PENDERIN, otherwise PEN-Y-DAREN (PEN-DERYN), a parish, comprising the Upper and Lower divisions, in the union of MERTHYR-
TYDVIL, hundred of DEVYNOCK, county of BRECKNOCK, SOUTH WALES, 7 miles (W. N. W.) from Merthyr-Tydvil; containing 1488
inhabitants, of whom 189 are in the Upper, and 1299 in the Lower, division. The name of this parish, signifying literally
" the head of the rock," is descriptive of its situation at the head of a rock of excellent limestone, from which the
large iron-works in the neighbourhood are supplied. The parish comprises part of the extensive common of HIrwaun Wrgan, on
which was fought the, memorable battle between the forces of lestyn ab Gwrgant, aided by some Norman auxiliaries, and the
army of Rh's ab Tewdwr, in which the former obtained a signal and decisive vietory. Rh-s, after the defeat of his army,
fleeing from the field of battle, is, according to some historians, said to have reached Glyn Rhonddfi, about twelve miles
distant, where he was overtaken by the victor and beheaded; according to others, it would appear that he was slain during
the conflict; and others again affirm that, having effected his escape into the territories of his kinsman, Bleddyn ab
Maenarch, he was afterwards killed in the engagement which decided the fate of that chieftain, in the neighbourhood of
Aberhonddu. The remembrance of this event is still preserved in the names of several places in the parish: among these are
Bddwigad, corrupted from Bodwaun y-Gdd, implying " the mansion on the field of battle;" and Cadlan, a term of nearly the
same import, used to designate the valley that intersects the parish, in which are numerous carneddau, two of the larger
of these being regarded by Mr. Jones, the historian of Brecknockshire, as military memorials, probably connected with this
conflict: one of them is twenty yards in circumference; the other is fourteen, and is surrounded by a trench. The PARISH
is situated on the southern extremity of the county, bordering upon Glamorganshire, from which it is separated on the
south-east by the Tfif Vawr river, while on the west it is bounded by the river Hens* which, after pursuing a very
romantic course through the parish, falls into the Mellte, by which the boundary is continued between Penderin and
Ystradvelltey: of the rateable annual value of the whole, the amount is £2910, of which the return for the Upper Division
is £1337, and for the Lower, £1573. The entire district abounds with mineral treasures, the principal of which are iron,
limestone, a kind of coal of a quality between the bituminous and the stone-coal, abed of excellent fire-clay, marble, and
some lead, which last, however, is not found in sufficient quantity to repay the expense of working it. On Hirwaun common
are the Penderin iron-works, forming part of the very extensive establishment of Messrs. Crawshay, of Cyvarthva, near
Merthyr-Tydvil: these works comprise four blast furnaces for smelting the ore, worked by a steam-engine and a water-
wheel, two fineries, twelve refining furnaces for converting the pig-iron into castings, and two pairs of rollers for
making malleable bars. The quantity of iron manufactured during the year 1831 was nine thousand and thirty-five tons, long
weight; of refined bars five thousand two hundred and sixty tons and a half; and of ore raised, twenty-eight thousand four
hundred and thirteen tons, in the manufacturing of which fifty-five thousand seven hundred and thirteen tons of coal were
consumed: the number of men employed in them and in the collieries, during the same year, was eight hundred and ninety-
five, of whom six hundred and seven were engaged in the collieries and mines. Considerable quantities of limestone are
burned for the supply of the surrounding country, chiefly as manure. Facilities are afforded for the supply of the works,
and for the conveyance of their produce, by tram-roads from the lime-rocks near the church to the Hirwaun iron-works, and
thence down the Vale of Cynon to Aberdare, where they communicate with the Aberdare branch canal, which, joining the
Glamorgan-shire canal at the Navigation House, in the Vale of the Tit f, affords a direct intercourse with Cardiff and the
ports' of the Bristol Channel. The road from Breck nock to Neath passes through the parish. The LIVING is a rectory, rated
in the king's books at £9. a 14.; patron, William Winter, Esq., M.D.: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of
f..305; and there is a glebe of 4i acres, valued at £5. 6. 3. per annum. The church, dedicated to St. Cynog, is an ancient
edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel, with a massive tower at the west end; it is situated on the summit of the rocky
eminence which gives name to the parish, and is kept in good repair. There are two places of worship for Baptists. David
Walter or Gwalter, of Ma ter, in the pariah of Devynock, in 1723, bequeathed £5 per annum, payable out of the rents of two
tenements named Tyle and Heolvawr, in Ystradvellty, for the instruction of five children, and the apprenticing of one
child. In the Lower division are two Sunday schools, in which about 40 children receive gratuitous instruction. Edward
Price, of Ewyas Harold, in the county of Hereford, in 1797, charged a tenement, called Melin Rhydian, with the annual
payment of £6 to the poor. In the parish is Craig-y-Dina, an ancient strong-hold, so termed from its inaccessible
situation on an abrupt, rugged, and precipitous rock of limestone, the base of which is washed on one side by the united
streams of the Hepste and Mellte, and on the other by the brook Sychryd, which forms the boundary between the counties of
Breeknock and Glamorgan. Prior to the formation of the present turnpike-road from Neath to Merthyr-Tydvil, the main road
between these places led directly up the steepest part of this rock, and through a natural chasm near the summit,
altogether impassable for carriages, and even on horseback, except with the greatest danger. This road, which is shorter
by half the distance than the turnpike-road from Penderin to Pont Neath Vaughan, is still in use. Near the spot are the
fine vein of fire-clay and the lead-ore above noticed. Within the parish is the remarkable waterfall called Eiro
liquid,formed by that river, which here precipitates itself from a height of nearly fifty feet, over an abrupt rocky
precipice, sometimes, according to the fulness of the stream, in one, and at others in three, distinct torrents; the
river, which is sixteen yards in breadth, forms in its descent, from the scarcely perceptible projection of the ledge of
rock, a single arch, or a series of three parallel arches, under which is a passage between the base of the rock and the
descending water. The scenery around this spot is strikingly picturesque and romantic. The common, over which is the road
from Penderin to the waterfall, is of the most dreary character, diversified only by huge masses of limestone rock of
fantastic form; and broken fragments, that lie scattered around their bases, contribute to diminish the scanty pasturage
which this desolate tract affords to a few mountain sheep and ponies. On reaching the margin of the river Hepste, however,
the scenery becomes suddenly changed; the steep banks of this impetuous stream are richly clothed with wood to the water's
edge, and the river, concealed in its course by the impending foliage, is only heard to murmur as it rushes through its
rocky channel, till, emerging from a thick grove, it forms the cascade above noticed, and, about a quarter of a mile
farther down, unites with the Mellte. Between these rivers is a well wooded promontory, from which there is aview of the
courses of the streams to their clone:nice, and of the fall of the Hepste, the roaring of which is distinctly heard. The
beautiful Vale of Neath, with the plantations of the Gnoll, above the town, and the mansion and grounds of Aberpergwm and
Rheola, with a fine prospect of part of the Bristol Channel, may be seen also from various parts of the parish.