Pembrokeshire
Trip – September 2nd, 2017
Before Glyndŵr’s first major battle
at Hyddgen in 1401, his men had threatened to attack Pembrokeshire. In response
to this, a force of about 1500 English and Flemish men from the area travelled
up to the slopes of Pumlumon to give battle – but
they were defeated by a much smaller group of Owain’s men.
In 1403 Glyndŵr and his men
threatened again, but he negotiated an ‘agreement’ with Lord Carew near St
Clears that limited the damage done to the area.
Aberdaugleddau
Finally, it was in Milford Haven that the
French forces disembarked in August 1405, joining with Owain’s army to travel
across South Wales to confront Henry Bolingbroke near Worcester.
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On today’s trip we aim to visit some of
the important places related to these parts of Owain’s campaign.
CAERFYRDDIN
Carmarthen was the administrative, financial and judicial capital of South Wales and, at the
turn of the 15th century, was possibly the largest borough in Wales.
Caerfyrddin
The burgesses had exclusive trading
rights in the town and its surrounding area and, on July 5th 1403, it was these burgesses that were targeted by
Glyndŵr when he attacked.
In August 1405
the Franco-Welsh force also headed for Carmarthen as it was the English
headquarters in south-west Wales and so the key to controlling the area. Owain
and the French captured it for both military and mythological reasons - given
its links to Merlin and the Arthurian legends.
Castell Caerfyrddin
HENDY-GWYN
AR DÂF
Whitland was founded by the Normans in 1140, but when the
Welsh reconquered the area it became a Welsh house and the mother of all of the Cistercian foundations in Wales. The abbey
suffered savage reprisals over the years and, in particular,
for its support of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd and Owain Glyndŵr.
At the beginning of Owain’s uprising, for example, one of its
monks was charged with “wandering through Wales, holding riotous assemblies,
propagating Welsh chronicles and prophecies, and inciting the people to
rebellion”.
Canolfan
Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda called a great assembly of lawyers and leaders from
all over his kingdom to ‘Ty Gwyn-ar-Dâf’ to draw up a unified legal code for Wales - and
Glyndŵr would later follow his example.
ARBERTH
The blood of both
Llywelyn Fawr and Edward III flowed through the veins of the Mortimer family,
and Narberth was the most westerly of their possessions. Until his death in
1398, Roger Mortimer was considered the heir presumptive to Richard II, and he
was the first English earl for whom a Welsh praise poem was written.
Castell Arberth
In 1397, Roger
had granted Narberth to his brother Edmund, but it was confiscated by Henry
Bolingbroke in 1402 when Edmund transferred his allegiance to Owain.
Thomas, Lord
Carew was a local magnate with a vested interest in securing military control
in the area. He was the constable of the castle in 1403 when it was attacked by
Glyndŵr.
Narberth is now
twinned with the Mortimer stronghold of Ludlow in England.
HWLFFORDD
Richard II appointed Thomas Percy, the Earl of Worcester, to
control the strategically important townships of Pembroke and Haverford in the
1390s. Percy also served as the Chief Justice of South Wales, and was the
brother of the Earl of Northumberland and uncle to Harry Hotspur.
He transferred his allegiance in 1399, however, and held
similar positions in Wales under Henry Bolingbroke - although by March 1403 he
had changed sides again. Haverford was then said to be “situated among the
Welsh rebels”.
Hwlffordd
The French burnt Haverford early in August 1405 but quickly
abandoned the siege of the castle. They then made their way through South
Pembrokeshire, attacking towns and castles - such as Picton
- as they went.
ABERDAUGLEDDAU
In August 1399, Richard II crossed over from Ireland to Milford
in response to Henry Bolingbroke’s return to England. He was accompanied by
Thomas Percy who, it is alleged, treacherously abandoned Richard when they
disembarked.
Aberdaugleddau
A large French force left Brest for Milford on July 22nd 1405, but many of their horses perished en
route due to a lack of fresh water. They arrived in early August and were
probably met there by a large force of Owain’s men.
Their leaders included some distinguished French nobles, including:- Jean de Hangest (Lord
of Hugueville), Jean de Rieux
(Marshal of France), and Renaut de Trie (Admiral of France), amongst others.
PENFRO
It was around
Pembroke and Haverford, in particular, that the French
had threatened an attack for many years. English defences there had been
bolstered - 140 men were in the garrison at Pembroke in 1377, for example.
When
Glyndŵr threatened to attack Pembrokeshire in June 1401, a large force of
English and Flemish soldiers from the area marched up to Pumlumon
to confront him. They were defeated at the Battle of Hyddgen by a much smaller
Welsh army.
Castell Penfro
The town of
Pembroke was attacked by the Franco-Welsh army soon after the French landed in
August 1405. The constable of Pembroke
Castle decided to pay Glyndŵr a form of ‘Danegeld’, however, and thus
avoided a siege and further damage.
CAERIW
The Carew family
of Pembrokeshire were descended from William FitzGerald, son of Gerald of
Windsor, and Nest ferch Rhys ap Tewdwr. They also had
family connections in Ireland and the south-west of England.
Castell Caeriw
Thomas, Lord
Carew re-took Newcastle Emlyn after it had been captured by Glyndŵr in
July 1403, and then managed to successfully defend Narberth Castle. For this he
was later rewarded with the lordships of Narberth and St Clears.
In 1407 he was
at the siege of Aberystwyth and ten years later he served, ironically, under
the command of Edmund Mortimer’s nephew, the 5th Earl of March.
DINBYCH-Y-PYSGOD
In the 14th Century, English travellers often aimed
for the heavily fortified port of Tenby because most of its inhabitants would
also be English.
Dinbych-y-pysgod
In 1405 the Franco-Welsh force laid siege to the walled town
but failed to take the castle - and then panicked when an English naval
squadron was spotted offshore. They burnt many of their own ships and also abandoned valuable siege engines as they left in
haste.
Castell
Dinbych-y-pysgod
After Tenby they marched via St Clears - where again they
failed to attack the castle - and on to Carmarthen.
TALACHARN / SANCLĘR
Hopcyn ap Tomas ab Einion
was a patron of the arts and is thought to have financed ‘The Red Book of Hergest’. He was also an expert in interpreting brut - so when Glyndŵr arrived in
Carmarthen in 1403 he arranged to consult with Hopcyn
in Laugharne.
Castell
Talacharn
Owain took omens and prophecies very seriously and, amongst other
things, Hopcyn probably advised him to stay in Wales
rather than travel to support the Percies at the
ill-fated Battle of Shrewsbury.
After the meeting, Glyndŵr sent out a scouting group which
was attacked and killed by Carew’s men near St Clears. Carew then negotiated
with Owain to prevent further damage being done to his lands.
Sanclęr
ABERDAUGLEDDAU – MILFORD HAVEN
