Gam, Dafydd (d.1415)
Born Dafydd ap Llywelyn, but nicknamed Gam, "crooked", because of a squint or cast in the eye. He was the son of Llywelyn ap Hywel Fychan, whose castle was at Pen-pont, and claimed descent from Einion Sais. The family had a background of cooperation with the English authorities in Brycheiniog and beyond. According to Theophilus Jones, he was a red-haired, ferocious man who fled to England having murdered a kinsman Richard Fawr of Slwch in the High Street in Brecon, but there is no evidence to substantiate this. He inherited substantial estates across Brecknock from his father. He first appears as a King's Esquire in 1400 and continued to serve faithfully the Lancastrian kings Henry IV and V; both he and his family refused to join in the revolt by Owen Glyndwr. There is a story that he plotted to assassinate Owain Glyndŵr, but again there is no evidence for this. He was captured by Glyndŵr in 1412 and ransomed. He fought for Henry V at Agincourt and is said to have personally slain the Duke of Nevers, taking the Duke's arms and armour. He was mortally wounded on the field and tradition has it that he was knighted by the king before he died. Through the marriage of his daughter Gwladus to Sir William ap Thomas of Raglan, Dafydd Gam became the "father of all the Herberts".
[DBW; Thomas]
[DBW; Thomas]
Games family
Said to be descended from a knight of the Round Table. The most famous member was Dafydd Gam (see above). His descendants lived at Newton, Brecon, including Sir John Games, four times High Sheriff of Brecon between 1574 and 1600, whose own father was High Sheriff of Brecon in 1558. The last sheriff to bear the name was Hoo Games of Newton in 1657.
[Poole, Jones, Brycheiniog XI - photocopies in Enquiry file 21/4L]
[Poole, Jones, Brycheiniog XI - photocopies in Enquiry file 21/4L]
Gastyn, Saint
Gelligaer and Talybont Hunt (Hon. E. Berry's)
Kennels: Llwynmoelgoch, Merthyr Tydvil. Couple of hounds: 26. Master of Hounds: Hon. Eileen Berry. Huntsman: G Walford. Whipper in: H Brill. Secretary: Mr G Llewellyn, Brynteg, Merthyr Tydvil. Hunting days: Monday and Thursday. Description of Country "Very hilly with a good deal of woodland and moor - a good Welsh pony is likely to carry one as well as or better than a good horse". Hunting centres: Talybont, Ystradmynech.
[The foxhunters' yearbook 1930-1931]
[The foxhunters' yearbook 1930-1931]
Gethin, Sir Richard (fl.1420)
The son of Rhys Gethin of Builth. Along with Matthew Gough and Dafydd Gam (see above), Richard Gethin was one of the many Welsh soldiers who served with the army of Henry V during his second attempt to conquer Normandy and whose exploits were celebrated in Welsh verse and reviled by the local population which suffered such cruelty at their hands. Gethin first went out to France in 1417 under the banner of the Earl of Warwick, was recorded fighting at Crevant (1423) and Verneuil (1424), was made captain of the captured towns of St Cales and Hiemes, and in 1428 played a leading part in the siege of Orleans with the Earl of Salisbury. He was appointed to the command of Mantes where he served during 1433/4 with a force of around 180 men. His elevation to this command is celebrated in a poem of Guto'r Glyn which also expresses grief at the rumour that he had been captured. Guto idolised both Gethin and Mathew Gough and his poetry reflects both their chivalry towards the French knights and their ruthless attitude towards the French peasantry. By this stage Richard Gethin had amassed enough of a fortune through captured booty to lend the Duke of Bedford £1,000 and at some point he gave a golden cloak to Guto'r Glyn. He was probably reluctant to leave such rich opportunities and it is not known if he ever returned to Wales. He disappears from the records after 1450.
[H.T. Evans; Williams, G.]
[H.T. Evans; Williams, G.]
Glanusk Park
Glasbury: Maesllwch Castle
The first recorded residence on this site overlooking the Wye flood plain was that of one William Vaughan, a sixteenth century Radnorshire landowner. His estates passed through marriage to the Howarth family, one of whom built a new mansion in 1729. Sir Humphry Howarth experiencing financial difficulties after fighting local elections, mortgaged Maesllwch to Walter Wilkins esq. who later foreclosed the mortgage and bought the property himself. It was Wilkins, who served as MP for Radnorshire himself, who brought in architect Robert Lugar who had built Cyfarthfa Castle for the ironmasters of Merthyr. Lugar built a new and much grander castellated building, incorporating a variety of styles, in front of the old house to make the most of the fine views over the Wye to the Black Mountains. Another wing was added in 1874, by which time the Wilkins family had assumed the name De Winton by royal assent. Most of the mansion was demolished in 1951.
[RT 7,37,47; Haslam; Williams]
[RT 7,37,47; Haslam; Williams]
Glascwm: Air crash
On 25/26 April 1942 a German Junkers Ju 88 was shot down by a fighter from Shropshire, the aircraft hitting Gwaenceste Hill. Some at least of the crew bailed out and were rounded up by the police, and locals. Two German aircrew had perished in the wreck and their remains were brought down to a barn at Llanhailo farm, then to a military funeral at Glascwm church a few days later (there is now a memorial to them inside the building). At a later date they were interred at the German War cemetery at Cannock Chase.
[Doylerush]
[Doylerush]
Glascwm: Parish church
Thought to have been founded by St David himself, the church is of the clas type with large roundish churchyard. Probably the original mother church of the cantref of Elfael, the existing church is of 13th/14th centuries with 15th century and later editions. The windows were restored in the 1891. The church is said to have contained a bell called Baugu which was conveyed by a certain woman to her husband, a prisoner in the Castle of Rhayader. The mandate of the bell was refused by the custodian of the Castle resulting in "Divine vengeance" and the destruction of the town by fire with the exception of the wall to which the bell was suspended. The church has a memorial to two German airmen who were killed during the Second World War when their Junkers 88 was shot down over the village. (see above)
[RT 1968, 1976 & 1978; Haslam; Newspaper cutting from The Hereford Times of 8 Jul 1911 - ]
[RT 1968, 1976 & 1978; Haslam; Newspaper cutting from The Hereford Times of 8 Jul 1911 - ]
Glascwm: Yatt
A Grade II listed property said to date from the 15th century. The present pond used to serve a mill, and an orchard. Once occupied by a Baptist community. Reputed to be the home of "the wicked old Squire Bevan" according to Rev. Francis Kilvert.
[Cutting from Western Mail, 1987 in Enquiry File 21/4G]
[Cutting from Western Mail, 1987 in Enquiry File 21/4G]