Garth Celyn

On a hillside, just off the A55 between Caernarfon and Conway, is a large house which is joined on to a strange-looking tower. To the casual visitor it might appear to be some sort of Victorian Gothic creation, but in truth they would be quite, quite wrong. Garth Celyn, also known as Pen-Y-Bryn, is a building steeped in Welsh history. Back in the thirteenth century, it was the site of the palace of Llywelyn Fawr, and his grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales. Both men were constant thorns in the side of an English (Anglo-Norman) monarchy who wanted Wales under their control. Both Llywelyns fought hard for Welsh independence against what was an implacable foe with larger numbers and greater resources at its command.

Garth Celyn*

Of course, we know the result: Edward I, ‘Longshanks’, finally conquered the Principality; Llywelyn Gruffudd was slain near Builth Wells and his brother Dafydd was later captured and hung, drawn and quartered as a traitor. These days, while Edward’s dominating castles of Conway and Caernarvon draw visitors by their thousands, Llywelyn’s palace still remains relatively unknown and uncelebrated, although locals still remember its original importance.

A longer view of Garth Celyn

In 1988, Welsh historical researcher Kathryn Gibson and her family bought the house without knowing its history. In fact, at the time it was described as a ‘chicken farm’. Bit by bit (starting with the locals), she became aware of what they had actually bought and continued with research of her own. Since then, an archaeologist, David Austin of the University of Wales, has confirmed the date of the tower (a D-shaped native Welsh watchtower) as being from around 1200 and there is still much more to be investigated. The house abutting the tower, by the way, was originally built in the 1570s by Rhys Thomas among the ruins of the palace and modernised by Sir William Thomas in 1620. Parts of the Medieval palace, apart from the tower, can still be found within the grounds and under the house (for example, three tunnels). There is an informative piece about Garth Celyn and its history that can be read here.

Close up of the tower (the windows were added at a later date)

I first became aware of ‘Aber Palace’ after reading Sharon Penman’s Here Be Dragons. It was this book that forged the beginnings of the love for all things Medieval that I have today, so I owe much to it. At the time, I also became besotted by native Welsh history and studied as much of it as I could. My need to visit the native Welsh castles and sites took me to Garth Celyn (or Pen-Y-Bryn as I knew it then), where I met Kathryn and her family. Apart from making me very welcome, she showed me around the architectural and archaeological features and I came away with the feeling of having experienced somewhere very special. The atmosphere is soaked with the history of the place: I almost expected Llywelyn Fawr to come riding in with an escort at any moment, or for Joanna (King John’s illegitimate daughter and Llywelyn’s wife) to greet us at the door.

I’ve already mentioned Sharon Penman’s Here Be Dragons, but I shall mention it again, as well as the other novels of her ‘Welsh Trilogy’: Falls the Shadow and The Reckoning. The research that has gone into these books is phenomenal and very well done: if you want to learn about this period and the Welsh princes, you could no better than read them. The palace at Aber is frequently the setting for important events in the novels (one of the reasons why I went to visit) and as such it has come to the attention of a wider audience.

Rhaeadr Fawr (Aber Falls) nearby

Back in 1991, when the new A55 was being built, the Gibson family were offered £2,000,000 for their home. Thankfully, they realised that the site was priceless and refused to sell up to the developers who wanted to turn the place into flats. However, if history has taught us anything, it is that things can change. While the Gibsons continue to live there, the place is safe, but its long-term future needs to be secured. Kathryn has set up a fund designed to do just this. She wants Garth Celyn to be preserved as a permanent memorial to the Princes of Wales and as a Centre for the Interpretation of Welsh History. She now has a website at http://www.garthcelyn.com, as a means of spreading the word on the Internet. It is well worth a visit to learn more and, if you value preserving a place that has been written out of history up until now, please consider donating something, anything, to the fund.

Oh, and for a bit of Hugh interest, the men that probably lured Llywelyn ap Gruffudd into his fatal trap were the Mortimer brothers, the father and uncle of the Roger Mortimer who had Hugh Despenser executed. Hugh’s grandfather, Hugh Despenser the Justiciar also fought on the side of Simon de Montfort during the Baron’s Revolt (and by inference would have been an ally of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd). On the other hand, Roger Mortimer was also descended from Llywelyn Fawr through his daughter Gwladus Ddu (she would have been his great-grandmother).

Other articles on Garth Celyn can be found below:
http://www.castlewales.com/pen.html
http://www.llywelyn.co.uk/index.html (An older version of the Garth Celyn site but still with interesting details)
http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/Historic_Houses/Pen_y_Bryn.htm

* All photos taken when I visited in 1993/4

My Research Shelf

I've had a few requests lately asking what sources I have to hand when writing my posts. Never scared of a challenge, I set to listing them all - including online resources - and was rather shocked at the length of the list! Anyway, for those who are interested, here it is:

My Research Resources as of 24/01/2010:

Books
A Dictionary of Latin Words and Phrases – James Morwood
A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases – Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams
A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain – Marc Morris
Anglo-Norman Dictionary, Second Edition: A-C ed by Stewart Gregory, William Rothwell et al
Anglo-Norman Dictionary, Second Edition: D-E, ed by Stewart Gregory, William Rothwell et al
Archaology of the Medieval English Monarchy – John Steane
Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke 1307 - 1324: Baronial Politics in the Reign of Edward II – J.R.S. Phillips
Bannockburn, 1314 – Pete Armstrong
Castles of the Welsh Princes – Paul R. Davis
Crown and Nobility: England 1272-1461 – Anthony Tuck
Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped Our History – Dorothy H. Crawford
Discovering Medieval Houses – Anthony Emery
Early Medieval Architecture as Bearer of Meaning – Gunter Bandmann
Edward II – Harold Hutchison
Edward II – Mary Saaler
English Medieval Knight 1200-1300 – Christopher Gravett
English Medieval Knight 1300-1400 – Christopher Gravett
Eyewitness Castle – Christopher Gravett
Food and Cooking in Medieval Britain: History and Recipes – Maggie Black
Food and Feast in Medieval England – Peter Hammond
Four Maps of London: 1520-1902
Hildegard’s Healing Plants (From her Physica) – trans. Bruce W. Hozeski
Historic Gloucester – Philip Moss
Introduction to Manuscript Studies – Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham
Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II – Paul Doherty
Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England – Alison Weir
King Edward II: His Life, His Reign and Its Aftermath, 1284-1330 – Roy Martin Haines
Knights and Warhorses: Military Service and the English Aristocracy Under Edward III – Andrew Ayton
Knights at Tournament – Christopher Gravett
Latin for Dummies – Hull, Perkins and Barr
Learn Latin – Peter Jones
Letters of Medieval Women – ed. Anne Crawford
Life in a Medieval Castle – Brenda Ralph Lewis
Living and Dining in Medieval Paris: The Household of the Fourteenth Century Knight – Nicole Crossley-Holland
London: A Life in Maps- Peter Whitfield
Making a Living in the Middle Ages: The People of Britain 850-1520 – Christopher Dyer
Meanings of Sex Difference in the Middle Ages: Medicine, Science, and Culture – Joan Cadden
Medieval and Early Renaissance Medicine: An Introduction to Knowledge and Practice – Nancy G. Siraisi
Medieval Cookery: Recipes and History – Maggie Black (for English Heritage)
Medieval Costume in England and France: The 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries – Mary G. Houston
Medieval Craftsmen: Embroiderers – Kay Staniland
Medieval Gardens – Anne Jennings
Medieval Ships and Sailing – Gillian Hutchison
Medieval Tiles – Hans van Lemmen
Medieval Women: A Social History of Women 450 – 1500 – Henrietta Leyser
Menestrellorum Multitudo: Minstrels at a Royal Feast – Constance Bullock Davies
Sex in History – Reay Tannahill
Politics, Finance and the Church in the Reign of Edward II: Walter Stapledon, Treasurer of England – Mark Buck
Tewkesbury 1471: The Last Yorkist Victory – Christopher Gravett
Tewkesbury Abbey: History, Art and Architecture – ed. Morris and Shoesmith
Textiles and Clothing 1150-1450 – Elisabeth Crowfoot, Frances Pritchard and Kay Staniland
The Art of Medieval Hunting: The Hound and the Hawk – John Cummings
The Baronial Opposition to Edward II – J.C. Davies
The Battle of Bannockburn, 1314 – Aryeh Nusbacher
The Bruce – John Barbour
The English Manor: c.1200-c.1500 – Mark Bailey
The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England, 1327-1330 – Ian Mortimer
The Great Household in Late Medieval England – Chris Woolgar
The Hundred Years War, 1337-1453 – Anne Curry
The Itinerary of Edward II and His Household – E.M. Hallam
The Medieval Underworld – Andrew McCall
The Observer’s Book of Castles – Brian K. Davison
The Paleography of Gothic Manuscript Books From the Twelfth to the Early Sixteenth Century – Albert Derolez
The Perfect King: The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation – Ian Mortimer
The Place of the Reign of Edward II In English History – T.F. Tout
The Plagues of London – Stephen Porter
The Reign of Edward II: New Perspectives – eds. Dodd & Musson
The Romance of the Rose – a translation by Frances Horgan
The Senses in Late Medieval England – C.M. Woolgar
The Spectacle of the Scaffold – Michel Foucault
The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century – Ian Mortimer
The Tournament in England 1100-1400 – Juliet Barker
The Trotula – ed. Monica H. Green
The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II 1321-1326 – Natalie Fryde
The Unmentionable Vice: Homosexuality in the Later Medieval Period – Michael Goodich
The War of Saint-Sardos (1323-1325): Gascon Correspondence and Diplomatic Documents – Pierre Chaplais
The Welsh wars of Independence – David Moore


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Chronicles
Chronicles of the Reigns of Edward I and Edward II, Vol 1: Annales Londonienses and Annales Paulini
Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke (Chronicle of Geoffrey Baker of Swinbrook)
Foedera, Vol 2, Part 1
Scalacronica
The Chronicle of Lanercost
The Forme of Cury
Vita Edwardi Secundi


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Articles

'A Protest Against the Despensers, 1326' – G.A. Holmes, in Speculum, Vol 30, No. 2
'The Despensers and the Downfall of Edward II' – Nigel Saul, in The English Historical Review, No. CCCXC
'The First Journal of Edward II’s Chamber' – James Conway Davies, in English Historical Review, 1915, XXX
'Retinues at the Tournament of Dunstable, 1309' – A. Tomkinson, in English Historical Review LXXIV, 1959
'The Deposits of Hugh Despenser the Younger with Italian Bankers' – E.B. Fryde, in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol 3, No. 3 (1951)
'The Despenser War in Glamorgan' – J. Conway Davies, in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Third Series, Vol.9 (1915)
'Judgement on the Younger Despenser, 1326' – G.A. Holmes, in The English Historical Review 1955 LXX (CCLXXV)
'Bishops and Politics in the Reign of Edward II: Hamo de Hethe, Henry Wharton, and the ‘Historia Roffensis’' – Roy Martin Haines, in The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Oct 93
'Deconstructing Identities on the Scaffold:the Execution of Hugh Despenser the Younger, 1326' – Danielle Westerhof, in Journal of Medieval History 33 (2007)
'The Princely Court in Northern Europe, 1270-1380' – Malcolm Vale, in History Today, Vol. 52, Issue 7

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Primary Sources

Calendar of Chancery Warrants 1244-1326
Calendar of Charter Rolls Volume 3 1300-1326
Issues of the Exchequer: King Henry III to King Henry VI Inclusive
The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, Volume 1 1306-1424
Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland, Volume 3, 1307-1357
Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous, Volume 1
Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous, Volume 2
Calendar of Letterbooks of London, Letter Book B, 1275-1312
Calendar of Letterbooks of London, Letter Book D, 1309-1314
Calendar of Letterbooks of London, Letter Book E, 1314-1337
Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Volume II, 1305-1341
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol IV, 1296-1302
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol V, 1302-1307
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol VI, 1307-1313
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol VII, 1313-1318
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol VIII, 1318-1323
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol IX, 1323-1327
Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol X, 1327-1330
Calendar of the Fine Rolls, Vol II, 1307-1319
Calendar of the Fine Rolls, Vol III, 1319-1327
Calendar of the Patent Rolls, 1307-1313
Calendar of the Patent Rolls, 1317-1321
Calendar of the Patent Rolls, 1321-1324
Calendar of the Patent Rolls 1324-1327
The Statutes of the Realm, Vol 1, 1101-1377
The Parliamentary Rolls
SAL MS 122 (photographs taken of document – yet to be fully transcribed/translated)
E101/379/11 (photographs taken of document – yet to be fully transcribed/translated)
E101/376/15 (photographs taken of document – yet to be fully transcribed/translated)
E101/379/7 (photographs taken of document – yet to be fully transcribed/translated)
E101/379/17 (photographs taken of document – yet to be fully transcribed/translated)

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Other Resources Online

British History Online
National Archives Online
Anglo-Norman Dictionary Online

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My Wishlist!

For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh – Frances A. Underhill
Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-22: A Study in the Reign of Edward II – J.R. Maddicott
Parliamentary Writs and Writs of Military Summons 1273-1327, Vol I
'Judgement of Hugh Despenser, the Younger' – J. Taylor (article)
Plenty more trips to the National Archives to view and photograph documents – and then someone who can transcribe and translate (especially Latin!)

By the way, just because some books were included in this list it does not necessarily mean that I endorse them as good sources for facts!