Llithfaen Caeau Cymru

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-During this series...

-..we travel across Wales

-looking at our landscape's history.

-Field names reveal a hidden history

-which is vital to Wales's story.

-In this programme, we visit

-a special mountain in Lleyn.

-A mountain which gave shelter

-and sustenance over the ages...

-..but which also witnessed

-violence and riots.

-Our journey begins at the

-National Library with Rhian Parry.

-In this programme,

-we focus on a mountain.

-It's easy to spot

-its wide open spaces on this map.

-Yes, we're looking

-at Carnguwch mountain, Lleyn...

-..which is between Llithfaen

-and Llanaelhaearn.

-We'll visit several farms,

-including Hafod, Carnguwch Fawr...

-..and Llech Engan.

-The expanse of empty land in the

-centre of the map is a mountaintop.

-The wall lines are different.

-They're straight.

-That suggests

-someone measured this land...

-..and erected walls

-along specific lines.

-Following the Enclosure Acts

-of 1812...

-..the mountain was parcelled up,

-to all intents and purposes...

-..and sold off to individuals.

-Local people lost their

-right of access to common land...

-..even though some relied on it

-for their livelihood.

-What's this big book?

-These are the Tithe Maps schedules.

-Here, we see the farmstead

-known as Llech Engan.

-Llech Engan's field names are listed

-here and they're very interesting.

-Cae'r Crych - Furrow Field.

-Cae'r Pin - Pin Field.

-Cae Dryll - Wreck Field.

-Llainniau - Tracts.

-There must be some tales to tell.

-What about this book?

-How does it help us?

-It's a collection of maps

-and lists of field names.

-It's part of the 1790

-Boduan Estate collection.

-It's possible to compare

-the shapes of fields on the maps...

-..and field names on the schedules.

-Are there any inconsistencies?

-Yes, and you'd expect that during

-those uncertain, troubled times.

-Having said that,

-some field names have survived.

-Hafod farm is on the side of

-Carnguwch mountain, near Llithfaen.

-Dafydd Roberts farms the land today.

-His father took over the farm

-in the 1950s...

-..adding a farmstead

-to the land 20 years later.

-A smallholding with the magical name

-of Llech Engan.

-This place has four names.

-Llech Eingan,

-which became Llech Engan.

-Sometime around the year 1830,

-by all accounts...

-..it was known as Ymyl Capel -

-Chapel Verge.

-That became Mur Capel - Chapel Wall.

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

-..but I've heard a theory

-about Llech Engan.

-There was a Saint Eingan...

-..and he established the church

-in Llanengan.

-I don't know if there was a link

-between Saint Eingan and here.

-People tend to assume that, because

-Carnguwch Church is nearby...

-..the church must have

-been founded by Saint Beuno.

-However, there's no evidence

-to support that theory...

-..so Eingan may well have been here.

-Llech may be

-a form of llechu - to shelter.

-He may have sought shelter here

-at some time.

-It's an interesting theory.

-It's an interesting theory.

-

-Yes. It's a good story.

-Local historian,

-John Dilwyn Williams...

-..has family ties with Llech Engan.

-This was his grandmother's home

-when she was young.

-She moved here with her parents

-when she was 14 years old.

-Her grandparents lived here,

-but they moved to Coed Y Garth.

-My grandmother, her siblings

-and her parents came here.

-She said her first job was to help

-her mother put calico on the roof.

-I'm not sure what she meant.

-It was probably a thatched cottage.

-They may have

-whitewashed the calico...

-..to stop insects crawling

-through the straw, into the house.

-Another relative of mine lived here

-and they called her Hen Fobi.

-I assume she was female,

-but I'm not certain.

-An Elizabeth lived here

-in the 19th century...

-..but I don't know

-why she'd be called Hen Fobi.

-Anyway, Hen Fobi stood in the door

-looking towards Carnguwch Church...

-..and she saw smoke and fire

-in the cemetery.

-She may have seen a corpse candle.

-It certainly brings folklore alive.

-Field names open doors on

-local history and on Welsh history.

-This time, Rhian focuses

-on the Llech Engan fields.

-Rhian, we're standing in Cae Dryll.

-Dryll, as in bang-bang?

-Dryll, as in bang-bang?

-

-No, not dryll as in gun.

-Cae Dryll is usually a small field

-which has been broken up.

-Dryll as in drylliad - wreck.

-Llongddrylliad - shipwreck.

-What do you have here?

-A list of the fields

-you'll find in Llech Engan.

-These are listed

-in the Tithe Maps schedules.

-Next to it is a list

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

-..taken from Boduan estate papers.

-Some of these names have changed.

-Some of these names have changed.

-

-Yes, and it's fascinating.

-Some of the field names

-have remained the same.

-Cae Pin is one such example.

-Cae Pin is a field where you'll find

-a spring or some source of water...

-..with a pipe running from it

-to an animal's feeding trough.

-Tradition has it that people came up

-to Cae Pin from the village...

-..to fetch water.

-That's interesting.

-I also notice that Cae Tas Fawn

-has changed from Cae Pen Yr Odyn.

-Both names are linked.

-You could burn mawn - peat

-in an odyn - oast.

-The old oast

-was still here but it was unused.

-The tas fawn - peat stack

-became more popular.

-Hafod now includes

-additional pieces of land...

-..at the foot of Carnguwch mountain.

-On the original farm, several fields

-were called llain...

-..which is the term

-for a long, thin strip of land.

-Llain harks back to

-a community farming tradition...

-..of farming many strips of land

-within a large, open area.

-At Hafod, where there's

-a lack of good land...

-..you see scattered patches of land.

-As you travel

-around the foot of the mountain...

-..you find the old farmstead

-of Llech Engan.

-There are long strips

-of agricultural land here...

-..and plenty of striking names like

-Cae Dryll, Cae Tas Fawn and Cae Pin.

-Close to Llech Engan

-is Carnguwch Fawr farm...

-..which belongs to Paul Worsley.

-Paul, how did your family

-come to Carnguwch Fawr?

-Well, 100 years ago, my mother

-would come here to fetch butter.

-She was around nine years old

-at the time.

-John Price was the farmhand here

-back then.

-My mother, my father and their five

-children moved here as tenants...

-..around 30 years later.

-In the meantime, John Price had gone

-to live on the road, as a vagabond.

-He'd come back here

-around twice every year.

-He'd come here at night

-when he was soaked to the skin.

-What he did was to go into

-the cowshed to join the cattle...

-..remove his clothes and place them

-on the backs of the cattle to dry.

-He'd go and lie in the hay

-in his underwear.

-His clothes would be dry

-by the morning.

-Everyone knew who John Price was.

-He was more famous than The Beatles!

-Rhian, this isn't a field!

-Why did you bring me here?

-Because it's an interesting spot.

-There's a special atmosphere here.

-These stones are in fact

-the remains of five roundhouses.

-It shows us that there was a village

-settlement here at some point.

-It probably dates back

-around 2000 years ago.

-We can't be accurate because

-no excavation has taken place here.

-The community worked together

-to build walls...

-..and to cut wood

-and collect reeds for the thatch.

-It involved a lot of work and they

-were here for a long period of time.

-They farmed relatively good land,

-in the shadow of the mountain.

-People have lived here and farmed

-this land for thousands of years.

-Yes. Definitely.

-Dafydd has some grazing land next to

-Hafod, on Gwag Y Noe farmstead.

-What is that, Rhian?

-A noe - a wooden bowl.

-A noe - a wooden bowl.

-

-Why are you holding it?

-I rarely sit on walls

-clutching wooden bowls!

-I borrowed it because the farmstead

-behind us is called Gwag Y Noe.

-Empty Bowl? It's a sad name.

-Empty Bowl? It's a sad name.

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-Yes, it is sad.

-An empty bowl meant there was no

-butter, which suggests some poverty.

-How did they use the bowl?

-How did they use the bowl?

-

-First, they'd scald it.

-It had to be totally clean.

-They put churned butter

-in the bowl...

-..and worked it until the liquid

-which came out of it was clear.

-They'd then cut it

-into pound blocks.

-It was a great tradition.

-It was a great tradition.

-

-Yes, dating back to the Middle Ages.

-We know that because they paid

-a form of rent to the prince...

-..and their currency

-could be honey, flour or butter.

-It wasn't enough to offer

-a level bowl of butter.

-They had to pay in mounds of butter,

-equating to two bowlfuls.

-Gwag Y Noe is one of the prettiest

-names I've heard during this series.

-It's certainly the saddest name too.

-Butter is one of the basics of life,

-just like milk and sugar.

-In this case, times were so tough,

-the wooden butter bowl was empty.

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

-the Carnguwch area of Lleyn.

-This area is steeped in history

-and folklore.

-Field names ensure that old farming

-methods will never be forgotten.

-Here we are, standing in the gate

-leading to Erw Ddu - Black Acre.

-The strange thing

-is it's around 20 acres!

-Yes. The field

-doesn't quite suit its name.

-What happened was the

-field's boundaries were moved.

-It happens a lot these days,

-as farmers use larger machinery...

-..and they need wider gates.

-When you remove a field's boundary,

-you often lose its name too.

-This is a green field, so why was it

-known as The Black Field?

-Does it have a dark history?

-I don't think so.

-I think the fact

-that this acre is here...

-..signifies it was an acre

-belonging to a free family.

-We know that a free family

-lived here in the Middle Ages.

-Everyone worked as a team

-to plough, sow and harvest.

-It was traditional to send cattle

-up the mountain in the spring...

-..before starting the process

-of cultivating the land.

-They brought the cattle down after

-the harvest to fertilize the land.

-Did that process

-darken the land of Erw Ddu?

-That may be this field's background.

-Erw Wen - White Acre is a familiar

-name but not Erw Ddu - Black Acre.

-Today, the valley

-is both fertile and tranquil...

-..but the walls and hedges have

-witnessed some very troubled times.

-The Enclosure Acts of 1812 took away

-the rights of ordinary people...

-..to use common land.

-According to head teacher

-and historian, Sianelen Pleming...

-..the people of Llithfaen

-reacted ferociously to the Act.

-Who led the rebellion here?

-Who led the rebellion here?

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-Robert William Hughes.

-He lived in Llithfaen.

-According to the newspapers,

-he was "the captain of the mob".

-He used a large seashell like this

-to call the people together.

-When the local people

-heard the call of the seashell...

-..they knew

-the surveyors were on their way.

-They then either hid on the mountain

-or challenged the surveyors.

-There's some evidence to suggest

-that in October 1812...

-..there was a serious riot here.

-Robert William Hughes, David Rowland

-and several women were arrested.

-What happened to them?

-Robert William Hughes

-appeared in court in Caernarfon.

-Justice Kenrick

-sentenced him to death.

-"In a very impressive manner",

-according to the newspaper report.

-But he was pardoned and his sentence

-was reduced to transportation.

-He was sent to Botany Bay

-for the rest of his life.

-When he reached Australia,

-the doctor noted...

-.."Robert William Hughes,

-very old and feeble."

-He died in 1830, aged 70.

-That was the end of his story.

-We complain about poverty

-during the current recession...

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

-real poverty, as experienced here...

-..almost exactly 200 years ago.

-It was terrible poverty

-which led to riots...

-..and to people

-being shipped to Australia...

-..to die in Botany Bay.

-It really is unimaginable.

-Life was tough for the people after

-the Enclosure Acts were passed.

-Near Cae Garw,

-there are the remains of houses...

-..which gave paupers shelter

-for years.

-We're standing

-in front of the old Barics.

-It appeared on the 1841 census

-and it was a temporary building.

-The purpose of the Barics

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

-..of local homeless paupers.

-The parish had a responsibility

-to house them.

-The Barics is recorded here

-as a cluster of four houses.

-It's amazing

-that four families lived here.

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

-lived in the first house in 1841.

-She was described as a pauper.

-She had four very young daughters.

-Was this hardship a direct result

-of right of access to common land...

-..being denied to them

-via the Enclosure Acts?

-Yes, and we're in a field

-called Fuel Ground.

-The purpose of this

-was to allow the local paupers...

-..to have a small corner of land

-to collect heather and gorse.

-Before the Acts Of Enclosure, they

-grazed animals on the mountain...

-..and they collected firewood

-there too.

-The land was enclosed by individuals

-who wanted to grab land...

-..with the purpose of making money

-and generating profits.

-These were the stocks and shares

-of their time.

-It was to the detriment

-of local people.

-I wonder how we'd react

-to the Enclosure Acts today.

-How would we feel if your right

-to work the land was taken away...

-..by some wealthy man?

-Would we come and live

-in a place like the Barics?

-No.

-Personally,

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

-Dafydd has some vivid memories

-of the Barics.

-You remember the Barics being used.

-You remember the Barics being used.

-

-Yes.

-When my sister and I were

-seven, eight or nine years old...

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

-rode his bike up here every day...

-..to tend the hens he kept here.

-We'd join him for a chat.

-He was a fascinating man.

-He was a musician and he'd

-write music on a piece of slate.

-He composed a few songs for us

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

-..before returning

-to sing them for him.

-It was a happy time.

-He was a unique character.

-I remember him here,

-playing his violin...

-..with the hens milling around him.

-It was an incredible sight.

-I picture him playing the violin

-with a hen on his shoulder!

-Yes, he'd often

-have a hen on his shoulder.

-The Barics were historically

-maintained by the parish.

-There's still a similar arrangement

-in place, isn't there?

-Yes, there are around 12 to 15 acres

-of moorland around the Barics...

-..and it's still owned

-by the Pistyll charity.

-We pay rent on it...

-..and that money, plus rent

-raised elsewhere in the area...

-..is donated to community projects.

-There's still

-some sort of continuity here.

-That's good to hear.

-There are layers of history here.

-Yes, and we focused

-on the Carnguwch area.

-Carnguwch is an old name.

-Yes, and it's wonderful that it

-survived all those troubled times.

-To the best of my knowledge...

-..the name

-was originally registered in 1292...

-..as a civil parish in Lleyn.

-It's fascinating.

-The records tell us

-that five families lived here...

-..around the foot

-of the Carnguwch mountain.

-They reared cattle and horses here.

-They also ground wheat

-to make flour.

-They paid a tax of 17%

-on their assets.

-It all points to the suggestion that

-this was a flourishing community.

-We had a satisfying visit

-to Llithfaen.

-Yes. It's been fascinating.

-Farming is still going strong here.

-Farming is still going strong here.

-

-That's good to know.

-Carnguwch has offered shelter

-and sustenance for centuries.

-Enclosure Acts riots

-also happened here.

-When walls were built

-and fields were created...

-..it strengthened the divide

-between rich and poor...

-..in rural Wales.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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