PROPIEDADES QUÍMICAS

The Daylesford estate is bounded in the west by the River Evenlode. The name of this river has been interpreted by Ekwall (1936,170) as deriving from the phrase ‘Eowla’s ferry, and implies that it was large enough to require passage by ferry-boat and therefore was probably large enough to be navigable. However, there is no indication of where such a ferry was situated and the river does not appear to be of navigable dimensions in the immediate region of Daylesford.

Two important route-ways run along two of the remaining three estate boundaries. Along the northern boundary, running broadly east/west runs a road described in K623 as the kings military way {cynges ferdstraete). This feature appears to follow a fairly straight route between Stow-on-the-W old and Banbury, and has been suggested by Grundy (1935-6, 105) to be of possibly Roman origin. T h e eastern boundary is also marked by a road and is referred to in three separate Saxon charters:K623, 554 and 426 as strete, sealt straete and lodreswei (the beggars W ay) respectively. T h e term which identifies this road as a salt way is the most helpful, and places the road into the well known network of routes in and out of Droitwich used for the transport of salt across the country.

A ford is also mentioned, hence the nam e Daylesford, and probably refers to the crossing of the Evenlode by the ‘Kings military way’, though the crossing of som e other minor road or path is possible. The presence of a ford confirms that this river was not used for navigation in this vicinity.

In summary, then, this estate was bounded in the north by a broadly east/west running road of possible Roman origin. This road crossed the River Evenlode in the west and another road, identified with the transportation of salt, running roughly north/south in the east. The River

The estate of Ewenny is bounded on two sides by water: on the west it is bounded by the coast of the Bristol Channel, whilst to the north it is bounded by the Ewenny-Ogmore river/estuary. This would make an ideal location for waterborne transport and it is easy to imagine that this area was an important port and centre for coastal movement, though there is no direct evidence to prove this. The river at Ogmore was forded by the nineteenth century, and the location of the Norman castle and a Roman camp here suggest that such a crossing point existed from at least Roman times. Further more, there are a series of stepping stones along the ford, for which no origin is known (SM R , held by C A D W , Cardiff). A group of stones near Ogmore is mentioned in LL212 (referring to the bounds of Merthyr Mawr) and m ay possibly, though it seems unlikely, refer to the stepping stones, dating this feature to c.862 (Davies, 1979, 119). Such a feature would mean that the river was not navigable along its whole length. The alignment of any route-ways which would have met at this ford remain uncertain.

ITTON:

Itton estate would appear to be bounded in the south by a stream known as Mountain Brook. However, this stream is not mentioned in the charter, which describes a course which follows the bottom of the hollow/valley {pant). It has been pointed out that this is an area where hydrological changes are to be expected over relatively short periods of time, and consequently it is quite possible that this stream did not exist in the ninth century.

The charter text mentions three road features which from their context would all appear to refer to the sam e road. These are fordd maur, viam m agnam and a second fordd. This road appears to correspond to the modern B4293, and runs broadly along the north western and northern boundary of the estate, leading to Chepstow in the east and possibly abutting the Roman line of the A48, to the east of Caerwent, in the south.

W h at is particularly interesting about this road feature is that by the time the tithe map was drawn in the 1840’s a section of this gently curving road had clearly been lost and reconnected with what is undoubtedly a later, irregular and slightly mis-aligned, section of road. The description of the bounds, whilst referring to the road at either end of this disturbed section, deviate from its line for exactly the sam e length as this later re-connection (“...to PwlI Iceth close to the road. From the PwlI downwards as it leads into the pant, Trevguid to the right, to the Garn, to the ro a d ....”). Although it is possible that this section of the road was excluded because it lay in land which was not to form part of the donation, its demise taking place later and independently, it seems more likely that its absence from the boundary clause is in som e way connected with its loss. It seems likely that it was either wholly lost or in a state of disrepair at the time of the grant and thus a different route is described: perhaps a more convenient path of some kind.

Though the Llanbeder estate Is criss-crossed by minor streams, it lacks access to the only navigable stretch of water in the area which is the W ye to the north. The estate is crossed, in its southern half, by the Roman road which followed the line of the A48, though no mention of this road is given in the charter; preference being given to streams for boundary markers. This should not be taken to imply that the Roman road had fallen into disuse in this area. T h e fact that the line of the road was still in use in the nineteenth century testifies to the continuity of this road. Rackham (1986, 257), describing the influx of pest species, notably blackthorn, points out that, once a Roman road is left for a period of about ten years without maintenance, it is most unlikely that its line will ever be cleared again and its line followed: it is technically easier to build a new road.

LLANW ARNE:

The greater part of the Llanwarne estate is bounded by the River Gam ber. This is a small river at this point, the source of which lies less than a mile to the north, and is certainly not navigable in this area. The eastern boundary is marked by the line of a road which is termed the

viam iaclnthinam in LL200. This would appear to refer to the course followed by the modern

B4348, and does not appear to be a very major route-way. LL174a refers to a ford (vadum

pallan), which would appear to refer to the point where a small tributary of the G am ber crosses

this road at S O 504288.

ST. B R ID ES-SU PE R -E LY :

This estate is bounded both to the east and south by rivers which appear to be navigable: the Nant Dowlais and the River Ely. Two further streams are mentioned in charter bounds, the Glesius and Nant Brachan (Nant Rhych), but these are both too small to be used for transport. At least a small part of the northern boundary seems to follow a road which is mentioned in LL216b, dated to c.870 (Davies 1979, 119). This road can be followed in the modern road network and leads directly east to what is now Llandaff cathedral, but at this time (the tenth century) was the monastery of Llandaff. This is the clearest exam ple of estates which belong to Llandaff having a direct road link with it.