The Southern Chain: Rhossili and Port Eynon

Records from 1338 show twelve hundred and twenty-three sheep kept on the Order of St John’s Welsh lands, a total that proves the Gower peninsula functioned as a vital pastoral zone for their commandery. Llanmadoc acted as the main administrative base in the north, but the southern coast was organised differently. The Hospitallers held a chain of churches and specific land plots at Rhossili and Port Eynon. These were managed as productive cells within a coherent coastal estate rather than being kept as lonely spiritual retreats. By examining these sites in the medieval rolls, we can see how the Order exploited the diverse geography of this Marcher lordship. They mastered everything from the high, open common lands down to the small, protected coves facing the Bristol Channel.

The Hospitallers expanded into Rhossili to position themselves strategically within the lands of the de Newburghs and the de Breos lords. St Mary’s parish church underwent significant restoration in the nineteenth century, but the Romanesque doorway remains as a feature the medieval brothers would have used. This building was the administrative and symbolic centre of a manor that possessed large grazing rights on the nearby downland. According to the Report of 1338, Rhossili belonged to the Slebech bajulia alongside other Gower properties, sending its tithes and livestock profits to the central treasury. The Order valued this location for its limestone soil, which was ideal for grazing hardy sheep, rather than for the scenic views across the Atlantic that modern visitors admire. Every acre served a clear purpose.

Port Eynon church sat a few miles east, forming the next link in this coastal chain. When the Hospitallers acquired this site, they gained valuable rights to the foreshore. In the medieval economy, salt-making and seasonal fishing were essential ways to boost the income generated from farming. St Cattwg’s church has been altered over the centuries, but the site was always a vital part of the Hospitaller network. The Templars usually tried to acquire large, solid blocks of land, but the Hospitallers in Gower took a different approach. They were skilled at managing a broken landscape, stitching together small plots of land called terrae and various cottages known as burgagia across several parishes to build a stable and resilient economic foundation for their work.

The success of these southern holdings relied on the local manorial system. The Hospitallers acted as feudal lords within the complex social structure of the Gower March. In both Rhossili and Port Eynon, they held the right of advowson. This meant they could choose the parish priest, ensuring the men in charge of the churches were loyal to the Order. This religious influence was backed by their secular power over the people living on their land. The 1338 survey lists redditus assisae, which were fixed rents paid by a permanent population of tenant farmers. These tenants provided the hard labour required to manage the flocks and harvest grain from the exposed fields situated high above the sea cliffs.

Physical evidence of the Order living in the south is harder to find than at Llanmadoc, but the way they worked required a local infrastructure. A bailiff or collector, who was probably a lay brother or a trusted local agent, travelled between these coastal points. He collected the denarii de caritate, or charity pence, and supervised the transport of wool to the coast. Port Eynon and Oxwich provided natural harbours where small ships were loaded for the crossing to Bristol. Bristol was the primary commercial hub for the region. Through its markets, the profits from Welsh Hospitaller lands were sent to the priory at Clerkenwell and then onward to the Mediterranean.

The simple architecture of these southern Gower churches shows their practical purpose. These buildings are not like the ornate and expensive abbeys built by the Cistercians. They are tough, thick-walled structures designed to survive the salt spray and the heavy gales that blow off the channel. Their plain appearance fits the Hospitaller style of the fourteenth century. During this period, the Order sent every spare penny to defend Rhodes instead of spending money on local displays of wealth. The stones remaining at Rhossili and Port Eynon represent a frontier economy. Every patch of pasture on the cliff tops was used to support the Order’s survival in the Latin East.

We should not view these Gower lands as a minor part of the Slebech commandery. The accounts from 1338 show that the Gower estate was a major contributor to the three hundred and seven pounds, one shilling, and fourpence of total revenue the Order made in Wales. By connecting the marshes of the north with the southern sea cliffs, the Hospitallers created a varied portfolio of assets. This variety protected them if one crop failed or a specific market crashed. It was a professional and sophisticated business, run with a level of bureaucratic detail that many local secular lords of the time could not achieve in their own territories.

The 1540 dissolution of the Order broke this connected system apart. The southern parishes were split up and sold to rising Welsh gentry families like the Mansels. However, the physical shape of the land still shows the Order’s influence. The paths connecting Rhossili to Port Eynon today likely follow the routes used by Hospitaller bailiffs seven centuries ago as they moved between sheep folds and tithe barns. The banners of St John no longer fly on these limestone cliffs, but the geographic logic of their estate is still visible. It continues to define the boundaries of these southern parishes and the way the land is divided.

Cross-reference: for the wool economy behind these flocks see Chapter 3, §2 Wool, mills and ferries; for the northern anchor of the estate, Chapter 9, §1 The Western Finger of Gower.

Wealth counted in fleeces was matched by a rarer asset: the legal privilege of an exempt parish.