Llithfaen Caeau Cymru


Llithfaen

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-During this series...

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-..we travel across Wales

-looking at our landscape's history.

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-Field names reveal a hidden history

-which is vital to Wales's story.

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-In this programme, we visit

-a special mountain in Lleyn.

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-A mountain which gave shelter

-and sustenance over the ages...

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-..but which also witnessed

-violence and riots.

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-Our journey begins at the

-National Library with Rhian Parry.

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-In this programme,

-we focus on a mountain.

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-It's easy to spot

-its wide open spaces on this map.

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-Yes, we're looking

-at Carnguwch mountain, Lleyn...

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-..which is between Llithfaen

-and Llanaelhaearn.

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-We'll visit several farms,

-including Hafod, Carnguwch Fawr...

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-..and Llech Engan.

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-The expanse of empty land in the

-centre of the map is a mountaintop.

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-The wall lines are different.

-They're straight.

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-That suggests

-someone measured this land...

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-..and erected walls

-along specific lines.

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-Following the Enclosure Acts

-of 1812...

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-..the mountain was parcelled up,

-to all intents and purposes...

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-..and sold off to individuals.

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-Local people lost their

-right of access to common land...

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-..even though some relied on it

-for their livelihood.

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-What's this big book?

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-These are the Tithe Maps schedules.

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-Here, we see the farmstead

-known as Llech Engan.

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-Llech Engan's field names are listed

-here and they're very interesting.

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-Cae'r Crych - Furrow Field.

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-Cae'r Pin - Pin Field.

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-Cae Dryll - Wreck Field.

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-Llainniau - Tracts.

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-There must be some tales to tell.

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-What about this book?

-How does it help us?

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-It's a collection of maps

-and lists of field names.

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-It's part of the 1790

-Boduan Estate collection.

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-It's possible to compare

-the shapes of fields on the maps...

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-..and field names on the schedules.

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-Are there any inconsistencies?

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-Yes, and you'd expect that during

-those uncertain, troubled times.

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-Having said that,

-some field names have survived.

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-Hafod farm is on the side of

-Carnguwch mountain, near Llithfaen.

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-Dafydd Roberts farms the land today.

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-His father took over the farm

-in the 1950s...

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-..adding a farmstead

-to the land 20 years later.

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-A smallholding with the magical name

-of Llech Engan.

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-This place has four names.

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-Llech Eingan,

-which became Llech Engan.

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-Sometime around the year 1830,

-by all accounts...

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-..it was known as Ymyl Capel -

-Chapel Verge.

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-That became Mur Capel - Chapel Wall.

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-I don't know why it was changed...

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-..but I've heard a theory

-about Llech Engan.

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-There was a Saint Eingan...

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-..and he established the church

-in Llanengan.

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-I don't know if there was a link

-between Saint Eingan and here.

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-People tend to assume that, because

-Carnguwch Church is nearby...

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-..the church must have

-been founded by Saint Beuno.

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-However, there's no evidence

-to support that theory...

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-..so Eingan may well have been here.

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-Llech may be

-a form of llechu - to shelter.

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-He may have sought shelter here

-at some time.

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-It's an interesting theory.

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-It's an interesting theory.

-

-Yes. It's a good story.

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-Local historian,

-John Dilwyn Williams...

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-..has family ties with Llech Engan.

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-This was his grandmother's home

-when she was young.

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-She moved here with her parents

-when she was 14 years old.

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-Her grandparents lived here,

-but they moved to Coed Y Garth.

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-My grandmother, her siblings

-and her parents came here.

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-She said her first job was to help

-her mother put calico on the roof.

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-I'm not sure what she meant.

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-It was probably a thatched cottage.

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-They may have

-whitewashed the calico...

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-..to stop insects crawling

-through the straw, into the house.

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-Another relative of mine lived here

-and they called her Hen Fobi.

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-I assume she was female,

-but I'm not certain.

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-An Elizabeth lived here

-in the 19th century...

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-..but I don't know

-why she'd be called Hen Fobi.

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-Anyway, Hen Fobi stood in the door

-looking towards Carnguwch Church...

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-..and she saw smoke and fire

-in the cemetery.

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-She may have seen a corpse candle.

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-It certainly brings folklore alive.

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-Field names open doors on

-local history and on Welsh history.

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-This time, Rhian focuses

-on the Llech Engan fields.

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-Rhian, we're standing in Cae Dryll.

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-Dryll, as in bang-bang?

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-Dryll, as in bang-bang?

-

-No, not dryll as in gun.

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-Cae Dryll is usually a small field

-which has been broken up.

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-Dryll as in drylliad - wreck.

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-Llongddrylliad - shipwreck.

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-What do you have here?

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-A list of the fields

-you'll find in Llech Engan.

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-These are listed

-in the Tithe Maps schedules.

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-Next to it is a list

-of the same fields' names in 1790...

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-..taken from Boduan estate papers.

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-Some of these names have changed.

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-Some of these names have changed.

-

-Yes, and it's fascinating.

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-Some of the field names

-have remained the same.

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-Cae Pin is one such example.

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-Cae Pin is a field where you'll find

-a spring or some source of water...

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-..with a pipe running from it

-to an animal's feeding trough.

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-Tradition has it that people came up

-to Cae Pin from the village...

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-..to fetch water.

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-That's interesting.

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-I also notice that Cae Tas Fawn

-has changed from Cae Pen Yr Odyn.

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-Both names are linked.

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-You could burn mawn - peat

-in an odyn - oast.

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-The old oast

-was still here but it was unused.

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-The tas fawn - peat stack

-became more popular.

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-Hafod now includes

-additional pieces of land...

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-..at the foot of Carnguwch mountain.

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-On the original farm, several fields

-were called llain...

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-..which is the term

-for a long, thin strip of land.

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-Llain harks back to

-a community farming tradition...

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-..of farming many strips of land

-within a large, open area.

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-At Hafod, where there's

-a lack of good land...

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-..you see scattered patches of land.

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-As you travel

-around the foot of the mountain...

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-..you find the old farmstead

-of Llech Engan.

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-There are long strips

-of agricultural land here...

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-..and plenty of striking names like

-Cae Dryll, Cae Tas Fawn and Cae Pin.

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-Close to Llech Engan

-is Carnguwch Fawr farm...

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-..which belongs to Paul Worsley.

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-Paul, how did your family

-come to Carnguwch Fawr?

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-Well, 100 years ago, my mother

-would come here to fetch butter.

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-She was around nine years old

-at the time.

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-John Price was the farmhand here

-back then.

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-My mother, my father and their five

-children moved here as tenants...

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-..around 30 years later.

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-In the meantime, John Price had gone

-to live on the road, as a vagabond.

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-He'd come back here

-around twice every year.

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-He'd come here at night

-when he was soaked to the skin.

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-What he did was to go into

-the cowshed to join the cattle...

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-..remove his clothes and place them

-on the backs of the cattle to dry.

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-He'd go and lie in the hay

-in his underwear.

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-His clothes would be dry

-by the morning.

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-Everyone knew who John Price was.

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-He was more famous than The Beatles!

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-Rhian, this isn't a field!

-Why did you bring me here?

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-Because it's an interesting spot.

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-There's a special atmosphere here.

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-These stones are in fact

-the remains of five roundhouses.

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-It shows us that there was a village

-settlement here at some point.

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-It probably dates back

-around 2000 years ago.

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-We can't be accurate because

-no excavation has taken place here.

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-The community worked together

-to build walls...

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-..and to cut wood

-and collect reeds for the thatch.

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-It involved a lot of work and they

-were here for a long period of time.

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-They farmed relatively good land,

-in the shadow of the mountain.

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-People have lived here and farmed

-this land for thousands of years.

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-Yes. Definitely.

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-Dafydd has some grazing land next to

-Hafod, on Gwag Y Noe farmstead.

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-What is that, Rhian?

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-A noe - a wooden bowl.

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-A noe - a wooden bowl.

-

-Why are you holding it?

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-I rarely sit on walls

-clutching wooden bowls!

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-I borrowed it because the farmstead

-behind us is called Gwag Y Noe.

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-Empty Bowl? It's a sad name.

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-Empty Bowl? It's a sad name.

-

-Yes, it is sad.

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-An empty bowl meant there was no

-butter, which suggests some poverty.

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-How did they use the bowl?

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-How did they use the bowl?

-

-First, they'd scald it.

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-It had to be totally clean.

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-They put churned butter

-in the bowl...

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-..and worked it until the liquid

-which came out of it was clear.

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-They'd then cut it

-into pound blocks.

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-It was a great tradition.

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-It was a great tradition.

-

-Yes, dating back to the Middle Ages.

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-We know that because they paid

-a form of rent to the prince...

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-..and their currency

-could be honey, flour or butter.

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-It wasn't enough to offer

-a level bowl of butter.

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-They had to pay in mounds of butter,

-equating to two bowlfuls.

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-Gwag Y Noe is one of the prettiest

-names I've heard during this series.

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-It's certainly the saddest name too.

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-Butter is one of the basics of life,

-just like milk and sugar.

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-In this case, times were so tough,

-the wooden butter bowl was empty.

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-.

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-Subtitles

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-Subtitles

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-This time, on Caeau Cymru, we're in

-the Carnguwch area of Lleyn.

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-This area is steeped in history

-and folklore.

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-Field names ensure that old farming

-methods will never be forgotten.

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-Here we are, standing in the gate

-leading to Erw Ddu - Black Acre.

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-The strange thing

-is it's around 20 acres!

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-Yes. The field

-doesn't quite suit its name.

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-What happened was the

-field's boundaries were moved.

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-It happens a lot these days,

-as farmers use larger machinery...

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-..and they need wider gates.

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-When you remove a field's boundary,

-you often lose its name too.

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-This is a green field, so why was it

-known as The Black Field?

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-Does it have a dark history?

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-I don't think so.

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-I think the fact

-that this acre is here...

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-..signifies it was an acre

-belonging to a free family.

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-We know that a free family

-lived here in the Middle Ages.

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-Everyone worked as a team

-to plough, sow and harvest.

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-It was traditional to send cattle

-up the mountain in the spring...

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-..before starting the process

-of cultivating the land.

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-They brought the cattle down after

-the harvest to fertilize the land.

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-Did that process

-darken the land of Erw Ddu?

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-That may be this field's background.

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-Erw Wen - White Acre is a familiar

-name but not Erw Ddu - Black Acre.

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-Today, the valley

-is both fertile and tranquil...

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-..but the walls and hedges have

-witnessed some very troubled times.

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-The Enclosure Acts of 1812 took away

-the rights of ordinary people...

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-..to use common land.

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-According to head teacher

-and historian, Sianelen Pleming...

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-..the people of Llithfaen

-reacted ferociously to the Act.

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-Who led the rebellion here?

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-Who led the rebellion here?

-

-Robert William Hughes.

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-He lived in Llithfaen.

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-According to the newspapers,

-he was "the captain of the mob".

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-He used a large seashell like this

-to call the people together.

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-When the local people

-heard the call of the seashell...

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-..they knew

-the surveyors were on their way.

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-They then either hid on the mountain

-or challenged the surveyors.

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-There's some evidence to suggest

-that in October 1812...

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-..there was a serious riot here.

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-Robert William Hughes, David Rowland

-and several women were arrested.

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-What happened to them?

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-Robert William Hughes

-appeared in court in Caernarfon.

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-Justice Kenrick

-sentenced him to death.

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-"In a very impressive manner",

-according to the newspaper report.

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-But he was pardoned and his sentence

-was reduced to transportation.

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-He was sent to Botany Bay

-for the rest of his life.

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-When he reached Australia,

-the doctor noted...

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-.."Robert William Hughes,

-very old and feeble."

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-He died in 1830, aged 70.

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-That was the end of his story.

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-We complain about poverty

-during the current recession...

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-..but we can't even begin to imagine

-real poverty, as experienced here...

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-..almost exactly 200 years ago.

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-It was terrible poverty

-which led to riots...

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-..and to people

-being shipped to Australia...

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-..to die in Botany Bay.

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-It really is unimaginable.

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-Life was tough for the people after

-the Enclosure Acts were passed.

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-Near Cae Garw,

-there are the remains of houses...

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-..which gave paupers shelter

-for years.

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-We're standing

-in front of the old Barics.

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-It appeared on the 1841 census

-and it was a temporary building.

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-The purpose of the Barics

-was to put a roof over the head...

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-..of local homeless paupers.

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-The parish had a responsibility

-to house them.

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-The Barics is recorded here

-as a cluster of four houses.

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-It's amazing

-that four families lived here.

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-Ann Thomas, a 30-year-old woman,

-lived in the first house in 1841.

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-She was described as a pauper.

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-She had four very young daughters.

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-Was this hardship a direct result

-of right of access to common land...

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-..being denied to them

-via the Enclosure Acts?

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-Yes, and we're in a field

-called Fuel Ground.

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-The purpose of this

-was to allow the local paupers...

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-..to have a small corner of land

-to collect heather and gorse.

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-Before the Acts Of Enclosure, they

-grazed animals on the mountain...

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-..and they collected firewood

-there too.

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-The land was enclosed by individuals

-who wanted to grab land...

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-..with the purpose of making money

-and generating profits.

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-These were the stocks and shares

-of their time.

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-It was to the detriment

-of local people.

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-I wonder how we'd react

-to the Enclosure Acts today.

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-How would we feel if your right

-to work the land was taken away...

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-..by some wealthy man?

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-Would we come and live

-in a place like the Barics?

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-No.

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-Personally,

-I'd be on my way to Botany Bay.

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-Dafydd has some vivid memories

-of the Barics.

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-You remember the Barics being used.

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-You remember the Barics being used.

-

-Yes.

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-When my sister and I were

-seven, eight or nine years old...

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-..RJ, a man who lived in the village

-rode his bike up here every day...

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-..to tend the hens he kept here.

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-We'd join him for a chat.

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-He was a fascinating man.

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-He was a musician and he'd

-write music on a piece of slate.

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-He composed a few songs for us

-and we'd go off and learn them...

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-..before returning

-to sing them for him.

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-It was a happy time.

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-He was a unique character.

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-I remember him here,

-playing his violin...

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-..with the hens milling around him.

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-It was an incredible sight.

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-I picture him playing the violin

-with a hen on his shoulder!

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-Yes, he'd often

-have a hen on his shoulder.

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-The Barics were historically

-maintained by the parish.

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-There's still a similar arrangement

-in place, isn't there?

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-Yes, there are around 12 to 15 acres

-of moorland around the Barics...

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-..and it's still owned

-by the Pistyll charity.

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-We pay rent on it...

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-..and that money, plus rent

-raised elsewhere in the area...

0:22:010:22:05

-..is donated to community projects.

0:22:060:22:08

-There's still

-some sort of continuity here.

0:22:090:22:12

-That's good to hear.

0:22:120:22:13

-There are layers of history here.

0:22:260:22:29

-Yes, and we focused

-on the Carnguwch area.

0:22:290:22:32

-Carnguwch is an old name.

0:22:340:22:36

-Yes, and it's wonderful that it

-survived all those troubled times.

0:22:360:22:41

-To the best of my knowledge...

0:22:410:22:43

-..the name

-was originally registered in 1292...

0:22:430:22:47

-..as a civil parish in Lleyn.

0:22:470:22:49

-It's fascinating.

0:22:490:22:51

-The records tell us

-that five families lived here...

0:22:510:22:55

-..around the foot

-of the Carnguwch mountain.

0:22:560:22:59

-They reared cattle and horses here.

0:23:010:23:05

-They also ground wheat

-to make flour.

0:23:070:23:10

-They paid a tax of 17%

-on their assets.

0:23:100:23:15

-It all points to the suggestion that

-this was a flourishing community.

0:23:170:23:23

-We had a satisfying visit

-to Llithfaen.

0:23:240:23:26

-Yes. It's been fascinating.

0:23:270:23:29

-Farming is still going strong here.

0:23:290:23:31

-Farming is still going strong here.

-

-That's good to know.

0:23:310:23:32

-Carnguwch has offered shelter

-and sustenance for centuries.

0:23:400:23:45

-Enclosure Acts riots

-also happened here.

0:23:460:23:49

-When walls were built

-and fields were created...

0:23:490:23:53

-..it strengthened the divide

-between rich and poor...

0:23:530:23:57

-..in rural Wales.

0:23:570:23:58

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

0:24:270:24:29

-.

0:24:290:24:29

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