PENNARTH, or PENNARD (PENARTH), a parish, in the union and hundred of SWANSEA, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 7+ miles (W. S. W.) from Swansea; containing 372 inhabitants. The name of this parish, signifying "the bear's head," is supposed to be derived from the peculiar form which this part of the coast assumes in its projection into the Bristol Channel. Pennarth is thought to have been once of more importance and of much greater extent than at present; and the remains of a castle, which appears to have been a structure of some magnificence, the ruins of the ancient church, and the foundations of numerous buildings, now covered with sands, afford striking evidences in support of this opinion. By whom or at what time the castle was originally erected has not been satisfactorily ascertained: its foundation has by some writers been ascribed to the Earl of Warwick, who brought this territory under his dominion in the reign of Henry I.; and by others its erection is attributed to an earlier period. A town is supposed to have existed where the sands now are: to the south of them is a small village, which still retains the name of Southgate, and to the north is a farm preserving the original name of Norton, or North-town. The parish is situated in the south-western part of the county, and is separated from that of Penmaen by a small rivulet called Pennarth Pill; the coast is lined with rocks that extend from this place to Pwll Dii Point, forming the eastern side of Oxwich bay. The lands, with the exception of a very large portion which has been covered with sand and rendered incapable of tillage, are inclosed and cultivated. The surrounding scenery is of rugged and dreary character; and the views, though combining some romantic features, derive their principal interest from the contiguity of the Bristol Channel. Kilvrough House, a seat here, is a handsome mansion, the grounds around which have undergone considerable impfovemeut, and are laid out with great taste and judgment, forming an interesting feature in the scenery of the place. Mr. Penrice has built a respectable and commodious house of entertainment, called the Gower Inn, for the accommodation of tourists, or persons on business, who, previously to its erection, were deterred from visiting this place, or the neighbouring country. The parish abounds with limestone of excellent quality, and extensive quarries have been opened, much of the produce of which is shipped to the counties of Cornwall and Devon. The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £3. 16 8., and endowed with £600 royal bounty; present net income, £79; patrons and impropriators, Warden and Fellows of All Souls' College, Oxford. The present church, dedicated to St. Mary, and erected about two centuries since, occupies a situation on the summit of a hill, about half a mile from that of the more ancient structure. There is a place of worship for Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, erected by the late Lady Barham. A day school, containing from thirty to fifty children, is supported principally by Mr. Penrice, who built the school-house, and a cottage for the mistress, whom he allows nearly half an acre of land for a garden, in addition to which she receives donations from some of the more wealthy farmers; books are partly supplied by Mr. Penrice, but chiefly by the parents of the children. Sarah Bennett, in 1735, left £15, for the benefit of widows not receiving parochial relief; but though stated in 1786 to be in the hands of a Gabriel Powell, no trace can now be discovered how the sum was disposed of. The remains of the ancient castle occupy a site a few hundred yards above the month of the Pennarth Pill, and consist principally of the gateway entrance, which is nearly perfect, and in a good style of architecture; they are surrounded with sand hills of considerable elevation, and present a very singular appearance. In the limestone rocks along the southern boundary of the parish are two remarkable caverns, in which have been found bones of animals of various kinds; one, called Bacon's Hole, is inaccessible from the sea at any state of the tide, and is entered only by a steep narrow path from the summit of the cliff.