Welsh Journals

18 BYE-GONES. Feb., 1874. minster. In October of this year, we find Edward master of all England except Barlech Castle. (See " Tegid's, Essay prefixed to the Poetical Works of Lewis Glyn Cothi" pp. 20-21.) In Archccologia Cambrensis, 1st Series, Vol. i., pp. 246— 266, are some documents printed relating to the Town and Castle of Harlech. It is there stated on the authority of Rolls of Parliament, vol. v., pp. 486—512, that on " 4th March. 1 Edward IV. (1461), David ap Ievan ap Einion, * gentilman,' was Constable of Harlech Castle, the appoint¬ ment having been committed tc him by King Henry VI., Queen Margaret and Prince Edward ; and he continued to hold the fortress ' to their uses' undoubtedly till 1464." In Vol. iii. of Arch: Cam : 1st Series, pp. 49—55, there are some additional documents relating to Harlech Town and Castle printed, among them the following; 26th Oct. 4th Edward IV., 1464, William, Lord Herbert,, afterwards Earl of Pembroke, was appointed Constable of the Castle of Harlech for life (Originalia Boll for 4 Edward IV. in Branch Record Office, Carlton Ride). This appointment, however, was not recognized by David ap Ievan ap Einion, the preceding Constable, appointed by the House of Lan¬ caster—who, it is stated upon authority which there is no reason to doubt, continued to hold'the Castle for King Henry the VI. until 1468, when being subdued by famine, he sur¬ rendered it to Sir Richard Herbert, the Constable's brother." See Polls of Parliament, Vol. V., pp. 486—512. From the above it would appear that although Edward ascended the throne in 1461, no steps were taken till October, 1464, to appoint a _ constable in the place of David ap Ievan ap Einion ; and he, when his successor was appointed, seems to have taken no notice of it, but still retained possession of the fortress. Matters seem to have been quiescent for a time, but " on June 24,1468, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, landed with three French ships near Harlech. He was accom¬ panied by fifty persons. In his progress through North Wales there flocked to his standard 2000 men. He marched to the town of Denbigh, which he ransacked and put to the flames. Upon hearing of his proceedings, William Herbert, with his brother Richard, hastened against him at the head of an army of 10,000 men. Jasper was attacked by Sir Richard and his army routed, several were taken prisoners, of whom twenty were beheaded, but Jasper himself es¬ caped by flight. After the victory William Herbert laid siege to the Castle of Harlech, which held out till the 14th of August, when it was surrendered by its gallant defender David ap Ievan ap Einion."—Essay by " Tegid" prefixed to Poetical Works of Lewis Glyn Ootid, p. 20. On the 27th of May, 1469, William Herbert, as a reward for taking Harlech Castle, wa3 created Earl of Pembroke, of which dignity Jasper Tudor was now deprived. (Ibid p. 21). Now, the deductions that may, I think, be drawn from the above quotations are, that David ap Ievan ap Einion held Harlech Castle in peace for some years after Wm. Herbert was appointed Constable, Harlech being either of insufficient strategical importance at the time, to make a special effort to dislodge him necessary, or that the King had- sufficient work nearer home to attend to. But when Jasper Tudor descended on the Coast near Harlech in 1468, and his overrunning the district occurred, things assumed a more seriou9 aspect. Hence William Herbert's and his brother's advance upon and defeat of Jasper Tudor, and I should say that the Herberts, being, as it were, in the neighbourhood, thought it a convenient opportunity to re¬ duce the fortress, which must have been, in consequence of its long occupation by the Lancastrian party, a nuisance and a shame to the Yorkists. If the dates quoted above are reliable, the siege must have been a very short one, as the whole^operations of the campaign from the landing of Jasper Tudor to the surrender of the Castle only lasted from June 24th, to August 14th, a space of 51 days. That the siege could not have lasted 18, is evidenced by the fact that William Herbert was created Earl of Pembroke within 12 months after the landing of Jasper, and he re¬ ceived this honour for the reduction of the Castle. I should like to ask your talented correspondent, Llallawg if he is seriously of opinion that the Richard Herbert who took part in these operations ever resided at Montgomery Castle, for upon this " peg " I fancy hangs the other one referred to by old Burton ? Peaemain. • ANCIENT ORNAMENT OF GOLD (Jan 7, 1874).—Nearly twenty years ago a farmer named Richard Roberts, of Penycroenllwm, Llanfair (a farm he had pur¬ chased from Sir Watkin W. Wynn), in ploughing his land turned up what he believed to be a piece of brass. It was about 10 inches in length, and tapering from 5 inches to 2 inches in width : 2 inches thick. He took it to Mr Bell, watchmaker, at Llanfair, who said it was gold and offered him £50 for it. This, however, Roberts refused ; and the " battle-axe," as folks called it, was shewn to a great many people at the Goat Inn, where I saw it myself. What became of it I cannot say, but I believe Sir Watkin afterwards had it. There is a field called 'ErwMilwyr' near the place, in which it is said a great battle was fought. W.B.O. [If Idloes and W. B. O. are correct in their dates, of course the ' finds' are not identical, because the former re¬ ferred to 1848. Ed. Bye-goncs.] February 4, 1874. NOTES. GLYNDYFRDWY, EDEYRNION, AND DIN- MAEL.—My next paper for the Archceo/ogia Cambrensis will be a short notice of Cynllaith and Nanheudwy, and after Cantref y Rhiw, I intend giving a short notice of the Lordships of Glyndyfrdwy, Edeyrnion, and Dinmael. I find it extremely difficult to define the exact boundaries of these Lordships, so if I should make any mistakes I shall be glad if any of the readers of Bye-gones will point them out, as I am anxious to get our ancient local history drawn out as correctly as possible. J. Y. W. Lloyd, K.S.G. -EARTHQUAKE AT DOLGELLEY.—A letter from Dolgelley in North Wales gives an account of an earthquake at that place on the 15th instant [June, 1769], which threatened to bury the inhabitants under the pro¬ jecting cliffs which hang over it. Torrents of water burst from the convulsed sides of Kader Idris, which deluged the little vale beneath. The Marian, where the militia are exercised, was covered with a kind of lava near three feet deep; but what is chiefly regretted is the loss of the ad¬ mired bridge called Ponty Bondigion, which upon examin¬ ation had no foundation, the lowest stone being above the surface of the earth.—From Annual Register for 1769. --------- Hermes. QUERIES. CHAPEL OF HARLECH.—In the description of Merionethshire by Speed, 1611, p. 117, it is stated that there stood in Harlech, a market town incorporated and governed by a mayor, " a little chapel, decayed and with¬ out use, in which lay buried Sir Richard Thimblebye, an English knight." In the map of Wales and in that of the county accompanying Speed's description, the chapel having a turret is represented as standing on the east side