Morlais Castle – The Melting Pot

200 years of history at Gwaunfarren – part 1

by Brian Jones

At the junction of Alexandra Road and Galon Uchaf Road is a triangular piece of land on which are sited ten houses named as Gwaunfarren Grove at postal code CF47 9BJ. Of extra significance is an additional older property named “Gwaunfarren Lodge” positioned at the entrance to the much newer residential development. The location comprises a modern housing development on land which has undergone considerable change in the last 200 years. A review of the history of this small portion of the Gwaunfarren locality reveals a sequence of events which mirror cultural and social changes in pre- and post-industrial Merthyr Tydfil. This article plots the timeline of the land use played out between the latter years of the eighteenth century and the present day.

The Medieval Hamlet of Garth comprised of land stretching from Morlais Castle to Caeracca, then south to Gellifaelog, Goytre, Gurnos, Galon Uchaf, Gwaunfarren, Gwaelodygarth and Abermorlais. Some of this land was occupied by both yeoman and tenant farmers with pasture for sheep and cattle. The freehold ownership of the land, with its few farms, passed from family to family and at the geographical centre of the Hamlet was a parcel of land then called Gwaun Faren. In 1789 Gwaun Faren was mapped by William Morrice who noted that both farms, Gwaun Faren and the adjacent Gwaelod Y Garth, had been purchased by Mr William Morgan of Grawen in 1785. That map was redrawn in 1998, and annotated, by Griffiths Bros and show in detail the fields comprising Gwaun Faren farm. This revised map conforms to the 1850 Tithe Map and particular attention is drawn to the field marked C annotated as Cae Bach (little field). This field now relates to post code CF47 9BJ which is the locus for Gwaunfarren Grove.

The 1850 Tithe Map shows field number 1901 as the homestead identified as “The Dairy” at the centre of a number of fields which made up the farm named as Gwaun Faren. The name has varied over time to include Gwaun Varen, Gwain Varen, Gwaun Faren, Gwaun Farren to the present-day spelling of Gwaunfarren. There is some debate as to the meaning of part of the name: “Gwaun=meadow” however there is some uncertainty as to the origin of “faren/Farren”. The Welsh-English Dictionary “Y Geiriadur Mawr” does not have a translation for this word and there is some speculation that it may have originated in the Irish word “Fearann” pronounced “Farran” meaning “pasture”. The book “Merthyr Tydfil – A Valley Community” (1981) published by The Merthyr Teachers Centre Group records the name as “Gwaun=meadow” and “Farren= warren” thus “Warren Meadow”.

In 1850 the freeholder of the farm was Mary Morgan the widow of William Morgan and the farmland was leased to the Penydarren Iron Company. That ironworks was less than half a mile away and the roads accessing the general locality conform in major part to the present-day road system. These were trackways and subsequently they became the present-day Alexandra Avenue and Galon Uchaf Road. There is no evidence of coal mining on the Gwaunfarren farmland however it is likely that iron stone and coal transited the adjacent trackways into the nearby iron works. The 1850 map identifies the farm homestead as “The Dairy” and it is probable that the farm produced milk, butter and cheese for the growing industrial population. The nearby Penydarren Ironworks opened in 1784 in the ownership of the Homfray family and George Forman. This was the smallest of the four local ironworks and in due course it made the cables of flat bar link for the Menai Straits Suspension Bridge. The works closed in 1857 followed shortly thereafter by the Plymouth Ironworks in 1859 whilst the two larger works at Cyfarthfa and Dowlais remained open.

Field number 1901 on the 1850 Tithe Map configures with the 2-acre piece of land that is now identified as post code CF47 9BJ. This land was leased in 1862 to William Simons for 25 years and he funded its redevelopment He was the first of two successful wealthy individuals and their families who lived there in succession until the 1920s. William was a barrister practising in Castle Street and he lived in the house with his wife and children from 1862 until 1888. He purchased the farmhouse and set about making substantial changes to that building, laid out a new garden, driveway and built a Lodge at the main entrance to the drive. His great grandson, Graham Simons later recounted a story detailed by one of Williams daughters, Phoebe, that some of the walls of the house were 4 feet thick and this perhaps indicates that some of the original farm building had been incorporated in the new house identified in the 1850 Tithe Map as “The Dairy”. A plan of the new house and garden is shown below. Note that the architect identified the house as “Gwain-faren” later named as “Gwaunfarren House”.

Parts of the old farmhouse were retained, the building substantially increased in size and an impressive new facade was built based on a Victorian style of architecture much in vogue at the time as demonstrated in an early photograph of the new house.

Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

Margaret Stewart Taylor did not include the house in her essay titled “The Big Houses of Merthyr Tydfil” published in the inaugural edition of the “Merthyr Historian Volume I” in 1976. However this was indeed a large house necessary to accommodate the first large family to reside there. The 1871 census shows that in addition to William Simons and his wife, Clara, there were 8 children and 7 staff: a governess, nurse, nursemaid, cook, laundress and 2 housemaids. Ten years later the family had increased to 11 children making a compliment of 20 family plus staff. It is suggested that there were legal disputes between William Simons, the leaseholder, and the freeholder of the land which played a part in the move of the Simons family to Cardiff in 1888.

To be continued…….

Merthyr Tydfil to Aber Cynon Tramroad – part 1

by Gwilym and John Griffiths

Some sources have recorded that this tramroad (then called a dram road) was started around 1800 by agreement between William Taitt of Dowlais, Samuel Homfray of Pen y Darren and Richard Hill of Plymouth. They added that the construction, under the supervision of George Overton, was allegedly started in 1799 and finished in 1802. Yet see under Leases 1800 for a few of the early leases in summary. It seems that Richard Fothergill was much involved in setting up these leases. In addition, the route was always described as being from Morlais Castle to Navigation House. The route was from Pen y Darren to Aber Cynon, 9½ miles, a fall of 341 feet. Brief details were recorded in The Pen y Darren Locomotive by Stuart Owen-Jones.

The tramroad was used briefly (three times or numerous times, see below) with a trial of Trevithick’s steam engine on Tuesday 21 Feb 1804, returning to Pen y Darren the following day, but shortly thereafter the tramroad reverted to horse power for many further years. The weight of the steam-engine apparently damaged the rails. However, Charles Wilkins, ‘The History of Merthyr Tydfil’, page 252, thought that the engine, ‘after serving a long time on the tramway, was removed to a pit called Winch Fawr (in the hamlet of Heol Wermwd not the one in the hamlet of Gelli Deg), and finally taken to the top of the incline owned by the Pen y Darren Company at Cwm Bargod.’ We are not so sure. Richard Trevithick himself recorded the event from which the following summary is appropriate:

On Saturday 11 Feb 1804, the fire was lit in the ‘Tram Waggon’ and Richard Trevithick worked it without the wheels to try the engine.
On Monday 13 Feb 1804, they put the waggon on the ‘Tram Road’. It worked very well and ran up hill and down with great ease and was very manageable. There was plenty of power.
Between 13 Feb and 20 Feb 1804 the ‘Tram Waggon’ had been worked several times. They had tried loads of up to ten tons, and it worked easily. He was sure it could cope with forty tons. Richard Trevithick intended making a smaller engine for the tram road as the first one had too much power, and would be used instead to work a hammer.
On Tuesday 21 Feb 1804 they made the journey with the engine. They carried ten tons, presumably of iron, in five waggons, with seventy men riding on them for the whole of the journey. He recorded, very clearly, that it took four hours and five minutes to cover the nine miles because they had to cut down some trees and remove some large rocks out of the tram road. No mention of the stack being knocked down by a bridge or any problem with the ‘tunnel’ by Plymouth Works. They returned, but a broken bolt released the water, and the engine did not arrive back at Pen y Darren Works until the evening of Wednesday 22 Feb 1804. No mention of broken tramway plates or of having to be hauled back to Pen y Darren by horse.
Later they tried the carriage with twenty-five tons of iron, and found the engine was more than a match for that weight. The steam was delivered into the chimney above the damper. It made the draught much stronger by going up the chimney. Trevithick’s locomotive was the first to employ this very important principle of turning the exhaust steam up the chimney, so producing a draft which drew the hot gases from the fire more powerfully through the boiler.

In May 1854, some forty years later, Thomas Ellis, an engineer from Tredegar, wrote a letter describing the first journey the Pen y Darren locomotive took in February, 1804. His father was at Pen y Darren when the engine was made and tried. Samuel Homfray, proprietor of the Pen y Darren Works, Merthyr Tydfil, made a bet of 1,000 guineas with Richard Crawshay, of the Cyfarthfa Works, that Trevithick’s steam-engine could convey a load of iron from his works to the Navigation House, nine miles distant.

To be continued……

Merthyr in the Tudor Period

In 1540, an English traveller, John Leland, spent some time travelling through Wales. Luckily, he kept an account of his journey, the relevant part about the Merthyr area is transcribed below.

“Merthyr Tydfil is in the commote of Senghenydd Uwch Caiach which is in the cantref of Eweinlwg. To go from east to west in the highest part of Glamorganshire towards the roots of the Black Mountains, is a sixteen mile of wild ground almost all.

Uwch Caiach stretcheth up to Taf by the east bank from Caiach to Morlays Castelle (sic), and two miles upward by north-north-east to Cae Drain, where the boundary is between Upper Monmouthshire, Breconshire and the Uwch Caiach part of Senghenydd.

Morlays Castelle standeth in a good valley of corn and grass and is on the right bank of the Morlays Brook*. This castle is a ruin and belongs to the King. Morlays Brook……comes out of the Breconshire hills, near Upper Monmouthshire and to Morlays Castelle, and about a mile lower in the parish called Merthyr it goeth into the east bank of the Taf.

There is a hill called Cefn Glas**, and stands between Cynon and Taf. This is the boundary between Miscin (sic) and Senghenydd. The ground between Cynon and Pennar is hilly and woody.

The water of the Taf cometh so down from woody hills and often bringeth down such log and trees, that the country would not be able to rebuild the bridges if they were stone, for they are so often broken.”

* Actually the Taf Fechan River

** Part of the Aberdare Mountain which overlooks Quakers Yard

Scheduled Monuments in Merthyr

I recently received an enquiry asking whether there were any Scheduled Monuments in Merthyr Tydfil. The following is transcribed from Wikipedia:-

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough has 43 scheduled monuments. The prehistoric scheduled sites include many burial cairns and several defensive enclosures. The Roman period is represented by a Roman Road. The medieval periods include two inscribed stones, several house platforms and two castle sites. Finally the modern period has 14 sites, mainly related to Merthyr’s industries, including coal mining, transportation and iron works. Almost all of Merthyr Tydfil was in the historic county of Glamorgan, with several of the northernmost sites having been in Brecknockshire.

Scheduled monuments have statutory protection. The compilation of the list is undertaken by Cadw Welsh Historic Monuments, which is an executive agency of the National Assembly of Wales. The list of scheduled monuments below is supplied by Cadw with additional material from RCAHMW (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales) and Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust.

Name	Site type	Community	Details	Historic County
Gelligaer Standing Stone	Standing stone	Bedlinog	A 2 m (6.6 ft) high stone on open moorland. Probably Bronze Age and with the possible remains of a Bronze Age burial alongside. An inscription on the stone, now mostly illegible, is described as either post-Roman/Early Christian or Early Medieval.	Glamorganshire
Coed Cae Round Cairns	Round cairn	Bedlinog	Located in a cairnfield with at least 19 stony mounds, the scheduling consists of a group of eight Bronze Age burial cairns.	Glamorganshire
Gelligaer Common Round Cairns	Round cairn	Bedlinog	A group of eleven Bronze Age burial cairns.	Glamorganshire
Carn Castell y Meibion ring cairn	Ring cairn	Cyfarthfa Troed-y-rhiw	A ring cairn, possibly dating to the Bronze Age, with a 8 m (26 ft) diameter and surrounded by a 3 m (9.8 ft) wide stony ring bank.	Glamorganshire
Brynbychan Round Cairn	Round cairn	Merthyr Vale,	A Bronze Age circular cairn with a diameter of 18 m (59 ft). There is an OS triangulation pillar on the site.	Glamorganshire
Cefn Merthyr Round Cairns	Cairnfield	Merthyr Vale		Glamorganshire
Morlais Hill ring cairn	Ring cairn	Pant		Glamorganshire
Tir Lan round barrow cemetery	Round barrow	Treharris	The remains of six Bronze Age round barrows, three to the north-west and three to the south-east of Tir Lan farm. All six remain substantially intact despite being reduced by ploughing in the past.	Glamorganshire
Garn Las Earthwork	Round cairn	Troed-y-rhiw	The remains a circular burial cairn measuring 14 m (46 ft) in diameter, probably dating to the Bronze Age.	Glamorganshire
Merthyr Common Round Cairns	Round cairn	Troed-y-rhiw	A group of six Bronze Age burial cairns ranging from 5 to 19 m (16 to 62 ft) in diameter.	Glamorganshire
Carn Ddu platform cairn	Platform Cairn	Vaynor		Glamorganshire
Cefn Cil-Sanws ring cairn	Ring cairn	Vaynor		Glamorganshire
Cefn Cil-Sanws, Cairn on SW side of	Round Cairn	Vaynor		Brecknockshire
Coetgae’r Gwartheg barrow cemetery	Round cairn	Vaynor		Glamorganshire
Garn Pontsticill ring cairn	Ring cairn	Vaynor		Glamorganshire
Dyke 315m E of Tyla-Glas	Ditch	Bedlinog	The remains of a later prehistoric/medieval dyke with a clearly defined bank and ditch running east-west across a ridge top. The 3 m (9.8 ft) wide ditch is 1.5 m (4.9 ft) deep at its east end.	Glamorganshire
Cefn Cil-Sanws Defended Enclosure	Enclosure – Defensive	Vaynor		Brecknockshire
Enclosure East of Nant Cwm Moel	Enclosure – Defensive	Vaynor		Glamorganshire
Enclosure on Coedcae’r Ychain	Enclosure – Defensive	Vaynor		Glamorganshire
Gelligaer Common Roman Road	Road	Bedlinog		Glamorganshire
Nant Crew Inscribed Stone (now in St John’s Church, Cefn Coed )	Standing stone	Vaynor	A 1.5 m (5 ft) high square-sectioned pillar stone thought to date to the Bronze Age. A Latin inscription on the west face and cross incised on the north face are from the 6th and 7th-9th centuries. Holes in the stone indicate that it had been used as a gatepost.	Brecknockshire
Platform Houses and Cairn Cemetery on Dinas Noddfa	House platforms (& Cairnfield)	Bedlinog	Medieval house platforms, also prehistoric cairnfield	Glamorganshire
Platform Houses on Coly Uchaf	Platform house	Bedlinog		Glamorganshire
Morlais Castle	Castle	Pant	The collapsed remains of a castle begun in 1288 by Gilbert de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan. The walls enclosed an area of approximately 130 by 60 m (430 by 200 ft). It was captured during the 1294-95 rebellion of Madog ap Llywelyn and may have been abandoned shortly afterwards.	Glamorganshire
Cae Burdydd Castle	Motte	Vaynor	A 3 m (9.8 ft) high motte and ditch dating to the medieval period. The diameter of 23 m (75 ft) narrows to 9 m (30 ft) at the top.	Brecknockshire
Cefn Car settlement	Building (Unclassified)	Vaynor		Glamorganshire
Gurnos Quarry Tramroad & Leat	Industrial monument	Gurnos		Glamorganshire
Sarn Howell Pond and Watercourses	Pond	Town		Glamorganshire
Abercanaid egg-ended boiler	Egg-ended Boiler, re-purposed as garden shed	Troed-y-rhiw		Glamorganshire
Cyfarthfa Canal Level	Canal Level	Cyfarthfa		Glamorganshire
Cyfarthfa Tramroad Section at Heolgerrig	Tramroad	Cyfarthfa		Glamorganshire
Iron Ore Scours and Patch Workings at Winch Fawr, Merthyr Tydfil	Iron mine	Cyfarthfa		Glamorganshire
Ynys Fach Iron Furnaces	Industrial monument	Cyfarthfa		Glamorganshire
Penydarren Tram Road	Trackway	Merthyr Vale		Glamorganshire
Iron Canal Bridge from Rhydycar	Bridge	Park		Glamorganshire
Pont-y-Cafnau tramroad bridge	Bridge	Park	An ironwork bridge spanning the River Taff constructed in 1793. The name, meaning “bridge of troughs”, comes from its unusual three tier design of a tramroad between two watercourses, one beneath the bridge deck and the other on an upper wooden structure which is no longer present. Pont-y-Cafnau is also Grade II* listed.	Glamorganshire
Merthyr Tramroad: Morlais Castle section	Tramroad	Pant		Glamorganshire
Merthyr Tramroad Tunnel (Trevithick’s Tunnel)	Tramroad	Troed-y-rhiw		Glamorganshire
Cwmdu Air Shaft & Fan	Air Shaft	Cyfarthfa		Glamorganshire
Remains of Blast Furnaces, Cyfarthfa Ironworks	Blast Furnace	Park		Glamorganshire
Tai Mawr Leat for Cyfarthfa Iron Works	Leat	Park		Glamorganshire
Deserted Iron Mining Village, Ffos-y-fran	Industrial monument	Troed-y-rhiw		Glamorganshire

Please follow the link below to see the original:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scheduled_monuments_in_Merthyr_Tydfil_County_Borough

Merthyr’s Coat of Arms and St Tydfil

by Carolyn Jacob

Upon becoming a Borough in 1905, the Corporation commissioned one of the top Welsh artists of the day, Sir Goscombe John, R. A. to design a suitable Coat of Arms. (Goscombe John was fond of using traditional mythical heroic images and in 1906 he also designed the Fountain to the Pioneers of the South Wales Steam Coal Trade to celebrate the efforts of Robert and Lucy Thomas in the steam coal trade).

It was decided that the central figure of the coat of arms should be St Tydfil, as the whole parish is named after her and the original pre – industrial small town grew up around the church dedicated to her. The name Merthyr Tydfil means THE BURIAL PLACE OF TYDFIL.

St Tydfil as depicted in a stained glass window at Llandaff Cathedral

Legend has it that Tydfil was the daughter of a 5th Century Chieftain, Brychan, King of Breconshire. While visiting their sister Tanglwst in Aberfan, Tydfil and her family were massacred by a band of marauding Picts, who came over to Wales from Ireland. It is generally believed that she died on the site of the Parish Church, which bears her name, having defied the pagans and refused to give up Christianity. Tydfil had many brothers and sisters who became saints, including Saint Cynon. One of her brothers, Cadoc, became the Patron Saint of Brittany. Miracles happened around her grave and the shrine of St. Tydfil the Martyr soon became a place of Christian pilgrimage.

In the Middle Ages a village grew up around the church. There was once a wooden statue in the church representing Tydfil which was probably carried out in a procession on her Saints Day on the 23rd of August. The Royal Charter was in fact formally granted only 6 days before the official Saints Day of Tydfil. This changed with the Protestant Reformation and the statue was possibly destroyed in the seventeenth century when Cromwell’s troops were drinking in the inn near the church.

It is significant that, although Merthyr Tydfil became a major centre of nonconformity and had no Roman Catholics until the Irish came in 1815, the town never abandoned the Celtic Saint, Tydfil although very little is known about her. There are in fact very few British towns named after a female Saint and the association with Tydfil is very special.

The later Merthyr Tydfil First World War Memorial has in its centre the same mythological figure of St Tydfil together with the images of a working miner and a mother and child. All these figures are emblematic of sacrifice, St Tydfil was sacrificed for her religious beliefs, too often coal miners are sacrificed to the coal mining industry and mothers’ always make sacrifices for their children.

The Borough Coat of Arms (right) bears a likeness of St. Tydfil as the central motif. The heraldic description of the Borough Arms (formally granted on the 17th August 1906), is as follows:-

‘Azure a figure representing Saint Tydvil the Martyr, in Chief Two Crosses patee fitchee all Or’.

Tydfil is represented as a hard working saint because in her hands she has a distaff, which is used for spinning. The placing of the distaff as an important symbol in the coat of arms is chosen to signify industry and to represent the proud industrial history of the new Borough of Merthyr Tydfil. The daggers on either side of her head are meant to indicate the martyrdom and to remind us of how Tydfil met her death and that her life was a sacrifice to God.

The motto on the coat of arms- ‘Nid Cadarn ond Brodyrdde’ is taken from an Old Welsh manuscript, ‘The Sayings of the Wise’ and means ‘Not force but Fellowship’. There is nothing so strong as the bonds of brotherhood. This reflects the strength of Trade Union feeling and the strong political traditions here.

The Borough’s Seal incorporates the Coat of Arms and has three circles, each with individual illustrations, Morlais Castle (the ancient links with Norman Lords), Trevithick’s engine (the innovations and inventions pioneered here) and a blast furnace (the industrial nature of Merthyr Tydfil).

The Borough Seal. © Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

Merthyr Tydfil Historical Society

The Merthyr Tydfil Historical Society is pleased to announce that, after 18 months of disruption due to Covid, their lecture programme is due resume next month.

The first lecture will be at 2.00pm on Monday 6 September at Canolfan Soar, and the subject will be Morlais Castle.

Below is the full list of lectures for the rest of the year (fingers crossed). All members who paid their membership fee in 2020 will automatically have it carried forward to this year.

Everyone is welcome.

A History of St Gwynno’s Church, Vaynor – part 1

by Ena Moreton

Many thanks to Hywel George, administrator of the Cynon Culture website for allowing me to use this article.

The story of St Gwynno’s goes back to 8th Century. The original form of the parish name was Maenor Gwynno, manor of Gwynno. The first early wooden church is believed to have been burned down in 1291 during the battle of Maesyfaenor, an epic struggle between the two neighbouring Norman lords, Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Brecknock and Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, over the ownership of the nearby Morlais ridge and surrounding lands.

De Bohun won, at the cost of much bloodshed on both sides. Many were buried under the mound beyond the old church known as Cae Burdydd, or field of slaughter, about 100 yards down the track from this church. St Gwynno’s was rebuilt in 1295 and lasted for some 600 years when it became unsafe and was abandoned in the middle of the 19th Century.

Old and New St Gwynno’s Church, Vaynor. Photo courtesy of the Alan George Archive

De Bohun and De Clare

A fierce dispute broke out between Humphrey de Bohun, and Gilbert de Clare, which led to fighting between the two powerful Barons on the borders of Glamorgan and Breconshire.

Gilbert de Clare as seen in a stained glass window at Tewkesbury Abbey

De Clare had built a strong castle at Morlais near Merthyr on land which de Bohun claimed as his own. Raids were made on either side and this part of the country became lawless and swarmed with brigands (“The Welsh Wars of King Edward the First” by John E. Morris). The King’s Writ did not run in the Marcher Lordships. As the Marchers had fought for; and won their estates, they claimed the right to do as they pleased, within their own territories. In Glamorgan, they were known as “Arglwyddi Pren a Phwll” (Lords of the tree and the pool), as they had all the power to order men culprits be hanged and women culprits to be drowned (Rice Merrick and “Edward the 2nd on Glamorgan” John Griffiths). Both King and Marchers were aware, now that the power of the princes of North Wales had been broken, that the custom of private wars between the Marchers would have to be stopped. Edward was determined to enforce the doctrine that the dignity of the Grown was to be respected, and that the Lord. Marchers should be placed on a footing similar to that of the Crown tenants in England.

This private war between the Earls of Gloucester and Hereford was a unique opportunity for interfering and breaking the custom. Accordingly, the King sent a strongly worded proclamation to the two Earls to abstain from active hostilities on 25 January 1290, which Hereford obeyed. Gloucester’s men, however, under his bailiffs with the Earl’s banners, marched from Morlais castle and arrested and killed men from Vaynor, Penderyn and Ystradfellte parishes on three occasions during 1290. They carried, off 1070 head of cattle, 50 horse and bulls and countless sheep and pigs, of which the Earl received the usual one-third share. And soon brigands, who swarmed in the district, people who had been driven from their own homes when de Clare’s had extended their forests in Miskin or had escaped punishment or misdeeds by running away, also began to take part in the raids. In. addition to killing people and stealing animals, they committed sacrilege by taking away the chalice and ornaments from Penderyn Church, they set on fire together with Ty Ralph, Possibly the loot was taken by the brigands through ‘Bwlch y Lladron’ near Hirwaun.

Following these disorders, the King decided to act. Early in 1291, the Bishop of Ely, the Earl of Pembroke and two regular judges were commissioned to hear the case. The two Earls were to appear with the incriminated bailiffs at Ystradfellte on Monday, March 12th 1291. What a “Red Letter Day” this must have been for this quiet and secluded village!

Probably never before or since has such an assemblage of the most eminent notabilities in all their splendour, Barons in mail-armour on well-groomed horses been seen at Ystradfellte. The trial was to have taken place as Castell Coch, Ystradfellte; Hereford arrived punctually but Gloucester, who was married to the King’s daughter and was the most powerful baron in the country at that time, defied the king.

The Court adjourned, to Llanddew, near Brecon, but Gloucester was again absent. The trial proceeded and Gloucester and his bailiffs were found guilty, the damages being assessed at £100. Eventually at a great Council of Archbishops, Bishops, Earls and Barons, presided over by the King in person at Abergavenny at Michaelmas 1291, both Gloucester and Hereford, who were present, were sentenced to be imprisoned and their great lordships and estates to be confiscated. Gloucester was fined 1000 marcs and £100 for damages, and Hereford 1,000 marcs. Gloucester only lived for three and a half years longer, a sadder and wiser man.

In 1294 there was a general rising throughout Wales against being sent overseas to fight in Gascony and against the extortions of sheriff’s and bailiffs. The men of Glamorgan were led by Morgan or Rhys ap Morgan against de Clare and possibly this was the occasion or the origin of the stirring tune:

Rhyfelgyrch Cadben Morgan
Rhwym wrth dy wregys gleddyf gwyn dy dad
Atynt fy machgen dros dy wlad

The King cancelled his voyage to Gascony. He marched through Wales from North to South and was in Merthyr Tydfil on June 14th and 15th 1295, when he received the submission of the men of the Taff and Cynon Valleys, who had previously declared, that they had risen against Gloucester and not the King.

Gilbert de Clare, the Red Earl, died on December 7th 1295, and his young son Gilbert was killed at Bannockburn, in 1314. The great possessions in England and Wales were divided among three married sisters.

To be continued…….

To read the original article, please visit: http://cynonculture.co.uk/wordpress/merthyr-tydfil/history-of-st-gwynnos-church-vaynor/

A Secret Tunnel?

The article transcribed below appeared in the Western Mail 130 years ago today (23 May 1889).

ALLEGED ANTIQUARIAN DISCOVERY AT MERTHYR.

THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF A “SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.”

by Morien

In consequence of a rumour to the effect that an extraordinary subterranean passage had been discovered leading from Morlais Castle to no one knew where, I visited the place on Wednesday, accompanied by the Rev. J. Edmund Jenkins, rector of Vaynor, who is a local antiquarian. After a frugal repast at the hospitable Aber Glais Inn, we passed over the romantic river which during countless ages has scooped out remarkable dents in the living rock, and slowly ascended the green slope at the summit of which the castle stands.

In a quarry, about half a mile from the castle, and to the south-east, of it, we came upon some men at work. In answer to our inquiries as to the subterranean passage, they pointed to a heap of sleepers, and said “the hole” was underneath them. After some conversation of a persuasive nature they began to remove these impediments, and eventually the opening was revealed to what looked like a very ugly “hole”. A plank was next placed in it, and pushed forward until it rested upon something solid below. I, Morien, then got on to the plank and, after the fashion of other and youthful dogs, slid down into the unknown abyss. I found that the end of the plank rested on an immense heap of fallen rubbish, with a vault-like roof of uneven rocks overhead and water dropping everywhere.

Owing to the wet and, therefore, slippery nature of the descent, it seemed highly dangerous to attempt to explore below. But I determined to make the attempt, and, having lighted a torch of cotton wool, the darkness was made visible. One of workmen above now came down over the plank and joined me. Lighting his candle by the light of the Morienic torch, he led the way over the great heap of stones down into the great silent depths. I followed him, after the manner of a goat, careful of every footstep.

The roof as we proceeded came nearer to one’s back, and I was made rather uncomfortable by observing that there were spaces between the roof and the hanging stones overhead. Besides the danger of those stones giving way, there was also the peril which would result from an accidental slip of the feet, for had that happened one would have been precipitated over the surface of the immense heap of debris. But my companion still descended, and after he had gone about 40 yards further I – employing the patois of the country-side – called out “Stopwch!” to my companion. I had by this time become convinced that neither a De Bohun of Brecknock nor a De Clare of Glamorgan had ever been such a fool as to risk his neck in such a place, and that the so-called “subterranean passage” from Morlais Castle to some place unknown was a myth. We, therefore, retraced our steps, and eventually reached the surface, none the worse except for dirty coats and unmentionables.

Mr. Evan Lewis, Cefn, and Mr. Richard Hughes had descended a few days ago a little below the place at which I stopped, but neither went more than about 45 yards. They then came to the bottom of the heap. There they found the thigh bone, as was supposed, of a human being, and a large stone lying in a slanting position. Mr. Evan Lewis endeavoured to go beyond that stone, but he told me there was no open space beyond, and the roof there seemed extremely dangerous. Mr. Martin, manager of the Dowlais Works, had given orders to explore beyond if it was seen that the so-called passage was continuous; but, it seems that the stone referred to, closing up the place, does not lie more than five yards from the bottom of the heap of rubbish.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt this castle had its subterranean exits, and it is not impossible, after all that this was one of them, but that it has fallen in.

Pontsarn Sanatorium

Today marks the 105th anniversary of the opening of Pontsarn Sanatorium.

In 1913 the Merthyr Board of Guardians decided that the town needed an isolation hospital to house the ever-growing number of patients suffering from tuberculosis. The hospital needed to be sited away from the town where the patients could have fresh air.

The Earl of Plymouth made them a gift of some land in the Parish of Vaynor, just below Morlais Castle, and also gave them £1,000 towards the building of the sanatorium.

The sanatorium was officially opened on 13 November 1913 by Dr J L Ward. A report of the opening ceremony can be seen below.

Pontsarn Sanatorium later became the Pontsarn Chest Clinic, and closed in the late 1950’s. It has since been converted to flats.

Patients ‘taking the air’ on the veranda at Pontsarn Sanatorium. Photo courtesy of http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/index.htm

Was it Murder at Cyfarthfa Castle?

By William Griffiths
Transcribed by Carl Llewellyn

Cyfarthfa Castle was built according to the plans of William Crawshay in 1825. He was an iron-master of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks; rich, with a strong will, unassuming yet energetic. While waiting for his Castle to be built, he lived with family at Gwaelodygarth House.

His influence and energy had such an effect on the builders that the Castle was completed in 12 months at a cost of £30,000. Situated in the area of a park, of meadows and woods, it was so placed that a full view of the Iron Works could be seen from its windows. The workers could likewise look upon the edifice and after the affluence of their iron-master up on its elevated ground. At night the blast furnaces illuminated the surrounding country-side, particularly the stone walls of Cyfarthfa Castle its windows reflecting the red and yellow glow of light, in an unusual pattern of colour. The Master had installed his castle with many servants, fit for the magnate he was. His gardeners had changed the grounds into a beautiful park. His gamekeepers patrolled it night and day, against poachers and marauders so prevalent in those days. One of the gamekeepers was named John Lloyd and he lived with his wife at Pontsarn, on the borders of the Cyfarthfa Estate. They were always quarrelling and the servants at the Castle said they were not happy together. Their home at Pontsarn was a lonely place in a beautiful spot: almost at the base of the ancient Morlais Castle, adjacent to the historic site of Vaynor Old Church, where monks had once chanted their prayers and buried the dead of past wars.

Then someone remarked: “John Lloyd’s wife had not been seen for a number of weeks. Is she ill? Has she gone away?” The servants of the Castle began asking questions. But John gave them no answers. The questions became persistent, to be told angrily that she had gone away to Llangyfelach Fair. More weeks passed with no sign of Mrs Lloyd. Meanwhile John carried on at his work in the Castle grounds.

The disappearance could not continue without Mr Crawshay getting to know of it. Eventually he sent for John to question him on the subject: for at that time an employer had far greater power over an employee’s personal affairs than exists today. The Master was waiting for him in one of the living rooms of the Castle, as John gave an extra rub on his boots, before being shown in by a servant. As he entered the magnificently furnished room Mr Crawshay was walking away from him towards the large fireplace. John stood waiting for the Master to turn around but did not, he stood with his back to him, addressing him in a firm tone.

“Well Lloyd – what have you to say about your missing wife? Now understand man: I want the truth.” He turned quickly, raising the tone of his voice on the last sentence. John Lloyd, not a good looking man held his head down making incoherent and confused replies. He pulled at his smock with his left hand, not knowing what to do with his hat, which he held in his right. The more questions Mr Crawshay asked the more nervous he became. It was a conflict between master and servant, emotion being displayed by both men for a basic reason. All the power of position was at the command of the rich industrialist, yet dissatisfied with the result, he waved his arms in front of his gamekeeper, telling him he had no alternative – he must inform the police immediately. “Go” he told him, “Return to your work”. The Merthyr Tydfil Police interviewed John Lloyd later, in conjunction with the Breconshire authorities, for it was situated in that county. They searched the house for clues. Apparently nothing important was found relating to the missing lady, so the mystery became a talking point at Cyfarthfa Works, and eventually the whole district.

The Merthyr Police had now officially contacted headquarters in London, requesting that two investigators be sent to the town to work on the case. They began methodically as compared to the local officers, by questioning all who were acquainted with John Lloyd, judging the character of good or bad behaviour. “Was he jealous of his wife?”. They asked “Did he bear her? Did she have any men friends?” They circled the suspect with their queries: then they approached him singly, and together: They searched his house; dug in his garden; went next-door; gossiped to the neighbours, while John was at work. All those actions they took in the nerve war against him. It was said of Lloyd that he was unperturbed by the investigations. Each evening he made his way home on the rocky path through the woods and lanes of the Gurnos farmland to Pontsarn. His two dogs running to and fro, as he walked: the glow of the Cyfarthfa Iron Works, lighting the place in a shadowy twilight. Guilty or not, the man acted naturally, notwithstanding the pressure of suspicion around him.

Many thought him guilty, saying he had an evil looking face, as if the look of a man’s face proved his guilt: whereas it is well known that the most handsome of men can be murderous. The London Police were not concerned about John’s looks. They had to get the facts. They followed him around the estate, talking to him on the subjects of game, or poachers in general. They made him stand near the furnace where he boiled down the bones and meal for the Cyfarthfa hounds. A careful examination was made of the vessels – the furnace itself. They collected samples while many eyes watched them from Castle windows. “Those London police are too late.” it was whispered from one to another: “John Lloyd had done his wife in: boiled her down as food for hounds!” “He was very particular in cleaning the vessels. Sir, after his wife was missing”, a servant volunteered to the police. The investigators followed all the suggestions made to them, and despite a detailed enquiry, had to admit they were baffled. John remained free, as far as he was allowed to be under the investigation, so days passed to months.

They eventually presented their report, which turned out to be of insufficient evidence. So John Lloyd was not charged with the murder of his wife. The police returned to London. It is not known if the suspect remained in the employment of William Crawshay at Cyfarthfa Castle Estate. He lived for about 25 years in the Merthyr area, dying in a Poor-law Institution, diseased and wretched so it is believed, but with no foundation in fact. At the time of Lloyd’s death, a skeleton was found on the borders of the estate, presumed although not established to be the remains of Mrs Lloyd.

John Lloyd was alleged to be the murderer of his wife: the investigation into the case was thorough at the time, when men were hanged for far less crimes than killing their wives. The evidence basically was that Mrs Lloyd was missing or disappeared. No additional facts were produced against Lloyd: therefore according to the enquiry, no charge of a crime was made against him. Let that be his epitaph, and so be it.