CYMDEITHAS
OWAIN GLYNDŴR / OWAIN GLYNDWR SOCIETY
Gwibdaith Pennal – Medi 15, 2018 / Pennal Trip –
September 15th, 2018
GWIBDAITH
PENNAL
We have decided to incorporate our AGM
into this year’s Society trip. It will be held in Canolfan
Pennal - formerly Capel Carmel - and start at 11.30 a.m.
Canolfan Pennal
At the end of the meeting, we hope to
visit the church of St Peter ad Vincula and its heritage garden before lunch.
After lunch, Dr Elin Jones will give a
talk in Canolfan Pennal which will include a
description of Glyndŵr’s links to the area.
* *
* * *
We will then travel to Machynlleth - time
permitting - to visit: Canolfan Glyndŵr; the
Society’s monument outside Y Plas; and Caffi Alys.
ST
PETER AD VINCULA
The church was founded in the 6th
century by St Tannwg and St Eithrias,
Celtic missionaries from Armorica in Brittany. The church is most famous for
its association with Glyndŵr.
The church contains a mural by Aneurin
Jones which commemorates the Welsh Assembly held in Pennal at the beginning of
the fifteenth century.
The Welsh Assembly of 1406
The Heritage Garden alongside the church
was opened in 2004 - and is dedicated to Owain Glyndŵr, his family, his
clergy, and the Princes of Gwynedd.
Stones and bricks from the Roman Fort at
nearby Cefn Caer have been
used to rebuild the church over time, and Lleucu Llwyd
- the Welsh “Juliet” - was buried
under the altar in the church in 1390.
LLYTHYR
PENNAL
On March 31st, 1406 Glyndŵr
sent a letter to Charles VI of France in which he outlined his ambitions
for an independent Wales. The letter was written at the synod of the Welsh
Church that was held in Pennal.
Pennal
Letter
In it, Glyndŵr sought help
for his campaign to rid Wales of oppressive English rule, and
also pledged his support for Charles’ preferred choice of Pope, Benedict
XIII in Avignon.
Owain went on to describe his vision for Wales, which included
the establishment of a restored Archbishop of Wales based in St David’s, and
two universities – one in North Wales and the other in the south.
The original Pennal Letter is held in Paris but copies of it have
been presented to: The Owain Glyndŵr Centre in Machynlleth; The National
Library of Wales in Aberystwyth; Glyndŵr University; The National Museum
of Wales; The National Assembly of Wales; and the village of Pennal – it is
currently kept in Canolfan Pennal.
Y
DOMEN LAS
‘Tomen Las Castle Mound’ is a scheduled
monument which once held a timber-framed tower. It was attached to the court - or
llys - of
the Princes of Gwynedd and was the
administrative centre of the commote of Ystumanner. The top of the mound has a diameter of roughly
15 metres and is about 3 metres above its ditch.
Llywelyn Fawr held a ‘Council of Chiefs’
at the mouth of the river Dyfi in 1216, and local
legend suggests that they met at Pennal. His aim was to unite, and then lead,
the other Welsh Princes.
Y Domen Las
This meeting may have taken place at Aberdyfi Castle, however, which is a few miles to the south
and on the other side of the Dyfi estuary.
It is also
possible that Glyndŵr issued orders from a building on the mound
during his visit to Pennal in 1406. It is now on land belonging to the Talgarth estate just outside the village.
MAP
CEFN
CAER
The medieval house near Pennal known as Cefn
Caer was built on the site of a roman fort, and is a Grade II* listed building.
Cefn Caer
The fort was on the route of Sarn
Helen - the Roman road that linked Caernarfon with South Wales. It is named
after Saint Elen of Caernarfon, a Celtic saint who
was the wife of Macsen Wledig
Cefn Caer
was also on the touring route of the bards, and the Pennal Letter may have been
written on the site by Owain and his advisers.
The Medieval Hall House has a number of
features – including an ingle nook for a bread oven – although the current
building was most probably built after Glyndŵr’s
day.
PLAS
YN Y ROFFT
Plas yn y Rofft was the name of the
house of the Price family of Esgair Weddan. It can be found about a mile to the west of Pennal
village, and the family lived there between the 14th and 18th
centuries.
The Prices were descended from the
Princes of Gwynedd through Dafydd, the illegitimate son of Dafydd ap Llywelyn
Fawr.
The male line of the family became
extinct in 1702, however, and the estate ended up in the possession of Humphrey
Edwards of the Talgarth estate.
Pennal
Tower
Pennal Tower was built to the north of
Pennal in the 1850s by Capt. Charles Thruston. He
also owned Plas Talgarth
and was a key local figure who helped to bring the railway to the area. He died
before the project was completed, however.
In 1888, the author Beatrix Potter
visited Pennal Tower as a young girl, but was not
impressed with the location and described the area as a wilderness.
CANOLFAN
GLYNDŴR MACHYNLLETH
The Owain Glyndŵr Centre is
Grade I listed and is referred to as the Parliament House or Senedd-dy.
Senedd-dy, Machynlleth
Archaeological research has shown that the building dates from
the late medieval period and was built or reconstructed shortly after 1460.
There is a possibility that part of the building may have existed in 1404 when Glyndŵr's
parliament met there, however.
Adam of Usk referred to the
Machynlleth Parliament in his Chronicles, and it was here that Owain was
crowned Prince of Wales.
The Glyndŵr Way, a long-distance footpath, passes through
Machynlleth at its westernmost point.
Y
GOFADAIL
The monument was erected by the Owain Glyndŵr Society on
September 16th, 2000 on the 600th anniversary of the day
Owain was proclaimed Prince of Wales.
The Monument The Great Seal
It is a 5m slate monolith from Penrhyn Quarry near Bethesda,
and it incorporates Owain’s Great Seal which is a sign of his significance as a
statesman.
The seal is circumscribed with the legend:
“Owain
Glyndŵr - Tywysog Cymru - Prince of Wales”
The plinth displays an englyn
written in cynghanedd by Dafydd Wyn Jones, and a translation reads:
“Owain,
you’re our defiance, - Owain,
Yours is our allegiance,
Our steel, and in your stance
See our nation’s renaissance.”
CYMDEITHAS OWAIN GLYNDŴR SOCIETY
PENNAL – MACHYNLLETH
Cinio / Lunch
Glan yr Afon / Riverside