LLANGENNITH (LLAN-GENYDD), a parish, in the union and hundred of SWANSEA, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 16 miles (W.
by S.) from Swansea; containing 429 inhabitants. this place derives its name from the dedication of its church to St.
Cenydd, in whose honour, also, a priory was founded in the parish, according to Bishop Tanner, by Roger de Bellomont, or
Beaumont, Earl of Warwick, who is said to have conquered the territory of Gower, in which ancient lordship this place is
included, in the reign of Stephen. This priory, of which the present parochial church was most probably the chapel, wts
annexed to the abbey of St. Taurinus, at Evreux, in Normandy, and, as an Alien priory, was seized in the time of Henry V.,
by whose unfortunate son and successor it was granted, in 1441, to the Warden and Fellows of All Souls' College, Oxford,
in whose possession it now remains. From the frequent mention, in ancient deeds, of the names " East Town," " West Town,"
" Prior's Town," " Druid's Moor," &c., with reference to this place, it would appear to have been originally of much
greater extent than at present. The village, of which the houses, though scattered, and in general of a poor description,
have a cleanly appearance, and are whitewashed, as is common in the county of Glamorgan, is situated near the south-
western foot of Llanmadoc hill, and commands a fine view of the adjacent country, through which flows the Burry, a small
rivulet that has its rise at Burry Head, and falls into the Loughor, below the church at Cheriton, giving to that river
its own name, the Burry, during the finest part of its course extending from the ferry at Loughor to its mouth: the town
of Loughor is seen in the distance, between the hills. The soil of the parish is fertile, and the lands are almost
entirely inclosed, and in a good state of cultivation. The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at
£5. 16. 8., and endowed with £400 royal bounty; present net income, £51; patrons and impropriators, Warden and Fellows
of All Souls' College. The church, a spacious structure, preserves some characteristics of its original importance, as
connected with the priory; and in its chancel are several ancient monuments. The glebe-house is supposed to occupy the
site of the residence of St. Cenydd, and is still called the College. On Holmes' island, which is contiguous to this part
of the coast, are the remains of an old chapel, formerly belonging to the church. In the small village of Burry's Green is
one of Lady Barham's meeting-houses for dissenters, with a neat house adjoining for the minister.