Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for OYSTERMOUTH

OYSTERMOUTH, a parish in Swansea district, Glamorgan; in the Gower peninsula, on the W side of Swansea bay, 5 miles S S W of Swansea r. station. It contains the villages of Newton, Norton, and Mumbles, the last of which has a post-office under Swansea; and it is a sea-bathing resort. Acres, 5, 194; of which 1, 220 are water-Real property, £7, 774; of which £80 are in quarries. Pop.in 1851, 1, 938; in 1861, 2, 460. Houses, 519. Oyster-mouth Castle stands on an eminence overlooking the bay; surmounts a huge limestone cliff; was founded in the 11thcentury, probably by Henry de Bellamonte; has beenpartly restored by the Duke of Beanfort; is enteredthrough a gateway, formerly flanked by two towers; hasan irregular outline, approximating that of an isoscelestriangle; and includes, at the N E angle, a heavily-buttressed square tower of three stages, the upper story of which is a chapel of early decorated English date. Limestone is quarried and calcined; an oyster fishery iscarried on; and a tram railway goes to Swansea. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of St. David's. Value, £85. Patron, Col. Perrot. The church is ancient; was nearly rebuilt in 1860, in the early decorated English style, at a cost of £2, 100; and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with tower and vestry. There are an Independent chapel, and charities £6.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 4th order divisions")
Administrative units: Oystermouth CP/AP       Swansea RegD/PLU       Glamorgan AncC
Place: Oystermouth

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