Goldsland

Goldsland is a small hamlet and farm in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. It lies near Wenvoe Castle Golf Club, east of Dyffryn and south of St Lythans. Goldsland Brook flows through the area, and a sub-manor was held here in 1583 by a Mathew of Llandaff. The hamlet sits among farms like Old and New Wallace. Wenvoe parish surrounds the settlement, giving it a quiet rural feel. The farmhouse at Goldsland is the main landmark, built in the early to mid-19th century. Its stone construction and slate roof reflect the period’s style, and it once supplied milk to the Jenners of Wenvoe Castle. The farm gained fame for prized livestock, including a prize-winning pair of sows in 1870. In 1893, a horse from Goldsland won first place at Glamorganshire Show and the Cardiff Horse Show the next year. These achievements made the farm well known in local farming circles. Goldsland Wood lies northwest of the farmhouse, a deciduous woodland on a low limestone ridge stretching 2.5 kilometres. The wood contains reserves of malachite, and several caves dot the ridge. Since 2005, the University of Central Lancashire has explored these caves, uncovering human remains and tools from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Palaeolithic periods. Dr Rick Peterson, leading the project, described pottery and flintwork dating to around 3000 BC. The caves also revealed evidence of ancient rituals, including a cremation pyre’s ash, offering rare insights into Neolithic burial practices.