EV-0647 — Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (London, 1849): “Llandough (Llan-Dôch), or Llan-Doche-Penarth” (parish entry)
Catalogue record
| EV ID | EV-0647 |
|---|---|
| Title | Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (London, 1849): “Llandough (Llan-Dôch), or Llan-Doche-Penarth” |
| Date of document | 1849 (published) |
| Period described | The parish as described in 1849; a monastery tradition placed in the fifth century |
| Type | printed gazetteer entry (topographical dictionary) |
| Source / publisher | Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (London: S. Lewis and Co., 1849), section “Llandewy-Brevi – Llandovery”, pp. 524–536; read in the British History Online transcription |
| Reference | Samuel Lewis, ‘Llandewy-Brevi – Llandovery’, in A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (London, 1849), pp. 524–536, entry “Llandough (Llan-Dôch), or Llan-Doche-Penarth”. Transcription: British History Online, www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/wales/pp524-536 (section h3-s12), read 1 November 2026. |
| Page | Within pp. 524–536; the transcription does not mark the exact printed page of this entry |
| Evidence label | PUBLISHED SOURCE (GAZETTEER, 1849); PARISH CONTEXT |
| Status | HELD (public transcription read and checked 1 November 2026); printed volume not seen |
Summary
Lewis’s 1849 entry for Llandough beside Penarth gives two name forms, “Llan-Dôch” and “Llan-Doche-Penarth”, and describes the parish: Cardiff poor-law union, hundred of Dinas-Powys, 4 miles south-west of Cardiff, 133 inhabitants. The living was a discharged rectory united with Leckwith and Cogan. The entry records a monastery tradition (St Cyngarus, also called Docuinus, endowed by Paulentus, King of Gwent) and states that it is “not supported by any satisfactory authority”. It also describes the church dedicated to Dôchdwy with the shaft of an old circular cross in the churchyard, a school, Cogan Pill (the Herberts’ ancient seat, by then a farmhouse), a small circular mound south-east of the church that Lewis thought “probably an outpost”, the marshes and ague, the limestone, and the view over the Ely and Tâf.
Key lines (verbatim, spelling as transcribed)
“LLANDOUGH (LLAN-DÔCH), or LLAN-DOCHE-PENARTH, a parish, in the poor-law union of Cardiff, hundred of Dinas-Powys, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 4 miles (S. W.) from Cardiff; containing 133 inhabitants.”
“This place is supposed by some writers to have been the site of a monastery founded in the fifth century for twelve monks, or canons, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity, by St. Cyngarus, which was afterwards amply endowed by Paulentus, at that time King of Gwent.”
“Cyngarus, who is also called Docuinus, and who, … came into this part of the country about the year 474, has by other writers been identified with the British saint Dôchdwy …”
“But this conjecture is not supported by any satisfactory authority, nor has it been confirmed by the discovery of any remains of conventual buildings.”
“The village is pleasantly situated on a finely wooded eminence, on the west bank of the Ely, about a mile above its fall into Penarth harbour; it overlooks a large level tract, intersected by the rivers Ely and Tâf …”
“The exhalations from the marshes below are unfavourable to the health of the inhabitants, who are consequently subject to attacks of ague. Limestone is the prevailing substratum of the parish.”
“The living is a discharged rectory, united to the livings of Leckwith and Cogan.”
“… in the churchyard is the shaft of an old circular cross, ornamented with scrolls and tracery, but without any legible inscription. A school has been erected by subscription, aided by a grant from a society.”
“Cogan Pill, the ancient seat of the Herberts, … has been converted into a farmhouse, the grand hall being appropriated as a barn …”
“At a short distance from the church, to the south-east, is a small circular mound, commanding the entrances of the rivers Ely and Tâf, and probably an outpost for the defence of those rivers, communicating with the stations at Whitchurch, Romney Bridge, and Cardiff.”
Omissions are marked “…”. In the omitted words of the third line, Lewis attributes the date of about 474 to Bishop Tanner.
Destination
- Where the original is held: Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (London, 1849), a published book held in reference libraries; a public transcription is on British History Online (citation above).
- On this site: this artifact page, listed in the Evidence Register and cited from the Master Timeline (fifth-century tradition; 1849). The two name forms are on the Nomenclature register under Llandough (near Penarth).
Interpretation
Parish context only. The entry names no farm, house, tenant or owner at Llandough: Great House, Tŷ Mawr and the Williams family do not appear in it. It is used here for the parish’s administrative setting in 1849, its church and its surroundings, and for the two name forms.
Lewis’s own hedges are kept as he wrote them. The monastery is a tradition “supposed by some writers”, and Lewis adds that it is “not supported by any satisfactory authority”. The mound is “probably an outpost”. Neither is treated on this site as an established fact. A castle gazetteer lists a regional historic environment record entry for an earthwork south-east of the church (GGAT HER 02192s), described there as a very doubtful castle site; that record has not been checked, and whether it is the same mound is not checked.
The same printed section also carries a separate entry for another parish named Llandough, in a different poor-law union and hundred. That entry is not this place and is not catalogued here.
Related records
- Related record: 1851 religious census: Llandough and Leckwith — the parish church two years later
- Related page: Archaeology — the church site and earlier finds
Cited on
5 pages link here.