Focus has always been something which I have struggled massively with, and when researching I tend to wander off on little side missions before coming back to what I am supposed to be doing. I love stories, and tidbits of information hinting at stories to be told can be found nestled in the Historic Environment Records (HER). Some are so intriguing that they trigger falls into research rabbit holes.
One of these was PRN 5172 – Pyllau-isaf Tumulus. The Historic Environment Record summary states: “This barrow was opened c.1850 and in 1851 it was reported that a large funerary urn was found, which contained a large quantity of cremated human bone and a small cup. The urn was broken on excavation, but later reassembled. It was found by one Wiliam Hughes and his gravestone at Llanbadarn Fawr includes a reference to the discovery”.
This sounded fascinating – who was Wiliam Hughes and why did he or his family feel such a strong attachment to an artefact that its image was carved upon his gravestone? So thanks to the amazing free online journal collection provided by Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (The National Library of Wales) I began searching through the HER list of Archaeologia Cambrensis journal references beginning with the 1847 reference.
An article in this journal records the First Annual Meeting of the Cambrian Archaeological Association, held at Aberystwyth. There is a short reference to the display of a “very curious ancient British “Cist Ludw”, a vessel for holding ashes which was found in the parish of Llanfihangel-y-creuddyn, in the year 1844, and was exhibited by Mr. James, whose property it is” (Archaeologia Cambrensis October 1847: 359). Unsure how this related to the urn shown on the gravestone I followed the next reference to examine the 1851 Archaeologia Cambrensis (Archaeologia Cambrensis October 1851: 164-165) which proved more forthcoming.
The text records that: “In the month of November, 1840, an earthen vase, with burnt remains, was found in the centre of a tumulus, on the farm of Pyllau isaf, in the parish of Llanelar, six miles from Aberystwyth, and at a distance, perhaps, of ten miles from the other discovery. That, also, was broken on raising; but the fragments have been put together, and are now in the possession of an archaeological friend here”.
It is unknown when an additional accessory vessel was added to the assemblage but in the 1856 list of objects displayed at the Cambrians Welshpool meeting T. O. Morgan exhibited “Two cinerary urns, large and small, found in the same tumulus, on the farm of Pwll-isa, in the parish of Llanilar, near Aberystwyth” (Archaeologia Cambrensis October 1856: 366).
The account of the vessel’s discovery was extended to add that it was accompanied by an accessory vessel and in 1868 Stanley and Way wrote: “Another discovery had previously occurred, in 1840, at Pwll-isaf, six miles from Aberystwyth, in the parish of Llanilar. An urn was found in the centre of a barrow; also a small cup enclosed in the urn, well baked, and in perfect preservation. The ornament on these vases consists of zigzag and fretty patterns: one of them, which is worked with skill and precision, apparently produced by a twisted cord or fibre. The patterns on the small urn seem to have been scored by a pointed implement. It measures two inches in height, three inches in diameter; the bottom is quite plain” (Archaeologia Cambrensis July 1868: 250).
In 1925 Iorweth. C. Peate wrote a short piece on an incense cup and cinerary urn which was then on display in the Museum of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth (Archaeologia Cambrensis 1925: 203-205). In this article Peate recounts the earlier descriptions of the urns found at Penyberth Farm and “Pwyll isaf”. Peate concluded that the larger urn which had been reconstructed by Mortimer Wheeler at the new National Museum were likely from the Penyberth Farm site and that the Pwll isaf remains had been lost. An image of the urn and cup were published alongside the article (figure 1). An illustration of the vessel also appears in the “Guide and Catalogue of the Bronze Age Collections” produced by Amgueddfa Cymru (1980: 215, included as figure 2).
Figure 1. Incense Cup and Cinerary Urn Published by Peate in Archaeologia Cambrensis (1925: 204).
Figure 2. Pwyllau Isaf Vessel Published in “Guide and Catalogue of the Bronze Age Collections” produced by Amgueddfa Cymru (1980: 215).
Finally in an Archaeologia Cambrensis article 1932 (pg 201-2) Iorwerth. C. Peate published what I had been looking for – a direct link between the gravestone and the urn at Pwllau-isaf. He wrote:
“NEW LIGHT ON A CARDIGANSHIRE CINERARY URN.
In Arch. Camb., 1925, pp. 203-5, I described a cinerary urn presumed to have been found on the farm of Pen-y-berth or Gloucester Hall, five miles north of Aberystwyth.” My attention has now been drawn by Mr. Arthur R. Sansbury, B.Sc., University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, to a tombstone in the churchyard at Llanbadarn-fawr, Cardiganshire, on which is depicted the urn referred to in my 1925 note. This tomb- stone, which bears a Welsh inscription to the memory of William Hughes, Lluest-gwilym (1824-1843), the finder of the urn, also bears the following English contemporary inscription The urn delineated at the top of this stone was turned up in ploughing over the remains of a Tumulus on a field called Cae’r odyn on the farm of Pyllau issa in the adjoining Parish of Llanfihangel Glyndroed, alias Creuddyn, in the month of November, 1840. It contained a great quantity of human bones and had the mouth downward” (T. O. Morgan, in Arch. Camb., 1851, p. 164, refers to a discovery in 1840 at Pwll isaf in the parish of Llanilar.”) Pyllau-isaf is in the parish of Llanfihangel-y-creuddyn. The urn, now in the National Museum of Wales, described in 1925, is obviously that of the Llanbadarn inscription, and I am grateful to Mr. Sansbury for bringing the inscription to my notice”.
Also provided was a picture of the gravestone (taken by A.R. Sansbury) showing the urn (figure 3).
Figure 3. Image of Gravestone Showing Urn. Taken by A.R. Sanbury and Published by Peate in Archaeologia Cambrensis (1932: 202).
So now I had an image of the urn, and the gravestone and part of the mystery made sense to me – but I was still none the wiser as to who William Hughes was, but I now had further information to work from. I knew that the date of his death was not after 1850-1851 (the information given in the HER entry), but 1843 as stated in the 1932 Peate article. It was also clear that the date of 1850-1851 had been misattributed from the date of the Penyberth Farm discovery which was detailed alongside the Pwllau isaf find. I also now had the name of the farm/house where William lived – Lluest-gwilym, and the years of his birth and death – 1824-1843 so I decided to see whether there were any online records for the church at Llanbadarn Fawr where William was buried. This was when I discovered that had I done this before going through all the Archaeologia Cambrensis journals. I would have saved myself a lot of work as others had already conducted a large amount of this research. I had in fact discovered absolutely nothing new about this site (massive facepalm moment!!!)
My search had landed upon the Llanbadarn Churchyard website by A. W. Gilbey. This is such an incredible resource and if anyone is looking at graveyard recording projects this is fascinating, chronicling the work of the Penglais Comprehensive School History Society in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. I adored the photographs of the team involved and the author’s account of the works. Within the headers of the site I noticed the section entitled “Urn” and sure enough there it was; a link to a paper written on the gravestone. Professor Zöe Crossland, together with Michael Freeman, Paula Jones and Brain Boyd had published a paper on the gravestone in 2008. In the links section was a second link to a blog on the gravestone by Professor Howard Williams of the University of Chester. The links to these papers are provided below and I highly recommend reading them before finishing off this blog as they both take different tangents in the exploration of the significance of the gravestone and its place within the wider cultural landscape of mid-nineteenth century Cymru, the relationship of the symbolism of the urn within a growing interest in national identity, and in William’s blog the local context for the gravestone. I won’t discuss these issues further here as they form a PhD chapter in themselves, but I am planning on a separate article for this topic.
Although Crossland et al. did examine some records for the local area the focus was on the connection between William Hughes and Pwllau isaf which led to the conclusion that “The gravestone therefore records a find not from the Hughes’ land but from the farmland of Evans. No mention is made of the relationship between the two families or farms. The connection, if any, between the urn and the life and death of William is left unstated. Maybe William was involved with its discovery on the farm of Pyllai-Isaf?” (pg 214).
What neither of these accounts had done however was to offer any further information as to why the urn was of significance to William Hughes – why was this specific ornament chosen? We know from the Archaeologia Cambrensis accounts and from the reconstruction of the urn itself (see below) that this is an accurate representation and description of the discovery of an actual artefact which was found in the local area so it must be more than serendipity that the image was chosen!
Returning to the churchyard survey at Llanbadarn Fawr, the gravestone of William Hughes (Recorded as Grave D203) recorded that he was the son of Lewis and Mary Hughes. William was born on the 5th April 1824 and died on the 26th of September 1843 age just 19. With this information I was able to find the family in the Tithe and census records. The 1841 census records that there 14 people living at “Lluestgwilym” with John Hughes (age 51) named as the head of the house. His profession is listed as Solicitor and he appears to have lived in part of the farmstead with Jane Maggs (36) of independent means, her 5 month old son Tysilio. Jane Williams (34) is listed as a female servant. Recorded separately but also as resident at Lluestgwilym are Lewis and Mary Hughes (age 45 and 40) together with their 7 children – John (15), William (13), Ann (10), David (8), Hugh (6), Mary (5), and Sarah (3). Another female servant – Mary Lewis (35) lived with the family. Moving onto the Tithe records of 1843 we again see the pairing of John and Lewis Hughes in association with Lluestgwilym, with John recorded as the landowner.
Although Hughes is a common surname, especially in Cymru, I wondered whether there was a familial link between John and Lewis Hughes. The graveyard records were helpful in piecing together their relationship, revealing that John Hughes (1789-1870) was the older brother of Lewis Hughes (1791-1874). Lewis was the second of eight sons of John and Anne Hughes of Cefnhendre, with his older brother John owning the Lluest Gwilym farmstead whilst Lewis and family farmed the land.
To go full circle on this investigation more information about John Hughes can be found back in the Archaeologia Cambrensis journals. In the October 1846 edition of the journal we find John Hughes of Lluestgwilym recorded in the “Alphabetical List of Antiquaries who approve of the formation of a Society for the study and preservation of Welsh National Antiquaries (pg 463-464). “Hughes,. J., Esq., Lluestgwilym, Aberystwith” appears in the first list of members of the association published in January 1847 (pg 90), and he served on the Committee as Local Secretary for Cardiganshire (pg 89). Hughes was also recorded as heading the local committee formed at Aberystwyth to arrange the First Annual Meeting for the Association (July 1847: 269).
Using the newspapers online search engine provided by Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru this information was supplemented with further notes as to John Hughes’ position as a renowned antiquarian in the Aberystwyth area. This was exemplified in his 1870 obituary which stated “Oct 25th Age 84. JOHN HUGHES, Esq., solicitor, of Lluestgwillym, near Aberystwyth. The deceased was a very able historian, and one of the first antiquarians in the Principality”. I didn’t continue to chase this as I was confident that John Hughes is the link between William Hughes and the urn on his headstone, but I imagine that there would be some interesting material held locally and in local journals if someone were to follow it up. With this in mind, I think that we are safe to assume a shared interest in local antiquity between uncle and nephew. William may well have been involved in the discovery of the urn as stated by A.R. Sansbury in his letter to the Cambrians, or he may have viewed and studied the artefact alongside his uncle. Although likely working as an agricultural labourer when required, William was part of a prominent landowning family and would presumably have been educated.
This would also be consistent with the only other example of a British bronze age urn depicted on a gravestone – that of renowned barrow digger Thomas Bateman (1820-1861) mentioned by both Crossland et al and Williams. In his 1974 publication Early Barrow Diggers, Barry Marsden documents antiquarian exploration and attributes the opening of between 360-80 barrows to Bateman! Whilst the Hughes’ were by no means as prolific as Bateman (although as mentioned above it would be worth a search for any recorded excavations), what they share is a love of the past. The inclusion of the urn and an englyn (a tradition short poem form) on the headstone of William Hughes seems a poignant and highly personal memorial rooting a loved son in his landscape and history, forever pairing him with ancestors buried millennia before.
References and Links
Link to HER record for PRN PRN 5172 – Pyllau-isaf Tumulus:
1861 note in newspaper – The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 28th December 1861:
Link to the Llanbadarn Churchyard website by A. W. Gilbey:
Link to Crossland, Z et al (2008) The Llanbadarn Fawr ‘Graveyard Urn’: An Object History
Link to Howard William’s (Archaeodeath) Blog – Urning your Memorial – the Pyllau-Isaf Urn and Llanbadarn Fawr Churchyard
1841 Census
I can’t add the link to Ancestry as the site is not open access but to find the correct page:
Cardiganshire > Llanbadar Fawr > Aberystwyth > District 7
1843 tithe – area named Mount Pleasant
1870 Obituary of John Hughes
The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard, 29th October 1870:
https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3306232/3306236/50/
Marsden, B. M. (1974) The Early Barrow Diggers. Aylesbury: Shire Publications.
Savory, H.N. (1980) Guide Catalogue of the Bronze Age Collections. Cardiff: Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru.
Annwn BC 
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