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Castellan; Cystyllan, Dyffryn Ardudwy

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NPRN28271
Map ReferenceSH62NW
Grid ReferenceSH6101025470
Unitary (Local) AuthorityGwynedd
Old CountyMerioneth
CommunityDyffryn Ardudwy
Type Of SiteHOUSE
PeriodPost Medieval
Description

Ruins, name probably taken from the castellated shapes of the rocks nearby.

 

Dywedir iddo gael ei godi o dan gyfraith undydd unnos rhyw dri chant wyth deg o flynyddoedd yn ôl [1556] gan Robert wyn Griffiths a'i feibion ynghŷd a thrigolion Cwm Nantcol. Tŷ lled fychan ydoedd gyda chegin a siambr a chroglofft, un corn, ffenestri bychain, muriau trwchus, mortar pridd yn y waliau gyda llechi ar y to o'r ffridd islaw, sef Ffridd y Llyn, Derw oedd y sparas a'i dustiau. Torrwyd yr holl goed i adeiladu'r tŷ o'r tir o amgylch y lle. 

Adeiladodd Elis Jones dŷ arall yn Cystyllan, un mwy na'r un gwreiddiol gyda dau gorn a dwy ffenestr lloft. Tyddyn bychan ydoedd gyda thua 3 acer o dir a buarth a beudy. Ei ferch, Margaret Jones symunodd i Llam Maria i magu ei phlant. [Detholiad o 'Rhai o atgofion y diweddar Evan Jones 1936].

Erbyn 1908 roedd yn rhan o ystad Gors y Gedol ond yn ôl y Degwm rhoedd o'n gafael yn ei hun.

Yn Llais Ardudwy, rhifyn 39, 1978 cofiodd y Parch L.G Roberts mai 3 tŷ oedd yno o'r enw 'Gwyn Fryniau, Carleg Llwyd a Chastelll y Llan'.

'Clywais ddywedyd mai disgynyddion un o ffyliaid (court jesters) yr hen fychaniaid Gorsygedol oeddynt. ac fod y lle sef cystyllan ac ychydig dir i'w ganlyn wedi roddi yn etifedd iddynt gan deulu Gorsygedol' [erthygl yn archifdy Dolgellau Z/M/551/3]

Amryw o straeon am Dafydd Styllan, neu Dafydd y Gwn, oedd yn byw yna. Atgofion amdano a'i dywediadau ffraeth a bachog ar gael ar ddogfen ar wahan.

 

[Translated] - it is said that it was build under the undydd unnos (one day and one night) law around three hundred and eighty years ago [1556] by Robert Wyn Griffiths and sons along with neighbours in Cam Nantcol. A narrow house with a 'cegin' a chamber and crogloft, one chimney, small windows, thick walls, daub mortar in the walls with a slate roof from the nearby ffridd, Ffridd y Llyn, the beams and ceiling. The wood that was used to build the house was all cut from the surrounding land.

Elis Jones built the second house at Cystyllan, a larger one that the original with two chimneys and two 1st floor windows. It was a small 'tyddyn' with around 3 acers a yard and barn. His daughter Margaret Jones moved to Llam Maria, also a ruin, to rais her children. [translated extract from 'Rhai o atgofion diweddar Evan Jones 1963' (Memories from the late Evan Jones 1963)]'

By 1908 is was part of the Gors y Gedol Estate but the Tithe shows it was an isolated holding in 1840s.

[Translated] 'They say that they were descendants from one of the court jesters, the old Fychaniaid Gorsygedol. And that cystyllan and a bit of land was given to them as inheritance from the Gorsygedol Family'. [unpublished article in Dolgellau Archives Z/M/551/3]

in Llais Ardudwy, no 39, 1978 there was a contribution made by Rev. L.G. Roberts who remembers there were three homes there named Gwyn Fryniau, Carleg Llwyd and Castell y Llan'.

There are a few stories about Dafydd Styllan, or Dafydd y Gwn, who lived here. Recollections of him and his sharp wit are available on a separate document.

 

Cyfeiriad: Prosiect Treftadaeth Harlech ac Ardudwy. ‘Murddunnod Coll’, 2024.

Resources
DownloadTypeSourceDescription
application/pdfGeneral Digital Donations CollectionCopy of handwritten memories of Cystyllan, donated by Lolyn Jones relating to Cystyllan, Dyffryn Ardudwy, one of the farmstead ruins in the Ardudwy area surveyed by volunteers between November 2020 and November 2023, as part of Prosiect Treftadaeth Harlech ac Ardudwy. ‘Murddunnod Coll’ project.