10th July 1819, Pulpit Hugh Lloyd, Tay y Bwlch

Saturday July 10th 1819

Saturday July 10th …. Mr Grimes whom we have frequently met breakfasted with us this morning at 12 o’Clock we took a ride on horseback to

Festtiniog a small village 3 miles from Tanybwlch the vale through which we passed is most lovely there is also a fine Waterfall consisting of three falls the longest dropping into a deep pool nearly covered by impending rocks; below is a fine rock called Pulpit Hugh Lloyd Cynfael where he is supposed to have delivered his nocturnal incantations. My brothers were out fishing the whole day We returned to the Inn to a late dinner

OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:

Ffestiniog: Prints, below, published in 1799 and 1811, represent the scenery that Lucy passed through and so admired

The mountainous terrain, as shown in the print, below, provided just the right environment for the Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Scheme which was the first major pumped storage system in the UK and was commissioned in 1963. The upper reservoir is Llyn Stwlan which discharges 27 cubic metres per second (950 cu ft/s) of water to the turbine generators at the power station on the bank of Tan-y-Grisiau reservoir. The power station at the lower reservoir has four water turbines, which can generate 360 megawatts of electricity within 60 seconds of the need arising. Water is pumped to the higher reservoir [Stwlan] during off-peak times, and released down through turbines to create electricity during peak times. It has the capacity to power the whole of North Wales for several hours. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffestiniog_Power_Station

The building of the lower reservoir flooded the route of the Ffestiniog Railway which had to build a deviation around the reservoir and power station. The line was constructed between 1833 and 1836 to transport slate from the quarries around the inland town of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog where it was loaded onto ships. The railway was graded so that loaded wagons could be run by gravity downhill all the way from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the port. The empty wagons were hauled back up by horses, which travelled down in special 'dandy' wagons. To achieve this continuous grade (about 1 in 80 for much of the way), the line followed natural contours and employed cuttings and embankments built of stone and slate blocks without mortar. Prior to the completion in 1842 of a long tunnel through a spur in the Moelwyn Mountain, the slate trains were worked over the top via inclines (designed by Robert Stephenson), the site of which can still be seen although there are few visible remnants.

The Festiniog Railway Company which owns the railway is the oldest surviving railway company in the world. In 1951, railway enthusiast Alan Pegler was approached by friends to buy and clear the outstanding debt on the derelict Ffestiniog Railway, to enable its purchase. Lent £3,000 by his father, he and the volunteers obtained control of the company on 24 June 1954. Pegler was appointed the new company's first Chairman, with the objective to operate the railway as a tourist attraction and gradually restore the line to working order. Pegler later released complete control of the company without any personal financial gain to Ffestiniog Railway Trust, which still owns and runs the railway today, primarily as a tourist attraction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffestiniog_Railway

Ffestiniog is also known for a religious sect founded by Mary Evans (1735–89) in about 1780. Her believers held that she had married Christ in a ceremony held in Ffestiniog church. The sect soon died out after her death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffestiniog

Pulpit Hugh Lloyd Cynfael: It appears that Huw Llwyd, a self-styled preacher who associated with respected clerics, convinced the authorities that sorcerers were invaluable in the battle against ‘the evils of witchcraft’. If illness, misfortune and madness be attributed to demons and spirits raised by witches, then it followed that sorcerers would be needed to control and dispatch those spirits. He proceeded to do so, in style. Above a fierce cataract stands a natural pillar of stone known to this day as Huw Llwyd’s Pulpit.

I have quoted from Huw Llwyd, The Real Welsh Wizard by Remy Dean, January 12, 2017, which was researched during his 2016 residency at Plas Tan y Bwlch, Huw Llwyd. https://folklorethursday.com/legends/huw-llwyd-real-welsh-wizard/

“Huw Llwyd has been immortalised in the folklore and fairy tales of Wales, his fantastic exploits told and re-told down the ages, so many times perhaps that people have forgotten that he was, indeed, a real person: a mercenary, magician, bardic poet and bona fide ‘man of mystery’ – the genuine ‘Welsh Wizard’. Born during the first decade of Elizabeth I’s reign, he lived through the entire reign of King James (VI of Scotland, then I of England), and into the reign of Charles I… Already an acclaimed bard and harpist, Huw was soon recognised as the region’s go-to person to deal with anything weird and witchy. He was called upon to investigate inexplicable occurrences and unsolved crimes, as well as suspected witchcraft…

His sermons were dramatic and, miraculously, could be heard over the thunder of white water. This was also the place where he is said to have cast out demons. He would appear out of the mist, a formidable figure dressed in robes adorned with magical symbols and use fearsome spells to drive out the demons afflicting his patients. Huw reputedly treated patients who had travelled from as far away as France. The demons fled their victims in the form of black shadows, were caught up in the fast-flowing river and dashed apart in the torrential waterfall below. The waterfall is still known as Rhaeadr Ddu, the Black Falls.

William Jenkyn Thomas includes three stories of Huw Llwyd in his classic 1908 collection of folk tales, The Welsh Fairy Book. He tells us that Huw was a seventh son and ate the flesh of eagles to bestow magical powers on himself and his descendants for nine generations.

In one tale, Huw solves a case of serial theft perpetrated by two inn-keeping sisters, who were also witches and could transform into cats at night to stealthily pore – or rather paw – over the belongings of their guests to steal anything of value. He sleeps with his magic sword at his side and when the cats sneak down the chimney into his room, strikes one a blow. The next morning, one of the sisters has a bandaged hand. Instead of reporting them to a witch-finder for trial, he assures the sisters that the inn is now under his protection and there will be no more stealing. This claim is proven true, for without the reputation of a dangerous place, the inn thrives and the sisters earn a good, honest living from then on.

In another story, he mesmerises a gang of bandits, who had followed him to a tavern, by causing the table they are sitting at to extrude antlers that they are unable to look away from, until the following morning when the sheriff comes to arrest them.

A third features a conjuror who revenges himself upon an unscrupulous and extortionate inn-keeper by leaving behind a spell that makes everyone in the room relentlessly dance and sing until all are close to terminal exhaustion. He later sends instructions of how to find the spell and fling it into the fire, thus lifting the curse.

These three tales imply that he was just, effective and had a sense of humour. In other less well-known stories, the young Huw collects a barn-full of crows, reveals a much darker side during a magical contest with a rival sorcerer, and inadvertently introduces the devil to tobacco and gunpowder…

There is historical evidence that Huw Llwyd was a soldier, preacher, physician, an accomplished bard, and was consulted as a sorcerer. There are references to his military service, 1585-90, under Sir Roger Williams in France and Holland. He is also presumed to have performed the duties of Chaplain and Doctor for those wounded on the battlefield as he shared some medical training with his brother, Owen Llwyd, who was a qualified physician. There is also mention of his service in Belgium and Germany. The priest and bardic scholar, Ellis Wynne (1671 – 1734), acknowledges the books of Huw Llwyd as a source for his own work, The Book of Ancient Remedies. Auction records are mentioned of the sale of Huw Llwyd’s treatise on military strategy, as consulted by Napoleon Bonaparte. His writings are noted in the Peniarth manuscripts, collected by the antiquarian and historian, Robert Vaughan (c.1592 – 1667).” https://folklorethursday.com/legends/huw-llwyd-real-welsh-wizard/

Fishing: In the present day Welsh rivers account for more than half the sea trout caught in England and Wales, couple this with the number of large seatrout caught every year and the availability of fishing, it makes for a very special destination. https://www.bestofwales.co.uk/fishing_in_wales .

1820: “Salmon Fishing” by Henry Alken https://i1.wp.com/sharonlathanauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/salmon-fishing-Henry-Alken-1820.jpg

Alex, William and Frank had been fishing the evening before and spent the whole day fishing, probably for trout or salmon, whilst Lucy and the rest explored Huw Llwyd’s Pulpit. They most likely fished in the River Dwyryd, near where they were staying at Tay y Bwylch, the best for fly fishing, but possibly in the River Gamlan which flows through the Rhaeadr Ddu waterfalls below Huw Llwyd’s Pulpit. According to the Cambrian Angling Association, which has four Salmon and Sea Trout rivers, The Dwyryd, The Teigl, The Cynfal and The Goedol, The Dwyryd is today the only river suitable for fly fishing . The others lie in tree lined steep sided valleys, but they can be fished with worm or spinner.

1841: “Trout Fishing on the Lea” by James Pollard. https://i2.wp.com/sharonlathanauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/TROUT-FISHING-ON-THE-LEA-1841-BY-JAMES-POLLARD1.jpg

According to the Association, the rivers usually fish best towards the end of the season, with the exeption of the Dwyryd, which usually has an early run of Sea Trout. Sadly the Salmon Fishing has declined on the Cambrian's waters in recent years, as on many other British Rivers, but a few are still caught by more dedicated fishermen. http://www.cambrianangling.com/waters.html

1794: “A Party of Gentlemen fishing from a Punt” by Benjamin West. https://i2.wp.com/sharonlathanauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/A-Party-of-Gentlemen-fishing-from-a-Punt-%E2%80%93-Benjamin-West-1794.jpg

According to Sharon Latham, in her excellent article, Fishing as a Georgian Era Sport, “The exclusivity of the English class system so attached to most activities of the day was not as obvious with fishing, although it did exist to some degree. Wealthy or poor, one could fish. The question was how one went about it and where. So while fishing was popular with all social classes, it tended to divide into “game” fishing for the tastier salmon and trout (primarily among the wealthy landowners with their private ponds), and “coarse” fishing for all other species done by the middle and working class Englishman.

These divisions were reinforced in the mid-eighteenth century during rapid industrialization and urbanization when large numbers of workers took up coarse angling on the free, public rivers and canals. Sometimes the catch might be eaten, but coarse fishing was for sport and encouraged among the industrial workforce as more contemplative and civilized compared to other working class leisurely pursuits which often involved heavy consumption of alcohol. Another reason for the divide was time. The working-class man was less apt to have the free time to pass beside a lake or stream perfecting the art of fly-fishing.

There is scant debate that pure fly-fishing was an upper class, gentleman’s sport, but this had more to do with the time required to develop the skill, the money to buy hand-crafted flies, and the access to pristine, well-stocked water bodies. Then, as it is today, fishing techniques were a personal preference. Not every man of the gentry was drawn to fly-fishing, nor was bait fishing with a hook considered “lowly.” Fishing was fishing, with skills necessary no matter what technique was used or species of fish caught.” The Prints, above were taken from her article https://sharonlathanauthor.com/fishing-as-a-georgian-era-sport/

Can you help us?

Old Regency Prints, Pictures an Coaching maps: Do you have access to any prints or pictures showing what town and country would have looked like when Lucy travelled through? Any illustrations of what she would have seen in 1819 will enliven our research.

New Pictures: Do you have any modern pictures of the streets, buildings, gardens and views that would enable us to see the changes that two centuries have wrought?

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