Painting of Penrhyn Castle. Courtesy of Bangor University Archives and Special Collections.
Welcome to Podlediad Penrhyn, a five-part podcast about the history of the Penrhyn estate in northwest Wales.
Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Gwynedd, now a major visitor attraction managed by the National Trust, which previously sat at the heart of an extensive landed estate stretching across parts of in northwest Wales. Your host, PhD researcher Kayla Jones, will take you through various aspects of the estate’s story, from its medieval history, connections with slavery and role in the global slate industry to considerations of Penrhyn today, its place in north Wales, and its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kayla Jones, Podlediad Penrhyn host and PhD researcher with the Institute of the Study of Welsh Estates at Bangor University.
You can learn more about Kayla’s research through the website of Bangor University’s Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates: Podcasting Penrhyn.
For many, the Penrhyn Estate is synonymous with the slate industry in Gwynedd or slavery in Jamaica, both of which can be challenging topics to explore today. Though slavery and slate are central to Penrhyn’s history they are not the only aspects of its story. Penrhyn’s medieval owners, the Gruffydd family, utilised their Welsh and English connections to grow their influence in north Wales and were one of the most prominent landed gentry families in the area. With stories of powerful marital alliances, contested wills and even raids and piracy, Penrhyn’s early owners were far from boring.
Despite having little tangible evidence of the Gruffydd family’s legacy at today’s Penrhyn Castle, archives, poetry, and legal records held in Bangor University Archives and Special Collections give us an interesting snapshot of the medieval family’s identity and influence in the area. Kayla spoke with historian Dr Shaun Evans, Director of the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE) at Bangor University, about the estate’s early owners.
To learn more about the research of ISWE and their events, visit their website.
““I think it’s really interesting that when most people think about the history of Penrhyn, they’ll talk about the Pennant family’s plantations in Jamaica and their involvement in transatlantic slavery, or they’ll talk about the Penrhyn slate quarry in Bethesda and the great strike of 1900-03, both of which, of course, are really important parts of local and Welsh history. But if you mention Penrhyn to a historian of medieval Wales, they’re likely to immediately think of the Gruffydd family.” ”
Medieval structure previously located on the Penrhyn estate. Accessed via Wikimedia Commons, available from the National Library of Wales.
Who were the Gruffydd family?
The Gruffydd, or Griffiths, family, were a gentry family descended from a man named Ednyfed Fychan, who was a notable steward to Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great), King of Gwynedd, and eventual ruler of Wales in the early 1200s. By 1282, however, Edward I of England had conquered the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Though the Princes of Gwynedd no longer ruled in Wales, a class of Welsh gentry families, or uchelwyr, emerged to take on local leadership of their communities. The Gruffydd family of Penrhyn were one of the most powerful examples of these families.
The Gruffydd family acquired land across Anglesey and Caernarfonshire, building the Penrhyn estate across the 1300s–1600s. Ancestry was a key feature in the Gruffydd family’s status. Gwilym ap Gruffydd extended his influence through marriage to Morfudd which brought substantial lands into his possession across Anglesey and Caernarfonshire.
Family papers of the Gruffydd family, a part of the Penrhyn Castle Papers from 1340–1627. Courtesy of Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections
Despite losing his land because of his involvement in of the Glyndŵr Rising of 1400 and 1415, Gwilym ap Gruffydd was eventually given a pardon for his part in the revolt, and was able to buy back his land, as well as the land of nearby ‘rebels’. This turned Gwilym into a major landowner, and an influential leader in north Wales.
Gwilym’s second marriage to Joan Stanley, the daughter of a prominent Cheshire sheriff, established strong English connections for the Gruffydds, in a time when the Welsh could not usually hold office after the enforcement of penal laws. Gwilym and his son appealed to the English courts about their loyalty to the English Crown, and were allowed certain privileges, including the status and authority accompanying the office of Chamberlain of north Wales.
A Court Case that looked a lot like Henry VIII’s life…
When Gwilym II died in 1531, he left the estate to his son Edward Griffith, who then had three daughters but no male heir. More than a decade of disputes over the inheritance of his estate ensued between his daughters and his brother, which resulted in a heated battle in court and even a raid on Penrhyn.
Kayla spoke with Dr Gwilym Owen — Senior Lecturer in Property Law at Bangor University — about his research into the dispute centred on the Penrhyn entail. Through years of research, Gwilym pieced together the complexity of the case, which centred on the nature of Edward’s three marriages.
Edward kept going between two of his wives, Agnes, and Jane Puleston. Originally, Edward married two sisters in succession, Jane, who died shortly after marriage, and Agnes. After this, Edward evidently married a woman named Jane Puleston, who was much more to his father’s liking. His father Gwilym did not approve of his marriage to Agnes and encouraged Edward to marry Jane Puleston instead, probably because of her financial connections.
Dr Owen found that Edward kept changing his mind between his two wives, which made his entail complicated. He ended up having three daughters with Jane Puleston, who eventually claimed that they were entitled to his estate. However, his brother Rhys argued that his marriage to his first wife, Agnes, was the only one that was legal, meaning therefore that Rhys was the sole heir to the Penrhyn estate. Although Edward married Agnes as a teenager, and there was talk of the marriage not being consummated, it was hard to tell whether his marriage was bigamous or not.
Large seal from the deeds connected to the Gruffydd family. Courtesy of Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections.
One of the most interesting parts of Dr Owen’s research was the connection he found between Edward’s situation with his two wives and Henry VIII’s, whose marriage was being tested in the courts at the same time as Edward’s. At the time, comparisons were being made between Edward’s marital situation and Henry VIII’s, as the king was contesting his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had originally married his brother Arthur before his death in 1502. Based on Henry VIII’s situation, Edward of Penrhyn questioned whether it was his marriage to Agnes which was bigamous because of his earlier marriage to her sister Jane, or whether his marriage to Jane Puleston was bigamous, because he was still married to Agnes. This put in question whether his three daughters by Jane Puleston were legitimate or not, just like Mary Tudor (eventually Mary I) who was originally delegitimised by her father in 1533 when he married Anne Boleyn.
Regardless of the legal proceedings, Jane Puleston’s father, John Puleston, was not willing to give up the fight for his granddaughters’ inheritance. After Edward died in Dublin Castle, John Puleston raided Penrhyn with soldiers bearing guns and bows, trying to find a document that Rhys claimed proved he was the rightful owner of the estate. This was documented in a petition to the King written by Rhys, who complained about John Puleston’s unlawful trespassing on what he claimed was his estate. These and many other letters on the Penryn entail are housed in Bangor University Archives, as part of the Penrhyn Collection, which can be explored online or by visiting the archives.
After years of litigation, the two sides agreed to divide the estate between Edward’s daughters and his brothers. Dr Owen wrote a book about his findings called At Variance: The Penrhyn Entail, visit here to learn more.
Penrhyn’s Pirate owner
Eventually, Penrhyn was passed down to Rhys’ son Piers (or Pyrs) Griffiths, whose life was even more eventful than his father’s. Piers lived between 1568-1628 and has since gained notoriety as a pirate. There are stories surrounding Piers about raids on the high seas alongside Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. Legend has it, Piers also built a secret tunnel between Port Penrhyn and the old house at Penrhyn. Most of what is written about Piers is considered fictitious, however, what is known about him is that he certainly acted like a pirate financially! After years of his ancestors building up the Penrhyn Estate, Piers mismanaged his inheritance, slowly mortgaging off the estate until 1621 when Penrhyn was sold to John Williams.
Indenture granted to Piers Griffith of Penrhyn, a part of the Penrhyn Castle Papers from 1340–1627. Courtesy of Bangor University’s Archives and Special Collections.
John Williams, originally from Conwy, rose to become a well-known figure during James I’s reign, holding a number of positions including as King’s chaplain in 1617, Bishop of Lincoln, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and Archbishop of York. John Williams died in 1650 and is buried in Llandygai Church, where there is a grand monument erected in his memory. He died without children and passed on the estate to his nephew Griffith Williams. Eventually a portion of the estate was passed down to Ann Susanna Warburton after there were no male heirs to inherit the estate. Ann Susanna married Richard Pennant who grew the estate in the 18th century. We will explore the Pennants in the next two episodes.
Welsh Poetry at Penrhyn
Kayla also spoke with Professor Ann Parry Owen, from the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, whose research focuses on medieval Welsh literature, language, and poetry. An important part of the cultural life of Welsh gentry families revolved around the patronage of praise poetry focused on the status and identity of the family. One of the many Welsh bards welcomed to Penrhyn was the prominent poet Guto’r Glyn, who sang about the family’s impressive Welsh lineage, their noble virtues, their marriages and children and their hospitality. Praise poetry (canu mawl) provides a rich snapshot into the lives of Welsh gentry families, such as the types of food they ate, the clothes they wore, and their roles and responsibilities in Welsh society.
In the podcast, Kayla plays a portion of a poem composed by Guto’r Glyn about the Gruffydd family of Cochwillan, relatives of the Gruffydd family Penrhyn, who lived in a nearby hall house. This recording was produced as a part of a research project directed by Prof. Owen called The Guto’r Glyn Project which included a website created around the life and poems of Guto’r Glyn. The website has a plethora of resources about life in medieval Wales, as evidenced through Guto’s poetry, ranging from medicine and agriculture to religion and war. You can also read Guto’s poems with Welsh or English explanatory notes, and about his patrons’ lives, like the Griffiths. Check out Guto’s Wales for more.
Here is a snippet of Guto’r Glyn’s poetry about the Griffiths of Cochwillan:
Where can you find more about Penrhyn’s medieval history?
Bangor University Archives and Special Collections house a large collection of historical records created by or connected with the Gruffydd and Williams family of Penrhyn; you can explore the collection online or visit the University to research the archive. If you want to do a bit of physical exploring, St Tegai’s Church in Llandygai, located near the main public entrance to Penrhyn Castle, holds several monuments, plaques, and crypts connected with Penrhyn’s medieval history. William Griffith and his wife are buried at St Tegai’s, and there is also a monument and alabaster tomb for John Williams in the church. To learn more about the church, visit here.
Monument to John Williams located at St Tegai’s Church in Llandygai. Courtesy of the Institute of the Study of Welsh Estates.
Professor Ann Parry Owen suggests that a great way to learn more about Welsh praise poetry is to visit the National Library of Wales or explore their digital collection online. This collection includes the Black Book of Carmarthen, The White Book of Rhydderch and the Book of Taliesin, which are examples of the earliest versions of Welsh prose and the Welsh language.
Dr Evans recommends the list below which will give you more detail about the medieval history of Wales:
A.D. Carr, ‘Gwilym ap Gruffydd and the rise of the Penrhyn estate’, Welsh History Review 15, 1 (1990), available online here: https://datasyllwr.llgc.org.uk/journals/pdf/AWJAJ016002.pdf
A. D. Carr, The Gentry of North Wales in the Later Middle Ages (Cardiff, 2017)
D. J. Bowen, ‘Y Canu i Gwilym ap Gruffudd o’r Penrhyn a’i fab Gwilym Fychan’, Dwned 8 (2002)
D. Johnston, Llên yr Uchelwyr: Hanes Beirniadol Llenyddiaeth Gymraeg 1300-1525 (Cardiff, 2014)
R. R. Davies, The Age of Conquest: Wales, 1063–1415 (Oxford, 2000)