St. Illtyd’s Well, Llanrhidian

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  1. Red Don says:

    Re: St. Illtyd’s Well, Llanrhidian
    The Explore Gower website gives the following folk tale concerning Llanrhidian entitled ‘Gnomes’ Gold’

    The first concerns a priest who is said to have awakened one morning from a gripping dream concerning a mysterious cave hidden in the woods near St. Rhidian’s Church. His vivid dream foretold the cave contained a bountiful supply of money, so the priest decided to take his manservant and investigate the area.

    To his surprise, the priest soon discovered the cave actually existed. The dream had told the priest that the awesome iron door that blocked the entrance to the cave would only open to the sound of a harp. Forewarned with this knowledge, he now played a tune on the small harp he had brought along with him from his home.

    As promised by his dream, the iron door responded to the sweet music and swung slowly open. Inside the cave, each guarded by a sleeping gnome, were two large piles of gold. Lulled by the sound of the priest’s harp, the gnomes continued to sleep as the priest’s manservant crept into the cave to steal some of the gold for his master. However, the gold was heavy and, despondent by the paltry amount of gold his manservant could carry, the priest laid down his harp to help in the theft of the gnomes treasure. Unfortunately, as the harp ceased its tune, the iron door swung firmly shut behind the priest and both men were trapped within the cave to face the wrath of the two stirring gnomes. The location of the cave has remained a mystery ever since.