Ystumllyn | |
---|---|
Location | Criccieth, Gwynedd, Wales |
Coordinates | 52°55′33.53″N4°12′18.53″W / 52.9259806°N 4.2051472°W |
Built | late-16th-century |
Architectural style(s) | Vernacular |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Designated | 12 December 1994 |
Reference no. | 4291 |
Ystumllyn is a Grade II* listed house in Criccieth, Wales. Founded in the late-16th-century, and significantly expanded in the early-18th-century, it is remarkable as an "important example" of the vernacular architecture of both periods.
The house was apparently built at the end of the 16th century by Ellis ap Cadwaladr (d. 1597), [1] a member of the Welsh Ellis family, which claimed to trace its lineage back to Gollwyn ap Tangno, founder of one of the Fifteen Tribes of Wales. [2] Ellis obtained the property from the Crown, [1] and is the first member of the family to be described as "of Ystumllyn". [3] When it was first built, the house was likely one of the earliest storied buildings in the region. [1] Before 20th-century renovations, the house bore two dated inscriptions of 1720 and 1729 giving a likely date for the extensive 18th-century remodeling and extensions. [1] The owner in this period was Rev. Humphrey Wynn (d. 1724), [2] whose initials are featured on the earlier of these inscriptions. [4] By 1725, it was in possession of Ellis Wynn (d. 1759) who held in until his death. [5] In 1824, the estate passed to philologist Rowland Jones. [2] The roof was raised and the fenestration was remodeled in the 19th century. [4] In c. 1946, J. Egbert Griffiths of Porthmadog carried out several minor alterations, adding some extra windows and rearranging the internal room structure. [1] On 12 December 1994, the building was designated a Grade II* listed building, [1] a listing reserved for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". [6]
The house was home to several local notables throughout its history. The Welsh poet Gruffydd Phylip (d. 1666) composed several poems addressed to the Ellis family, including a poem directly referencing the house, "Hiraeth y bardd am Ystumllyn" ("The Bard's Longing for Ystumllyn"). [2] John Ystumllyn (d. 1786), who took his name from the household, was employed by the Wynn family at this estate as a gardener and survived as the first well-recorded black person of North Wales. He was of uncertain origins, and was possibly kidnapped from Africa by the Wynn family, but lived out a happy life in Ystumllyn, eventually running away with and marrying a local woman. [5]
Ystumllyn is a rubble-built house of two stories, composed of two blocks arranged into a T-shaped plan. The east-facing block is the earliest part of the building, dating to the late 16th century, while the north-facing block (which bisects the east block) was constructed in the early 18th century. [4] The building has been described as historically remarkable in the British Listed Buildings' rationale for registering it as a Grade II* listed building; its original component "incorporates an important example" of 16th-century architecture, while its 18th-century additions "represent high quality vernacular work of the period". [1]
Criccieth Castle is a ruined thirteenth-century castle in Criccieth, Gwynedd, Wales. It is located on a rocky headland overlooking Tremadog Bay and consists of an inner ward almost surrounded by an outer ward. The twin-towered inner gatehouse is the most prominent remaining feature and survives to almost its full height, as does the inner curtain wall. The outer curtain wall, the inner ward buildings, and the castle's other three towers are significantly more ruinous, and in places survive only as foundations.
Dolwyddelan Castle is a thirteenth-century castle located west of Dolwyddelan in Conwy County Borough, North Wales. Tomen Castell, a late twelfth-century tower, is located south-east of the castle.
Aberffraw is a village and community on the south west coast of the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The village is 9 miles from the island's county town, Llangefni, and is located on the west bank of the Afon Ffraw. The community includes Soar and Dothan. Located near the A4080 and the nearest rail station is Bodorgan.
Llanystumdwy is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward on the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales. It lies in the traditional county of Caernarfonshire but is currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Gwynedd. It is not regarded as being part of Llŷn, but as belonging instead to the ancient commote of Eifionydd on the Cardigan Bay coast, where it has its own beach. The community includes the villages of Chwilog, Afon Wen, Llanarmon, and Llangybi, plus the hamlets of Rhoslan and Pencaenewydd.
Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet, was a Welsh baronet, Member of Parliament and antiquary.
Chwilog is a village in Gwynedd, north Wales, and located on the Llŷn Peninsula. It is in the community of Llanystumdwy, near Criccieth, and in the medieval commote of Eifionydd, named after a 5th-century ruler. It is within the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the UK Parliament and in the Senedd. The name means 'abounding in beetles' and was perhaps transferred from an earlier name of the river.
Llys Rhosyr, also known as "Cae Llys", is an archaeological site near Newborough in Anglesey; the ruins of a pre-Edwardian commotal court.
Deganwy Castle was an early stronghold of Gwynedd in Deganwy, at the mouth of the River Conwy in Conwy, north Wales. It sits at an elevation of 110 m (361 ft) on a volcanic plug in an area of limestone known as the Vardre.
Old Beaupre Castle is a ruined medieval fortified manor house located in the community of Llanfair, outside Cowbridge in Wales. It is known in historic documents under the names Beawpire, Bewerpere, Bewpyr and Y Bewpur. It is a Grade I listed building and is under the care of Cadw. It can be visited free of charge all year round by members of the public. The gardens are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Plas Mawr is an Elizabethan townhouse in Conwy, North Wales, dating from the 16th century. The property was built by Robert Wynn, a member of the local gentry, following his marriage to his first wife, Dorothy Griffith. Plas Mawr occupied a plot of land off Conwy's High Street and was constructed in three phases between 1576 and 1585 at a total cost of around £800. Wynn was known for his hospitality, and the household was supported by Wynn's local dairy herds, orchards and gardens. On his death he laid out complex instructions for dividing his estate; the resulting law-case took years to resolve, effectively preventing the redevelopment of the house and preserving it in its original condition.
Sir Hugh John Ellis-Nanney, 1st Baronet, was a Welsh landowner, magistrate and political candidate.
The Priory and Parish Church of Saint Mary is in Beddgelert, in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. It is a Grade II* listed building, on the site of one of the oldest Christian establishments in Wales. An early Christian community was established there in the 6th century AD which is mentioned by Gerald of Wales. An Augustinian priory was founded there in the 13th century and in the Middle Ages it grew substantially thanks to the support of important Welsh nobles including Prince Llewelyn.
Eglwys y Bedd is all that remains of a 14th-century church in Anglesey, north Wales. It is set within the churchyard of St Cybi's, Holyhead, and may have been built on the site where Cybi lived and ministered. It is reputed to house the grave of Seregri, an Irish warrior who lived in the area in the 5th century.
John Ystumllyn, also colloquially known as Jac Du or Jack Black, was an 18th-century gardener and the first well-recorded black person of North Wales.
Hafotty, Llansadwrn, Anglesey, Wales is a medieval hall house dating from the mid 14th century. Described in the Gwynedd Pevsner as "one of Anglesey's classic small medieval houses", Hafotty is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
Pont Minllyn is a bridge spanning the Afon Dyfi, north of the village of Mallwyd, in Gwynedd, Wales. It was built by John Davies, rector of Mallwyd between 1603 and 1644 and a famed Welsh scholar who wrote a Welsh grammar and worked on early Welsh translations of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. Pont Minllyn was designed as a packhorse bridge to facilitate the transportation of goods. It is a Grade II listed building and a Scheduled monument.
Penarth Fawr is a hall house in the community of Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd, Wales. The oldest part of the house dates from the mid-fifteenth century and consists of four bays of the original house, with the service rooms in the southern bay and the hall occupying the other three; a parlour wing to the north of the hall has been demolished. There is a seventeenth-century wing attached to the rear of the building. The original house has been altered several times, but was restored to approximately its medieval appearance in 1937 and is notable for its intact medieval roof and screen.
Talhenbont Hall is a Grade II listed building on a 100-acre (40 ha) estate in Gwynedd, Wales. Until it was renamed in the 19th or 20th century, the building was known as Plas Hen.
Gwaenynog is a small estate about 1 km (0.62 mi) to the south-west of the town of Denbigh, Wales. Its origins are mediaeval when it was built as a house for the Myddelton family. The Myddeltons claimed descent from Rhirid Flaidd, of the House of Cunedda, hereditary Kings of Gwynedd. Anglicising themselves and their name after the conquest of Wales, they thrived as prominent local landowners and politicians. Basing themselves ultimately at Chirk Castle, they served as receivers of Denbigh, governors of its castle and as members of parliament for Denbighshire and Denbigh Boroughs.
St Derfel's Church is located on the northern edge of the village of Llandderfel, Gwynedd, Wales. The church is dedicated to Saint Derfel, a Welsh saint. Derfel is reputed to have lived in the 5th/6th century and been a warrior of King Arthur, and one of only seven of his knights who survived the Battle of Camlann, at which Arthur himself was killed. Derfel then became a monk and founded two churches, that at Llandderfel, and a chapel near Cwmbran in South Wales. In the Middle Ages, a pilgrimage cult developed around Derfel, and an effigy of his horse, the Ceffyl Derfel , is located in the church. The church was largely rebuilt in the early 1600s, although its origins go back to a pre-Norman clas. It is a Grade I listed building.