Welsh Journals

The Manor of Clase byJejfChilds Introduction The episcopal manor of Clase was one of two held by the bishops of St. David's that fell within the lordship of Gower. Geographically it formed part of Gower Wallicana2 even if administratively this may not have been the case. Moreover, like the adjoining fee of Trewyddfa3 it lay wholly within the ecclesiastical parish of Llangyfelach. Of medieval origin, the manor may have been a vestige of the 'clas', a pre-Norman monastic religious community, for which this part of Llangyfelach parish is renowned.4 When surveyed in 1815 its area was 3,667 acres. This could, however, be a customary measurement, since the 46 holdings it comprised in the mid-nineteenth century (together with two areas of common land) totalled some 3,077 statute acres. The manor straddled four of the administrative sub-divisions of Llangyfelach parish, known variously as hamlets or parcels. Twenty-seven holdings (1,819 acres) were in the hamlet of Clase (sixteen in Clase Lower, eleven in Clase Higher), and nineteen holdings (1,151 acres) were in Penderry hamlet (sixteen in Penderry Lower and three in Penderry Higher). Mynydd Llangyfelach (83 acres) and Mynydd Bach (25 acres) were further portions. As well as Llangyfelach church and village the manor would today encompass well known areas and landmarks such as the Lliw Valley Borough Council offices, the (former) Velindre Tinplate Works, Cwmrhydyceirw, Pentrepoeth, Morriston Park, Mynydd Bach, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Morriston Crematorium and Cemetery. The records of episcopal manors are similar in nature and content to those surviving for their lay or 'secular' counterparts. In respect of Clase one finds inter alia rentals, surveys and court rolls, the latter being particularly informative on surrenders and admissions of copyhold tenants. Presentments, relating to encroachments on the commons within the manor, also exist. For many years the manorial court, through which the bishop's officers regulated and administered his estate, was held at the Plough and Harrow public house in Llangyfelach village. The terminal date for the holding of the court remains obscure, but it was certainly active in the early part of this century. The earliest surviving record is an extent of 1326. This well-known and important source has appeared in several historical studies and allows a glimpse of the socio-economic arrangements then existing. There was a small demesne, referred to as Terra in manu d'ni (Land in the lord's hands)