Castell Howell History

beauty in women and his native North The little castle down the road, of which Wales, eight examples have survived. As a now, only the Motte or earthwork remains, statesman, he fell victim to the Welsh habit was originally called Castell Wmphre. Later of forever fighting his kinsmen; hence the on it became Castell Howell, and this name house of Gwynedd weakened its hold on this was retained as it's occupants decided to Cardiganshire outpost. In 1150 Hywell relocate further up the valley where they succumbed to the three brother princes of built their dwelling on or near the site of the South Wales or Deheubarth, and Castell present farmhouse. When this happened the Howell passed to their hands. The reign of castle reverted to its original name of Castell Howell ab Owain Gwynedd had lasted Wmphre. barely twelve years; yet such is the Welsh Castell Wmphre was one of several castles love of poetry that his name is kept green. built as a part of the Norman occupation of By 1155 only the youngest of the three Cardiganshire by Gilbert de Clare in 1110, South Wales brothers, Rhys ap Gruffydd, in which he installed his companions as was alive and Henry II had succeeded the lords of dependent manors. Here his weak Stephen on the English throne. In two companion was a man called Humphrey - years Rhys had to surrender his possessions, hence Castell Wmphre, just as in nearby including Castell Howell, which reverted Lampeter it was a Norman bridge-builder back into Norman hands and was re-built by called Stephen - hence the name Llanbedr- Earl Roger in 1150. Yet later that summer pont-Stephan. Rhys sent his nephew to reduce Castell This victory of the Clares was, however, Howell, and fighting continued until Rhys short-lived. On the death of Henry I in 1135, was carried off to England in King Henry's the Welsh took up arms and Richard Fitz train in 1163. His stay there was short, Gilbert of Clare was ambushed and slain, however, before returning to Wales with his and the two princes of North Wales or wings somewhat clipped by the Treaty of Gwynedd - two brothers - overran Woodstock. Cardiganshire and carved it up between Then the Welsh miracle happened. In 1164 them. The south part going to Owain the princes of Wales - Gwynedd, Powys and Gwynedd, who two years later gave it to his Deheubarth - united in a national resistance son Hywell. So, in 1139 the name Castell that baffled King Henry. They repulsed him Wmphre temporarily faded out; Castell in the Ceiriog Valley, and secured for Howell then embarked on a history that Wales's independence from England for a already has lasted over 800 years. full hundred years. Rhys ap Gruffydd went Hywell is better remembered in Wales as a on to take his place in Welsh history as the poet than he is as a statesman and prince. Of great Lord Rhys. He now turned his his poetry, which is lyrical and dedicated to attention to the Norman's last stronghold in Cardiganshire, the hitherto impregnable Llwynrhydowen chapel, and in the opinion Cardigan Castle, and reduced it in 1165. of Lord Aberdare, the only Welshman of his day to win a European reputation. It was here that Rhys's son-in-law, Cadifor ap Dinawal, distinguished himself as the Castell Howell itself, re-entered Welsh first one to scale the castle tower; his three history in 1782, when David Lloyd's co- ladders scaling the tower are a familiar minister and successor at Llwynrhydowen, feature in Welsh heraldry, and may still be David Davis (1745 - 1827), came to live in seen on the sign of the occasional Welsh Inn the current Farmhouse, where he founded an (ie. our Castle bar). Cadifor's reward was to Academy which thrived for 30 years. "Davis be made Lord of Castell Howell. Castell Howell" is still remembered in Wales, partly for the renown of the From him (and the Lord Rhys himself) are Academy and it's pupils; partly for his descended the numerous Lloyds of the translation into Welsh of "Gray's Elegy", county of Cardigan, who take pride in their which some say excels the original, and three-ladder arms, and in Castell Howell as partly for his strong conviction that in their ancestral home. Their surname of Politics and Religion, man should obey his Lloyd was adopted in the 14th Century by own reason and conscience before any Gwilym Lloyd, who (Meyrick says) was the external authority; a view that brought him first to build his house away from the too close for his comfort to the ideals of the original site of Castell Wmphre. His great then raging French Revolution. One of his grandson, Llewellyn Lloyd in the time of most talented pupils was Christmas Evans Henry VII, had an eldest son David, who (1766 - 1838), who was born near the represented Cardiganshire, as it's first village of Llandysul, on Christmas day. His recorded Member of Parliament in 1545. His father was a shoemaker and died soon after second son, Rhys, founded the adjacent the birth, so Christmas grew up as an house and estate of Alltyroydn and his third illiterate farm laborer working on the farm at son, Hugh, acquired the then dissolved Castell Howell, in the care of a godless, Nunnery of Llanllyr. Of his sons, the cruel uncle. At the age of 17, he became a second, Griffith, became the second servant to the Rev. David Davies the Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, and the Presbyterian Minister, in whose church he third, Thomas, became the Chancellor of St was converted during a revival meeting. He Davids and the father of the Judge and was taught to read and write at the Academy Royalist, Sir Marmaduke Lloyd of and began to take an interest in spiritual Maesyfelin. Llewellyn's fourth son, Gwion, things, causing his former companions in sin founded the nearby house of Llanfechan, to beat him severely and put out one of his which in more recent times moulded the life eyes. that to this day, is lived in this district. He became greatly influenced by the Marriage to an heiress removed the main Baptists of Llandysul, and in 1790 joined the branch of the Lloyds to Carmarthenshire Baptist church at the age of 24 years.He was about 1620; long after which Castell Howell ordained and then began to travel the entire was sold to the Alltyrodyn Lloyds and country of Wales, preaching in churches, in became a Farmhouse on their estate. It was the coal mines, and in the fields. A tenanted at times by the Llanfechan family, remarkable manifestation of the Holy Spirit members of which were by now, owner- accompanied his ministry and revival of the occupiers of several Farms around Castell Christian doctrine spread across Wales. Howell. This was also a remarkable family, Thousands of Christians began openly to as instanced by David Lloyd, Brynllefrith witness for Christ, and to sing hymns (1724 - 1779) - farmer, poet, versed in the publicly as testimony to their salvation. This Classics (Hebrew included), fluent speaker resulted in the starting of the Welsh revival, of French and Italian, one-time and the revival fires burned and swept the schoolmaster, minister of the local Country for many years to follow. Inspite of his early disadvantages and Castell Wmphre Motte personal disfigurement, Christmas Evans was a remarkably powerful preacher. To a Castell Wmphre occupies the extremity of a natural aptitude for this calling, he united a low but steep-sided spur formed by a minor nimble mind and an inquiring spirit. His tributary of the Clettwr Fach. The tip of the charactor was simple, his piety genuine, and spur which overhangs the valley road and his faith fervantly evangelical. His chief the Clettwr river was scarped and shaped to charactoristic was a vivid and fluent form a formidable Motte rising over 50 feet imagination that was encouraged and above the riverside meadows below. The developed in the Academy, which under the mound was cut off from the higher ground control of the Holy Spirit, earned for him the to the East by a steep sided ditch of "V" name of “The Bunyan of Wales.” section and the soil from this was apparently used to heighten the already lofty mound. What began with the Lloyds of Llanfechan There are still slight traces of a small bean and flourished with David Davis, came to a shaped Bailey defended on the South by a head under Gwilym Marles (1834 - 1879), slight semi-circular scarp and beam, and on again the Minister of Llwynrhydowen, the East by the remains of a levelled rampart schoolmaster, fervent Unitarian, and a and filled-in ditch. The ground rises well militant opponent of what to him was the beyond the height of the Motte a short unholy trinity of landlord, steward and distance to the East where the approach is parson. His work for the Liberals in the fairly level. On the North and West, the General Election of 1868 evoked from slope down to the brook, is precipitous, and Lloyd of Alltyrodyn - a young man who was on the South, reasonably steep, but the so different from his Llanfechan cousins - a situation is not a particularly strong one. On regrettable over-reaction, in the form of the summit of the Motte is a deep cruel evictions, not only from the farms on rectangular depression 14 feet wide by 28 the estate, but also from the Chapel itself. feet long, but no trace of any stonework. The One farming couple and their three grown- hollow may represent a fairly recent up children left for America, only to lose the excavation in search of “Treasure.” The three children from fever on-route. They Motte and ditch and part of the Bailey, stand returned by the same ship and settled in a in a small square enclosure, which is local small-holding, on which the wife, now covered with small trees, bushes, bracken demented, spent her few remaining days, and brambles so as to be almost wandering through the fields, calling to her impenetrable. An area on the spur, children. Their plight is still vividly immediately to the East of the above remembered as part of the price of freedom, described defences, has signs of artificial in the pursuit of which Gwilym Marles wore scarping on the North side and may himself out at the age of 45. Which is six represent the site of an outer Bailey, all years better than his great-nephew in our other traces of which have disappeared. time, Dylan Marlais Thomas, in whose life and work there are influences only to be understood in the light of the History centred around Castell Howell.