Dinas Mawddwy Caeau Cymru

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-In this programme, I focus

-on magical Montgomeryshire...

-..and I learn about the Red Bandits.

-Secrets and history

-are locked in the soil...

-..and in field names.

-We begin on Talyglannau and

-Braichllwyd farms in Dugoed Valley.

-Welcome to Caeau Cymru.

-We'll focus on Dinas Mawddwy

-and the surrounding area.

-We'll hear interesting stories

-from various farms.

-We look at Tithe Barn and fields

-which have ancient connections.

-We'll study some rough maps

-and use them to unravel mysteries.

-First, let's look at the Tithe Maps.

-These maps were drawn up

-in the 19th century...

-..to make it easier for the church

-and the rector to collect taxes.

-These maps often offer up clues

-as we search for field names...

-..but, alas,

-that isn't always the case.

-Rhian Parry, the historian,

-will help me make sense of it all.

-Rhian, this week we begin

-on Talyglannau farm...

-..before moving on to Llanymawddwy.

-Last week, we saw a complete

-tithe map for Trawsfynydd.

-Yes, and unfortunately

-that's not true of Llanymawddwy.

-The borders of the fields

-are clearly marked...

-..and the map seems quite neat.

-Upon closer inspection, you see that

-every field is marked as number 96.

-When you then check

-the schedules...

-..you see that the names of those

-individual fields aren't recorded.

-Those fields must have names.

-Those fields must have names.

-

-Yes, of course.

-We rely on oral testimony

-and alternative maps...

-..to fill in the blanks

-in the tithe maps.

-Tegwyn Jones's collection of maps

-will help fill those gaps.

-He has examples

-which belong to the family...

-..and hand drawn maps

-created more recently.

-Tegwyn is a farmer and a poet...

-..who has a keen interest in words

-and in field names.

-Tegwyn, why are you so passionate

-about field names?

-I've always been interested

-in local history.

-I've had that passion

-since I was a young boy.

-I've walked with Tom Llwyngwilym

-and John Huw Plasau.

-They taught me a lot about the names

-of fields, valleys and cowsheds...

-..and the stories

-behind those names.

-My interest has grown from there.

-Let's take a look at these maps.

-Tell me what we have here.

-This is a section of a mountain

-in Blaen Wddyn dating back to 1823.

-It's rare to have a map of this age

-with the notes written in Welsh.

-They're normally in English.

-They're normally in English.

-

-Yes. It's very unusual.

-Not only is written in Welsh,

-it's in Montgomeryshire dialect too.

-Neint is a local word for streams.

-Tapie is a local word for crags.

-What about these? I can't read them.

-Tap Yr Hwch - The Sow's Crag.

-In this area, a rock face

-is known as a tap.

-What else?

-Car Llusg Mawn - Peat Sledge.

-They used this route to bring peat

-down from the mountain.

-A farmhand would carry the sledge

-up the mountain on his back...

-..load it with peat

-and pull it down the mountain.

-Tom Llwyngwilym drew the other maps.

-Tom Llwyngwilym drew the other maps.

-

-They're far more recent maps.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-

-Tell me about them.

-I asked Tom Llwyngwilym if he'd

-record the names of local fields...

-..and, fair play to him,

-he did just that.

-It's lucky he did because

-he passed away a few years later.

-Many of these names

-would have died with him.

-Who was Tom?

-Who was Tom?

-

-He was raised on Llwyngwilym farm.

-He lived on Erw Garregog and he was

-passionate about local history...

-..and about keeping records.

-Which names leap out at you?

-Which names leap out at you?

-

-Cae Sion Hywel.

-Sion Hywel was a soldier

-in Cromwell's army...

-..and the story is

-they camped in this field overnight.

-Next to it

-is a newer name - Hospital.

-Lambs who were struggling were

-brought there in the lambing season.

-Caban Twm.

-Tom's great-grandfather sheltered

-there as he tended the flock.

-Had Tom not drawn this map, some

-of these names would have been lost.

-We don't have

-a complete tithe map...

-..of the Braichllwyd

-and Talyglannau fields...

-..but we can recreate it

-and fill in some of the blanks.

-Fields on the Talyglannau side

-of the valley have common names...

-..like Rhos Bant

-and Cae Tu Ol I'r Ty.

-Braichllwyd farm, Tegwyn's home,

-is adjacent to Talyglannau.

-There are two houses on the site,

-including the original house.

-There's a cluster

-of interesting field names here.

-Tegwyn, we've crossed the valley

-to Braichllwyd.

-Apparently, there's no higher ground

-due east of here...

-..until you reach the Urals.

-The Urals, in Russia?

-That's quite a distance!

-I don't know what fields are called

-in Russia, but what about here?

-This gate leads to Cae Moses -

-Moses's Field.

-This is Cae Moses?

-Yes. The name dates back

-to the 1930s or the 1940s.

-Moses Gruffydd came here

-to work with my father.

-He was an expert

-on land improvement.

-He tried using different implements.

-He tried using different implements.

-

-Did the land improve?

-Yes, but you'd never know

-on such a grey day.

-Are these ridges and furrows?

-No. These ridges were created

-by cattle walking on sodden ground.

-Cattle are intelligent.

-They walk across the slope.

-Do you plough this field?

-Do you plough this field?

-

-Yes.

-Is it dangerous?

-Is it dangerous?

-

-Not in good weather.

-The tractor drags the plough.

-What do we have further down?

-What do we have further down?

-

-Cae Tan Yr Wtra.

-Wtra?

-Wtra - a small road.

-That's a really steep incline.

-That's a really steep incline.

-

-Yes, it is.

-What do we have further west?

-Cae Dan Ty - Field Below The House.

-Then you reach Erw Hir - Long Acre.

-Then you reach Erw Hir - Long Acre.

-

-Is it actually an acre?

-We have three names for that field.

-Erw Hir, Y Garnedd - The Cairn

-and Cae Newydd - New Field.

-It probably measures around an acre.

-What comes after that?

-Below that is Cae Ann

-and then Y Fedw.

-There's a very interesting story

-about Cae Ann.

-Looking at an aerial view

-of the map...

-..we can see just how steep

-the Braichllwyd fields really are.

-Cae Moses leads to Cae Dan Yr Wtra

-and Cae Dan Ty.

-Further down, we can see Erw Hir

-is divided into three fields.

-Below it lies Cae Ann...

-..which has connections

-with the famous Red Bandits.

-Huw Jones has extensive knowledge

-about the Red Bandits.

-What's all this about the bandits?

-Legend has it that Ann was a maid

-at Gelli Ddolen farm...

-..further up Clywedog Valley.

-One day, she was walking

-across this field on her way home...

-..and a group of Red Bandits

-had gathered across the valley.

-They challenged each other

-to hit Ann with an arrow.

-They were experts

-at using a bow and arrow, of course.

-That's what happened.

-Sadly, one arrow hit the target

-and Ann was mortally wounded.

-Who were these Red Bandits?

-The story is they'd been here

-since the Glyndwr Rebellion.

-Many of the people of this area

-supported Glyndwr...

-..but when the rebellion failed,

-retaliation was commonplace...

-..and many people

-lost their belongings.

-Those people had no choice

-but to live rough in Dugoed Valley.

-They must have been

-terrible people...

-..if they could challenge each other

-to hit poor Ann with an arrow.

-She did nothing to provoke them.

-Precisely.

-It seems the Red Bandits

-were very wild people.

-They may have been called the

-Red Bandits as they had red hair.

-That's what my father told me.

-But it may be because

-they had blood on their hands.

-It's possible.

-Baron Owen ordered the hanging

-of 80 Red Bandits at Collfryn.

-Nearby, there's a field

-called Rhos Goch - Red Heath.

-Red reminds us of those who died

-and the blood spilt here.

-The spot where Baron Owen

-was killed in an act of revenge...

-..is known as

-Llidiart Y Barwn - Baron's Gate.

-The legend

-of the Red Bandits lives on.

-It's a story of revenge,

-power struggles...

-..and the death of an innocent maid.

-Here we are, five centuries later...

-..still referring to the field

-as Cae Ann.

-That name keeps the links

-with the Red Bandits strong.

-It keeps their memory alive.

-I can imagine a group of them there,

-aiming their arrows at Ann.

-The name of this field

-keeps history alive.

-A piece of land

-which brings these images alive...

-..simply because of the name

-given to it.

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-We've seen

-that these maps are vital...

-..in the process

-of recording field names.

-If we follow these beyond

-Talyglannau and Braichllwyd...

-..we'll unearth more great stories.

-The maps we'll now study

-were drawn by William Owen Ty Mawr.

-We'll follow them

-as we search for a tithe barn...

-..and look at

-the church's links with this land.

-We'll also look at Tegwyn's

-family map, which is a work of art.

-Rhian Parry is with me again.

-We've left Talyglannau

-and Braichllwyd...

-..and we'll consult one of

-the rough maps we saw earlier.

-Following

-Tom Jones Llwyngwilym's maps...

-..is much more fun

-than using a sat nav!

-Where has it brought us?

-Where has it brought us?

-

-It's brought us to the perfect spot.

-This land is part of Pennant farm,

-in Llanymawddwy.

-The map clearly shows us

-what land lies ahead of us.

-Let's take a look

-at these field names.

-Cae Crwn Ucha' - Upper Round Field.

-Cae Crwn Isa - Lower Round Field.

-It doesn't look very round to me!

-It isn't round,

-by any stretch of the imagination.

-It's square.

-I think it may be misspelt.

-Perhaps it should be crwm, as in

-rhych a chrwm - ridge and furrow.

-Would this land have been cultivated

-in ancient times?

-Pennant was the name of a tithe town

-in this area in Medieval times.

-It was an important place

-and a family farmed here together.

-This was very fertile land.

-It's been ploughed in recent times.

-That's why there are no remains

-of ridges and furrows.

-Yes, but the name Cae Crwm

-suggests there were some here.

-Next to it is Yr Erw - The Acre.

-Yr Erw is an interesting name,

-as we've already seen.

-It dates back to laws

-created during Medieval times.

-People would measure the erw

-in several interesting ways.

-They measured with a plough

-or with cattle.

-The Welsh erw is a quarter

-of the size of today's statute acre.

-The English introduced

-the statue acre to Wales.

-The Welsh erw is a different measure

-from the statute acre.

-The incredible thing

-about the term erw...

-..is it survived even though

-it was different from the acre.

-That leads us to believe that Yr Erw

-and Cae Crwm are ancient names.

-Yes, they date back

-to Medieval times.

-These names

-are still very much in use today.

-I like this name. It's fun!

-Cae Beudy Bedw -

-Birch Cowshed Field.

-It's a tongue-twister!

-There was a birch tree and a cowshed

-on that field at one time.

-This is another one

-of Tegwyn Jones's maps.

-It's almost like a piece

-of folk art.

-It describes not fields

-but these mountains...

-..which means

-I must use my imagination.

-I have very little imagination

-but I think I can see it.

-Pen Gallt Y Mawn...

-..leading down to the hollow.

-Blaen Y Nant.

-A stream called Nant Llywelyn Goch

-flows down here.

-To the left, we have Gallt Y Mawn.

-If we look further over here,

-we'll see Pig Y Mawn.

-What brilliant names!

-I'll make my way to Blaencwm...

-..in search of a tithe barn which is

-mentioned on a William Ty Mawr map.

-A tenth of farmers' produce

-was taken to fund the church...

-..and stored in tithe barns.

-A nearby field is known as

-Cae Abaty - Abbey Field.

-First, I'll visit

-Dafydd Wyn Jones Blaenplwyf Uchaf.

-Dafydd is a poet, a former farmer

-and a local man.

-Tegwyn Jones Talyglannau

-let me borrow this Wil Owen map.

-Blaencwm is clearly marked

-on this map...

-..and I'll head up there later

-to see the remains of a tithe barn.

-There are remains there,

-aren't there?

-Yes. The barn was still standing

-ten years ago.

-It collapsed recently.

-Describe the barn.

-It was big. It had a ground floor,

-a stable and room for cattle.

-There was also a pen to hold sheep

-during shearing season...

-..and space to do the shearing.

-It was made of oak.

-Did it collapse naturally?

-I don't know.

-It may have been

-turned into firewood.

-Tell me about the links

-between the Church and his valley.

-There was a church in Blaen Y Cwm.

-Then you have Cae'r Abaty

-and Cwm Yr Eglwys - Church Valley.

-Then there's Cwm Glan Mynach -

-Monk Bank Valley.

-Further up Blaencwm, a cluster

-of buildings is shrouded in mystery.

-It's marked as an old church

-on William Owen's map.

-Legend has it that there was

-another tithe barn on this site.

-John Pugh Roberts, the local farmer,

-has a theory of his own.

-John, there's a special atmosphere

-in this building.

-What is it?

-What is it?

-

-It's hard to know what it is.

-Some people say it was a tithe barn.

-That was based on the fact

-that there was an abbey nearby.

-A tenth of the farmers' produce

-went to the church...

-..and the information I've uncovered

-suggests this may be a tithe barn.

-The produce would be stored here.

-The produce would be stored here.

-

-Yes.

-This is a huge barn,

-in Medieval terms.

-The slits in the walls

-tell you it's ancient.

-Are those ruins linked to this barn?

-Cwm Yr Eglwys and Cae Abaty have

-names which link them to the church.

-That building must have

-been important to the area.

-You mentioned the field names,

-so I take it they're still in use?

-When I was young, my father used

-far more old field names than me.

-Don't you use them?

-Don't you use them?

-

-No, not as much as my father.

-I don't name the fields

-as I once did, when I was young.

-The responsibility of keeping the

-names alive falls on men like you.

-Yes, and we mustn't let them die.

-The names of the fields

-aren't important these days.

-It's all about the IACS these days.

-SH 2018 8110 -

-that's the bottom line today.

-That then ruins the old field names.

-Do you tell your children or your

-farmhand to go to field 128000?

-No, but these days few children

-and farmhands work on farms...

-..so farmers end up having to

-do all the work themselves!

-Let's look at the evidence.

-Dafydd Wyn mentioned Cwm Yr Eglwys

-and Cwm Glan Mynach.

-He and John Pugh

-referred to Cae Abaty.

-If we take another look

-at William Owen's map...

-..it isn't Cae Abaty but Cae Batin.

-Rhian has another theory.

-I didn't want to ruin the map

-in the rain...

-..but it did lead us here,

-to Cae Batin.

-Yes, they say Cae Abaty locally...

-..but Cae Betin or Cae Batin

-are also used.

-Betin refers to the technique of

-skimming the turf from the field...

-..and burning it,

-as you would burn peat.

-It would then be scattered

-on the field as a fertilizer.

-The betin or the batin was the tool?

-The betin or the batin was the tool?

-

-Yes, that's right.

-Something like a broom handle

-with a metal strip at the end of it.

-There's no evidence

-that there was a church here...

-..but this place

-has a special atmosphere.

-This is an old cemetery,

-according to Wil's map.

-There are snowdrops here today.

-An old yew tree is noted on the map

-and there it is.

-It's significant that there are

-three holly trees here.

-Pagans buried their dead

-under holly trees on a hill.

-Churches were then often built

-on those sites.

-What should we think?

-The Old Cemetery

-It's shrouded in mystery and we can

-come to no concrete conclusion.

-A combination of oral testimony and

-personal records is important...

-..when we try to unlock

-the history of our landscape.

-We owe a debt of gratitude to people

-like Tegwyn Jones for their vision.

-I enjoyed studying

-Tegwyn's collection of maps.

-They've been drawn by hand

-on sheets of A4 paper.

-Can something as unofficial

-as those maps be valuable?

-Yes, they're priceless treasures.

-It's far more important to make sure

-these records are preserved...

-..than it is to go and read

-a list of names.

-We've seen the exact location

-of those fields...

-..and we've learned

-the names of each one.

-They take on added importance...

-..as those names

-weren't recorded in the Tithe Maps.

-It's vital to archive them

-and ensure we never lose them.

-I'm sure Tegwyn agrees.

-It would be a good idea to send them

-to the Welsh Place-Name Society...

-..for safekeeping and

-to give people access to them.

-It's wonderful to see Tegwyn

-take such pleasure in field names.

-Yes, and he transmits that passion

-to other people.

-He brings history to life.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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