Blaenffos
| Blaenffos | |
|---|---|
 Blaenffos's setting in N Pembrokeshire, viewed from the southeast |
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 Blaenffos
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| Blaenffos shown within Pembrokeshire | |
| OS grid reference | SN190371 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Boncath |
| Postcode district | SA37 |
| Dialling code | 01239 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
Blaenffos is a small village of around 200 inhabitants in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Boncath. It is located on the boundary between the former parishes of Llanfihangel Penbedw and Castellan Chapelry (part of Penrydd parish).
Lying one mile to the north of Crymych, Blaenffos has an average elevation of 200 metres (660 ft), lying on the western slopes of Y Frenni which at 395m is the most easterly peak in the Preseli Hills. The village straddles the A478 former drovers' road which runs from Cardigan in Ceredigion south to Tenby, is surrounded by farmland, and is in the heart of Welsh-speaking Pembrokeshire with a rich history and associated folklore.
According to Thomas Morgan (1912), Blaenffos takes its name "from a farmhouse so called, signifying the head of the ditch". A farm bearing this name still exists to the west of the village.
Local evidence indicates that the area that is now Blaenffos would have been farmed at least back to the Bronze Age over 3,000 years ago, and possibly earlier. Bronze Age barrows are still visible on nearby Frenni Fawr. Richard Fenton, who visited Frenni Fawr in the early 19th century to excavate the barrows recorded the tradition of a treasure chest hidden on the hill, guarded by a horrible spectre. It was said that the spectre would rise and protect the treasure if any attempt was made to remove it.
The Roman Empire reached West Wales in about 70 AD, though no Roman archaeology is known to exist in the village. Pembrokeshire Local Action Network for Enterprise and Development (PLANED) quotes: In the Mabinogi tale "Breuddwyd Macsen" (The Dream of Maxen), the Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus is said to have made camp on the Frenni Fawr. The hill was apparently known locally as Cadair Macsen until relatively recent times.
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Wikipedia