pemberton, but the endowment has been withdrawn; a school, however, is supported, principally by Messrs. Norton, Upperton, and Stone, of the Trim Saron iron-works. Nine Sunday schools are also held. A rent-charge of £1, by Hector Morris, in 1775, is distributed on Good Friday among the poor, but a similar sum bequeathed by Hugh Thomas, in 1726, has been discontinued since 1816. A peculiar custom prevails among many in the parish, of not allowing females to enter their houses on New Year's day. |
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