The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust
Historic Environment Record
 

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St. Mary's Chapel, Penrhys

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 04667m
Trust : Glamorgan Gwent
Community : Tylorstown
Unitary authority : Rhondda, Cynon, Taff
NGR : ST00299459
Site Type (preferred type first) : Medieval Chapel

Summary :
Pilgrimage chapel associated with St Mary's Well, Penrhys. Site visible on Aps as short section of E-W aligned walling visible at NW end of N wall. Possible rectangular earthwork structures to S, and elsewhere. See Williams 1990, 12, 34, 48, 142.

Description :
Site visible on APs as short section of E-W aligned walling visible at NW end of N wall. Possible rectangular earthwork structures to S, and elsewhere. See Williams 1990, 12, 34, 48, 142. Pilgrimage chapel associated with St Mary's Well, Penrhys (Williams 2001, 305 no.80). Evans 2003: GGAT 73 Early-Medieval Ecclesiastical Sites Project database.

The chapel site, identified in the place-name Caer Eglwys (whilst the names Y Fynwent and Erw Beddau indicate associated burials), formed part of the Pilgrimage site of Penrhys, the property of the Cistercian Abbey of Llantarnam. The chapel appears to have been set within and at the S angle of a rectangular enclosure, the SW and SE boundaries of which have been identified and are illustrated in a plan by Ward reproduced in Williams 1990. (Ward 1914, 258, 362, 371; Williams 1984, I,178-9; Williams 1990, 12, 34, 48, 142). The above-ground remains at the site comprise a short length of E-W aligned walling; this is the fragmentary remains of the W end of the N wall of the site, identified as being a chapel/barn after excavation in 1912.

Closely associated with this site are the well-preserved standing remains of the well head chapel of St. Marys Well or Ffynnon Fair (PRN 00937m; NPRN 225,774), listed building grade II (ref. 13113), located to the SW. The associated hospice is thought to have been located to the NE at the site of the now-demolished post-medieval farmstead Pen-rhys Uchaf, formerly Tyr Rostrys the tavern or hospice of the cell recorded at the Dissolution. (Ward 1914, 258, 362, 371; Williams 1984, I, 178-9; Williams 1990, 12, 34, 48, 142). Whilst there has been considerable redevelopment in the immediate vicinity of the chapel, a number of possibly related features including linear earthworks, and an L-shaped building platform (see PRN 04669m) in the area to the south, have also been noted from APs (Bowden and Roberts 2011).

Settlement established near the chapel. Field-names include Cae’r Eglwys (church field), Y Fynwent ('the graveyard'), Cae Tyla Capel (‘field of the chapel ascent’) and Erw Beddau, indicating burial. A
modern housing estate is directly adjacent to the chapel (Procter 2018).

Sources :
Bowden, R. and Roberts, R. , 2011 , Abandoned Medieval Chapels and Churches in Glamorgan and Gwent
Procter, E. , 2018 , The topographical legacy of the medieval monastery: evolving perceptions and realities of monastic landscapes in the southern Welsh Marches
Williams, D H , 2001 , The Welsh Cistercians
Williams, D. H. , 1990 , Atlas of Cistercian lands in Wales
Evans EM, 2003-04, GGAT 73 Early Medieval Ecclesiastical Sites Project

Events :
E002109 : Field visit to St Mary's Chapel, Penrhys (year : 2011)
E002101 : Assessment of Abandoned Medieval Chapels and Churches in Glamorgan and Gwent (year : 2011)

Related records
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 00578m
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 00937m
National Monuments Record NPRN 307763 http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/307763/details
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 00624g
GGAT Historic Environment Record (HER) 08702m

Compiled date : 12-03-2004


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