Most Interesting, Ken. I wondered whether Cwm Eithin might have
information on gamekeepers. My great grandfather and grandfather (Robert
Roberts and Edward Roberts) were both gamekeepers, based at various times
in Llanwuchllyn and Bala.
What do you think, Ken?
David Roberts
On 7 November 2012 16:03, Ken Richards <ken.j.richards(a)sympatico.ca> wrote:
Peter,
You raise an interesting question. In some ways it depends what is
meant by the history of the parish, how far back you go in time, and
what or who in history is written about. There are several
categories of "histories" such as grand sweeps which try to cover the
field from pre-Roman times to the present, specifics such as the
borough charter of Bala, and local general or folk histories which
describe what people remember from previous generations.
On the general front, I found reference to a book titled "Pum Plwy
Penllyn: hanes cyfreithiau y tlodion yn y plwyfi uchod - 1720 -1897,"
which is basically a book about the management of facilities for the
poor in the five parishes of Penllyn. Looking further I also found
Cathrall's History of North Wales (1828), which includes notes on
each parish in gazeteer style. There is also Esgobaeth Llanelwy, by
David Richard Thomas, which provides a parish by parish "history" of
the churches in the Diocese of St Asaph.
I am going by hearsay, but several years ago the powers that be at
the National Eisteddfod arranged for the publication of books which
outlined the histories of the various places where the eisteddfod was
held. I think the title went something like Bro'r Eisteddfod, but the
series petered out. I can also remember that the program for the
eisteddfod in Dolgellau in 1949, which included a section about the
history of the Dolgellau area, was used in my primary school as an
introduction to the history of the area. This suggests that there may
be histories of the "bro" (local region) of Bala/Penllyn.
In the category of specifics there are books such Lyn Ebenezer's
account of the camp for Irish prisoners, or, the growth and decline
of the railways, which have already been mentioned. There may also be
biographies of local notables such as T.I Ellis, Thomas Charles, O.M
Edwards and the like, or a history of the College of Divinity. A
trawl of specialized periodicals such as Archaeologia Cambrensis and
the Transactions of the Merioneth Historical Society should yield
more examples - or a virtual trip through the catalogues of the
National Library of Wales.
As to "folk histories" one of the classics which comes to mind is
"Cwm Eithin" by Hugh Evans first published in 1931. This focuses on
the 19th century for the most part and is a gold mine of information
regarding agricultural life the area around Llangwm which includes
Bala and Edeirnion.
Another way of looking at the question is to ask if there is, or was,
a local historian of note who is either writing or has written about
the area. Alfred Palmer (1847-1915) and Wrexham comes to mind. It
would not surprise me to find that OM Edwards (1850-1920) tried his
hand at writing a popular history about the local area in about the
same time frame as Palmer. He wrote a chapter about Llanuwchllyn in
"Cartrefi Cymru."
I admit that my personal bias is towards the "bro" as a base of
investigation, unless there is something specific I want to address
such as a slate quarry. In which case i focus on the specific subject
but still return to the local context, or "bro."
Ken Richards
On Nov 7, 2012, at 12:10 AM, Peter Evans wrote:
> Ken and Gary,
>
>> If you're looking for a somewhat broader picture, I would suggest you
>> look at :
>>
>> History of Merioneth, Volume 1
>> History of Merioneth, Volume 2
>
> Those are good reference books which I do own.
>
> It seems that Bala and surrounds is lacking parish histories such
> as that
> for Llanfachreth (by the author Mary Corbett Harris) and etc.
>
> Regards,
> Peter Evans
>
>
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