0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:04 > 0:00:07- This only happens in Wales.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10- A carpenter makes a chair...
0:00:10 > 0:00:13- ..as a prize for a poem.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17- We can trace its origins - to the Middle Ages...
0:00:17 > 0:00:21- ..and it's still happening today.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27- This is the 2003 Meifod - National Eisteddfod chair.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31- It was made by Bob Morgan - of Llanbrynmair...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33- ..of Cyfie Farm's famous oak...
0:00:34 > 0:00:35- ..for me.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41- If there is a winner - in Llanelli this year...
0:00:41 > 0:00:47- ..another bard will have - a Chair to treasure forever.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52- I put my Chair in the middle of my - home. Everyone can see and use it.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56- But that's not every Chair's story.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01- It's hard to imagine how anyone - could lose a Chair as big as this.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04- But it happens.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08- Some National Eisteddfod Chairs - are lost.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11- I'm going to look for them.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17- Some Chairs are gathering dust, - others are in unexpected places.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22- If I find them...
0:01:22 > 0:01:27- ..I'll bring them out - so the nation can see them again.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36- I turned to Dewi Emrys's books.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41- He's won more Chairs - than anybody else.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46- Dewi Emrys won four National - Eisteddfod Chairs. Four, remember.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49- In Liverpool, 1929. Llanelli 1930.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54- Bangor 1943 and Bridgend 1948.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57- This is why the rule was passed...
0:01:58 > 0:02:02- ..that no-one can win - the Chair more than twice.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05- Dewi Emrys was quite chaotic.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09- He couldn't keep hold of - a job or home for long.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14- He occasionally slept rough, - under hedges or on streets.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19- He sold the only Crown he won - to pay his debts.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21- In The Bardic Chair...
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- ..there's no mention - of his four Chairs.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31- After winning more Chairs - than anyone else...
0:02:31 > 0:02:36- ..Dewi Emrys - lost more Chairs than anyone else.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- I left my library - for the National Library...
0:02:42 > 0:02:46- ..home to some - of our country's treasures.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50- In their midst, four famous Chairs.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- These are four stars - in the Chair world.
0:02:55 > 0:02:56- This is the earliest...
0:02:57 > 0:02:59- ..Colwyn Bay Eisteddfod, 1910.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03- The winner was R Williams Parry - for Yr Haf.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06- He became famous throughout Wales.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12- He is popular to this day.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14- It has a leather seat.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16- It has a leather seat.- - It's a handsome chair.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- The mystic sign is made of ivory.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23- The goats are intricately carved.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28- His cousin, TH Parry-Williams, - won the next Chair.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35- He won the 1912 Wrexham - Eisteddfod Chair for Y Mynydd.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- It wasn't just the Chair - that TH Parry Williams took home.
0:03:42 > 0:03:43- He won the Crown, too.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48- He was the first to do the double.
0:03:48 > 0:03:54- Three years later, - he did it again...
0:03:54 > 0:03:57- ..in Bangor, in 1915.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00- He winning poem was Eryri.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04- The Chair on the end is different, - to say the least!
0:04:04 > 0:04:08- There are lizards snoozing - on the arms!
0:04:08 > 0:04:13- This is the Caernarfon Eisteddfod - Chair.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18- It started life far from Caernarfon, - in New Zealand.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- It was donated by - the New Zealand Welsh society.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24- They are Maori carvings.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- The winner was Gwyndaf.
0:04:28 > 0:04:34- At 22, he was - the youngest to achieve that.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39- Gwyndaf's poem, Magdalen, - was a pioneering work.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42- He discarded traditional measures.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- The poem is vers libre - in cynghanedd.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47- He's the cause of the trouble!
0:04:48 > 0:04:50- Some people look at it that way.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54- Others would say - he pushed boundaries.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58- You don't have a Chair - belonging to Dewi Emrys.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00- Yes.
0:05:01 > 0:05:02- You do?
0:05:02 > 0:05:03- You do?- - Yes.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- There's more to the first Chair...
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- ..the one R Williams Parry won.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- The 1943 wartime Eisteddfod...
0:05:14 > 0:05:18- ..was held in a hall in Bangor.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23- The Eisteddfod committee - had not organized a Chair.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28- R Williams Parry's Chair - was borrowed for the ceremony.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33- Dewi Emrys - was the Chaired Bard that year.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37- He was chaired in that Chair.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- He didn't receive a Chair - as a prize.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43- The Eisteddfod provided a prize...
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- ..a medal designed by Goscombe John.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51- This is a photo of the prize. The - medal features the poet Taliesin.
0:05:52 > 0:05:57- With his harp. There's - a cromlech in the background.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59- Can I borrow this?
0:06:00 > 0:06:01- Of course.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- And thanks to the boys - in the Library...
0:06:21 > 0:06:26- ..like Dewi Emrys, - I basked for a while in the sun...
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- ..in the Chair - R Williams Parry won...
0:06:31 > 0:06:33- ..for his poem to the summer.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- My next stop was The Eagle Inn - in Llanfihangel-ar-Arth.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52- Apparently, there's - an Eisteddfod Chair here.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58- Perhaps it's not a National Chair, - but it belonged to Dewi Emrys.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59- I'm pleased to meet you.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- I'm pleased to meet you.- - I've come to see the Chair.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04- Dewi Emrys's Chair is next door.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07- You'll have to go round.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09- I'll meet you there.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- A-ha! Here it is.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- Corwen Eisteddfod, 1923.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- That's a fierce looking dragon!
0:07:26 > 0:07:28- The Chair was won in Corwen.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- The competition subject was Night.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38- Dewi Emrys's poem won, - but he didn't win the Chair.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42- No, he used my grandfather's name...
0:07:42 > 0:07:47- ..Dan Jones, who was the landlord.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- He couldn't write a line of poetry!
0:07:53 > 0:07:59- I believe a telegram arrived.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03- He didn't know - his name had been used.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04- He didn't know?
0:08:04 > 0:08:06- He didn't know?- - Dewi Emrys hadn't mentioned a word.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- As it happens, - Dewi Emrys was staying here...
0:08:11 > 0:08:13- ..in 1923 and 1924.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19- Here's a photograph of him - outside the pub...
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- ..holding a trout.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24- That was in 1923.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30- Why did Dewi use your grandfather's - name rather than his own?
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- There were rumours - that he was selling the Chairs.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39- They wouldn't give him a Chair - and that's why he used Dan Jones.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- I think it was his way - of saying thanks.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- My grandparents gave him a home.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- He was chaired here.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- Yes!
0:08:54 > 0:08:58- And here it is, to this day.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00- Somebody sits on it every day.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- Here, - it's used like any other chair.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- People have been known - to sleep on it!
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- The Llanfihangel-ar-Arth - Eisteddfod makes use of it.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18- My grandchildren's school - have it on St David's Day.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22- Carnival queens - are chaired on it.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- It is used.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39- Neither Dewi Emrys nor Dan Jones - own this Chair now...
0:09:39 > 0:09:41- ..but Llanfihangel-ar-Arth.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44- Generations of drinkers...
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- ..and carnival queens - have sat on it.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51- And here I am, resting my backside.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- Dewi Emrys won the pub Chair.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- But it isn't - a National Eisteddfod Chair.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- In Liverpool, in 1929, - Dewi won his first National Chair.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19- I discovered there are two National - Chairs in Liverpool City Hall.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- Could one be Dewi Emrys's Chair?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28- If anyone knows, - then that's Rev D Ben Rees.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- These are not Dewi Emrys's Chairs.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38- No - but there's a link.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- They say this - is the most magnificent Chair...
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- ..ever carved for any poet.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- It's Pedrog's Chair.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- It's perfect.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- He won three Chairs.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56- Almost as many as Dewi.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01- Almost. They were very competitive.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06- They enjoyed the glory - and the prize money.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11- Pedrog was an important man - in Liverpool.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13- In the 1929 Eisteddfod...
0:11:14 > 0:11:20- ..when Dewi Emrys won the Chair, - Pedrog was the Archdruid.
0:11:20 > 0:11:26- He was the Archdruid - the following year in Llanelli.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31- This dates back even further - than Dewi Emrys or Pedrog.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36- It dates back to 1884, - and the first Liverpool Eisteddfod.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38- Dyfed won it.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43- He was the Archdruid for many years.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48- He was a great friend of Liverpool's - and came here almost every year.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50- It's a handsome Chair.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53- The Liver bird is looking after us.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59- We won't drown or get lost - while this is above the City Hall...
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- ..as well as on the Chairs.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03- It's a very early Chair.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08- It's one of the first - National Eisteddfod Chairs.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- There's a lion here.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- Are they lions?
0:12:15 > 0:12:18- They look more like cats!
0:12:18 > 0:12:22- Let's sit in the peace - of the City Hall.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44- And so I sat on Pedrog's perfect - Chair in Liverpool city centre.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49- 114 years have passed - since Pedrog first sat on it.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55- The Welsh language - could be heard here back then.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00- Is there peace?
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- Well no, clearly not, - if you sit on a huge throne...
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- ..being interrogated - by inquisitive Scousers!
0:13:14 > 0:13:16- In a house in Old Colwyn...
0:13:16 > 0:13:20- ..I've heard I can find the medal - that the late Dafydd Owen won...
0:13:20 > 0:13:23- ..at Bangor Eisteddfod, 1943.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26- As we heard - in the National Library...
0:13:27 > 0:13:31- ..medals and not Chairs and Crowns - were awarded that year.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34- It's exactly the same.
0:13:35 > 0:13:41- Dewi Emrys had a similar medal - instead of a Chair in 1943.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45- If you put three wooden spoons - underneath it...
0:13:45 > 0:13:47- ..it would make a good stool.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- It's not a Chair.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- I continued my journey.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58- I'm determined to sit on - at least one...
0:13:58 > 0:14:01- ..of Dewi Emrys's lost Chairs.
0:14:02 > 0:14:02- .
0:14:06 > 0:14:06- Subtitles
0:14:06 > 0:14:08- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- I'm looking for lost - National Eisteddfod Chairs...
0:14:16 > 0:14:20- ..specifically those belonging - to Dewi Emrys, who won four.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22- I haven't found one.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27- I'm giving up on the first, - the Liverpool 1929 Chair...
0:14:27 > 0:14:33- ..to concentrate on the last one, - the Bridgend 1948 Chair.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38- St Fagans Folk Museum - has a collection of Chairs.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41- I can't imagine - a better person to help me...
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- ..than the co-author - of The Bardic Chair.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- This is the one I'm looking for...
0:14:49 > 0:14:53- ..the 1948 Bridgend - Eisteddfod Chair.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58- We don't have the Chair - in this collection.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03- But there are similar Chairs - in front of you.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09- Almost the same, - except for the decorations.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13- They're the 1953 and 1951 Chairs.
0:15:15 > 0:15:21- At the time, the same design - was used six or seven times.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27- Ellis Berwyn Evans's design - was used time after time.
0:15:27 > 0:15:28- Why?
0:15:29 > 0:15:33- I'm not sure. Perhaps it was more - convenient to have one design.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38- The Chairs were often funded - by Welsh exiles.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- The 1951 Llanrwst - Eisteddfod Chair...
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- ..was won by Brinley Richards.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- The Chair was donated - by Welsh exiles in Patagonia.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54- There are carvings - of indigenous South American people.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00- The dragon is more of a feature - on this one.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07- This was for the 1953 Rhyl - Eisteddfod. Llwyd Williams won.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12- There are fish on the arm rests.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- In 1953...
0:16:15 > 0:16:18- ..Dilys Cadwaladr won the Crown.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21- She was the first woman - to win the Crown.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23- She was crowned in this Chair.
0:16:23 > 0:16:29- She was Dewi Emrys's lover - and bore him a child.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38- The Chairs are all different.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41- Some are elaborate, - some are plain.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47- These Chairs - are like identical twins.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49- Rather boring.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51- Rather boring.- - There is that.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- I'm glad that practice ended.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- The Chairs can vary now.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- I agree.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05- Even though - they're relevant and interesting...
0:17:05 > 0:17:08- ..you don't have - one of Dewi Emrys's Chairs.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11- Unfortunately not.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22- Then I received a message, - from Dewi Emrys's daughter, Nina...
0:17:22 > 0:17:24- ..who is now in her eighties.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- Nina believes that the Chair her - father won in Llanelli in 1930...
0:17:31 > 0:17:33- ..is in a South Wales hospital.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37- This is the place Nina mentioned.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40- Cefn Coed Psychiatric Hospital - is in Swansea.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Dewi Emrys's father - was a patient here.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46- He suffered from depression.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51- As a token of gratitude - for the care his father received...
0:17:51 > 0:17:56- ..Dewi Emrys gave the Llanelli - Chair to one of the porters.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02- Rumour has it that the Chair - is in this red church.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- And here it is.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11- And here it is.- - Dewi Emrys's Chair.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13- I've been searching so long.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14- I've been searching so long.- - Have a look.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15- Thanks.
0:18:15 > 0:18:16- Thanks.- - You're welcome.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20- This is it.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23- Llanelli National Eisteddfod.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27- Jesus Repress Injustice.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30- I can't see the year.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32- Oh, yes.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35- It's in Art Deco style.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38- 1930.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44- The dragon is in the same style...
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- ..and there are two harps.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- It's a handsome - and rather unusual Chair.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- I'm going to sit on it.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- And here I am at last...
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- ..sitting on one - of Dewi Emrys's Chairs.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17- If there is a winner - at this year's Eisteddfod...
0:19:17 > 0:19:22- ..another Chief Bard will - take a chair home from Llanelli.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25- But no-one can take the 1930 Chair.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- It's a chair in a hospital now.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34- But it will always be - Dewi Emrys's Chair.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- PHONE
0:19:46 > 0:19:50- A little later, - the broadcaster Dei Tomos phoned.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53- He'd heard about my project.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57- He remembered seeing - one of Dewi Emrys's Chairs...
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- ..in Chirk Castle - in the Ceiriog Valley.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- It was - a National Eisteddfod Chair.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12- Chirk Castle isn't an unusual - place to find an Eisteddfod Chair...
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- ..especially - from the time in question.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19- Between 1911 and 1946....
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- ..it was the home - of Tom Scott-Ellis...
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- ..or the 8th Baron Howard de Walden.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29- He was born in London - of Welsh descent.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- He became a benefactor - of the Arts in Wales.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37- This is The Bow Room, - because of its shape.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42- They're the possession - of Tom Ellis's family.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- And here's the Chair!
0:20:48 > 0:20:50- Well, now then.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53- It's a sturdy chair.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- The Royal National - Eisteddfod of Wales.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- We're on the right track.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03- The Liver Bird.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04- Can I lift the cushion?
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- Can I lift the cushion?- - Yes.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- The poet's might is his muse.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16- Liverpool, 1929.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21- This is Dewi Emrys's first - National Eisteddfod Chair.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23- The first of four.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26- What is it doing in Chirk Castle?
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- Tom Ellis lived in the castle.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34- We have reason to believe that - he visited Liverpool Eisteddfod.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38- He heard Dewi Emrys - wanted to sell the Chair.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41- Tom Ellis bought the chair.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- I see - not long after - Dewi Emrys won it.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48- I'm not sure. We believe - he went to the Eisteddfod.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50- Was he a member of the Gorsedd?
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- Was he a member of the Gorsedd?- - Yes, and so was his wife.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55- That solves the great mystery.
0:22:11 > 0:22:17- Thanks to Tom Ellis for safeguarding - Dewi Emrys's first Chair...
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- ..so that I can sit on it - in a field.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23- Where better than a castle...
0:22:24 > 0:22:28- ..for the first throne of - Dewi Emrys, King of the Chief Bards?
0:22:33 > 0:22:35- I didn't find all four.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40- The Bridgend Chair might reappear - one day. We have to keep looking.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47- I sat on all sorts - of different chairs.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- Big, small, beautiful and ugly...
0:22:51 > 0:22:55- ..each one reflecting a nation's - respect towards her poets.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58- Real National Chairs.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06- But in my opinion, none - can compare with the Meifod Chair.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- As Ifan Francis Bryn Du said...
0:23:12 > 0:23:14- .."A sheep cannot win a Chair
0:23:14 > 0:23:18- "Nor a cat, nor a dog, - nor a squirrel either
0:23:18 > 0:23:21- "Nor a scruffy old hare
0:23:22 > 0:23:26- "Except in gentle Montgomery"
0:23:48 > 0:23:50- S4C Subtitles by Gwead
0:23:50 > 0:23:51- .