Ceredigion
has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A total of 170 hill forts and enclosures have been identified across the county and there are many standing stones dating back to the Bronze Age.
Around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain, the area was between the realms of the Demetae and Ordovices. The Sarn Helen road ran through the territory, with forts at Bremia and Loventium protecting gold mines near present-day Llanddewi Brefi.
Following the Roman withdrawal, Irish raids and invasions were repulsed, supposedly by the forces under a northerner named Cunedda. The 9th-century History of the Britons attributed to Nennius records that Cunedda's son Ceredig settled the area around the Teifi in the 5th century. The territory supposedly remained a minor kingdom under his dynasty until its extinction upon the drowning of Gwgon ap Meurig c. 871 when crossing the River Llychwr in Gower while fighting Viking invaders.
Ceredigion was then administered by Rhodri Mawr of Gwynedd before passing to his son Cadell, whose son Hywel Dda inherited its neighbouring kingdom Dyfed and established the realm of Deheubarth. Records are highly obscure; some historians believe that Hyfaidd ap Bledrig, the Dyfed ruler, may have annexed Ceredigion before his heirs lost it to Hywel through war.
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Many pilgrims passed through Cardiganshire on their way to St Davids. Some came by sea and made use of the churches at Mwnt and Penbryn, while others came by land seeking hospitality at such places as Strata Florida Abbey.
Both the abbey and Llanbadarn Fawr were important monastic sites of scholarship and education. Place names including ysbyty denote their association with pilgrims.
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In 1282, Edward I of England conquered the principality of Wales and divided the area into counties. One of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, Cardiganshire is also a vice-county. Cardiganshire was split into the five hundreds of Genau'r-Glyn, Ilar, Moyddyn, Penarth and Troedyraur.
Pen-y-wenallt was home to 17th century theologian and author, Theophilus Evans.[10] In the 18th century there was an evangelical revival of Christianity, and nonconformism became established in the county as charismatic preachers like Daniel Rowland of Llangeitho attracted large congregations. Every community built its own chapel or meeting house, and Cardiganshire became one of the centres of Methodism in Wales; the Aeron Valley was at the centre of the revival.[11]
Cardigan was one of the major ports of southern Wales until its harbour silted in the mid-19th century. The Industrial Revolution passed by, not much affecting the area. In the uplands, wheeled vehicles were rare in the 18th century, and horses and sleds were still being used for transport. On the coast, herrings and corn were traded across the Irish Sea. In the 19th century, many of the rural poor emigrated to the New World from Cardigan, between five and six thousand leaving the town between 1790 and 1860. Aberystwyth became the main centre for the export of lead and Aberaeron and Newquay did brisk coastal trade. The building of the railway from Shrewsbury in the 1860s encouraged visitors, and hotels sprang up in the town to accommodate them.[12]
This area of the county of Dyfed became a district of Wales under the name Ceredigion in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972,[13] and since 1996, has formed the county of Ceredigion.[14] According to the 2001 census, Ceredigion has the fourth highest proportion of Welsh speakers in the population at 61%; only Gwynedd, the Isle of Anglesey and Carmarthenshire have a higher proportion.[15]
Eglwys Newydd
Village in Wales Pont-rhyd-y-groes is a village near Cwm Ystwyth and Pont ar Fynach, in Ceredigion, Wales. The village takes its name from the bridge and ford over the River Ystwyth
Devil’s Bridge and its waterfalls are a very popular tourist attraction. It also featured in the TV series Hinterland, a Welsh noir thriller. Devil's Bridge is located about 10 miles from Llanafan.
The name in 1629 was Pont-ar-Vynach or Pontarfynach, meaning Bridge over the Mynach. When the bridge was finished, the old woman threw a crust of bread over the river, which her dog crossed the bridge to retrieve, thus becoming the first living thing to cross it. The devil was left with only the soul of the dog.
Richard Valentine (my 3x great grandfather born here in 1799)
In 1741, John Vaughan, 2nd Viscount Lisburne, was buried at Llanafan church in the family vault, and since then heads of the family and their wives have usually been buried there. The baptism of Ap Valant took place here in 1846.
The church was substantially remodelled early in the 19th century and completely rebuilt in 1873 by Ernest Vaughan, 4th Earl of Lisburne. The present structure was remodelled in 1832. A copy of the Welsh Bible of 1620 (Welsh: Beibl Parry) is on permanent display. Two Vaughan family funeral hatchments are displayed in the chapel. The church is situated near the river Ystwyth, within Llanafan village, Ceredigion.
Trawsgoed (Welsh for "Crosswood")
is both a community and an estate in Ceredigion (formerly known as Cardiganshire).
The estate is 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Aberystwyth, and has been in the possession of the Vaughan family since 1200. The Vaughans are descended from Collwyn ap Tangno, founder of the fifth noble tribe of North Wales.
The land falls within the ancient parish of Llanafan, in the upper division of the 'hundred of Ilar'. The Trawsgoed Estate (Welsh for "Crosswood") is an estate located eight miles (13 km) east of Aberystwyth in Ceredigion.
The estate has been passed down in the landed family from father to son in a direct line since it was acquired by marriage in 1200. The Vaughans are one of the few aristocratic families who have retained possession of a house since first taking it on in the Middle Ages.
The family are descended from Collwyn ap Tangno, founder of the fifth noble tribe of North Wales, Lord of Eifionydd, Ardudwy, and part of LlÅ·n, who had his residence on the site of Harlech Castle. The land falls within the ancient parish of Llanafan, in the upper division of the hundred of Ilar. In Wales, an ancient parish was a village or group of villages or hamlets and the adjacent lands. Originally they held ecclesiastical functions, but from the sixteenth century they also acquired civil roles. The parish may have been established as an ecclesiastical parish. Originally a medieval administrative unit, after 1597 ecclesiastical units were separated from civil parishes to serve the ecclesiastical needs of the local community. The Trawsgoed estate extended over 22 Cardiganshire parishes, including Llanafan.
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Trawsgoed became an estate in the English sense of the word in the 16th century. Strata Florida Abbey, in the centre of Wales, was given to the 1st Earl of Essex to broker during the English Reformation and dissolution of the monasteries, and he sold much of it to the Stedman family. Sir John Vaughan married the Stedman heiress and his brother, Henry, her sister. So almost all the abbey estate was taken over by the Vaughans.
In 1695, John Vaughan of Trawsgoed, the grandson of Sir John Vaughan, was created Viscount Lisburne in the peerage of Ireland. during the Civil War he married Malet, daughter of the poet and courtier, the Earl of Rochester, and granddaughter of the Cavalier, Sir Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, the victor of the Battle of Roundway Down.
The Vaughan family was granted the title Earl of Lisburne in 1776 and remained at Trawsgoed mansion over successive generations. In 1873, the Vaughan's estate acreage at Trawsgoed was the largest in Cardiganshire at 42,666 acres (172.66 km2) as listed in the government return of landowners.
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It was Ernest George Henry, the 6th Earl of Lisburne, who added the 50-room Victorian wing to the old Georgian mansion and built the summerhouse, squash and tennis courts and the ornamental fountain. He also had the library ceiling painted in the style of those at Windsor Castle. The house eventually included seventy rooms, a summerhouse, gardens with rare Chilean and Himalayan tree species that thrive in the mild moist climate of coastal Wales, the remains of a small Roman fort adjoining the grounds, fountain, stable block, lodge house, and unencumbered view of the Cambrian Mountains.
In 1947 the mansion house became the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Wales, and the home farm is still occupied by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and managed by the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER).
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The mansion house at Trawsgoed was sold in 2007 to the Edwards family, who spent five years restoring the house. Their work on Trawsgoed was featured on the television show The Restoration Man in 2010. The house was put up for sale in 2012.
The Vaughan family own over 5,000 acres (20 km2) of the original estate that includes farmland, uplands and Common Land and they retain the use of an apartment in the mansion house at Trawsgoed. Shooting rights on adjoining Forestry Commission woodlands and fishing rights on the River Ystwyth have also been preserved. The house is set in listed parkland and gardens and is some eight miles (13 km) inland from Aberystwyth.
The community of Trawsgoed has a population of 989 (2011) and includes the villages of Llanafan and Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn.
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Lisburne Mines
Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) has a rich history of mining dating back to the Bronze Age. The Romans came to mine for gold, although by far the most important period was from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century, with a lead mining boom taking place from 1830 to 1880. The greatest output was in 1856 when 8,560 tons of lead ore yielded 38,751 ounces of silver, as well as gold and smaller quantities of trace metals.
The Trawsgoed estate was home to the Lisburne (Lead) Mines, one of the most profitable in all of Wales. In the 1880s, Trawsgoed had the second largest lead mine in Britain.
Along with other major landowners, the Earls of Lisburne, let their mineral rights to a number of well known mining companies, and the Trawsgoed (Crosswood) estate benefitted significantly by way of income from mining royalties. However, the rapid development of mining overseas, particularly in the USA and Australia, led to a decline in mining in the area from the 1890s onwards.
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Lead and zinc mining, centred on Frongoch, are an important element of the historic landscape. Up to the 1790s mining here was a small-scale affair, but the operation expanded rapidly under the promotion of John Probert, but did not achieve its full potential until 1834 when the Lisburne Mines company was formed. An engine house was built and other improvements made. In 1899 a Belgian firm took over the running and made further improvements, but by 1910 mining had virtually ceased. Bick describes Frongoch as containing ‘probably the best collection of 19th century mine buildings in Wales.’
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Description and essential historic landscape components
This large and complex area consists of an undulating plateau ranging in height from 220m to 340m, with wet hollows and occasional craggy outcrops and peaks. Almost all the land comprises improved grazing, though peaty and rushy patches can be found in valley bottoms and rougher grazing on some steep slopes. Apart from conifer plantations and small stands of broadleaf woodland, it is virtually a treeless landscape.
The settlement consisted of dispersed farmsteads, with a small cluster of buildings which include a listed mid 19th century chapel. Local stone is the traditional building material with slate (north Wales slate) used for roofs. Walls are usually cement rendered on houses, but some bare stone examples are present, and always bare on traditional farm buildings. Older farmhouses/houses almost entirely date to the mid-to-late 19th century, are relatively small, and of two storeys or one-and-a-half storeys. They are built in the typical Georgian vernacular style, with gable end chimneys, a central front door, and two windows either side of the door and one above. However, more dominant vernacular traits are present, such as low eaves, small windows and one chimney larger than the other, but at least one house with strong Georgian elements is recorded.
Stone-built outbuildings are generally confined to two or three ranges, sometimes set semi-formally around a yard. Several farms are not now working, and there are several abandoned farms.
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The field pattern is one of large, irregular enclosures. These were once divided by earth banks, which are now redundant or augmented with wire fences. Closer to farms enclosures are smaller, but still irregular, with occasional hedges on the earth banks.
The physical remains of mining are much in evidence and form an important element of the historic landscape. Frongoch mine buildings are of national importance, though in a poor state of preservation. The site is now used as a timber yard. Associated with the mine are further landscape components such as spoil heaps, reservoirs and leats. The reservoirs in particular are dramatic elements of the landscape.
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The recorded archaeology of this area is dominated by the metal mining industry, and by deserted farmsteads and cottages. A Bronze Age round barrow and a hearth or burnt mound - a possible settlement site - of similar date provide time-depth to the landscape. This is emphasised by the place-name Llety Synod, which may indicate a Medieval hospice.
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It is the mining component of this Historic Landscape Area that defines it from its neighbours.
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In 1292, 48 per cent of Welsh names were patronymics, and in some parishes over 70 per cent. Other names were derived from nicknames, a few non-hereditary personal names and, rarely, occupational names. Patronymic names changed from generation to generation, with a person's baptismal name being linked by ap, ab (son of) or ferch (daughter of) to the father's baptismal name. For example, Evan son of Thomas would be known as Evan (ap) Thomas. From the Middle Ages the patronymic system was gradually replaced by fixed surnames (first with the gentry), although the use of patronymic names continued up until the early 19th century in some rural areas.
New surnames retained the ap in several cases, mainly in reduced form at the start of the surname, as in Upjohn (from ap John), Powell (from ap Hywel), Price (from ap Rhys), Pritchard (from ap Richard), and Bowen (from ab Owen). Alternatively, the ap was simply dropped entirely.
The most common surnames in modern Wales result from adding an s to the end of the name, as in Jones, Roberts, Edwards and Williams.
Patronymic surnames with the short -s form are recorded in various parts of England dating back to the Middle Ages. As most Welsh surnames are derived from patronymics, and often based on a small set of first names, Welsh communities have families bearing the same surnames who are NOT related. It cannot be assumed that two people named Jones, even in the same village, must have inherited the surname from a common ancestor.
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(Souce: Wiki and for ruther info: https://www.hallofnames.org.uk/the-history-of-welsh-surnames/)
https://www.hallofnames.org.uk/how-to-trace-your-welsh-ancestors/
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Pont-rhyd-y-groes
(also known as Pontrhydygroes, English: the bridge of the ford of the cross) is a village near Cwm Ystwyth and Pont ar Fynach (Devil's Bridge), in Ceredigion .
The area used to be dominated by the mining industry, in particular by the Lisburnes.
The village takes its name from the bridge (Welsh: pont) and (earlier) ford (Welsh: rhyd) over the River Ystwyth.
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The miners' bridge across the Ystwyth gorge and the waterfall have been rebuilt.
The remnants of the Fron Goch mines, which mined Lead & Zinc from c.1760 until c.1903, are situated approximately ​1 3⁄4 miles (​2 3⁄4 km) north of the village.
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The grave of Joseph Butler can be found in St. Afan's graveyard.
Butler, a gamekeeper on the nearby Trawscoed estate was shot by a poacher William Richards, known as Wil Cefn Coch, who was reportedly hidden by locals before escaping to Liverpool and sailing to America disguised as a woman. After landing in Pennsylvania Cefn Coch made his way to an established Welsh community in Paddy's Run (Shandon), Ohio (near to the present day Morgan in Butler County) where he lived out his days until his death in 1920.The gravestone reads 'Shot by a poacher' and is dated 1868. (Wiki)
Llanafan
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Llanafan is a small village between Tregaron and Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, in Wales. Llanafan is around ten miles from Aberystwyth and Tregaron.
It is named for its parish church, St Afan's (Capel Afan), which serves as the chapel for the nearby Trawsgoed Estate. (The combined parish is now known as Llanafan y Trawsgoed).
Its eponymous saint (Afan) supposedly founded the settlement at Llanafan in the 7th century.
The village also has a hall and primary school founded in 1856 by Ernest Vaughan, 4th Earl of Lisburne, for which it was originally known as the Earl of Lisburne School
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Samuel Lewis, 1833 wrote:
"The church of St. Afan is an ancient structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and south transept; part of the ancient screen which separated the chancel from the nave is still remaining, and exhibits an elegant specimen of carved work; the ancient font, octangular in form, is also preserved.
Among the communion plate is a curious ancient dish of silver, gilt, and embossed with twelve figures, of which ten represent warriors, and the other two dragons; all are arranged in couples, and engaged in combat. The church is situated within half a mile of the river, and in the churchyard is a fine avenue of trees, leading from the entrance of the cemetery to the south transept".
Letty Synod home
In the 16th century Morris ap Richard was busily acquiring farms and land to add to his embryonic Trawscoed estate. Amongst his purchases in this area were the farms of Llety Synod and Llwynwnwch, bordering on Frongoch. Morris or his descendants must have made other purchases as much of this area had been incorporated into the Trawscoed estate by the late 18th century.
Trawscoed estate maps of 1781 (NLW Crosswood Deeds No 5, Ser IV, Vol 1; 22 and 24), showing Frongoch, Llety Synod, Blaen-pentre, Cerrig-yr-wyn, Ty’n bwlch and Llwynwnwch, depict a landscape of scattered, isolated farms adjacent to which are one or two small enclosures surrounded by a few large hay fields, open moor and turbary. The situation had not changed significantly when the tithe survey was undertaken in 1847 (Llanfihangel y Creuddyn parish).
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(source: http://www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk/HLC/uplandceredigion/lletysynod.htm )
St Afan's Church is located in the village of Llanafan and situated within what appears to have been a curvilinear churchyard, with the road curving to accomodate its western boundary. During the medieval period the church was a chapelry belonging to Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn.
By 1833 the church was the parish church of Llanafan-y-Trawscoed, when its living was a perpetual curacy in the patronage of the Chichester family, proprietors of the tithes.
The medieval church was of the same general plan as the current church, comprising nave, chancel and south transept. There was no south porch, and part of the medieval rood screen survived. The transept is the family pew of the Vaughans of Trawsgoed, and their burial vault is beneath it, with burials recorded from 1741. In 1833 there was a medieval octagonal font. In 1860 the church was rebuilt on the same foundations as its predecessor.
The current church is a Grade II listed building. The church was altered in 1866-7 by William Butterfield, when it was given a new west end, and the present octagonal ashlar font was installed. The church was repaired in the late nineteenth century under R. Gardiner, the agent for the Trawsgoed estate. The church was restored in 1925.
The Lisburne (Vaughan) family, who lived in Trawsgoed Mansion, have played a big role in the life of the church, presenting gifts and regarding it as their family church. The family vault is at the front of the church near the pulpit.
The church has two fine Italian oil paintings, copies of old masters. The organ is one of the finest to be found in such a small church. The two plaques on the chancel walls are typical of those which would be placed over the door of a mansion after the death of a head of the family. Another treasure is the copy of the Welsh Bible of 1620.
In the cemetery there is the grave of Joseph Butler, Lord Lisburne’s gamekeeper, shot by the poacher Wil Cefn Coch in 1868.
(Sources include: Cadw, Listed Buildings Database)​
Maen Arthur Farm & Cottage
On private land in a field belonging to a farm called Maen Arthur to the north-east of Mynydd Mechell and 1km S of Llanfechell. The farm is approached by a private track which is also a public footpath, then ask for permission at farm.
A large natural glacial erratic boulder lying on top of an outcrop but isolated and visible from a long way around. The name may refer to King Arthur, with whom many hills and monuments in Britain are traditionally associated.
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Map and photos: source Linda Gregory
http://www.heneb.co.uk/angstones/mynyddmechell.html for glacial boulder pic.
For history on Arthur's Stone see...
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/welsh-history-month-legends-around-7809958
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Neuadd Maen Arthur
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This was the place of residence of the Valantine family 1811 - 1817 (Recorded on children's baptisms).
It was part of the Crosswood estate. It is not clear whether they lived in the large farmhouse (which the current owner knows was once multiply occupied) or the smaller cottage (of which just a few large stones remain, see below).
Ruin of Frongmore mine
Maen Arthur Farm & Cottage
Richard Valantine (1765-1825) who was Ap Valant's great Grandfather lived here from around 1811 and his last 3 children were born here (see Photo on the left of Joseph Valantine's tomb stone... he was born at Maen Arthur and buried in the gravweyard at Eglyws Newydd.
Ap Valant's Grandfather, also called Richard Valantine (1799-1892), brother to Joseph also lived here from the age of 12.
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Richard's wife and Ap Valant's grandmother was named Ann (?maiden name) but was commonly known as "Nancy". Her death was recorded below.
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Cardiganshire (Source: Wiki)
Ceredigion is the present name of a principal area of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire.
During the second half of the first millennium the area of Cardiganshire was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Ceredigion is considered to be a centre of Welsh culture with Welsh spoken by more than half of the population. The county is mainly rural with over 50 miles (80 km) of coastline and a mountainous hinterland.
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In the 18th and early 19th centuries lead, silver and zinc were mined in Cardiganshire and exported and the economy became highly dependent on dairy farming and the rearing of livestock for the English market. During the 20th century, livestock farming became less profitable, and the county's population declined as people moved to the more prosperous parts of Wales or emigrated.
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Cardigan was the county town of the historic county of Cardiganshire.
Now, Cardigan is the second-largest town in Ceredigion.
The largest town, Aberystwyth, is one of the two administrative centres; the other is Aberaeron.
(Wikipedia plus Cardiganshire Extract from 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' by Samuel Lewis 1833
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https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CGN/Lewis1833C )
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The Aberystwyth Times Cardiganshire Chronicle and Merionethshire News
13 Nov 1868:
Death (on 30/10/1868) of
Ann ("Nancy") Valantine was living at Pontrhydygroes at the time. In 1841 Census living at Troedyrhiw ("foot of the hill") Pontrhydygroes and was a shopkeeper.
Buried at Eglyws Newydd graveyard.
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Eglwys Newydd Church
The early 19th-century church was built as a remmodelling of the previous 'chapel of ease'. The chapel of ease was originally at Trisant but was moved to this site around 1620 by the Herbert family, owners of the Hafod estate.
Eglwys Newydd is also affectionately known as Hafod Church, and situated in a quiet and rural area, on the boundary of the historical Hafod Estate.
Thomas Johnes inherited the Estate in the late 18th century and built an elegant mansion and created a picturesque landscape, which became an essential destination for the early tourists. The Church is dedicated to 'St. Michael and All Angels'.
ln 1803 Thomas Johnes commissioned James Wyatt to design a new impressive Gothic style Church.
Richard Valentine (Ap Valant's 2x Great Grandfather, and my 5x Great grandfather) died at the age of 90 died in 1828 and was buried at this churchyard.
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Tragically, in April 1932 the impressive Church was destroyed by a disastrous fire, and the magnificent marble memorial, sculpted by Sir Francis Chantrey in memory of Mariamne, was badly damaged but is still to be seen at the Church. Fragments from the original Flemish stained glass window were salvaged and fitted into the chancel windows.
The church was extensively remodelled in 1840 and 1887.
A cross-shaped font, thought to be medieval, was stolen from the church in 1989. It was reputedly similar to one at Strata Florida
The church was designated as a Grade II* listed building in 1964.
( https://parish.churchinwales.org.uk/d845/churches/eglwys-newydd-hafod-church/ )
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Ysbyty Ystwyth
The tiny church of St John the Baptist at Ysbyty Ystwyth dates back to at least the 16th century, when it is referred to in a will dated 1587. It is possibly older, because it was on the route to the nearby famous Cistercian monastery of Strata Florida, an historic site owned by Cadw, and on a pilgrimage route to St David's.
The more recent history of Ysbyty Ystwyth and its churches is closely linked to that of the lead mines and of Cornish miners who came to work there. As a result, the old church was replaced in 1876 by a larger, Victorian style church. Both churches stand close together, but now the charming, ancient church is back in use.
Ysbyty Ystwyth is near to the larger village of Pontrhydygroes, which was a busy centre for the surrounding metal mines during the 19th century. Remains of that history can still be seen in Pontrhydygroes. A visit to the pub, the 'Miners' Arms' recalls that period. Ysbyty Ystwyth is also close to the Hafod estate, a place to walk in the dramatic landscape and to discover the story of its 18th century
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Maen Arthur (Aerial view) ~ WALES ~ Land of Myths & Legends