Freni Fach hill is approximately three miles north east of Crymych. According to heritage consultancy Trysor, the land at the western summit of the hill 'is shown as unenclosed common land on the Cardigan map sheet of the 1810 Ordnance Survey Original Surveyors Drawing and the 1834 1 inch to 1 mile scale map.'
'On the Penrydd parish tithe survey of c.1844, the area is again shown as unenclosed and unimproved land. It is described as "Common or Waste Land" and occupied by one Samuel Thomas. This may be the same Samuel Thomas who is recorded in the 1841 Penrydd census returns as farming at nearby Dolalau Uchaf (now Dol y Frenni). A small number of cottages are shown to the west and south, indicating that the enclosure and settlement of the commons had begun earlier in the 19th century.'
'The 1889 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map and the 1907 1:2500 Ordnance Survey map also show the land in question as unenclosed waste. By 1889 the process of enclosure had however extended to the south west, where cottages such as Pantyffynnon, Ffynnon Dauddrws and Waunfach had been established, within a field system of small, regular parcels typical of post medieval enclosure.'
'The field system and cottages further to the south was only extended northwards during the 20th century. The now abandoned cottage of Awelfryn to the west of the old common land appears during the second half of the 20th century, followed by Brynawelon to the southeast, by the 1980s.'
'This late development concentration of small cottages on land enclosed from the common is a fascinating example of the process of settlement expansion onto the uplands in the 19th century, and the continuation of the process into the second half of the 20th century is rather unusual. During the 20th century several of the cottages also fell into dereliction, leaving only Maesffynnon, Brynawelon, Pantyffynnon and Waunfach as occupied dwellings on the western edge of Freni Fach. Earlier cottages such as Clawdd Cam and Blaenpant, shown on the Penrydd parish tithe map, have been demolished and their sites cleared.'
Source: Trysor report entitled 'Land West of Frenni Fach, Pembrokeshire Historic Environment' by Jenny Hall and Paul Sambrook, published January 2014
M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 11th March 2019