The Parish of Llanwynno (extracts)

Ynysybwl Fair was primarily a market in which cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs were bought and sold. 3 The Waun Fair was an ancient Medieval fair with records dating back to 1140, and so was one of the oldest fairs in Britain. Its position was important; it was situated at the junction of several parishes, and each of the four rooms of nearby Twyn-y-Waun farm were said to be in different parishes, and a Roman road passed nearby. Many fairs were held during the year, and at one time, one a month. They were held in the hills above the hamlet of Pant-y-waun, between Dowlais Top and Fochriw, and continued throughout the nineteenth century. Pant- y-waun village was pulled down in 1962 to make way for extended open-cast mining. The Waun Fairs were famous as Horse, and Hiring Fairs, but attracted people from a wide distance; traders from West Wales sold sea-food there. Sport was also an important part, with cock-fighting, dog fights, wrestling, jumping, foot-races, and there was even a horse- race course. David of Ynyshir could have been referring to an event at a Waun Fair in the early l9th century, or even in the last years of the l8th century. 4 Mount Gwyngul lies to the east of the Rhondda Fach valley. Its summit has an altitude of 1542ft (470m) Although not technically a mountain in Britain (i.e., not 600m high) its Welsh name has always been Mynydd Gwyngul, so will be referred to as Mount Gwyngul here. 5 A district of Porth, in the Rhondda Cynon Valley. 6 No great distance was involved in this move; Nythbran Farm was only about half a mile away from Llwyncelyn. 7 Lantrisant was about 7l/zmiles south of Nythbran, and Aberdare is about 12 miles north of Nythbran. This description can only apply to Guto's journey to LLantrisant, for it seems most unlikely that he would have left Nythbran to go to Aberdare by first going south over the River Rhondda near Britannia, which would have required him re-crossing the river later. 8 An ancient farmstead, about half a mile north-'east of Nythbran. 9 There are several places with similar names, but all are west of Nythbran and some distance from it. lo There are many ways of calculating what that would be worth today; if we calculate it in terms of its purchasing power in 2016 (the last date for which figures are available) it would be worth 73,450 - this calculation takes the percentage increase in the RPI of a common "basket of goods" from 1737 to 2016, and multiplies it by 500. If we calculate its value in terms of a labourer' s wages it would be 934,000. Calculated in terms of its economic status, or, "prestige value", using the index per-capita GDP, it would be 1,243,000. And if calculating it in terms of its economic power, i.e., its value relative to the total output of the economy, it is II,150,000. By any calculation, 500 was a lot of money in 1737. see, https./'/www.measuringworth.com (accessed, 19 Nov. 2017) II Perhaps Newport Cathedral, in Newport, Monmouthshire. 12 St Barrwg's Church. 13 Newport Cathedral: 50m above sea level (164 ft). St Barrwg's Church: 93m above sea level (304 feet). 14 We don't know what roads were agreed for the race, but modem calculation methods report the shortest distance between Newport Cathedral and St Barrwg's, Bedwas to be 10.2