Medieval landscapes

The project area falls wholly within Merioneth, one of the three original shire counties created by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, following the Conquest of Edward I. It also lies within the (earlier-established) medieval commote of Penllyn, itself divided into Is Meloch and Uwch Meloch. Later, in a survey of 1419, the northern-eastern component of this same division is referred to as Uwch Tryweryn and the townships recorded under this designation can be seen to lie beyond the boundary of the Tryweryn river and the Hirnant. The significance of this observation is, if the distinction is ancient, that the hamlets of the bond tenants of the Prince all lie within Is Tryweryn and, equally significantly, cluster close to Bala at Llanycil, Cyffty and Bedwarian. There is also an enclave of the Prince's bondmen south of the lake in the free township of Penaran. This may very well be explained by the proximity of the very extensive royal hafodydd which range round the south-western border of Penllyn from Amnodd and Nanfach to Wenallt, Cwmdadi and Cwm Fynnon. The prince's interests in Penllyn were concentrated in Is Tryweryn; Uwch Tryweryn was the preserve of the freeholders. The disposition of the prince's bond tenants, before the conquest, clearly point to Bala as the commotal centre with the prince's fridd or cattle-lands on the high ground to the south-west of the lake.

During the wars of 1282-3, there had been considerable destruction across north Wales, particularly in Penllyn where whole townships were described as terra vasta, and beyond them the collapse in the values of the upland vaccaries implies a massive reduction in their livestock numbers caused by invading armies. There is evidence that during the final campaign to defeat Llywelyn Fawr, cattle were removed from the vaccaries in Penllyn to feed the English armies, and it was clearly some time before their subsequent restocking restored them to their former value (Smith, 2001, 428). The entry for the township of Penmaen (just north of the study area) may bear witness to the destruction wrought by the war in 1282-3 (see Williams about Basingwerk below). Here we have a snapshot of many aspects of society and economy in Merioneth as they were when the independence of Gwynedd came to an end.

The Borough
In order to secure the conquest, Edward I built a ring of castles in north Wales, and planted boroughs where English colonists could settle and live by trade. There were three such boroughs in Merioneth - Harlech, Bere (which, according to evidence within the 1284 Extent, was probaby the prime symbol of princely authority in the pre-conquest cantref of Meirionydd) (Carr, 2001, 704) and Bala.

The first two were of royal creation, existing to perform a military function (they had castles) and strategically placed, but Bala was different. By 1310 Roger Mortimer had laid out 53 burgages ‘for the king’s benefit for the security of those parts and to restrain the malice of evil-doers and robbers in the locality’. Thirty-four of the burgages occupied part of the former Prince’s demesne land in the commote. The remainder was annexed form the land of free tenants. The demesne land would have transferred into the Prince’s hand at the time that Elise ap Madog was expelled. It is probable that Llanfor had been the more important community, in a number of respects, for some long time. However, In 1310, the hamlet or town of Bala was enlarged and the fair and market of Llanfor was transferred to Bala from Llanfor. In 1324 Bala received its Burghal charter.

Ecclesiastical land
Basingwerk Abbey held a number of granges in the area around Bala, to the south-west and north-west of the town, including the grange of Gwernhefin, which was a large acreage of pasture centred on the present farm of that name (south-west of Llyn Tegid, area 16, centred on SH894329). In addition, it also owned the important asset of Llyn Tegid, where fishing was of considerable importance to the economy of the abbey. (Strata Marcella also had lands which abutted Basingwerk lands in Bala-Penllyn, but these were to the north of the study area).

Some medieval granges or farms were little more than sheep runs, while others were substantial complexes, important not only for agriculture, but also for the transaction of business and the hospitality they afforded. They were model farms of their day, with their nucleus comprising a refectory and dormitory, an oratory, a granary and other necessary farm buildings, probably built of a of mixture of wood and stone. Those in low-lying situations were generally much smaller than upland ones, which were mostly employed for sheep rearing, frequently with boundaries delineated by streams and rivers, and which can possibly be traced at Gwernhefin.

During the late 12th and 13th centuries, pastoralism formed the mainstay of the Cistercian economy in Wales (ibid, 246). The numbers of sheep given in the Taxatio (1291) show that Basingwerk had over 2,000 sheep in Penllyn alone (ibid, 252), and it certainly had a home trade in wool throughout the 14th century.

The current community councils which extend over the study area are also based on the medieval parishes of Llanuwchllyn, Llanycil, Llangywer and Llanfor. These four parishes correspond with the churches recorded in the Valuation of Norwich in 1254 (Davidson, 2001), although none retains any medieval masonry. The eastern commotes of Meirionnydd, including Penllyn, belonged to the diocese of St Asaph while the western ones belonged to Bangor. Both diocese were creations of the 12th century (Price, 2001).