| The following day, our journey took us further north up the Rhymney Valley, along roads that grew ever more winding as they followed the contours of the landscape. The hills hereabouts are remarkable for their coal deposits, which have been used for fuel since the Bronze Age. The weather growing inclement, we sought shelter at Llancaiach Fawr (1), near Gelligaer (2). |
INCIPIT PARS QUARTA |
| Coal is a black stone which derives its flammability from its containing much of the element fire, admixed with some air and earth, as evidenced by the smoke and ashes produced by its combustion. Moreover, if distilled, coal gives up a quantity of tar with a remarkable odour, which is a base form of water. (3) | |
| Built circa 1530, Llancaiach is a fine Tudor semi-fortified manor house, outwardly austere, but of pleasant nature inside. We first approached the gatehouse, built in very recent years yet harmonious in style to the house itself, where we met servants who offered us hospitality in return for a modest donation to the owner's coffers. We were given letters of introduction which, having passed by the formal gardens first laid out in the 1620s, we presented at the entrance to the house. We were given leave to wander at our pleasure, and so we made our way around the place to see what e'er we might. | |
| The servants were attired in the costume of the Civil War in 1645. The owner of the house in these times was Col. Edward Pritchard, one of many among the Welsh gentry who rode in support of King Charles I. Indeed, during the first three years of conflict, Wales provided so many recruits that it was described as the nursery of the King's infantry. | |
| By 1645, the Principality was impoverished by the privations of conscription, taxation and the lack of trade, and its people were growing increasingly discontented. The King sent Saeson (4) officers to quell the unrest and enforce taxation, slighting the local gentry and oppressing the Welsh people: silent leges enim inter arma (5). | |
| Pritchard was a devout Puritan, bearing no love for Charles' bishops with their high church rites, nor for his brutish commanders. A pragmatic man, he must have been dismayed by the King's response to the crushing defeat of the Royalists at Naseby on 14th June 1645: 'I confess that speaking either as a mere soldier or statesman, I must say there is no probability but of my ruin. Yet as a Christian I must tell you, that God will not suffer rebels and traitors to prosper, nor shall this cause be overthrown.' | |
| Charles was trusting to the Divine Right of Kings for his salvation. As S. Paul wrote: Omnis anima potestatibus sublimioribus subdita sit; non est enim potestas nisi a Deo quae autem sunt a Deo ordinatae sunt. Itaque qui resistit potestati Dei ordinationi resistit; qui autem resistunt ipsi sibi damnationem adquirunt. (6) Yet when the Royalist baggage train was overrun at Naseby, the King's private correspondence was discovered, revealing his negotiations with foreign Catholic powers and the plan for an invasion from Ireland. | |
| Parliament soon published these papers in a pamphlet entitled The King's Cabinet Opened, at which there ensued such a furore that Charles stirred himself to visit Wales to rally the support of his subjects: and so it was he came to Llancaiach Fawr. Evidently, the King was insufficiently persuasive; he stood accused of hypocrisy, he was unwilling to compromise with Parliament, and his subjects were suffering and dying for his obstinacy in a cause all but lost. Pritchard's conscience would no longer let him serve his king, but forced him to turn coat. Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. (7) He served Parliament faithfully until his death in 1655. | |
| During our visit, there was no sign of Col. Pritchard. However, one garrulous fellow showed us his master's study at the top of the house. Of particular interest were the pigeon loft, accessible though a small hatch, and a little window. Both were for the sending and receiving of messages: morsels of paper could be tied to the birds' feet or, if a more intelligent messenger were required, a young boy could be despatched through the window, to climb down to the ground and slip away through enemy lines. A certain Danish woman (8) was drawn rather to the kitchen, where her eye was caught by a crow pie, identifiable by the feet protruding from the crust. | |
| At length we departed, ascending further along the valley, and thereafter progressing westward under the Black Mountains: a range of hills the chief of which is Cadair Arthur, or Arthur's Chair, so called from two peaks which rise up in the form of a throne. This summit is a very lofty spot and most difficult of access. (9) |
EXPLICIT PARS QUARTA |
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| 1 | In one text of the Itinerarium the author thanks John Penderel (at one time Bailiff of the Shire of Blackwater) for providing him with a copy of an article concerning Llancaiach Fawr by Thomas Fookes. This article can be found in The Intelligencer, Vol. 1, Issue 2, pp. 6-10. (back) |
| 2 | 'Wood of the fort'. (back) |
| 3 | The author at one time practised alchemy, and was apparently familiar with the destructive distillation of coal. (back) |
| 4 | 'English'. I believe the derivation of this word to be the same as for the Scottish Sassenach: from the Late Latin saxones, 'Saxons'. (back) |
| 5 | 'For laws are silent in the midst of war', a maxim from Cicero's Pro Milone. (back) |
| 6 | 'Let every soul be subject unto the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God : the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the authority, resisteth the ordinance of God : and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.' (Romans 13, 1-2.) (back) |
| 7 | 'Times change, and we change with them', attributed to John Owen (obiit 1622), a Welshman famed for his Latin epigrams. (back) |
| 8 | Helga Badgerslayer, whom the author, in his Preface, had vowed not to mention again. (back) |
| 9 | Now called Bannau Brycheiniog, or Brecon Beacons. These peaks stand 2864 and 2906 feet above sea level. The quote is from Gerald of Wales, The Journey through Wales. (back) |