LLWYNYWORMWOOD - New Royal Residence
Monday, April 7 
LLWYNYWORMWOODLLWYNYWORMWOOD or Llynwermood, site of one of the romantic but sadly "Lost Houses of Wales", is a name with tantalising but unproven connections with the herbal traditions of the Parish of Myddfai. Wormwood was an important insect repellant and disinfectant in early times and a substitute for hops in beer, though not one finding much favour with George Borrow in his "Wild Wales" in the mid nineteenth century! The earliest records of Llwynywormwood so far found are about William Williams who died in 1686 and whose son was Daniel Williams. His son David Williams was baptised in Myddfai in 1713. He became a successful Carmarthen lawyer. There is a rather poignant memorial in the Church on the right hand side of the altar in memory of his son Erasmus Williams who predeceased his father in 1785 and who himself shortly thereafter died without further issue leaving his estate to his nephew. This was the son of his wife's brother, George Griffies, who thereupon took the additional name of Williams as part of the conditions of his inheritance. George Griffies Williams was educated in England, son of a clergyman, apparently moving in illustrious circles and acquired a baronetcy in 1815. He in turn was succeeded by his second son the Reverend Sir Erasmus Griffies Williams. By all accounts father and son were both somewhat colourful characters. Sir Erasmus became Chancellor of St. David's in 1858 and remained so until his death in 1870. The estate was then acrimoniously divided between his two daughters and in the following years the estate was sold in several stages because of heavy indebtedness, principally to an adjoining family estate. By the middle of the nineteenth century the family had ceased to reside at Llwynywormwood and there is evidence that the house was let to members of several notable local families. By the time the estate was sold nobody lived in the house except a caretaker and we are led to believe that from the earlier part of the twentieth century the house deteriorated and was successively quarried until only the fragmentary remains seen here today existed. The farm was tenanted and it is believed to have been purchased by the tenants, the Lewis family, in the 1950's. D.T. Lewis was a founder member of the Famers' Union of Wales. There is evidence in part of the ruins of the mansion of a late medieval kitchen in the small building known as the Old Bakehouse. It appears to have been in the form of a detached kitchen, not uncommon in the seventeenth century, lying adjacent to the more substantial surviving part of the ruin which we believe to have been the the part of the house occupied by the Williams family. They appeared to have prospered and by the evidence of the position of the memorial in the Church had considerable influence in the Parish by the late eighteenth century. Substantial enlargements and improvements to the house and Park were carried out by George Griffies Williams on taking his inheritance . The house appears to have been enlarged by instalments in a relatively haphazard manner over many years as is evidenced by the only illustration extant which is a pencil sketch now residing in the National Library of Wales. The Park is favourably mentioned in Richard Fenton's "Tours in Wales", when he passed through in 1809. A model farmyard was constructed or reconstructed around 1800 providing, amongst other buildings, a Great Barn a hundred foot long, now listed, which appears to be the largest surviving barn of this period in the county and illustrating the serious nature of agriculture here at that time. The present farmhouse was provided out of a three bay carthouse in the 1860's and this was extended into the stable and harness room in 2000. There is a further range of ancillary buildings, contrived from the mansion side to look like cottages, to complete the yard. George Griffies Williams like many of his educated contemporaries in the eighteenth century with an estate, developed a taste for landscaping his Park and this was carried out in a very sophisticated and subtle manner. Though the Park, like the house, suffered serious deterioration during the twentieth century, fortunately the underlying structure remains and since the Park relies more on its configuration rather than more ephemeral buildings, a landscape restoration project which is now in progress will enable many features and the feel of the eighteenth century environment to be revived . There is a small and interesting Walled Garden, the walls of which are now partially restored and the interior of which has been laid out on an experimental basis to determine the extent and variety of crops which can be grown again in this part of Wales using organic and modern scientific techniques. It is hoped that the current interest in the architectural and landscape history of this part of Wales, which is particularly rich in Towy Valley, will lead to the revelation of more of its fascinating story. John and Patricia Hegarty | LLWYNYWERMWDMae Llwynywermwd neu Llynwermwd, yn un o dai rhamantus ond yn anffodus yn un o "Dai Colledig Cymru". Mae'n enw profoclyd ond heb unrhyw brofiad fod ganddo gysylltiad a thradoddiadau llysieuog plwyf Myddfai. Roedd wermwd yn bwysig flynynddoedd yn ol i gadw pryf draw ac fel diheintydd. Roedd hefyd yn cael ei ddefnyddio yn lle hopys i wneud cwrw, er doedd ddim yn ffeindio llawer o ffafr gan George Borrow yn ei lyfr "Wild Wales" yng nghanol y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg! Y cofnodau cyntaf sydd wedi ei darganfod am Llwynywermwd mor belled yw am William Williams a fu farw yn 1686 a'i fab Daniel Williams. Cafodd ei fab ef David Williams ei fedyddio ym Myddfai yn 1713. Daeth yn gyfreithiwr llwyddianus yng Nghaerfyrddin. Mae cofeb trist yn yr Eglwys ar y dde o'r allor mewn coffadwriaeth am ei fab Erasmus Williams a bu farw cyn ei dad yn 1785, er bu farw ei dad mewn byr amser ar ei ol, heb adael rhagor o blant, felly aeth yr ystad i'w nai. Mab gwraig ei frawd oedd George Griffies ond cymerodd yr enw Williams fel rhan o amodau ei etifeddiaeth. Cafodd George Griffies Williams ei addysgu yn Lloegr, mab offeiriad oedd, mae'n debyg ei fod yn symud mewn cylchoedd enwogion a cafodd ei wneud yn farwnig yn 1815. Dilynwyd ef gan ei ail fab y Parchedig Syr Erasmus Griffies Williams. Yn ol pob hanes roedd y tad a'r mab yn gymeriadau lliwgar iawn. Daeth Syr Erasmus yn Ganghellor Tyddewi yn 1858 tan ei farwolaeth yn 1870. Cafodd yr ystad ei rhannu braidd yn chwerw rhwng ei ddwy ferch, ac yn y blynyddoedd canlynol cafodd ei werthu yn ddarnau oherwydd dyledion trwm i'r ystad cyfagos. Erbyn cannol y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg doedd neb o'r teulu yn byw yn Llwynywermwd a mae tystiolaeth ar gael yn dangos fod y ty wedi ei rhenti i amrhyw o deuluoedd lleol. Erbyn cafodd yr ystad ei werthu doedd neb yn byw yn y ty sef am ofalwr ac yr ydym yn credu fod y ty wedi dirywio o ddechrau yr ugeinfed ganrif ac wedi ei ysglyfaethu hyd nes fod dim ond y darnau o weddillion a welir heddiw ar ol. Roedd tenant ar y fferm a chredur fod y fferm wedi ei phrynu gan y tenantiaid sef y teulu Lewis tua 1950. Roedd D.T. Lewis yn aelod sylfaenol o Undeb Ffermwyr Cymru. Mae tystiolaeth mewn rhan o ddadfeilion y plasty fod gegin canoloesol yn yr adeilad bach a adnabwyd fel yr hen bopty. Mae'n ymddangos ei fod yn gegin didoledig, doedd hyn ddim an anghyffredin yn yr ail ganrif ar bymtheg. Mae'n gorwedd yn gyfagos i'r dadfeilion mwyaf sydd yn aros, y rhan y credur oedd y teulu Williams yn byw ynddo. Mae'n debyg fod y teulu yn llwyddianus ac o dystiolaeth safle eu cofeb yn yr Eglwys mae'n debyg fod ganddynt lawer o ddylanwad yn y plwyf yn y ddeunawfed ganrif. Gwnaethir ehangiadau sylweddol a gwelliantau i'r ty ac i'r parc gan George Griffies Williams ar gymeryd ei etifeddiaeth. Mae'n debyg fod y ty wedi ei ehangu mewn rhannau heb unrhyw gynllun arbennig, dros llawer o flynyddoedd fel y gwelir yn yr unig dystiolaeth darluniol sydd ar ol, sef braslun pensil sydd nawr yn Llyfrgell Cenedlaethol Cymru. Mae Richard Fenton yn son yn ffafriol am y parc yn ei "Tours of Wales" pan fu yma yn 1809. Cafodd clos fferm ei adeiladu neu ail-adeiladu tua 1800 yn darpar ymlith adeiladau arall, ysgubor mawr cant o droedfeddi o hyd ag sydd nawr ar y Rhestr Diogeli. Mae'n debygol mai hwn yw'r ysgubor mwyaf o'i fath o'r amser hyn sydd ar ol yn y Sir. Mae hyn yn dangos pa mor ddifrifol y cymerwyd ffermio yn yr amser hwn. Mae'r ty fferm presennol wedi ei ddarpar allan o dy certiau a thri bae tua 1860 a cafodd hwn ei ymestyn i gynnwys yr ystabl ag ystafell harnais yn 2000. Mae ychwaneg o adeiladau wedi ei dyfeisio i edrych fel bythynnod o ochr y plasdy, i gwbwlhau y clos. Rhoedd George Griffies Williams fel llawer o'i gyfoeswyr a oedd yn berchen ystad yn y ddeunawfed ganrif, wedi datblygu blas am dirweddi ei barc a cafodd y parc ei ddatblygu mewn ffordd doethlyd a chyfrwys. Mae'r parc fel y ty wedi dioddef dirywiad dychrynllyd yn ystod yr ugeinfed ganrif, ond yn ffodus mae'r fframwaith oddi tanno yn aros a gan bod y parc yn dibynnu mwy ar ei ffurf allannol yn hytrach nag ar adeiladau, mae adferiad y tirlwedd sydd nawr ar waith yn mynd i alluogi llawer o nodweddau a theimlad am y ddeunawfed ganrif i gael ei adfywio. Y mae yma ardd fach diddorol gyda muria o'i amgylch. Mae rhannau o'r muria wedi cael ei adferio yn awr a mae'r ardd wedi ei gosod allan ar arbrawf i weld y maint a'r amrywiaeth a gall cael eu tyfu eto yn y rhan yma o Gymru yn defnyddio technegau gwyddonol ac organig. Gobeithir fod y diddordeb sydd yn cael ei ddangos nawr yn hanes pensaerniaeth a thirwedd y rhan yma o Gymru, sydd yn gyfoethog iawn yn Nyffryn Tywi, yn mynd i arwain i rhagor o ddatblygiadau yn ei stori diddorol.
John a Patricia Hegarty |
Reader Comments (1)
the Council walk leaflet available at the heritage cenre in Llandovery 'Llwynywormwood' shows all the walks in the old estate.
The 'park cottages' all had english names and still do,it was considered to be very up market to have staff houses with english names, North Lodge was origionally called 'entrance Lodge', round lodge was the head keeper, south lodge,pen hill and toll house also entrance lodges which had large iron gates.
In the 1070s the house had most of the second floor still intact, much of the stone is under my shed!!.