Tag: Wales

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History Walks and Talks in Glamorgan | Summer 2024

Glamorgan History Walks and Talks logo
Glamorgan history walks and talks

It has been raining so hard for so long here in Wales lately that I’m beginning to forget that it ever wasn’t raining. A depressing prospect for someone who loves nothing more than taking a walk around some local, historic monuments or sites of historic or legendary interest. Without having to wipe raindrops off my glasses to be able to appreciate them.

But of course we had a glorious Summer last year. So, the time has come to start looking forward and thinking about what we are going to do when weekends start to get warmer and dryer. When it stays light well into the evening.

To that effect I am planning a programme of history walks and talks this summer which I am inviting you to join me on. The plan is that they will all incorporate the following magical ingredients:

  • Walks of between 4 & 6 miles for various abilities
  • Start times around 9:00am
  • Beautiful Welsh countryside
  • Places of historical interest
  • The setting of some of Wales’ most wonderful legends and folklore
  • An author and broadcaster of Welsh history and other experts to tell the stories, sing the songs and bring them to life
  • Some weather (not necessarily sunshine, but definitely something!)
  • Some fun and laughs along the way
  • Always ending up at a pub for lunch and refreshments.
Jasper the history hound guarding my seat

This is roughly how the progamme is likely to look, but at this early stage it is subject to change:

History Walks and Talks in the Vale | May 2024

  • Saturday 4th May: Southerndown – Dunraven – St Brides – Ogmore Castle – Ogmore Estuary – The Three Golden Cups.
  • Saturday 11th May: Llantwit Major Square – The Castle Ditches – Collhugh Beach – Tresilian Bay – The Olde Swan Inn
  • Saturday 18th May: Monknash – Wick Beach – Nash Point – St Donats – The Plough & Harrow
  • Saturday 25th May: Dinas Powys Square – St George Woods – The Iron age Fort – Salmon leaps – The Star Inn
  • Bank Holiday Monday 27th May: St Athan – Berkerolles Tombs – East Orchard Castle – Boys Village – Gileston Manor – The Roost

History Walks and Talks in Bridgend | June 2024

  • Saturday 1st June: Ogmore Castle – Merthyr Mawr – Candleston Castle – Dipping Bridge – The Pelican in her Piety
  • Saturday 8th June: Coity Castle – Coity Common – Hendre – The Five Bells
  • Saturday 15th June: Llangynwyd Village – Llangynywd Castle & Woods – Gelli Lenor Fawr – The Old House Inn
  • Saturday 22nd June: Blackmill – Primaevel Woods – Mynydd Y Gaer – Peterston Super Montum – The Fox and Hounds
  • Saturday 29th June: Kenfig Pool – Sker House – Kenfig Castle – Mawdlam Church – The Prince of Wales

If there is enough demand, I may well add further walks in the other counties of Glamorgan. Namely Cardiff, RCT, Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly through July and August. As well as a pilgrimage walk I am planning from Llancarfan to the shrine of St Baruc on Barry Island on his feast day of Friday 27th September 2024. So watch this space.

In a nutshell, if you love history, and you love walks, pubs, South Wales and chirpy banter – then you’ll probably enjoy these walks.

If you would like to come along, tickets with be on sale soon for £10 per walker per walk, and will be available from this site and Eventbrite.

Over the coming weeks I will be doing risk assessments on each of the walks to make sure the routes are suitable but if you do fancy joining me, there are a couple of things you need to take into consideration.

  • We will be walking across country on public footpaths rather than just on roads and pavements. There will be mud, puddles, rocks and uneven surfaces. So stout footwear is required.
  • Many of these public footpaths require you to be able to climb over gates and styles. Dogs (on leads) and push chairs are welcome on these walks but you need to be prepared to lift them over such obstacles.
  • Like any outdoor activity you will need to be prepared for the predicted weather conditions of the day. Waterproofs for rain, sun hats and sunscreen for sunny days and so on.
  • Water bottles are essential to keep hydrated on these walks. You may also want energy boosting snacks.
  • When I publish the individual walk details they will feature important information to help you decide if the walk matches your abilities. These include distances in miles, the type of terrain we will cross, if the going is easy or tough, and if any climbing is involved. I will also flag any potential hazards such as stepping stones or cliffs. Please read these details carefully before committing to a walk. 🚶

If you would like to be notified when the itinerary is completed and tickets are available, or even if you just want to ask a question, please use the form below:-

Click the “Contact Us” button below to receive further information about the Glamorgan History Walks and Talks (when available).

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The Mystery of Bomium

I am currently making a series of documentaries about lost settlements. Places that pop up in historical documents and old maps but which don’t exist anymore. In my latest video I try and track down Bomium (or Bomio). It is mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary as being a fort and settlement somewhere on the Via Julia Maritima between Cardiff and Neath. But the milage calculations given are plainly wrong as they say 15 miles from Neath and 27 miles from Caerleon. As if those two places are only 42 miles apart along the old Roman Road. In reality its more like 55. So where was bomium?

If the distance from Neath was correct it would be the village of Stormy Down near Pyle. But there would be a lot more archeology in the area if that was right. Historians have suggested the XV should have said XX so, alternatives such as the Heronstone/Ewenny Priory area south of Bridgend and Ogmore Castle have been put forward.

When John Speed drew his map of Glamorgan in 1610, he marked Bomium on it. In his opinion, it was Boverton near Llantwit Major. And if the distance from Caerleon is correct, then Cowbridge is the most likely candidate. All of these suggested sites have some merit but none are perfect matches for a variety of reasons.

In this, my latest video, I have pulled together all the evidence we have that there ever was a Bomium, along with where it fits into the story of the Roman invasion and occupation of South Wales. After subduing the Silures.

We look at what history and archeology we have that narrow down the search. I also reconstruct the fort and show viewers where I believe the fort is hidden. And that might raise a few eyebrows. I also bring to life what Bomium would have been like in its hey day, and why it seems to have disappeared. We also challenge some of the accepted wisdom of what happened after the Romans left in general. After all, what have the Romans ever done for us?

I wrote a summary of the story in my first book Legends and Folklore of Bridgend and the Vale but have since found out a lot more detail and information.

It is available to watch in full on my YouTube channel. Just click on the link below to watch in full.

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Unique perspective of World War II

A new book called Monica was launched on Saturday 7th October at Cowbridge Town Hall in South Wales. It tells the story of a family who fled grinding poverty and endless wars in 1920s Poland to start a new life in France. France had suffered heavy losses in World War I and needed immigrant labour to work in the mines. This family were part of that solution but shortly after moving found themselves living under German occupation in World War II.

The story is told from the perspective of the youngest member of the family.  A little girl known as Monia at home, but Monique to her French school friends. She finally becomes known as Monica when the family settled in the South Wales coal field after the war. She recounts day to day life under occupation and beyond. She also embodies some recurring themes throughout the story. The mass movement of people across war torn Europe and the breakneck pace of change in the 20th century. One of her uncles glibly comments over dinner that he was born before the Wright brothers had achieved flight but had lived to see a man land on the moon. A remark which so aptly sums that up.

At the launch, the author Graham Loveluck-Edwards talked about the very real people the book is based on. A little-known history which is part of our story of diversity in Wales.

At the end of the second World War, it was Britain which had lost so many men that additional workers were needed to fill jobs in the mines. Soldiers of the Polish Free Army had fought alongside the British. After the war they were given a choice: Return to their country of residence or stay in the UK to work in the mines here. And that was the story of this family. So, the book also deals with first impressions of South Wales in 1948, and the uniquely Welsh things which made it feel like home.

Graham also revealed at the launch that he is a lot closer to the story than people might realise. “The principal character; Monica is based on my own mother. And this is all based on the history of her family”. He went on “people who knew her from the days when she ran Sacha Boutique in Bridgend in the 1970s and the Elle Dress Agency in Cowbridge in the 1990s may remember her as a rather glamorous and flamboyant lady. They might be surprised at her humble origins in a family of Polish peasants whose existence was so precarious, they measured a good winter by the fact that everyone in the household had survived”.

Even without any personal connections, readers will find the book absorbing and the story it tells fascinating and at times, amusing. Graham who is better known for writing about ancient Welsh legends and stories about pirates and highwaymen said “you will find the stories in this book every bit as entertaining as anything I’ve ever written about pirates or mythical beasts. The difference is, there are plenty of people dotted around the UK who share this history and will see their own family history reflected in what I have written”.

‘Monica’ is now available to buy from this website as well as on Amazon and all good book shops.

Watch a video of the book launch event in full

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Stories from Dai Woodham’s locomotive scrap yard in Barry

You often hear people (of a certain age) reminiscing about lost institutions they used to know and love. Maybe it’s the chapel their nana used to go to that’s flats now. Or the local cinema that they used to queue up outside every Saturday that today is just a car park. However, it’s not very often that you find people waxing nostalgically about a scrap yard. But if you ask people who grew up in Barry in the 60s or 70s, very few will have nothing to say about Dai Woodham’s scrap yard. It used to occupy the old railway sidings next to the abandoned docks. It was a place that dominated the townscape. Even if you had no interest in it or what could be found there. It was difficult to ignore.

What made the place magical to so many and made it famous throughout the world was the mile after mile of decommissioned steam locomotives in various states of decay parked up there. As far as the eye could see. And even more magical if you were a curious little boy like I was the first time I visited Barry, you were allowed to climb up and play on them. What would the Health & Safety bods make of that today?

A good friend of mine suggested that I should make a programme about the yard and volunteered his expert knowledge. Great idea I thought, so I casually posted about the notion on social media, to see if I could flush out some personal recollections. I wasn’t really expecting much in the way of engagement.

How wrong could I have been. It seems that everyone has a story about Dai Woodham’s locomotive scrap yard.

I heard how children used to climb up the front of the first locomotive in a line, down the chimney into the boiler then through the cab and out the back, onto the front of the next one and so on, to see if they could clear the whole line without touching the ground. I heard how amateur film makers used to light fires next to the cabs and fan the flames so billows of smoke would swirl past them, so it looked on the film like they were driving a steam engine. Even if the one they were in didn’t even have any wheels.

Lots of people had stories about how pragmatic Dai was when it came to pricing. One person told me that he found a small green engine on the yard. He fell in love with it. But it was boxed in on all sides by far bigger locomotives, some of which were missing wheels. He asked Dai ‘how much?’ Dai looked at the engine, looked at the others around it and with an air of ambivalence said ‘£60 – if you can get it out”.

I also heard from the relatives of the great man himself and a lady who worked at the yard for most of her life. They told me about all the preservation societies who would come to the yard in their droves. Their mission? To buy locomotives to restore. Even the BBC TV’s kids programme Blue Peter came to buy one. And of course, the back story of the most famous locomotive of all – the Hogwarts Express. How the old GWR Haul Class 460 engine made its way from Barry Sidings to the silver screen.

When you think about it, nostalgia has always been the currency of Dai Woodham’s. People harking back to the golden age of steam are what kept the business viable for over 30 years. And now the yard is gone the institution itself is the stuff of relived memories.

Incidentally, I did make the programme. It will be broadcasted on Bro Radio FM on Monday 25th September 2023 after the 7pm news. But if the date and transmitter range are a barrier to you enjoying it, it is also available to watch on my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/NScezzobFAI. #like and subscribe.

Moving a 100 ton locomotive is a delicate operation – which did not always go smoothly.

If you want to know more about Dai Woodham’s scrap yard there is a fantastic article from the Western Mail archives you might be interested in. Just follow this link.

If you want to know more about Graham Loveluck-Edwards, the producer of this video, follow this one.

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The shared history of Wales and Brittany

Bonjour, good morning, bore da, and demat dit

Over the past few weeks I have been researching the many historic and cultural links between Wales and Brittany. Its shown me that we have a shared history going back to the Stone Age. I find is staggering how little people seem to know about it.

So I have made a film which pulls the lid off all this shared history, culture and language and explores the following in more depth:

  • Neolithic standing stones
  • The arrival of the Celts and the tribes who settled in both places
  • The language we share and why
  • The place names you find in both countries
  • The co operation between both nations in the wars against the Saxons in Briton and the Franks in France
  • The Welsh saints who established the Breton church
  • King Arthur’s place in both nation’s history
  • What we have to show for it all today

Across 30 minutes we visit the places where all the action happened and the sources of all this information.

I also should pre-warn you that there are some beautiful beaches and pretty towns filled with mediaeval architecture in this video which might promote a need to go on holiday – I can only apologise.

Feel free to share on social media, please please please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already and if you want to find out more about any of the places or stories featured in this video, then please scroll dwon past the video it self to where I have shared all you need to know.

Click above to watch the video about Wales and Brittany and their connections in history from King Arthur to Geoffrey of Monmouth.

Further Information on the places in this video

Hopefully you have enjoyed the content of this video, but I can understand if you are curious to know more about where it was filmed and the places mentioned.

Carnac

Carnac appears several times in this video. The opening beach sequences were filmed on La Grande Plage De Carnac but I also feature shots of the Kerlescan Standing Stones and Dolmen. The stones at Carnac have made the area a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is a bigger concentration of neolithic monuments in the area than anywhere else in Europe. If you visit, you will need to go the the visitor centre called ‘Maison de Megalithes’ where guided tours around the different sites can be organised. These days all the sites are fenced off so wandering about isn’t an option.

For more information click here to visit the Carnac Tourism website.

Other standing stones featured

In the item about standing stones I also featured standing stones in Trellech in Monmouthshire and at Pentre Ifan. Click on the hyperlinks to see more information on those places.

Vannes

Vannes (or Gwened in Breton) is a beautiful, fortified medieval town and port in southern Brittany.

It was named after the Venetti tribe who the Romans described as being the inhabitants of the area before the Roman invasion.

From a vistors perspective the town is very picturesque with loads of nice bars and restaurants. The old town walls are something special. For more information visit the toursim website by clicking here.

Places associated with Welsh Saints

Iles de St Cado is near the town of Belz in southern Brittany. It is where St Cadoc is remembered for his part in establishing the church in Brittany. You can get more information by clicking here.

I also featured the story of St Teilo and of St Gildas and included footage of the churches which now stand on the site of the medieval monastery at Llantwit Major and the Abbey and Llancarfan. Click on the links in blue in this paragraph for more information on each.

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19th Century Welsh insurrection

Between 1830 and 1844 unrest amongst the industrial workers and farmers in Wales tipped over into riot and uprising. Nineteenth Century South Wales was a tinderbox of revolt. Industrialists were making fortunes in coal and steel but their workers were treated terribly. Living conditions were inhospitable and a breeding ground for cholera and other killer diseases.

High rents and low pay (not in cash but issued in tokens which could only be spent in the shops owned by their employers) made these people little more than slaves. And the introduction of credit and debt bound the working people still further to their employers and land owners.

Outside the industrialised areas things were no better. Welsh farmers and people living in rural areas were being bled by taxes and tythes and on the back of several poor harvests they found themselves on the brink of starvation. Something had to give. And the birth of new political ideas fuelled a number of uprisings.

The Merthyr Rising in 1831, the Rebecca Riots and the Newport Chartist Rising both starting in 1839. But what caused the rebellions? How did they start? Who was behind them? How did the establishment react? What has been their legacy?

In conversation, Graham Loveluck-Edwards and Mark Lawson-Jones pull back the layers of these events and their consequences. And as ever, especially for viewers in the Vale of Glamorgan, there is a tenuous local link. Watch below to find out what it is.

First broadcast June 2023 on Bro Radio.

The Merthyr Rising, The Rebecca Riots and The Chartists March on Newport all took place in the 1830s in Wales
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Talks on Glamorgan history and folklore

If you, like me, love a bit of Glamorgan history, folklore and legend, you may be interested in joining me at any number of talks I am giving in the coming months. As I am a guest speaker at most of these I have given details of the organisers so where tickets are required you know how to get them. Hopefully something for everyone here.

May Walks In The Vale Of Glamorgan 2023

with Chris Jones & Guests

7th , 13th, 20th and 27th May

After the incredible success of the 10 Days in May walking festival in 2022, Chris Jones is back with another walking festival through some of the Vale of Glamorgan’s most beautiful and historic locations. The theme is very much the same as last year with guided walks, talks about points of historical interest along the way (provided by yours truly) and some surprise appearances as character actors bring to life the stories associated with the area. It is tremendous fun.

These are the walks in this years event.

Sunday 7th May – The Iolo Morganwg Heritage Walk – Starting and finishing in Cowbridge. Meet for breakfast at The Maple and Bean (opposite Waitrose) at 10am.

Saturday 13th May – Llantwit Major and the Heritage Coast – Starting and finishing in Llantwit Major – Meet for breakfast 9.30am at the Piccolo Blu Cafe.

Saturday 20th May – St Athan and Gileston Walk – Start and finish at Gileston Manor where we will meet for breakfast at 9.30am.

Saturday 27th May – Dunraven Coastal Path Walk – Meet for breakfast at 9.30am at The Three Golden Cups in Southerndown.

If you would like to register for any of these walks then please click on the link go to the Visit The Vale website for information.

If that all looks a bit too energetic, then here are some other talks you might be interested in where the audience is altogether more static:

17th May – Social Sisters Barry (The Lounge, Tadcross) 8pm

10th June (2.00pm) – “The Cult, the Captain and the Baron” – the fascinating history of St Curig’s Church, Porthkerry

📍St Curigs Church, Porthkerry CF62 3BZ

🕰 2pm Saturday 10th June

💰 Free

13th June – WI Penarth

15th June – Cowbridge U3A

1st July – Ogmore Walk and Talk

I will provide information closer to the time for The Ogmore Walk and Talk and the St Curigs Porthkerry talks.

For the other talks above I am a guest of an organisation so you will need to contact them direct for more information. Contact details are available for all on Google.

If are interested in having me come along to one of your events to speak on any of my specialist areas, please click here for more information on what I can offer.

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A great Welsh legend for Good Friday

This is Mynydd Ysgyryd Fawr (or in English; The Skirrid). It lies north of Abergavenny in Monmouthshire. It is also known as ‘The Holy Mountain’.

Technically it is a hill not a mountain but the Welsh word ‘mynydd’ doesn’t have such a strict definition criteria as its English equivalent. It just means big hill.

It has a famous legend attached to it. It was said that at the exact moment of the crucifixion the whole mountain shook until the central section collapsed giving it the distinctive outline we see today.

The name ‘ysgyryd’ is derived from the Welsh word for earth quake.

In the medieval period it was a popular place of pilgrimage and at certain points of the path you can take if you are climbing it, there are old stone steps to help the pilgrims with their ascent. It is well worth the trip as the view from the top is amazing. You can see across 4 counties.

There is also a large flat stone, possibly a Neolithic monument, known as the Devil’s Stone half way up it. This time referencing another legend that the collapsed part of the mountain was used as a seat by Satan himself.

So something for everyone!

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Unus pro omnibus – one for all

We make many journeys in our life which just take us from A to B. In today’s blog however, I would like to share one with you which is reserved for special occasions. For those times when I have been a very good boy. And it is one which I believe many others will enjoy. What’s more, it is a must for lovers of traditional ales and ‘olde worlde’ pubs.

I am talking about those time warp establishments with undulating stone walls, flagstone floors, black timber beams, thatched roofs and crackling log fires. They are usually hidden away in windy lanes so only people ‘in the know’ are ever able to find them. The perfect places to kick back with a pint and a pie in pursuit of some of life’s simpler pleasures. Reminders of life in an earlier age.

But as with so many traditional, simple pleasures in life, the modern world has conspired to confound.

Most of us don’t live in little country villages where we can simply walk to such places and for very good reasons, driving is not an option. And if you’ve ever tried to get a taxi to drive out to pretty well anywhere I am about to talk about you will know it’s like pulling teeth. If you tap your Uber app it will tell you that your nearest driver is in a different century. So whether by design or accident, it is great to see that Adventure Buses have stepped up and provided us with a solution to this problem. And it only costs £6.90! Or if you have a bus pass – absolutely nothing! Which is my favourite price.

It is something I wrote about a few years ago in my book; Historic Pubs of Wales (published by Candy Jar Books). A bus route that passes through some of the most beautiful and dramatic countryside Wales has to offer. But more importantly, one which trundles past most of the best old pubs in Glamorgan. Today, it has been split across two bus routes, (when I first wrote about it, it was a single route) but none the less, it is a brilliant way of enjoying some of these unique and characterful old pubs, in out of the way places.

So, how do you take advantage of this? First off, if you either visit the Adventure Buss website, or download their App (or even get on a bus and talk to a driver) you will find a ticket available called a “Glamorgan Coaster Day” Ticket. This gives you unlimited travel on the 303 and 304 bus routes for a single day. The 303 runs between Bridgend and Llantwit Major, and the 304 runs between Llantwit Major and Cardiff. And for the middle part of most days, there is an hourly service.

My recommended itinery would be as follows. I would suggest beginning your travels from Bridgend and work your way east. If you do so, these are some of the glorious establishments and landmarks on your route:

  • The Coach, Cowbridge Road (winner of numerous good ale awards)
  • Bus stop at Ewenny Road, Bridgend (1 minute walk) Catch 303 eastbound to Llantwit Major
  • Pass historic Ewenny Pottery and the village of Ewenny with its medieval fortified priory
  • The Watermill (Converted water mill – pub/restaurant)
  • The Pelican (Pretty vernacular style cottage converted into a pub with nice views)
  • The historic remains of Ogmore Castle and the stepping stones over the river Ewenny opposite the pub
  • The estuary of the Ogmore, the beach at Ogmore-By-Sea and spectacular views across the Bristol Channel
  • The Three Golden Cups (pub with camp site and beer garden)
  • Southerndown Beach, Dunraven Castle, Dunraven Bay
  • The village of St Brides
  • The Farmers Arms
  • The village of Wick
  • The Star and the Lamb and Flag (Sixteenth century inn)
  • The Plough & Harrow (Smugglers inn)
  • Remains of a Fourteenth Century Monastic Grange, Monknash Beach
  • Nash point lighthouse
  • The Horseshoe in Marcross
  • St Donats Castle and spectacular views along the Heritage Coast towards the Quantocks
  • Llantwit Major church, old town, town square and beach
  • The White Hart (sixteenth century inn)
  • The Old Swan (Sixteenth century inn)
  • The Tudor Tavern (sixteenth century inn)
  • The Kings Head
  • The White Lion
  • Change for the 304 Llantwit Major to Cardiff bus at the station or catch a train from Llantwit Major to either Cardiff or Bridgend.
  • The Boverton Castle
  • On the 304, between Boverton and St Athan you pass through the middle of the old RAF base in and can see all the planes now at the site awaiting dismantling. Also, Aston Martin and the South Wales Aviation Museum (well worth a visit)
  • The Three Horse Shoes (traditional old inn)
  • The village of Aberthaw and its nature reserve and remains of old lime works
  • The Blue Anchor (established in 1381 – one of our oldest pubs)
  • Fontygary beach and camp site
  • The Fontygary Inn (where John and Charles Wesley were frequent guests – before it was a pub!)
  • If it was me, I would call it a day at Rhoose where there is a railway station. But if you are feeling intrepid, there are numerous more places the 304 passes before it gets to Cardiff. Worthy of note that the last bus from Rhoose to Barry/Cardiff passes the Fontygary Inn at exactly 11.30 (chucking out time). It’s as if it was meant to be.

Now, I am fully aware that I have just listed 17 pubs above. Please do not think that I am advocating drinking in all of them in one day. Some might consider that irresponsible. But rest assured if you were to spread them out across a brace of summer weekends I think it’s fair to say that a good time might be had by all.

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King Edward II flees to Glamorgan | The Legends of Morien and Cadrawd explored.

I have always been fascinated by the various legends about that most unpopular of Kings of England; Edward II. Hated by the English for losing Scotland at the battle of Bannockburn, hated by the Welsh for being the first English man appointed to the office of Prince of Wales. Hated by the French for the treatment of his wife Isabella (the she wolf of France) and hated by the Barons for pretty much everything.

Recently the legend about him being murdered by having a red hot poker shoved up his bottom reached a whole new audience when the actor Danny Dyer (of Eastenders fame) appeared on BBC TV’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ and discovered he was descended from one of the King’s illegitimate children. But there are loads more legends about him and many of them are set in our little corner of Wales, here in Glamorgan as this is where he hid, with his lover/favourite Hugh Le Despenser (Earl of Glamorgan) from the army of his vengeful wife.

So I have made a film about them.

With the help of some experts in their field we unpick the truth from the stories to piece together Edwards final months of freedom in 1326 and his probable murder in 1327.

You can watch it here 👇

Despite the fact that the king himself kept a journal we have very little accurate, contemporary account of the events leading up to his capture in Llantrisant. But we do have a couple of spectacular legends that fill in some of the gaps.

The one we focus on was published in full in the South Wales Daily News on 29th August 1899 by a man from the hilltop village of Llangynwyd near Maesetg who called himself Ap Cadrawd. He claimed that he had uncovered a genuine historical account written by a bard called Morien which told the full story.

The narrative of the article was that Edward II and his lover Hugh Le Despenser had fled London and sought refuge in Neath Abbey. There they persuaded the Abbot of Neath to plea on their behalf but in doing so, he inadvertently gave away where they were hiding.  So, they fled again and attempted to find their way to Despenser’s Castle in Caerphilly but knowing there were soldiers looking for them everywhere they had to stay away from busy roads and big towns where they could easily be spotted. Thus, they ended up in Llangynwyd as it lies on the Glamorgan Ridgeway (which you may remember me writing about previously). The ancient road that runs from Margam to Caerphilly through that very parish.

Ap Cadrawd writes “while in hiding from his enemies at Gaily Lenor Fawr… in order to keep up his character as a Welsh peasant, Edward accepted employment as a thresher of corn at the farm where he was afforded temporary shelter from the fury of Isabella and Mortimer, the farmer meanwhile keeping watch for suspicious characters in the locality- should any such characters appear the fugitive King hid himself in the branches of an oak tree near by, after- wards known as “Cadair Edward”, whence he saw on several occasions bauds of soldiers in search of him…”

The legend then concludes with something of a bombshell;

“in Bridgend a contemporary brought to light another interesting find. This find places beyond a shadow of doubt the truth of one at least of Morien’s statements. An inscribed stone is said to be the find which sets forth the fact that Edward II did really and actually come to the farm of Gelly Lenor Fawr. After centuries we are told that the stone has been revealed by the hand of Nature herself by the blowing down of the old tree”

Obviously, this story has a lot of over tones of the one about Charles I hiding in the Royal Oak. However, there is one inescapable fact in all of this. There genuinely is a stone. You need to work quite hard to find it these days, but here is a picture of it.

The Cadair Edward stone at Llangynwyd as described in Morien's legend

Does the presence of this stone actually prove anything? And what of the one at Pant-Y-Brad in Llantrisant which comes to us courtesy of the same legend?

The King Edward's capture stone at Pant-Y-Brad near Tonyrefail and Llantrisant comemorating Morien's legend.

We take a look at both of them in depth and talk about the likely truth in the film. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but don’t hold your breath…

If you are interested in the legends and folklore of Glamorgan then how can I not promote any of my many books on the subject. They are available from my website at discounted prices you won’t find in the bookshops or on Amazon. For more information pop along to my online bookshop on this link.

I am indebted to the various history societies who supported me with making of this film and especially the co-operation of The Berkeley Castle Estate.