North Gower History Society
The origins of the North Gower History Society (NGHS) go back to the time of the 2019 Llanmadoc Festival, and the ideas that fed into that event being developed , firstly through a focus on the village houses, and their changing roles over time. The advent of the pandemic and lockdown led to more ideas being developed which expanded to cover the history of houses and the settlements of Llanmadoc, Llangennith, Cheriton and Landimore , and the whole of the North Gower area. Early work saw development of a website, a Gazetteer of names and places, and finally, the first public meeting on 11th May 2023, when a small audience assembled in the Siop y Bobl to hear local historian Sally Lyne give a short talk on ‘The Manor of Llanmadoc’.
From this small beginning, the NGHS developed, requiring first the larger audience capacity of Llanmadoc Chapel, and then, as numbers increased, the Village Hall, where it meets on the second Monday of the month (August excepted) at 7pm. From the beginning the NGHS has attempted to live up to its motto of ‘Local History, Locally Told’. However, as its reputation grew under the guidance and recruiting efforts of its Chairman David O Carroll, it expanded to include visiting speakers from further afield. Subjects covered have included the churches of the Lordship of Gower, Gower shipwrecks, Land holdings and cultivation on Gower, local research into the last resting place of the last prince of Glamorgan – teasing out possible fact form veritable legend, reminiscences of life in the Gower Home Guard in WW2, spooky legends of a Burry Green house, the great flood of 1014 and its devastating impact on St Madocs Church Cheriton, to an account of the history and culture of that traditional Gower delicacy laverbread. The NGHS has swelled to a mailing list of over 70 individuals, with regular attendances of thirty to forty at each month’s talks. The NGHS has a regular presence at the Swansea Historical Society annual fair, and attracts speakers from all over the Swansea region.
The Society prides itself on being open to all, and there is no formal membership fee. Each event we ask for a contribution of £3 to cover hall hire and speaker expenses, with any surplus going towards acquiring new resources for the growing library (at last count the NGHS has over 190 volumes ranging from pre- and modern history of Wales, the town and city of Swansea through the ages (including the majestic volume ‘Copperopolis’), Gower history, geography and geology, and various other monographs on aspects of Gower life, as well as a collection of local tithe maps, family history research resources and gazetteers dating back to the 19th century. All these are listed on our principal website northgowerhistory.co.uk and are available to borrow by contacting the NGHS Secretary, Rob Lewis on rbl240718@gmail.com.
