Pennal
Encyclopedia
Pennal is a village
on the A493 road
in southern Gwynedd
, Wales
, on the north bank of the Afon Dyfi/River Dovey, near Machynlleth
.
It lies in the former county
of Merionethshire
/Sir Feirionnydd, and is within the Snowdonia National Park.
, probably guarding a ford or ferry crossing of the Dyfi on the Sarn Helen
Roman road. The remains of the fort lie under the 14th century house of Cefn Caer, overlooking the village.
.
. In Pennal Owain composed the famous Pennal Letter of 1406, a letter to the King of France
setting out his plans for an independent Wales - the only document which stands as a policy document for an independent Wales in the Middle Ages. The letter was briefly returned to Wales from France for an exhibition at the National Library of Wales
in 2000, and a campaign has started for it to be returned permanently to Wales and be put on show at the National Assembly
building in Cardiff
.
, is "Llugwy
", the home of the Anwyl family
since 1682. This family have patrilinear descent from Rhodri Mawr through Anarawd, his eldest son, and Owain Gwynedd
(king of Gwynedd
c.1137 - 1170) to the present day.
from the quarries around Corris
, Aberllefenni
and Abergynolwyn
was brought by packhorse for loading onto sea-going vessels. This trade died out when the Corris Railway
to Machynlleth and the Talyllyn Railway
to Tywyn
were built.
The village also has a place in music history, as it was at nearby Bron-Yr-Aur
cottage that Robert Plant
was living when he wrote the Led Zeppelin
classic, "Stairway to Heaven
".
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
on the A493 road
A493 road
The A493 is a road located on the west coast of mid Wales and connects Dolgellau to Machynlleth via the coast, avoiding Corris and Cross Foxes.-Route:...
in southern Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, on the north bank of the Afon Dyfi/River Dovey, near Machynlleth
Machynlleth
Machynlleth is a market town in Powys, Wales. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads.Machynlleth was the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Parliament in 1404, and as such claims to be the "ancient capital of Wales". However, it has never held any official...
.
It lies in the former county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Merionethshire
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
/Sir Feirionnydd, and is within the Snowdonia National Park.
Roman Fort
It was the site of a small Roman fort, known as Cefn Caer in WelshWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, probably guarding a ford or ferry crossing of the Dyfi on the Sarn Helen
Sarn Helen
right|thumb|250px|A section of Sarn Helen near Betws-y-coed.Sarn Helen was a Roman road in Wales, running from Aberconwy in the north to Carmarthen in the south.It was some 160 miles in length...
Roman road. The remains of the fort lie under the 14th century house of Cefn Caer, overlooking the village.
Price Family of Esgair Weddan
Just outside Pennal is the farmstead of 'Esgair Weddan' which from the 14th Century until the mid 18th was the home of the Price (ap Rhys) family of Esgair Weddan, patrilineal descendants of Dafydd ap Llywelyn, son of Llywelyn fawr (the great) Prince of Wales (1240-1246). Their home was called Plas yn y Rofft in Elizabethan times and was located in a field behind the present farmhouse above the village of Cwrt,(originally Pont y Cwrt, meaning "court") near to Mynydd EsgairweddanMynydd Esgairweddan
thumb|250px|Mynydd Esgairweddan, heather & rough grassland on the open moor. Afon Dyfi meanders in the distance.Mynydd Esgairweddan is a hill near Pennal in southern Gwynedd, Wales . Nearby is the tiny settlement of Esgairweddan. It is very close to the site of the old Roman fort of Cefn Caer...
.
Owain Glyndŵr
Pennal is known for its historical association with Owain GlyndŵrOwain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
. In Pennal Owain composed the famous Pennal Letter of 1406, a letter to the King of France
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
setting out his plans for an independent Wales - the only document which stands as a policy document for an independent Wales in the Middle Ages. The letter was briefly returned to Wales from France for an exhibition at the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
in 2000, and a campaign has started for it to be returned permanently to Wales and be put on show at the National Assembly
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
building in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
Anwyl Family of Llugwy
Just outside Pennal, on the banks of the Dyfi opposite the hamlet of MorbenMorben
Morben is a hamlet in northern Powys, Wales. Part of the historic county of Montgomeryshire from 1536 to 1974, it lies on the Afon Dyfi and was once the home of a number of riverside quays, including Cei Ward and Y Bwtri. The site of Cei Ward lies alongside the A487 opposite Plas Llugwy, where the...
, is "Llugwy
Llugwy Hall
Llugwy is the name of an old property near Pennal, a village on the A493 road in southern Gwynedd, Wales, on the north bank of the Afon Dyfi/River Dovey, near Machynlleth...
", the home of the Anwyl family
Anwyl of Tywyn Family
Anwyl of Tywyn are a Welsh family who trace their descent to Owain Gwynedd. They claim direct patrilinear descent from Owain, who was King of Gwynedd from 1137 - 1170 and a scion of the royal House of Aberffraw...
since 1682. This family have patrilinear descent from Rhodri Mawr through Anarawd, his eldest son, and Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd
Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd , in English also known as Owen the Great, was King of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death in 1170. He is occasionally referred to as "Owain I of Gwynedd"; and as "Owain I of Wales" on account of his claim to be King of Wales. He is considered to be the most successful of...
(king of Gwynedd
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Gwynedd was one petty kingdom of several Welsh successor states which emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, and later evolved into a principality during the High Middle Ages. It was based on the former Brythonic tribal lands of the Ordovices, Gangani, and the...
c.1137 - 1170) to the present day.
Recent history
In the early 19th century there were quays on the Dyfi where slateSlate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
from the quarries around Corris
Corris
Corris is a village in the south of Snowdonia in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. Although the Snowdonia National Park covers much of the area around Corris, the village is not within the park. The name is possibly derived from the English word "quarries", and the extensive slate quarries that surround...
, Aberllefenni
Aberllefenni
Aberllefenni is a village in the south of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies in the valley of the Afon Dulas.Part of the ancient county of Merionethshire, it is the location of Foel Grochan, a slate quarry which together with Hen Chwarel and Ceunant Ddu formed the Aberllefenni Slate Quarry, which extracted...
and Abergynolwyn
Abergynolwyn
Abergynolwyn is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni.Historically, the village was part of Merionethshire and its main industry was slate quarrying and the village was founded in the 1860s to house workers at the nearby Bryn...
was brought by packhorse for loading onto sea-going vessels. This trade died out when the Corris Railway
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....
to Machynlleth and the Talyllyn Railway
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...
to Tywyn
Tywyn
Tywyn is a town and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd , in north Wales. The name derives from the Welsh tywyn and the town is sometimes referred to as Tywyn Meirionnydd...
were built.
The village also has a place in music history, as it was at nearby Bron-Yr-Aur
Bron-Yr-Aur
Bron-Yr-Aur , sometimes misspelled as Bron-Y-Aur, is an 18th century cottage in South Snowdonia, Wales, best known for its association with the English rock band Led Zeppelin....
cottage that Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
was living when he wrote the Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
classic, "Stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
".