PORTHCAWL (as per The LoveToKnow Free
Online Encyclopedia which is based on what many consider to be the best
encyclopedia ever written: the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
first published in 1911), is described as a seaport and urban
district in the midparliamentary division of
Glamorganshire,
South Wales, 30 m. by rail W. of
Cardiff
and 22 m. S.E. of
Swansea.
Pop. (1901) 1872. The urban district (formed in 1893) is conterminous with the
civil parish of
Newton Nottage, which, in addition to Porthcawl proper, built on the
sea-front, comprises the ancient village of Nottage, 1 m. N., and the more
modern village of Newton, 1 m. N.E. of Porthcawl. The natural harbour of Newton
(as it used to be called) was improved by a
breakwater, and was connected by a
tramway
with Maesteg, whence
coal and
iron were brought for shipment. The tramway was converted into a
railway,
and in 1865 opened for passenger traffic. In 1866 a
dock (71 acres) and tidal basin (21 acres) were constructed, but since about
1902 they have fallen into disuse and the coal is diverged to other ports,
chiefly Port
Talbot. Porthcawl, however, has grown in popularity as a watering-place.
Situated on a slightly elevated headland facing Swansea Bay and the
Bristol
Channel, it has fine sands, rocks and breezy commons, on one of which, near
golf links
resorted to from all parts of Glamorgan, is "The Rest," a convalescent home for
the working classes, completed in 1891, with
accommodation for eighty persons. The climate of Porthcawl is bracing, and
the rainfall (averaging 25 in.) is about the lowest on the South
Wales coast.
The district is described by R. D. Blackmore in his tale The Maid of Sker
(1872), based on a legend associated with Sker House, a fine Elizabethan
building in the adjoining parish of Sker, which was formerly extra-parochial.
The parish church (dedicated to St John the Baptist) has a pre-Reformation stone
altar and an
ancient carved stone
pulpit, said
to be the only relic of an earlier church now covered by the sea.
PORTHCAWL
(as per Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
is situated on a low
limestone headland on the south
Wales
coast, overlooking the
Bristol Channel, Porthcawl developed as a coal port during
the 19th century, but its trade was soon taken over by more
rapidly developing ports such as
Barry. Northwest of the town, in the dunes known as Kenfig
Burrows, are hidden the last remnants of the town and
castle of
Kenfig, which were overwhelmed by sand about
1400.
It is rumoured that to this day, Kenfig's remains are guarded
closely by a fearsome and deadly Sand Serpent. These rumours are
most often dismissed as local folklore by visitors to the town,
despite the alarming record of disappearances recorded around
the area, and numerous eye witness accounts of the creature.
Porthcawl is a
leading holiday resort in southern Wales and has one of the
largest
caravan and
camping parks in
Europe. It has an extensive
promenade and several beaches, two of which are
Blue Flag beaches: a tourist-oriented beach at Trecco Bay,
at the east end of the town; a sandy
beach
at Rest Bay, which lies to the northwest of the town; and the
quiet and sandy Pink bay leading out towards
Sker point. A tarmac-covered beach lies in front of the
promenade.
Old Police Station & Porthcawl Museum,
John Street, Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan CF36 3DT Tel: +44 (0)1656 786 639 or
+44 (0)1656 782 211
Now housing the local Tourist Information Centre, this Victorian listed building
was a police station from the late 19th century until 1971.
The museum traces
the history of Porthcawl and area and features a changing exhibition of local
art as well as mementoes of WWII.
See map
Kenfig.org.uk - The complete history ...The War years [WWII] saw American forces
stationed at Porthcawl, Kenfig
and ... Do you have a story to tell about this period in Kenfig's
history?... ...
Roman Kenfig?Could the missing
Roman fort of Bovium be found under the medieval town of Kenfig?
PORTHCAWL, a seaport and urban
district in the mid-parliamentary division of Glamorganshire, South Wales,
30 m. by rail W. of Cardiff and 22 m. S,E. of. ...
18 Aug 2004 ... the
official website of the porthcawl
lifeboat. the site contains all the information you could
possibly want about the lifeboat stationed ...
Pulley block, salvaged
from the wreck
of the SS Samtampa, Sker Point, Porthcawl
At 3.45pm, on Wednesday, 23 April 1947, two boys reported to
the
Porthcawl ...
A book of photographs
produced by The Porthcawl
Museum & Historical Society, ... 18, Pre-First World War
Soldiers in John Street, 39, The wreck
of the ...
File Format:
PDF/Adobe Acrobat -
View as HTML Porthcawl
that he had noted marks which looked like human footprints on
the peat ... Wreck.
Wreck.
Figure 2: Footprints in relation to the peat shelf as ...
On 13 October 1858 the
schooner Ajax, of Plymouth, was wrecked
off Kenfig Sands near Porthcawl.
Seven coastguards pulled a gig along the foreshore and put
...
