Penmaen, Glamorgan
| Penmaen | |
| Glamorgan | |
|---|---|
 Penmaen Burrows | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS527887 |
| Location: | 51°34’42"N, 4°7’34"W |
| Data | |
| Postcode: | SA3 |
| Local Government | |
Penmaen is a tiny village in the south of the Gower Peninsual in the westernmost extent of Glamorgan. It is little more than a scatter of houses around the A4118 road, a little inland of the broad beaches of Oxwich Bay on the Gower's south coast, and at the foot of the long ridge of Cefn Bryn.
Two long-distance paths pass by: the Gower Way to the north, heading up Cefn Bryn, and the Wales Coast Path to the south along the shore. The two meet just east of the village.
A number of archaeological sites are found in the area. It contains also Parc-Le-Breos, a 19th-century hunting lodge, that was once the deer park of William de Breos, Lord of Gower, but today serves as a hotel and pony-trekking centre.
Penmaen Castle began as a small timber castle. Later it was replaced by a stone structure. The dates of the structures are not known but the ringwork and timber gateway is accepted as being Norman. The timber gateway was destroyed by fire and later replaced by a drystone walled gate tower. It is believed that the replacement could either have been built by a Norman or the Welsh Lord Rhys Gryg ap Rhys, who had destroyed all the castles in Gower in 1217.
A painting of Penmaen Burrows was made by John Nash.