Pennod 4 Darn Bach o Hanes

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-On this week's Darn Bach O Hanes...

-..Lisa Gwilym looks at photographs

-of a famous protest from the 1980s.

-I'll be explaining

-how Splott got its name...

-..and Rhodri Morgan enjoys

-a Victorian prison's hospitality.

-To keep fit,

-I like walking in the mountains.

-There are plenty around Ffestiniog.

-As well as keeping down

-the blood pressure...

-..it's the perfect excuse

-to visit remote historical sites.

-I pass Bryn-y-Castell quite often.

-It's a hill fort

-above Cwm Teigl, Llan Ffestiniog.

-Sophisticated dating tests show...

-..that it dates back

-to the end of the Iron Age.

-It's typical of hill forts

-in Wales from that period...

-..but it does have

-a few unusual features.

-First, there are traces

-of two round huts.

-This is where the door used to be.

-The entrance postholes were here.

-It's hard to see now...

-..but there was one hut here

-and another one over here.

-These are traces

-of the wall's foundation.

-These huts are special.

-They were the first huts

-discovered in Snowdonia...

-..that were made of thin stakes

-bound by withies.

-This little hill fort

-has another rare feature too.

-It's this way.

-Look at this building.

-It's shaped like a snail...

-..to stop the wind putting out

-the fire that burnt here daily.

-It was a smithy

-where iron was smelted and worked.

-When this site was excavated

-over 30 years ago...

-..all kinds of tools

-to work iron were found.

-A stone anvil, stone hammers,

-whetstones, polishing stones...

-..and over a tonne of this stuff.

-Waste slag.

-That's a sign

-of great activity here.

-Bryn-y-Castell's main purpose

-was to produce iron.

-But to make iron in the first place,

-you need raw materials.

-The ancient folk didn't find it

-in the rocks around us up here.

-They got it down there, in the bog.

-Locating the hill fort

-near a peat bog was deliberate.

-All the materials

-to make iron were nearby.

-Iron ore deposits in the peat...

-..clay to build furnaces

-and trees to make charcoal.

-Rhodri ap Dafydd is an expert

-on this kind of habitat.

-He'll tell me how this landscape

-evolved over the centuries.

-This was a peat bog long ago,

-I've been told.

-What would you call it now?

-That's a very interesting question.

-There are many words in Welsh

-for habitats based on peat.

-Peat bog, marsh, moor, wet moor,

-and possibly the wettest, swamp.

-The vegetation shows

-that human activity occurred here.

-It's drier than a blanket bog...

-..which suggests

-that some peat has been removed.

-What are the qualities of peat

-that makes it retain minerals?

-Water doesn't flow

-through this habitat.

-It depends on rainwater.

-The water is stagnant.

-Vegetation doesn't rot suddenly,

-it stays where it is.

-Minerals, like the vegetation,

-tend to accumulate.

-That's what forms the peat.

-To make a kilogram of iron,

-you need 100kg of charcoal.

-To make 100kg of charcoal,

-you need a tonne of wood.

-I don't see many trees!

-I agree - it does look bare...

-..but an interesting feature of peat

-is that we can study it...

-..to see what grew here at any point

-since the end of the last Ice Age.

-It was followed by the Pre-Boreal

-and the Boreal Periods...

-..when pines grew in a landscape

-that looked very much like tundra.

-When the hill fort was active,

-it was the Atlantic Period.

-It was a little warmer and wetter,

-with trees like alder and oak.

-So this area

-would have been covered with trees?

-Most of Wales,

-to a certain altitude...

-..would have had trees

-growing there.

-Unfortunately, man always

-affects the environment...

-..be it through agriculture,

-or in this case, ironworking.

-Yes, although some of us try

-our best to protect these places.

-Thank goodness, we need a balance.

-If you want to visit

-this striking hill fort...

-..you'll find directions

-and grid references...

-..on our Facebook page

-after the programme.

-On 27 August 1981...

-..a group of 36 women began to walk

-from Cardiff to Greenham Common...

-..to protest against the proposed

-arrival of 96 US cruise missiles.

-At the height of the protest...

-..some 70,000 people formed

-a human chain around the base.

-Buses went there

-from all over Wales...

-..taking women and men

-from every social background.

-Some of the buses

-went from Dolgellau.

-# There's a woman in Great Britain

-# Bridget Evans is her name

-# And she's out on Greenham Common,

-and things will never be the same #

-Although the protest failed to stop

-the missiles being based there...

-..the camp at Greenham Common

-was there for 19 years, until 2000.

-It was a symbol of peaceful,

-non-violent protest by women.

-One of those inspired by the protest

-was Elen Thomas of Dolgellau.

-She went to the big protest

-in December 1982.

-Luckily for us, she took her camera

-to record the event.

-When did you first go there?

-Way back in 1982.

-It was very cold.

-The Greenham Common women...

-..who had been there

-for over a year, I think...

-..wanted to embrace the base,

-as they called it.

-What were your first impressions

-of the place?

-We'd never seen anything like it.

-We saw the site,

-the soldiers and the fence.

-On one side, we saw

-where the women had been living...

-..and where some of them

-would live for many years.

-We saw their living conditions.

-It made us feel very humble.

-Are these pictures a reflection

-of the type of woman...

-..who went to Greenham Common?

-Without the fence

-and possibly the cups...

-..you might think

-it was a Merched y Wawr trip!

-These women are perhaps a little

-more smartly dressed than most.

-They're certainly smarter

-than the women who lived there.

-It's clear

-they're there for the day.

-The next photo is of the same women.

-This is my favourite.

-The picture tells the story.

-What's on the other side

-of the fence is what is important.

-He's a young soldier with a gun,

-protecting the missiles.

-I remember thinking...

-..that the soldier's mother

-could have been someone like this.

-He hadn't been trained

-to deal with an enemy like this.

-A large group of women,

-acting peacefully.

-Here's another photo.

-This is another ordinary sight.

-These people came for the day

-and brought a picnic with them.

-They wore their badges and hats.

-There was fun and singing.

-To some extent,

-we were all amazed at ourselves...

-..that we as women had got together

-to create this big event.

-It was a source of amazement.

-Did you take the camera with you

-on purpose to record it all?

-I took the camera because I felt

-that history was being made.

-There must have been something

-in my subconscious that told me...

-..that Greenham was important and

-would be a historic event one day.

-Something was happening

-that would be worth recording.

-# And she's out on Greenham Common,

-and things will never be the same #

-# I had a girlfriend in Splott

-# Her name was Lot

-# Her name was Lot #

-Splott.

-It's a great name, isn't it?

-But why Splott? Why the name?

-There are two main theories,

-both associated with two farms...

-..that were here centuries ago,

-before these houses were built...

-..called Splott and Pengam.

-According to some, Splott

-comes from an Old English word...

-..meaning speck,

-a small area of agricultural land.

-That's the first theory.

-I'm not quite sure about that.

-The second theory is that the farms

-were on church land...

-..and that Splott

-was an abbreviation of God's plot.

-I'm not too sure

-about that one either.

-Whatever the name means, I love it.

-Splott.

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-Prisons are now an integral part

-of our criminal justice system.

-But that wasn't always the case.

-The practice of incarceration

-goes back a very long way.

-But prison - as an institution -

-is a comparatively new development.

-It's about 200 years old,

-not long at all...

-..when you consider that people

-have offended since time immemorial.

-Before 1800, prisons did exist

-in populated areas...

-..like London's Newgate Prison.

-But in less peopled areas,

-the medieval system still existed.

-The aim was to catch criminals

-and punish them quickly...

-..in the stocks, with the lash

-or on the gallows.

-But at the end

-of the 18th century...

-..fundamental,

-far-reaching changes were made...

-..to the appearance

-and the organization of prisons...

-..that made them the cornerstone

-of law and order in Wales.

-The man behind the changes...

-..was the reformer

-and philanthropist John Howard.

-In 1774, Howard convinced

-the House of Commons to pass laws...

-..to protect prisoners from corrupt

-wardens and insanitary conditions.

-As well as reforming prison routines

-and living conditions...

-..this led to improvements

-in prison design and architecture.

-These improvements continued

-far into the 19th century.

-One prison that benefited

-from the reforms was Ruthin Gaol.

-In 1865, a new wing was built.

-Ruthin Gaol was modelled

-on London's Pentonville Prison.

-Innovative developments there...

-..were individual cells

-and the separate system.

-Victorian prisoners

-were expected to be quiet.

-Communicating between prisoners

-was prohibited.

-Ruthin Gaol is now a museum,

-and its curator is Margaret Barr.

-What were the features

-of the silent system?

-It was necessary to have

-a building that was big enough...

-..so that prisoners

-had individual cells.

-The aim was to give them time...

-..to sit and work in the cell...

-..and to think

-about what they had done.

-So the prisoners were separated

-in individual cells.

-That was part of the punishment?

-That was part of the punishment?

-

-Yes.

-The authorities also thought

-it would help reform the prisoners.

-What was the daily routine

-for the Victorian prisoner?

-He was in the cell all day.

-He only left for an hour,

-to exercise in the yard.

-They walked around the yard,

-holding a rope...

-..wearing a hat like this.

-This is the hat?

-The Scotch cap.

-As you see, he couldn't talk

-to anyone when he wore the cap.

-The silent system

-was still in operation.

-It may improve my appearance...

-..but I'm not sure

-it would help my mental state.

-Was the silent system effective?

-They used the system for 50 years.

-By the end of the century,

-they decided it didn't work.

-What about prison food?

-It was terrible.

-If you were Category 1,

-in for a week...

-..you'd only get gruel and bread.

-In Category 2,

-between a week and a month...

-..you'd get potatoes too.

-To have meat, you'd have to be in

-for more than a month.

-So you had to be very bad

-to deserve meat?

-Yes.

-That's an interesting way

-to look at it!

-I suppose long-term prisoners

-needed a better diet.

-They had to maintain a balance.

-They had to keep

-the prisoners healthy...

-..but they didn't want the food

-to be so tasty...

-..that people would want

-to be imprisoned.

-Well, Margaret,

-I'm not here to eat...

-..but to sample some hospitality,

-Victorian style.

-I've agreed to spend an hour

-in the cell.

-I've heard there's a dark cell here.

-I've heard there's a dark cell here.

-

-Yes, it's very dark.

-Where is it?

-Where is it?

-

-Downstairs.

-Right.

-The dark cell was a punishment cell.

-Prisoners were sent there

-if they broke prison rules.

-It is dark!

-It is dark!

-

-In you go.

-An hour, OK?

-DOOR SLAMS SHUT

-OK.

-Here we are.

-My heart is thumping.

-# I am a foolish lad #

-Ha!

-Right.

-I'm sure the hour is over.

-OK, I'm ready to come out now.

-Margaret?

-Margaret!

-I'm Dafydd Whiteside Thomas.

-I work part-time

-in Caernarfon Record Office.

-I've written a local history column

-in Eco'r Wyddfa for 30 years.

-We're at Rhos y Marchlyn...

-..scene of an extraordinary dispute

-200 years ago.

-It was an ancient custom

-to walk parish boundaries...

-..in order to remember them.

-Cairns were placed

-along these desolate moors...

-..to mark the boundaries.

-The parishioners of Llanddeiniolen,

-on the left, walked up this way.

-The parishioners of Llandegai

-did the same thing.

-They all agreed

-about the location of the cairns...

-..until they reached this spot

-on Rhos y Marchlyn.

-This was the watershed.

-There was a special stone here.

-It was called Carreg Esgob

-or Carreg Hetar.

-It was shaped

-like an old-fashioned clothes iron.

-This is the front of the iron.

-The water was divided,

-left to Llanddeiniolen...

-..and right,

-which is dry now, to Llandegai.

-It fed two water mills

-on two different streams.

-Then, in 1820, trouble erupted.

-The miller at Felin Hen...

-..accused Felin Pentir's miller

-of stealing water.

-He claimed that Llanddeiniolen folk

-had turned the stone...

-..so that more water flowed

-towards Llanddeiniolen...

-..than towards Llandegai.

-At the time, Lord Penrhyn

-was developing Penrhyn Quarry.

-He needed water for the quarry.

-The dispute escalated

-into a court case.

-Penrhyn paid Felin Hen's miller

-to bring the case.

-A total of 35 witnesses

-were called to support Llandegai.

-The verdict was that the stone

-had to divide the water in half.

-A year after the court case,

-a certain Mr Baxter came up here...

-..along with the parishioners,

-to reposition the stone.

-Lord Penrhyn paid

-to build a boundary wall...

-..from the stone, along the moor,

-all the way up to the lake.

-The iron-shaped stone was forgotten,

-and we only found it recently.

-It's hiding in a stone wall.

-Last week, I asked you what this is.

-It's another unusual object from

-St Fagans National History Museum.

-It's actually a wooden frame

-used to dry oat cakes by the fire.

-It can be seen at St Fagans

-in Llainfadyn cottage.

-It was once a quarryman's home

-in Rhostryfan near Caernarfon.

-This week, we have this tool.

-What is it?

-It opens and closes like scissors.

-It's made of steel, with string

-around the finger holes.

-To protect your fingers, maybe?

-Send your answers in on Facebook.

-I'll give you the correct answer

-next week.

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