Just a shout-out for a book that I bought a year ago and have just have re-read. It doesn't contain any specific genealogical info but it's a well-researched book by the rev, Philip Stephens.
Nowadays, 'the Gower' almost always refers to the Gower penisula. In his book, Philip Stephens describes the history of the 'Cantref Gower', bounded east-west by the the rivers Lougher and Tawe and to the North by the rivers Aman and Twrch. So it inclcudes towns/villages such as Ammanford, Brynamman, Gwaun-cae-Gurwen, etc. that I'd never considered being part of 'Gower' as a child
His book charts the history of the 'Gower Cartef' from it's earliest inhabitation to the 20th century. It includes political, economic, social and religious developments over the centuries. What I really liked about Srephens's book is that its not just a 'bland history'.Throughout his book, Stephens goes into detail about the history of individual villages, hamlets and towns. Another thing I liked is that he explains the meaning (in terms of Welsh, Old English or Scandinavian) of Gower place names. These were place names that I'd grown up with and just accepted. Stephen's book helped me realise that there was often a deeper history to these place names.
Anyone intersested in buying the book van do this via an e-mai to
gowerplacenames@outlook.comDisclaimer: I have no commercial interest whatsoever in any sales of this book. After my first read of this book, I contacted Rev. Stephens and offered to promote his book in any way way I could. Just because I thinks it's a good book that perhaps deserves more attention.
FWIW, I suspect that many of the developments in the history of the Gower also apply - to a greater or lesser extent - to other areas of Wales.
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Topic: Gower and what it means(book) (Read 372 times)