Penmachno is
located in Conwy County, North Wales (signposted on the A5 road 2 miles
south of the popular inland tourist resort of Betws y Coed). Formerly
Pennant Machno it is a village centered
on the valley of the Afon (River) Machno, one of the upper tributaries
of the Afon Conwy. As with its more well known neighbour, Betws
y Coed, it is situated within the Snowdonia National Park, but although
it is just 4 miles from Betws it does not suffer the crowds.
The
Machno Valley is a beautiful location and there are many pleasant walks
from the village including the spectacular Conwy Falls. Activity holidays
are catered for with the new Penmachno
Mountain Bike Trail that starts from just outside the village and passes
through the forests of Snowdonia.
Close to Penmachno is a National Trust property Ty'n-y-Coed
Uchaf a preserved traditional Welsh farmhouse.
But to the Welsh people Penmachno's main claim to fame would be its proximity
to Ty Mawr (the Big House) at Wybrnant (between Penmachno and Dolwyddelan).
Ty
Mawr Wybrnant (a National Trust property) was the  birthplace
of Bishop William Morgan who translated the Bible into Welsh. Should you
have no interest in Bishops or Bibles the house itself, Ty Mawr, sitting
in the beautiful Wybrnant Valley is well worth a visit.
Penmachno was an important early Christian centre as is evidenced by an
outstanding collection of inscribed stones from the late 5th and mid 6th
century AD that are to be found in the parish church. The parish church
of St. Tudclud, (Tyddyd, Tyddwd) built in 1857 stands in the centre of the
village where originally stood two churches. This accounts for the large
size of the present churchyard. The other church, dedicated to St. Enclydwyn,
fell into ruin after the Reformation and has entirely disappeared, When
this old church was dismantled three of the five stones were found. The
others were found close to the Roman road which runs South to Tomen y Mur,
one from Rhiw Bach and the other possibly from Beddau Gwyr Ardudwy, a legendary
site near Bryn y Castell, Ffestiniog.
 The
content of the inscriptions give a moving picture of a community of the
6th century anxious to retain some link with the firm political structures
of Rome and the secure society that their ancestors had known before the
withdrawal of the Roman Legions.
One of the stones has the Christian Chi-Rho symbol and states in Latin "Carausius
lies here in this heap of stones".
Another states "Cantorix lies here. He was a citizen of Venedos (Gwynedd)
and cousin of Maglos the magistrate".
The terms "citizen" and "magistrate" appear in no other
British inscription of this date. What is amazing is that such a hierarchy
should have still existed here in "Venedotia" so long after the
legions had left
Another point of interest is that the old church
was reputedly the burial site for Iorwerth ab Owain Gwynedd (1145-1174),
also known as Iorwerth Drwyndwn (broken nose, snubnose or flatnose),
the father of Llywelyn
the Great. Iorwerth was heir to the Kingdom of Gwynedd but it is said
that he wasn't allowed to take the crown because of his irregular face.
However it is said that the sixth stone a 13th century gravestone cannot
be proven to be his. All references that I can find on the internet refer
to Iorwerth being killed in battle at a place called Pennant Mehangell during
the wars deciding the succession following the death of his father. However
I can not find this place "Pennant Mehangell". There is a village
in Powys near Llyn Vyrnwy named "Pennant Melangell" but this  does
not appear to be the site of the battle. Maybe Penmachno or as it was called
"Pennant Machno" was the site of the battle after all.
On the day I visited the village in 2006 I met an elderly lady called
Mair who was, if I remember correctly, 91 years old and the oldest person
in the village. Mair ( I mean no disrespect to call her by her first name
but she did not tell me her second name) was originally from Blaenau Ffestiniog
but had lived in the village with her late husband for many years. She was
very concerned about another place of worship in the village, the old Capel
Bethania.
Her husband had looked after the Chapel for many years but it had since
closed down and was falling into disrepair. The Chapel is a proud looking
building and indeed seems out of place in such a small village. It is now
in private ownership and will probably be converted to a private dwelling.
Lets hope it is tastefully converted and remains a building that Penmachno
and Mair can be proud of. |
