Place:


Oxwich  Glamorgan

 

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Oxwich like this:

OXWICH, a parish and a bay in Swansea district, Glamorgan. The parish lies on the W side of the bay, in the Gower peninsula, 10 miles S W of Gower-Road r.station, and 12 S W by S of Swansea. Post-town, Swansea. Acres, 1, 602; of which 405 are water. Real property, £717. Pop., 328. Houses, 62. ...


The property is much subdivided. Oxwich Castle stands on a promontory, running out to Oxwich point; was founded, in the time of Henry VIII., by Sir Rice Mansell; and is partlya large later English mansion, carried along at the complete elevation of a curious sixstoried tower. Bacon Hole is a stalactitic cave, in which bones were found infour successive deposits; first, bones of ox, red deer, roebuck, and fox, in alluvial earth; next, bones of bear, ox, and deer, beneath a layer of stalagmite; next, bones of mammoth, rhinoceros, hyæna, wolf, bear, ox, and deer, beneath another layer of stalagmite; next, bones of Mammoth, badger, and polecat, beneath a third layer ofstalagmite; and below the last, on the limestone floor, were found shells of Clansilia nigricans, Littorina littoralis, bones of birds, and arvicola. The mammoth boneswere remarkably large, and are preserved in the Swanseamuseum. Michin Hole is another cave to the W of Bacon Hole, but has not any bone remains. The living is a rectory, annexed to the rectory of Nicholaston, in the diocese of St. David's. The church is Norman, ingood condition; and contains an altar-tomb of Sir Rice Mansell. The bay washes also the parishes of Nicholaston, Penmaen, and Pennard; is flanked by Oxwich pointon the W, and by Pwlldu point on the E; measures 4½ miles, across the entrance, between these points; penetrates to the extent of 2¼ miles; has St. Kit's knoll in the middle, and a depth of from 3 to 10 fathoms water; and is the finest bay in Gower.

Oxwich through time

Oxwich is now part of Swansea district. Click here for graphs and data of how Swansea has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Oxwich itself, go to Units and Statistics.

How to reference this page:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Oxwich, in Swansea and Glamorgan | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/8409

Date accessed: 28th March 2024


Not where you were looking for?

Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Oxwich".