MORFA ESGOB, LLANON

"Nowhere in Wales is it possible to gain a better impression of the form and pattern of Welsh medieval hamlet settlement than in the area known as Morfa Esgob (Bishop's Sea-place?) in Llansanffraid parish on a low coastal shelf overlooking Cardigan Bay." G. R. J. Jones Medieval Villages (1985) ed. by Della Hooke

     RCAHMW colour slide oblique aerial photograph of Llanon Field System; Morfa Esgob, Llanstantffraed,
taken by T.G.Driver on the 17/07/2000

The area of long narrow fields are the remains of shareland or Rhandir, a form of holding that goes back to the early mediaeval laws of Hywel Dda. Rhandir yr Esgob was owned by the Bishop, let to a group of relatives (gwely) who had distinct rights and duties under Welsh laws. The gwely oversaw the bondsmen who worked the land as serfs but also had certain rights under Welsh law. Individuals worked scattered strips called lleiniau (slangs in English). The strips were unfenced but separated by low earth banks or balks.

    In 1841 there were 70 occupiers of the slangs. Evan Jones, a mason, held six scattered strips totalling four and a half acres.
Elizabeth Evans held four slangs (Llansantffraed History Society)

            A poster (pre 1914) lists 38 owners of the slangs (Archifdy Ceredigion Archives)

 Today history can still be seen traced on the landscape of Morfa Esgob, lying between the A487 to the east, Cardigan Bay to the west, the Rivers Peris to the north and river Cledan to the south. You don't have to be in an aeroplane to see the Mediaeval patterns.

In a Guardian article on 15 March 2017, John Gilbey's photographs showed the remains of the old unfenced boundaries (balks).
"Looked at from the ground, many of these are effectively merged into larger fields fenced with posts and wire, but the low winter sunshine reveals subtle banks – evidence of the old alignments."

    Below is a sketch of the 1841 tithe map. The thick, dark lines mark the routes of public footpaths around Morfa Esgob.
    Enjoy. Please be aware that the cliff top path is subject to erosion and some sections may disappear.