WENVOE, a parish, in the union of CARDIFF, hundred of DINASPOWYS, county of GLAMORGAN, SOUTH WALES, 6 miles (S. W. by W.)
from Cardiff; containing 485 inhabitants. The ancient Welsh name of this place is supposed to have been " Gwynva," or "
Gwynvai," of which the present is a Norman modification. The parish is situated in the south-eastern part of the county,
and comprises a large extent of inclosed amble and grazing land, and some portions of common, affording good turage for
sheep. It had formerly a castle, which:411; noticed by Leland as in a ruinous state even in his time, consisting only of
one tower and some fragments of the walls, within a quarter of a mile of which the same writer describes a well, out of
which issued a stream called Silly brook. The present castle, the seat of Robert Francis Jenner, Esq., erected by the late
P. Birt, Esq., maternal grandfather of the present proprietor, is a stately mansion, consisting of a centre and two wings.
The principal front, facing the south, extends three hundred and seventy-four feet in length, and is three stories in
height, exclusively of the basement and the attics; the wings, which, according to the original design, were to have
formed two magnificent conservatories, terminate at each extremity in a square tower, and the intervals between the towers
and the centre are partly concealed by trees, with a view to relieve the flatness of such a length of masonry. The grounds
are laid out with much taste, and comprehend some rich and beautifully varied scenery; but the view from the house, though
pleasing, is neither grand nor extensive. The village is neat and of prepossessing appearance: the soil is a damp clay,
but the air is salubrious, and the parish registers afford several instances of longevity, among which are the ages of the
three last incumbents, each of whom held the living for half a century. The living is a rectory, rated in the king's books
at £13. 7. 1.; present net income, £326, with a glebe-house; patron, Mr. Jenner. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a
handsome structure, in the later style of English architecture, with a square embattled tower; the interior is
appropriately arranged and kept in excellent order; and contains some good mural monuments in memory of the several
proprietors of Wenvoe Castle. The churchyard is pleasingly laid out, and the graves are decked with various odoriferous
plants; near the church grows a remarkably fine yew tree, in excellent preservation, which is said to be one of the oldest
in the county. The parsonage-house, built by the late Mr. Birt, is a spacious edifice. Here are two day schools, one of
which, containing 35 children, is partly supported by a private contribution and partly by payments from the parents, and
in the other about 20 are wholly instructed at the expense of their parents; and two Sunday schools, attended by 100 males
and females, are supported by subscription. Elizabeth Thomas, in 1701, bequeathed £20; Sir Edmund Thomas, Bart, in 1721,
£40; Mary Thomas, in the same year, £10; William Morgan, £5; and the Rev. John Hodges, rector in 1777, f45, to the poor
of the parish; the income arising from which sums, amounting to £6, is annually distributed according to the intentions of
the several benefactors.