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This horse harness pendant was recovered from the ditch beside the road just inside the gate of Nevern Castle. Might it have been dropped by Gerald of Wales?  Figure 1: X-radiograph or horse harness pendant from Nevern It is a kite shaped pendant broken into two fragments (broken in antiquity), originally 45mm long, 16mm wide, and unusually is made of iron.  It has a broken loop at one end and would have originally hung from the harness of a horse, usually the headband or breastband.  Horse harness pendants are normally made of copper alloy, enamelled and come from the 13th – 16th centuries.  They demonstrated the wealth, status and allegiance of the rider often depicting armorial devices (heraldic symbol) of the lord to whom the horse (and rider) belonged.    The actual object is very fragile, little more than a lump of rust, and even cleaned by conservators, it shows little of its original shape and decoration.  However, the X-radiograph does show what the original object looked like (Figure 1). Harness pendants first appear in the early 12th century and are rare until the 13th century.  This example has an unusual rounded kite shaped shield form, (inverted tear shape) similar… Continue reading Crogdlws harnais ceffyl Gerallt?

While you’re in the bailey of Nevern Castle, take a look at the back of the Throne (built around 2000 and diligently restored 2021-4 by Patrick Beaumont). You’ll see two escutcheons – coats of arms on shields. The one with two red bars is that of the FitzMartins, the Norman lords who first built the castle; the other has a lion and three ravens, and is supposed to represent the Lord Rhys. But we’ve recently discovered that the lion and three ravens actually belonged to a different and distantly related Rhys, a couple of centuries later. The mistake was pointed out by Roger Turvey, the historian of early medieval Wales, whose book The Lord Rhys: Prince of Deheubarth is regarded as an excellent account of Rhys and the period. Coats of arms are awarded and recorded by the College of Arms on behalf of the Sovereign. They don’t record pictures of arms; instead, they record the blazon, a written description of the arms. The holder of a particular blazon is then entitled to render this into pictorial form in a variety of traditional styles. The blazon of The Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd, as confirmed by the College of Arms, is:… Continue reading The Rhys Coat of Arms

Dr Rhiannon Comeau In the area around Nevern Castle, the estates of Robert FitzMartin’s knights very likely originate in the pre-Conquest lands of Nevern church. Dr Rhiannon Comeau investigated Bayvil as part of her PhD research into pre-Norman Cemais. Nevern Castle was built on land that, before the Norman arrival, probably belonged to Nevern church. This church, dedicated to St Brynach, was a ‘clas’ church like many other pre-Norman churches in Wales: It was served not by monks but by a group of ‘claswyr’ (sometimes referred to as ‘canons’ or ‘prebends’). These claswyr, from the evidence elsewhere, were probably married and held hereditary roles. They lived on small estates belonging to their church, supported by the work of bondmen (unfree workers). Few records of Nevern church’s pre-Conquest landholdings have survived, but they were probably similar to the ‘atria’ and supporting ‘villae’ recorded for 11th century Llancarfan (Glamorgan) in the Life of St Cadog. The Welsh clas churches (which are sometimes called ‘mother churches’) were institutions whose families produced some of the bishops of St Davids, as well as the writers of the Lives of St David and of St Cadog. The Normans, however, had little respect for them: with their… Continue reading Nanhyfer cyn y Normaniaid

A devastating innovation The castle was an important tool of conquest. Initially built quickly in wood, it served as a base for the invading soldiers, a place to protect their equipment and provisions, and a place to defend from counter-attacks. Once a foothold was established, castles were strengthened by rebuilding in stone. They became living quarters for the lord and his family, as well as an administrative and military hub from which to control the surrounding territory and collect taxes from the population. Castles were a Norman innovation. The motte-and-bailey style was introduced in Normandy in the 10th century, and brought across the English Channel in 1066. South of the Preselis, the Normans were secure in the castles they built. But it was a different story further north, where the Welsh were more difficult to subjugate. In Nevern as in Cardigan and Cilgerran, the Welsh fought off the invaders and occupied their castles. And not simply occupied them, but extended and improved them as well. Both Normans and Welsh extended the stone buildings at Nevern at different times; and it was Rhys who reconstructed Cilgerran into stone, in place of the Norman wooden structure. The Welsh lords took up the… Continue reading Castles come to Wales

Cafwyd sgwrs boblogaidd a hynod ddiddorol yn y Trewern Arms ddydd Mercher 12/7/2023 gan Dr Chris Caple, yr archeolegydd a fu’n arwain y cloddiadau yng Nghastell Nanhyfer am ddeng mlynedd. Ers ei ddinistrio yn 1196, mae aredig a hindreulio wedi cuddio’r hyn sy’n weddill o’r castell. Darnau yn unig sydd ar ôl – a thasg yr archaeolegydd yw eu rhoi at ei gilydd, i ddatgelu digwyddiadau dramatig y cyfnod, a’r bywyd yr oedd pobl yn ei arwain. Cloddiwyd 52 o ffosydd archeolegol rhwng 2008 a 2018, gan ddatgelu adeiladau a ffyrdd, yn ogystal â miloedd o ddarnau sy’n dal i gael eu dadansoddi heddiw ym Mhrifysgol Durham. Mae’r darganfyddiadau’n cynnwys darnau o arfau, offer, esgidiau, pedolau, harneisiau, cloeon, lampau, cerrig beddau, cerrig adeiladu, cerrig i’w taflu at bobl, cerrig ar gyfer chwaraeon, grawn, hadau, gleiniau, a llawer mwy. Yn y pen draw, cyhoeddir yr ymchwil a dychwelir y darnau i Nanhyfer. Y cynllun yw y bydd eitemau cain yn cael eu benthyca i amgueddfa, a all eu cadw’n ddiogel mewn awyrgylch sych. Bydd darnau mwy cadarn yn cael eu harddangos yn Neuadd y Pentref, ac yn y Trewern Arms Diolch i James ac Angie, perchnogion y Trewern Arms, a ddarparodd… Continue reading Gwneud synnwyr o’r darnau

Friends of Nevern Castle had a stand in the craft tent at Nevern Show on 10th August. Gaynor, Mike, Kath and Alan chatted to show goers about the castle. The aim was to raise awareness of the existence of the site and the importance of the castle in the 12th century. We told visitors how the castle’s history, with its alternation between Norman and Welsh control, encapsulated that pivotal period in the history of Wales. A surprising number of people said they’d lived in the area for many years but never visited the castle, or even known it was there. We collected a dozen new members for the Friends mailing list. We handed out this leaflet about our work.

Nevern Trail Guide leaflet was published in 2016 by Nevern Community Council and Pembrokeshire National Park Authority. It’s now due for a reprint, and so there’s an opportunity for updates and improvements. Friends of Nevern Castle recently had a meeting with other residents of Nevern to discuss changes to the leaflet. We’ve also had discussions with representatives of St Brynach’s Church, the Village Hall, and the Trewern Arms. The resulting revision has a number of improvements over the 2016 version: The draft revised leaflet can be seen here. Comments are welcome! Thanks to the Trewern Arms for hosting the meeting. Update 19/3/2023: The new leaflets have been printed and are being distributed to information points and businesses. If you’d like some to give to your guests or customers, please email info@neverncastle.wales.