History Myths & Legends

Ann Maddocks a Welsh maid also known by the poetic name, 'The Maid of Cefn Ydfa', according to tradition was forced to marry against her wishes and died pining for her true love Will Hopkin.   The legend states that Ann had fallen in love not with the wealthy Maddocks, but with the poet and thatcher, Wil Hopcyn and when discovered were forbidden to see each other. The couple continued their relationship by sending love letters to each other in secret, but when these communications were uncovered, Ann's mother took away her writing materials. Unable to be together, Hopcyn left the area, and Ann married Anthony Maddocks. Ann is said to have pined so desperately for her lover that she fell seriously ill. On her death bed she asked to see Hopcyn, and when he arrived she died in his arms.  The Memorial to the Maid of Cefn Ydfa Can be found at St Cynwyd's Church llangynwyd.  Where both were burried "Now at rest together forever"

Y Bugail Unig A sherperd that was said to have been incredibly cruel to his wife, so much so that she was so miserable by his beatings and brutality that she drowned herself in the River Usk. For his evil ways the sheperd was turned to stone by a local witch.  The stone sits on the hill in search for his wife awaiting her return.

Legend has it that back in the Dark Ages, a bloody battle was fought on the mountain between two of the five great tribes of Wales, and the lake is supposed to be located in the same place as the centre of the battle. According to the legend, the ground became so trampled and poisoned with blood and gore that the vegetation never recovered, and the area slowly sank into the bog and became a lake.

Locals believed that the pool was used for ducking those who were accused of being witches in between the 15th and 16th century.  To test whether or not someone was a witch, they would be thrown into the pool. If they sink and drown, it would confirm they weren’t a witch. If they float, that means they were, they were then hauled out and burnt to death. Reality is if you was taken to the pool witch or not you was never coming back. 

When the tide is out the doors will open.

A tiny rocky and sandy cove with breathtakingly high cliffs was carved into a massive "door" by the sea's forces.
This beach is only accessible along the coastal path during low tide.

Mynydd Meio Said to be haunted by Sini, whose legend stretches back 4,000 years. She is a banshee and the protector of portals to other dimensions. She may take on three different personas: an elderly person pleading for assistance; a stunning young woman encouraging guys to join her for immoral pleasures; or a young, pitiful person lost and alone. She reportedly targets only individuals of mixed blood, or men who have demon ancestry. She is said to be frequently found washing the skulls of the men she has enticed to their deaths at one of the fords.

The Three Arches, often called Three Bears Cave, are three mine openings in Fforest Fawr rather than a natural cave.
Coal, limestone, and iron ore resources are abundant in the area surrounding Tongwynlais and Pentyrch.
Here, mines were established to collect the ore, which was subsequently transported by packhorse to the adjacent Taff furnace in Pentyrch. Due to competition from another production enterprise in Merthyr Tydfil and Tremorfa, iron extraction reached its pinnacle in the 1800s. They produced the steel in large quantities using a less expensive method. These three openings are still present and are referred to locally as "Three Bears Cave" even though the Pentyrch Iron Works closed in 1870.

Parts of the chapel may have been constructed as early as the sixth century, when a monk named Saint Govan moved into a cave on the chapel's location. However, the majority of the chapel was constructed in the thirteenth century. According to one legned, Saint Govan is interred beneath the altar at the east end of the chapel. The building has an empty bell-cote at the west end, low stone benches along the north and south walls and a doorway on the north side.

The Helvetia arrived off the coast at Mumbles on a stormy evening on October 31, 1887.
She had sailed from Cambeltown, New Brunswick, on Canada's east coast, loaded with 500 tonnes of lumber and headed for Swansea Harbour under the command of a man named Stevenson.

Ron Tovey claims in his "Chronology of Bristol Channel shipwrecks" that Stevenson gave the order for "signals to be burnt" to direct the crew into the port when they were five miles from their ultimate destination.
However, the crew was forced to remain where they were that night due to a "fresh breeze" that came from the southeast.

By the following morning, the winds had intensified and the Helvetia's oak-built barque was being driven down the Bristol Channel. Disaster struck as she hit the dangerous sandbank of Helwick Sands, a good 10 miles away from the harbour. Now Almost completely submerged in the heavy wet sand, the rotting timbers of the Helvetia shipwreck rise out of a Gower beach like ribs from an unknown animal.

The "rocking stone" in Pontypridd is a large glacial boulder called Y Maen Chwyf located on Pontypridd Common. It has been a focal point for public gatherings and ceremonies for centuries, most notably the Gorsedd of Bards in 1814. It is surrounded by a stone circle constructed in 1849.  The boulder is a remnant from the last Ice Age. In 1814, the Gorsedd, or gathering of bards, was held around it,The site has been a meeting place for various events, including miners' union meetings, peace demonstrations, and political campaigns.

Cefn Golau Cholera Cemetery is situated on a narrow mountain ridge in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent between Rhymney and Tredegar in South East Wales. Despite its size, the village is home to one of the UK’s biggest burial sites for victims of the “King of Terrors” – cholera. As people didn’t understand how cholera was spread until the mid-1850s, victims were buried in specially designated burial grounds in remote locations – like Cefn Golau – due to fear of infection. The first major cholera epidemic hit south Wales in 1832 as part of the worldwide pandemic. The second outbreak in 1849 hit Rhymney and Nantyglo before reaching Cefn Golau – not one street was unaffected. In that year, there were 203 deaths reported within Tredegar alone. Cefn Golau remains a nationally important archaeological site and its status as a scheduled monument means it is protected from unauthorised change. A small fence was erected a few years ago to stop large livestock, like horses and cows, from entering the burial ground.