Phillips, Hercules Davies (1869-1944)
Journalist and Quaker. Born 25 Oct 1869 at Knighton. Moved to Llandrindod 1886 when apprenticed to D.C. Davies of Caxton House, printer, journalist and stationer. Served 5 years as apprentice, becoming reporter and editor of weekly paper. Found the Church of England under Archdeacon de Winton unsatisfactory, turned to Calvinistic Methodism and began to preach, before finding his spiritual home with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1896. He spent several months in Birmingham where he met such eminent Friends as Cadbury, but returned to Llandrindod to continue his mission there. He took up a position as a journalist for a weekly paper. He raised money to build Llandrindod Wells Meeting House, which opened 1908. He served on a vast range of local bodies and committees, including the Radnorshire Education Committee, Llandrindod Wells Secondary School Committee, as well as boy scouts and nursing associations, etc.
He married (1) 1899, Caroline Mary Humber from Pembroke (d. 24 Feb 1924), by whom 6 children, and (2) 1925, Elizabeth Mabel Grace Downes from Bishops Castle. He died 23 November 1944. [G.R.]
["The Personal Story of Hercules D. Phillips", CAO R/NC/2B/9,etc.; B/X/23/85]
He married (1) 1899, Caroline Mary Humber from Pembroke (d. 24 Feb 1924), by whom 6 children, and (2) 1925, Elizabeth Mabel Grace Downes from Bishops Castle. He died 23 November 1944. [G.R.]
["The Personal Story of Hercules D. Phillips", CAO R/NC/2B/9,etc.; B/X/23/85]
Phillips, James (fl.1632)
Of Celynog in the parish of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant. He was esceator of Montgomeryshire and was a grand juror before serving as sheriff for the county in 1632.
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
Lloyd, Piers (b.1595)
Of Maesmawr and Trawscoed in the parish of Guilsfield in Montgomeryshire. He was sheriff of the county in 1637 and steward of the lordship of Powys. Under the Commonwealth he served as sheriff again in 1650, and was appointed a Commissioner of Sequestration for North Wales. His sons Edward and Thomas adopted the surname of their grandmother Elizabeth Lloyd.
[MC 27; W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
[MC 27; W.V. Lloyd - the Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire]
Pilleth: Battle of Bryn Glas
Bryn Glas on a map of the 1830s
In June 1402 Owain Glyndŵr led a force into Radnorshire. He was intercepted by "almost all the militia of Herefordshire" under the command of Edmund Mortimer, which would have been largely made up of tenants from the Mortimer estates. The two armies met near the village of Pilleth, a few miles from Presteigne. The chronicles imply that the battle took place on the hill above Pilleth church, Bryn Glas ("Green Hill"). As with all accounts of battles in the middle ages it is impossible to be sure of the numbers involved, but Mortimer’s army is unlikely to have have consisted of more than 4,000 men.
It seems probable that Owain’s smaller forces took up a position on the hillside, and that Mortimer’s army advanced up the hill to meet them. At the crucial moment, however, their own archers (possibly Welshmen from Herefordshire) turned on them and they were utterly defeated. The slaughter was said to be horrendous, and accounts put the numbers killed at between 200 and 1,100. This was one of the most significant moments of the rebellion: an English county levy had been utterly overwhelmed by the Welsh. Reports also quickly circulated that the Welsh women accompanying Owain’s army had "obscenely mutilated" many of the bodies of the fallen. This may have been misinformation as part of a more concerted propaganda campaign which followed the defeat. On the other hand it may have happened in response to atrocities committed by Henry IV’s campaign in Wales.
It seems probable that Owain’s smaller forces took up a position on the hillside, and that Mortimer’s army advanced up the hill to meet them. At the crucial moment, however, their own archers (possibly Welshmen from Herefordshire) turned on them and they were utterly defeated. The slaughter was said to be horrendous, and accounts put the numbers killed at between 200 and 1,100. This was one of the most significant moments of the rebellion: an English county levy had been utterly overwhelmed by the Welsh. Reports also quickly circulated that the Welsh women accompanying Owain’s army had "obscenely mutilated" many of the bodies of the fallen. This may have been misinformation as part of a more concerted propaganda campaign which followed the defeat. On the other hand it may have happened in response to atrocities committed by Henry IV’s campaign in Wales.
The high point of Owain's revolt
Mortimer was captured, and when the English government procrastinated over his ransom he threw his lot in with the Welsh, marrying Owain’s daughter on 30 November 1402. As his claim to the throne was arguably better than that of the king, Henry IV, this was a serious development. Local tradition indicates that the bodies were buried in mass graves on the hillside and six Wellingtonia trees were planted to indicate one of the sites which was discovered in the 1870s. [G.R]
[R.R. Davies – The Revolt of Owain Glyndwr; Williams]
[R.R. Davies – The Revolt of Owain Glyndwr; Williams]
Pipton-on-Wye: Treaty of
The treaty was made at Pipton near Glasbury on 19 June 1265 between Simon de Montfort and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn had chosen the venue to demonstrate his power in the Marches). Llywelyn was supporting the baronial opposition to King Henry III in a general way - any weakening of royal authority was to his advantage - and now this treaty proposed terms much to his advantage. His title of prince of Wales was to be recognized; lands taken from him or from his brother Dafydd were to be restored; and he was to be given the castles of Painscastle, Hawarden and Whittington for additional security. The death of Simon de Montfort at Evesham soon after, however, and the triumph of the royal party, rendered the treaty obsolete. [G.R.]
[R.R. Davies, Lloyd, Walker]
[R.R. Davies, Lloyd, Walker]