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Cil-y-cwm

The present day population is around 390 adults with the largest landowner being the Queen - the owner of Mynydd Mallaen. Also a large acreage has been planted and is owned by Forestry Enterprise.

There are also several connections to Hell (uffern). Pwll Uffern is a large pool on the river - Devil's Staircase is near by Abergwesyn, and also the late squire used to say that Cil-y-cwm was near hell, because snow would always melt quickly due to the heat from the place.

There used to be a saying that Cil-y-cwm was only as big as between New York and Pennsylvania. There used to be a cottage called New York just above Penstacan and Pennsylvania was opposite the Ygoldy fach and Gwenlais stream.

It was a common practise in those days to hold fairs. Dates of fairs in Cil-y-cwm were June 17th, August 20th and November 11th and 22nd. These fairs were very important events in the community, even as far as Rhandirmwyn , as the register for the school for 1866 states that there was no school because of the fair at Cil-y-cwm. The history of the village itself has evolved from a time when people of the area lived on the hills for whatever reason, (probably for safety). Most hills in the area have farms or a cottage with names which denote some sort of hill fortification , e.g Penyfedw there were two dwellings, Bryncastle and Cae'r Beili. The farms whose names are Dinasbach, Troedrhiwdinas and Cwrdinas also imply some sort of fortificatiom. Nant y Car, Siloh should be Nant y Caer. Also there is Pen-y-gaer in Llanfair ar y Bryn These obviously belong to a time long ago - Iron age or possibly pre - Roman era.

There is also a mention that there was one at Glanrhyderryd, possibly more associated with the Roman period.

As the years rolled by the people moved down into the valley and eventually to Cil-y-cwm. According to Miss Dory Theophilus the village was in the field belonging to Felin behind Mr. & Mrs. Milner but during the plague (Black death) the village moved across the Gwenlais. During the 19th century there were thought to be 4 taverns in the village. The 4 names taken from the register of deaths from the church are:-

There were also 4 mills in Cil-y-cwm - Melin Cwmfran, Felin Cil-y-cwm, Melin Abergwenlais and Melin Aberrhaead.

During this penod there was obviously a need to become self sufficient in a need, of the area, and it is interesting to note what skills were available in the area. Thanks to Handel Jones there is a list of landlords and cottages from Cil-y-cwm who made Easter Offerings in 1776.

There was a gent in Erryd, Cefntrenfa, Pwllpryddog, Abergwenlais and Bwlch trebannau.

Today's parish is surrounded by Llanfair ar y bryn to the east: by Llanddewi Brefi towards the north, Caeo to the west and Llandovery and Llanwrda to the south. At one point there is a suggestion that Cil-y-cwm should, or possibly was called Llanfihangel - obviously because of the church St. Michaels.

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Mynydd Mallaen

Mallaen has been around for a long time! After the Norman Conquest it was I of 7 commotes which belonged to the Cantref Mawr. Today this area is to the north of the Tywi and the town of Carmarthen. To the south of the Tywi was called Cantref Bach and below Carmarthen Cantref Gwarthaf. The other 6 commotes were Caeo, Maenor Deilo, Cetheinig, Mabelfyw, Mabudrud and Widigada. Today's parish of Cil-y-cwrn and Llanwrda were in Mallaen. Mallaen was described as a wild, remote region, thickly forested where the men of Cantref Mawr defied the foreign invaders. Caeo the neighbouring commote was believed to have traditional graves of ancient warriors. Mynydd Mallaen does have burrows recorded up there (burial sites), also recorded, a few standing stones

Middle Ages

Commote came under the controls of a steward or possibly his deputy presided. They usually met 13 times a year usually on a Tuesday - location for Mallaen was Llanwrda. On page 226 of John Lloyds - History of Carmarthenshire it records the case where Individual Resistance to charges made resulted in whole communities being fined e g Mallaen was fined 40 shillings in 1303 Mallaen was recognised as a community of weavers and often were charged collectively in the commote courts for breaking the statute.

In 1485 Sir Rhys ap Thomas marched up to Bosworth to support Henry the 7th in his bid to become king My theory was that Henry marched up around the coast towards Aberystwyth while Sir Rhys ap Thomas came up through the Tywi Valley and crossed through Mid Wales (see article - Henry the 7th - theory)

In a ballad on the battle called Ballad of Lady Bessy", Sir Rhys ap Thomas brought 8000 spears with him. It is more likely to have been 1000 horsemen and 3000 spearmen

Moving past the civil war towards the 191h century, the records of these court rolls and leets are held in London. There was by now a Beadle responsible for the affairs of the Common Land. Beadle in the dictionary means a ceremonial officer of a church; college etc but the Welsh translation offers a better meaning - PIwyf was - parish servant.

In 1822 the Beadle was to destrain the considerable number of sheep grazing Mallaen hill belonging to persons not holding land within the said Lordship. Fences were in desperate need of repair. A map of Mallaen Mountain was held by a David Jones Lewis Gent

In 1834 there was a departuring of the common - all stock removed between 1st of November until 1st of April the following year. All stock found was to be impounded and fines of two shillings a head for sheep and five shillings a head for cattle. In 1834 also the tithe documents stated that:-

In 1857 census the area was 17300 acres. Population Males - 721 Females - 766

Footnotes

COLLECTION OF INTERESTING NAMES ON MYNYDD MALLÁEN

Malláen
The name of the mountain which some believe to have connections to the Irish Language. According to a Welsh book Enwau Tir a Gwlad by Melville Richards he suggests that the name implies the plains of Llaen and that the Irish connection is questionable.
Crugiau Ladies
SN723455
One story suggests that these collections of stones on the mountain were named after the wife of a Celtic chieftain. Another and more probable theory is better explained with the following extract from The Old Straight Track - Alfred Watkins. Assemblies were held in the open air at ley sighting points. The Court-Hills and Law-day Hills in Scotland were numerous. 'Lady' in place-names is a corruption of 'law-day'. In Hampshire, a court leet is held in Lady Mead. There are several 'Lady' place-names in Herefordshire - and law days are mentioned in Leominster town records. All down the Middle Ages the word 'mark' (sometimes spelt merke, merc, merch) has signified a boundary or a landmark, e.g. Cwm Merchon SN740416.
Llety'r Ficer (Vicar's Lodgings)
SN733428
On top of Mallaen overlooking Cwm Gwenlais. Walls of the dwelling remain. Interesting name - no theory for the name yet.
Rhiw Cagle
SN755426
Narrow winding track on to the mountain behind Llwyndinawed. Possibly should be Craigle - place of rock.
Cors Lan Tarw (Bull Bog)
SN738443
Large boggy area where it is believed a bull lost his life in the bog. Bull was thought to have belonged to Penrhiw Fach.
Nyth y Cigfran (Raven's Nest)
SN734421
Rocky outcrop opposite side of Cwm Gwenlais to Llety'r Ficer.
Cwm Nant y Nelle
SN741417
Now disappeared dwelling where there were some mining activity.
Dafydd Tomos

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Henry the 7th - theory

by Dafydd Tomos

After living in one area for your whole life one tends to ask where and which period the names of this area come from. After some discussion with Mr Ivor Williams, Gallt-y-bere recently, I was intrigued to discover that there was a story , whether true or not , that Henry the 7th went into the battle of Bosworth on a horse from Cwm Rhaeadr, Cil-y-cwm. This place in Cwm Rhaeadr was thus named Cae'rceffyl after this occurrence.

And so begins my theory about the other connections to Henry in the Cwm Rhaeadr area.

  1. Dwelling near Home Farm entrance named Cwrt Henri.
  2. Pontbrenhenri - a now disappeared bridge in Cwm Rhaeadr (still known to the older people in the area).
  3. Cae'rceffyl - a smallholding where the horse that Henry rode on came from.
  4. Two fields belonging to the farm Cwm Rhaeadr were called cae Milwr Mawr and cae Milwr Bach (large and small soldiers field).
  5. Small woodland separating Penyfedw and Penyfedw Fach is known as Coed Llethr Fabli. Fabli was Sir Rhys ap Thomas' first wife.

Henry the 7th marched through Wales in August 1485 travelling up the coast towards Aberystwyth. Meanwhile Sir Rhys ap Thomas had gathered his supporters and travelled up through the Tywi valley and my theory is they stayed in Cwm Rhaeadr, possibly one night before crossing the mountains. Sir Rhys was believed to have brought 1000 horsemen and 3000 spearmen to the battle in Bosworth - quite a sizeable army to pass through this area It is also worth noting that Richard the 3rd who was slain at Bosworth, had in 1484 granted Llandovery a Royal Charter, and therefore would have had some support in Llandovery.

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LLOYD and LOYD 1690 - 1990

Alwyne E Loyd, December 1990

In recording the story of my family, I have been most fortunate that my forebears kept records and that the spelling of our name changed from Lloyd to Loyd, at the end of the 18th century, making identification much easier. The earliest known forbear is Thomas Lloyd and his wife Gwenllian of Ougoedydd, a farm in the parish of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn, Carmarthenshire. As their parish church was so far away, they attended Cilycwm church across the river Towy. This was fortunate for family records as the Cilycwm registers started in 1701 but Lianfair's only began in 1746. Thomas was buried at Cilycwm on 10th March 1735-6 aged 83 and his wife Gwenllian was buried there 12th February 1744-5 aged 81. Thomas had a son, William, who was baptised at Cilycwm on 9th July 1701 and buried 16th July 1701. A daughter Mary was baptised on 16th October 1701 and died unmarried, being buried in Cilycwm, 11th August 1775, aged 71. Another daughter, Catherine, baptised 4th August 1710, was married at Cilycwm on 25th June 1741 to William Harry of Llanycrwys, a village 8 miles to the north west of Cilycwm.

Thomas Lloyd's eldest son, Lewis Lloyd of Cwm-y-To-Fach, Llanwrda, was born 1690-1700, before the Cilycwm registers began, but he can be identified through the entries in the 18th century family bible, still held by a branch of the family. These entries open with the burials of Thomas and Gwenllian and then go on to entries relating to Lewis Lloyd and his children. Where Lewis married his wife Jane is unknown, but their daughter Gwenllian was baptised at Llanwrda, 19th August 1719. They had three other daughters, Elizabeth, Jane and Catherine and three sons, Edward, baptised 15th February 1721, died 21st April 1751, buried at Llanwrda, Thomas, baptised 23rd December 1723, Clerk in Holy Orders, died 6th January at Rother Street, buried 9th January 1767 at St Mary's Church, Abergavenny; William, baptised 20th September 1729.

Cwm-y-To-Fach is a farm upon the Afon Mynys, lying about 3 miles from Llanwrda Church and the same distance from Llandovery. It was entered in the parish tithe commission roll as slightly over 56 acres and the land described as being of poor quality. Lewis was churchwarden at Llanwrda in 1724 and 1746. In the 18th century this office came round in rotation about every twenty years. Lewis must have had quite a ride to church for his duties, the country roads being poor or non-existent. Because his brother Edward had died aged 30 in 1751 and Thomas had moved away to Abergavenny, William inherited the farm when his father died on 24th August 1758 and his mother Jane died 26th November 1761; both were buried at Llanwrda. William married Anne, the daughter of John William in Llanfair-ar-y-bryn church on 3rd January 1765. The church has a fascinating history. It stands on the site of a Roman auxiliary fort. Baron Richard Fitzpons was sent to secure Llandovery for the Normans and built Llandovery Castle in 1115. He founded a monastic cell on the site now occupied by the church c 1126. This cell was dissolved in 1185. To rid themselves of a church imposed by the conquerors the Welshmen of the period burned the roof off. It was left in ruins until towards the end of the 13th century when Sir John Giffard was appointed custodian of Llandovery Castle and he rebuilt Llanfair church. Until 1883 this was the parish church of Llanfair, when one was built at Cynghordy. The Vicar looks after both churches today.

William remained as the farmer of Cwm-y-To-Fach until shortly after 1795. He was to be churchwarden at Llanwrda in 1766 and 1791, like his father. William and Anne had seven children, all baptised at Llanwrda: Jane, born 29th October 1765, Lewis, born 1st January 1768, William, born 7th May 1770; Catherine, born 19th February 1772, died 9th December 1798, buried at Cilycwm; Thomas, born 5th June 1775, Gwenllian, born 19th October 1777, buried at Llanwrda 12th October 1779 and Edward, born 30th January 1780. William seems to have been at great pains to secure a good education for his sons. The eldest, Lewis, was sent to the school of Mr David Price of Lampeter, the best in the neighbourhood and was afterwards admitted as a student of the Presbyterian academy at Swansea. The other sons were probably educated at Lampeter also and it was known that the youngest, Edward, was expected to become a school-master, just as Lewis was expected to be a non-conformist minister.

The four sons all changed the spelling of their surname from Lloyd to Loyd on moving to England. Lewis Loyd (1768 -1858) rode to Manchester in 1789. He entered Manchester Unitarian College and was appointed Tutor in Belles Lettres in 1792 and then became a supply Preacher at Dob Lane Chapel, Failsworth, Manchester. He also preached at Blackley where he met his future wife. On 11th November 1793, Lewis married Sarah, daughter of John Jones, Banker and Tea dealer of 35, King Street, Manchester. After the marriage he entered the Bank, went to the London branch, 43, Lothbury, in the city of London and became a partner. After his first wife died, he married Mrs Mary Champion on 21st January 1823. On 10th April 1835 he obtained a grant of Arms, from the Heralds College in London for himself and his descendants, also including the other descendants of his father William Lloyd (1729 - 1800). He purchased the Overstone Park Estate, Northants, where he died on 13th May 1858 and was buried at Overstone. His estate, valued at nearly £2 million, was left to his only child, Samuel Jones Loyd, born 25th September 1796 at Lothbury.

William Loyd (1770 - 1828), married 5th January 1809 at Manchester Collegiate Church, later Manchester Cathedral, Martha, daughter of Thomas Kirkman. He became a warehouse-man of 7, Bread Street, Cheapside and later of 13, Portland Place, Clapham Road, London. He died 17th August 1828 and was buried 25th August 1828 in Bunhill Fields, London EC1. He had issue, 5 sons and 2 daughters.

Thomas Loyd (1775 - 1853), was a Calico Printer of Ardwick Terrace, Manchester and later became head of the Cannon Street calico printers, Loyd and Price in 1823. He died unmarried 28th January 1853.

Edward Loyd, (1780 - 1863), came to Manchester and entered the family bank as a clerk, became head cashier and then a partner. He married, on 17th August 1809 at Manchester Collegiate Church, Sarah, daughter of Joseph Taylor of Blackley, Lancashire. He was a member of the Billiard Club and Broughton Archers. He became the senior partner of the Manchester Branch of Jones Loyd Bank in 1821. He retired in 1848 to Coombe House, Coombe Lane, Croydon, where he died 30th January 1863, his wife having died 19th January 1863. Both were buried in Addington Churchyard near Croydon. He had issue 3 sons and 5 daughters.

Jane Lloyd (1765 - 1832), their only surviving sister, was married on 3rd February 1795 at Llanwrda. To show how confusing Welsh surnames can be I have giventheir marriage entry in full: Lewis David of the parish of Cayo, Yeoman and Jane Lloyd of this parish, spinster, were married in this church by Banns this 3rd day of February 1795 by me Thos. Williams, Vicar. This marriage was solemnised between us Lewis Daniel and Jane Lloyd in presence of Timothy Davies and Thos. Loyd. Lewis David-Daniel was to call himself Davies from then on. Jane signed herself Lloyd but Thomas, her brother, returning from Manchester for the wedding, signed Loyd, the earliest extant record of the spelling change by the four brothers.

Their father, William Lloyd, moved between 1795 and 1798 from Cwm-y-To-Fach to another farm, Court Henry, just under 24 acres at Cilycwm, reported to be the best land in the neighbourhood. It was on the high road and near the village. William had the freehold of this farm. He died 13th May 1800 and his wife Anne on 24th May 1801; both were buried at Cilycwm. William's will was dated 8th July 1799 and proved 24th May 1800 at Carmarthen. The original is in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.

His daughter Jane and her husband Lewis Davies came to Court Henry to look after her parents, following her sister Catherine's death. Jane died 11th May 1832 and was buried at Cilycwm. Her descendants continued to live at Court Henry for many years. It was finally sold in 1881 by Lord Overstone. The house was pulled down but the farmbuildings remained standing for many years but have now all disappeared. In 1910, my cousin Lewis Christopher Loyd, 1875 - 1947, went to Wales to research his Welsh forebears. He met members of the Davies family still living in the Cilycwm area. As a result of his visits he compiled a short account of the family of Lloyd, afterwards Loyd, up to the date of their departure from Wales, which included a fine pedigree dated 25th October 1914. He wrote some letters about the visits and included photographs. These he sent with the short account of the family and pedigree to my grandfather's eldest sister, Mary Louisa Loyd, 1848 -1930. They all came into my possession many years after her death.

Two photographs of Cwm-y-To-Fach, taken in 1910 (printed in journal), show the house as it was then and how little unchanged since the 18th century. When I visited the house in 1963, it was empty, but could be easily identified from the 1910 photograph. When my son Patrick went there in 1978, someone had bought it and turned it into a holiday cottage. Lewis also sent a postcard of Cilycwm village on 19 May 1910 to my great aunt, which showed the village as it was then. The Inn on the right of the picture is still there but the village post-office and shop have now gone The church of St Michael's in which my forebears worshipped and where they are buried, is kept beautifully. The early history is obscure though it appears that Carmarthen Priory acquired it in 1363 and a document of 1535 gave its value as one hundred pounds.

It is beyond the scope of this article to list what happened to all the Loyd descendants after they left Wales but some of them are of particular interest and worth recording. The papers of Samuel Jones Loyd, 1st and last Baron Overstone of Overstone and Fotheringhay, both in the county of Northamptonshire, 1796 -1883, were discovered by Dr D P O'Brien, Reader in Economics, Queen's University, Belfast, in 1964. It had previously been believed that Overstone had destroyed them. The correspondence spans a period ot nearly 79 years. The unifying thread is provided by the letters to G W Norman, a director of the Bank of England for over fifty years. Overstone was one of the great figures in English monetary history in the controversies leading to the Bank Charter Act of 1844 and for thirty years afterwards. His correspondence was published in three volumes by the Cambridge University Press, 1971, for the Royal Economic Society. In 1986 I obtained sets for my sons and also sent one to the National Library of Wales.

Overstone's son died in infancy. His only daughter, the Hon. Harriet Sarah Jones, 1837-1920, married 17th November 1858, Lt. Col. Robert James Lindsay VC, 1832 - 1901. He had served in the Crimean War 1854-55 and had greatly distinguished himself in the defence of the Regiment's colours at Alma and in command of his company at Inkerman. He was awarded the Victoria Cross 24th February 1857 and on 27th June received the cross from Queen Victoria's own hands in Hyde Park. His mother described the scene with its thousands of spectators. He retired from the Army in 1859. On his marriage he assumed the surname of Loyd-Lindsay. He became MP for Berkshire 1865-1885 and was the first chairman of the British Red Cross Society in 1872. All his papers covering his work for the society in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 have recently been given to the Red Cross in 1985 by Captain Christopher Loyd of Lockinge, Berkshire. Loyd-Lindsay was Lord Lieutenant and JP for Berkshire, Equerry to HRH The Prince of Wales 1874 and created KCB 1881. He was raised to the Peerage as Baron Wantage of Lockinge in 1885. It was he who placed the statue of King Alfred in the Wantage Town Square. He had no children and the great estate passed to Lady Wantage's cousin Arthur.

William Loyd (1770-1828)'s second son Thomas Kirkman Loyd, 1812-1857, married on 10th February 1842 at Agra India, Annie Hurst, daughter of Captain James Haig. He became a magistrate at Humeerpoor, India and was killed in the Indian Mutiny on 19th June 1857. I have a copy of the official report on the Humeerpoor Mutiny. The last paragraph reads as follows:

For nine days after the outbreak in the contiguous district of Cawnpoor, Messrs Loyd and Grant asserted British authority in Humeerpoor, they remained firm at their posts amidst appalling danger and sought safety in flight only when it became evident that the treachery of the Boondeelas had rendered resistance impossible. They have done their duty honourably and well. May their murders not pass unavenged

Thomas left a widow, six sons and a daughter. His elder brother William Kirkman Loyd, 1809-1879, served in the Madras Artillery from 1826 and retired with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1854. He became the guardian of his brother's seven young children and Lord Overstone also became involved with this family. The eldest of Thomas's sons, the Rev. Lewis Haig Loyd, 1814-1905, Rector of Abington and afterwards Orlingbury, Northants, had three sons: the eldest. Lewis Christopher Loyd, 1875-1947, Barrister and Treasury Solicitor, compiled the story of our family in Wales in 1910. His renown as a genealogist though is with his life's work in three fields of research: the new edition of the Complete Peerage, the manuscript known as the Hatton Book of Seals and a collection of material on the origins of some Anglo-Norman Families. This erudite work was published by the Harleian Society in 1951. Copies are kept in major libraries such as the Guildhall in the City of London and also by the Society of Genealogists.

Lewis Haig Loyd's second son, Arthur Thomas Loyd, 1882-1944 inherited the Lockinge estate from Lady Wantage, in 1920. He was the father of Captain Christopher Loyd mentioned above. The youngest son, Philip Henry, 1884-1952, a bachelor like Lewis Christopher, went into the church, served in India, became Bishop of Nasik, Deccan, 1929-44 and returned to the UK as Bishop of St Albans from 1944-50.

Edward Loyd, 1780-1863 had three sons. Lewis Loyd 1811-1891, lived at Monk's Orchard, Beckenham, Nr Croydon. He was a member of the London house of Jones Loyd & Co., 43, Lothbury, a JP for Surrey, High Sheriff in 1863, Commissioner of Lieutenancy for the City of London. He founded the church of St John the Baptist, Waterloo Road, Cheetham, Manchester and also endowed a ward at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, named after him. He married 19th January 1845 at St George's Hanover Square, London, Frances Harriet Irby. He died without issue on 19 July 1891 and was buried at Addington in his father's grave, his wife also on her death on 27th January 1902.

Edward Loyd, 1820-1890, was my great-grandfather. He was a Banker of Jones Loyd & Co., 35, King Street, Manchester, which separated from the London house in 1848 on the retirement of his father Edward. He married 12th March 1846 at Ashton-on-Mersey, Caroline Louisa Foster. In 1853 he bought the Lillesden estate at Hawkhurst, Kent and built a new mansion, finished in 1855. The house and estate was sold by my grandfather Llewellyn F Lloyd, 1861-1939 after the 1914-18 War. The house is now part of Bedgebury Girls Public School. Edward sold the King Street bank in 1863 to the Manchester and Liverpool District Bank Co. which was taken over by the District Bank in 1924 and the National Westminster in 1970. Edward was Lt.Col. of the 1st Manchester Rifle Volunteers, 1863-67. He died on 21st December 1890 and his wife on 8th February 1900. Both were buried at Hawkhurst, Kent. Edward had two sons and five daughters. The London House of Jones Loyd & Co at 43, Lothbury, was sold in 1864 and absorbed by the London and Westminster at 41, Lothbury. It is now a city office of the National Westminster Bank.

William Jones Loyd, 1821-1885, of Langleybury, near Watford, Hertfordshire, married on 21st June 1848, at St George's Hanover Square, Caroline Gertrude Walker, the daughter of John Henry Vivian MP of Singleton, Glamorgan. He was a member of the London house of Jones Loyd & Co., a JP and DL for Hertfordshire. He built the church of St Paul's, Langleybury. He died on 28th August 1885 and Caroline on 28th November 1893. Both were buried in the family vault at Langleybury. William had four sons and five daughters. He is the great-grandfather of Julian St John Loyd, the queen's Land Agent at Sandringham. His elder daughter Alexandra is a Lady in Waiting to HRH The Princess of Wales.

In 1979 on a visit to Wales I met my distant cousin, Margaret Elizabeth Davies of Bryngwenlais Cottage, Cilycwm. We became friends. She died on 12th December 1982 aged 85. It was her father William whom Lewis Christopher met in 1910. In her sitting-room she had a beautiful Welsh dresser which I understand she left to the local museum in Llandovery. On my 1988 visit to Cilycwm I found her grave with its Welsh Inscription in the village cemetery.

In 1984 my cousin Peter Haig Loyd was put in touch with me by the College of Arms. I was able to help him in his work of compiling an updated and comprehensive "Who's Who" of the family of Loyd dating from William Lloyd born 1729 to 1985. Peter has deposited a copy of his work with the College of Arms and the Society of Genealogists. A copy has also been deposited by me at the National Library of Wales and this Society's Library.

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Tales from a river bank

by JOHN MILNER

Living beside the river, we get to know it in all its moods: mostly gentle, sometimes violent, always interesting - and we love it, however capricious. Someone once told us that Gwenlais meant 'fair or sweet voice', and that is how it sounds on a quiet evening. However, its straightforward meaning is 'white or clear rivulet', seldom peaty as the Dunant.

It rises high on Mynydd Mallaen on marshy ground near a standing stone and gathers size from little tributaries before tumbling down rocky cascades to a deep V-shaped valley, the sides of which rise steeply for up to 800ft. Here, one is more likely to meet grazing sheep, ravens, skylarks and lizards than another human being.

Yet among the gorse and heather is evidence that it used to be busier. There are traces of long-dead cottages; one called Llety Ficer (Vicar's Rest) higher up the mountain (gr. ref. 753426), and the farmhouse at Cwm Merchon near the confluence of the Merchon.

There is a quarry from which roofing stone was extracted. There are shafts and adits of a lead mine, and there is the spoil tip of a copper mine high up the northern slope.

This mine was worked by two brothers for many years, but they got on each other's nerves and their venture ended in a drunken fight, and nobody knows how much copper is still down there.

The Forestry Commission has left its mark in plantations and recent felling, but soon the valley opens up into wider fields and farmland of Glangwenlais and Penstacan. Between the farms there was a weaving factory*, now tastefully converted.

Downstream were two flour mills: first Y Felin, and the second a mile further down at Abergwenlais. They both had water wheels and milled the wheat, oats and barley grown on nearly every farm. Abergwenlais Mill was built over four hundred years ago.

Although just by the river, it has never flooded as the water flows steeply down towards the waterfalls tumbling into the Tywi. It was run by the Morgan family, and continued until just before World War II. The Evans family at Y Felin, after milling had ceased, used the wheel for sawing wood and chaffing.

The Smithy in Cil-y-cwm was at the point where the drovers' lane crosses the river, first by ford and then by bridge. Its origins are probably very ancient, but latterly it was run by generations of the Theophilus family. Their work is still seen in railings, gates, farm equipment and household objects.

In earlier days, the smithy was used by the drovers to shoe their horses and cattle before their journey eastward. The smithy was a meeting place for young people who helped pump he bellows and carry buckets of water from the river. They listened to stories and sang songs in the warmth from the forge: a nostalgic memory for many an old man. When John Theophilus died in 1947, the smithy was to close. His daughter, Dorrie, kept the smallholding going, keeping chickens and cows and selling milk both retail and to the dairy, cooling the milk churns in a shady pool watched by the eels.

Along the riverside, especially near Abergwenlais Mill, one might have seen the Barlow family cutting and shaping clogs from alder wood. The alders grow along the banks with their roots in the water, and the yellow wood, full of paraffin, is waterproof.

Now, we live in the converted Smithy by the riverside. As we write, we see ten sewin all at once, doing their best to restock the river in quite fascinating ways. We also see a kingfisher exceeding the speed limit up the river, and a dipper dipping, diving and trawling the gravel bed for juicy creepy-crawlies.

In the summer, the river is home to little fish, dragonflies and Daubenton bats. Swallows swoop for flies, and herons rise as the village awakens. Children are paddling, tiddling, swimming, wandering and wondering.

In times gone by, poets, painters, film makers, hymn writers, composers, lovers and poachers have been touched by its magic. Our short span by the riverside has been a privilege and a delight. The river which has flowed by for unknown millennia really belongs to all the creatures its life-giving waters sustain. We are only its guardians.

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Cil-y-cwm Home Guard, 1940-45

Home guard, 1940-45

Cilycwm Home Guard

Back Row (left to right): Cyrus Williams, Drovers; Gwyn Richards, Glandunant; Bill Williams, Penyfedw? Pwllyrhyddod; Dai Hughes, Plasbach; Conway Davies; Christy Hughes, Plasbach; D.J. Pricket, Sgrafell; John Williams, Llwynberllan; ??? Williams, Tancapel.

Middle Row: John Williams, Henllys Fach; Evan Davies, Derw House; Robert Powell, Cefntrenfa; Hedley Thomas, Penstacan; Jack Davies, Clyngell; Raymond Richards, Penfedw Fach; Will Amesbury, Maesgwyn; Hanley Morgan, Clifton House; Tom Price, Bont; Emrys Jones, Cwrdinas.

Front Row: Tom Dicks, Cwm House? Jones, Dolachddu; Tom Williams, Cwmdunant;
D.J. Williams, School House; Carrie Phillips, Penygroes; Lewis Jones, Aberdunant; John Theophilus, New House.

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A Farming crisis of yesteryear

Blaenau Tywi farmers give evidence to the Land Commission

On a Spring afternoon in 1894, the tenant of Talgarth Farm, Cynghordy, complained to members of the Royal Commission on Land in Wales that the rents of farms on the Glanbrân estate had increased by an average of nearly 70% during the past 25 years and that the rents on Lord Cawdor's estate had increased by about 30%.

James Rees, who augmented his living by cattle dealing, also spoke of rural depopulation. He named 23 farms in Llanfair-ar-y-bryn which had been consolidated, he mentioned fifty cottages near Cil-y-cwm which had disappeared, and a further 28 cottages which had gone to ruin in Rhandir Ganol. Nine commissioners sat in 59 locations and heard evidence from 1,000 witnesses. In Llandovery, the Commissioners sat at the Town Hall on Wednesday, 18 April 1894. They heard evidence from 26 witnesses, of whom 11 gave evidence in Welsh through an interpreter.

The first witness was Gwilym Evans of Llanelli, chairman of Carmarthenshire County Council, He said tenant farmers could not afford to buy farms. Holdings were being sold by one landlord to another by private contract without the tenant being offered the farm or indeed being told that the farm was being sold.

He said his brother James, a tenant farmer of Dolauhirion, near Llandovery, had given a notice to quit in September 1892 by his landlord, Mr C.V. Pryse-Rice, because 'he was too fond of killing rabbits'. Gwilym Evans maintained that a farmer, or his sons, or his men, should be allowed to kill game on land for which he paid rent. He also complained of Scottish agents who could not speak Welsh and who could not communicate with the tenants.

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Another witness, Thomas Evans, who had farmed at Glangwenlais, Cil-y-cwm, said he believed the differences of language, creed and politics made no difference in the relations between landlord and tenant. He was supported by four other tenant farmers from Cil-y-cwm: David Harries, Bryn-dar; Thomas Powell, Cefntrenfa; David Williams, Erryd and William Jones, Cwmcroiddwr. All four denied that they had been asked to give evidence by their landlord, W.D.H. Campbell-Davys, but William Jones admitted that he had been brought to the hearing in a carriage belonging to the landlord's agent. A witness named J. Prichard refused to come forward when called.

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