by Alun Lenny
IT WAS a dull and cloudy day last month when my wife Ann and I first saw Sycharth – literally an arrow shot from the English border.
It took an O/S map to find it since even the Satnav struggled. There were no signs until we actually arrived at the small car park, rapidly becoming overgrown with nettles and brambles. Then, we walked over a high and steep stile to enter a field, at the top end of which were huge oak trees and substantial earthworks.
The large flat-topped motte, on which Owain Glyndŵr’s impressive home once stood, surrounded by a circular earthwork, is all that’s left since it was burned down by an English army in 1403 during the War for Welsh Independence. That was the year when Glyndŵr attacked Carmarthen, burning the town and taking the castle. No hairy-arsed rebel, he! His army of 8,000 included heavily armed and armoured cavalry and experienced soldiers who’d previously fought for the English king in France and Scotland. He returned two years later with an even greater army of 16,000 Welsh and French warriors. John Scudamore, constable of Carmarthen castle, very wisely surrendered. Many years later, it turned out that Scudamore was secretly married to Alice, one of Glyndŵr’s daughters!
A FINE HOUSE ATOP A GREEN HILL
But back to Sycharth. The stone foundations, excavated in 1962-3, are now once more underground, but thanks to a ‘praise poem’ by Iolo Goch, we have a very good idea of what it looked like and have a taste of life there in its heyday at the end of the 14th century. An extract:
Anfynych iawn fu yno
Weled na chlicied na chlo,
Na phorthoriaeth ni wnaeth neb;
Ni bydd eisiau budd oseb,
Na gwall, na newyn, na gwarth,
Na syched fyth yn Sycharth.
Very rarely was there
Seen a bolt or lock,
Nor a gatehouse guardian;
There’s no want of generous gift,
Nor defect, nor hunger or dearth,
Nor ever thirst in Sycharth
Iolo also describes ‘ a fine house atop a green hill,’ the great lordly hall in the bailey, a mill, a deer park and fish ponds – the location of which can still be seen. The poem’s descriptive importance is such that it is quoted at length in The Medieval Garden (Sylvia Landsberg, British Museum Press 1998).
SENEDD PETITION
Last year, a 10,500 name petition was presented to the Senedd, calling for Sycharth to be bought for the nation, safeguarding it for coming generations and ensuring that it is more accessible for people to visit. During the debate at the Petitions Committee, members were reminded of Owain Glyndŵr’s national and international importance. In 1999, The Sunday Times asked world leaders, scientists, cultural leaders, and the like who they thought were the most notable people of the previous millennium. The published list showed Owain Glyndŵr as seventh, ahead of greats like Galileo, Isaac Newton, Abraham Lincoln and many more. The late historian John Davies said: ‘Revolutionaries all over the world have always looked to Owain Glyndŵr as a famous guerilla leader. His position in this poll shows that the rest of the world appreciates him a lot more than we realise.’
Certainly more so than Powys County Council and the Welsh Government. The excuses they give for not raising Sycharth’s profile and making it more accessible are feeble. The council claims that the roads leading to the site are too narrow and that erecting direction signs would encourage more traffic. The Welsh Government says that too many visitors would cause erosion to the earthworks, ignoring the fact that a herd of cattle cause much greater damage.
The irony is that the Senedd might not exist were it not for Owain Glyndŵr. Although the War for Independence ended in defeat, as Cefin Campbell MS said: Glyndŵr spirit is the golden thread that runs through our history as a nation and is at the core of our identity and our very being.’
No one knows when or where Owain Glyndŵr died. Despite having a huge price on his head, he was never betrayed. I wish I could say the same about the authorities today, who betray his memory by refusing to honour the greatest Welshman who ever lived by securing Sycharth for future generations.
Owain Glyndŵr Day is on September 16th. This coming weekend, Kids go Free at Cadw properties, and there will be events across Wales.
