humanities.lit.authors.shakespeare

On Mar 12, 7:42 pm, Lyra wrote:

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I've found the 3-village community web page referred to in the earlier
post...

very interesting stories about Shakespeare.

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(quote, excerpts)


About the Clydach, Gilwern and Llanelly Hill community

The canal at Gilwern

The Three Villages of Clydach, Gilwern and Llanelly Hill make up the
Llanelly parish ward of Monmouthshire County Council.

Situated four miles from the busy market town of Abergavenny this is
an area of outstanding natural beauty on the northernmost edge of the
Brecon Beacons National Park. Very close to the South Wales Valleys
The Clydach Gorge is an internationally renowned area of outstanding
natural beauty. The river Clydach meanders down the gorge, the banks
are lined with beech trees whilst beneath the earth there are miles of
caves. The Clydach Gorge is a haven for walkers and cavers.

Llanelly Hill perched on top of the escarpment is now largely a
dormitory village. There are spectacular views of the surrounding
countryside across the Beacons and the Black mountains for those that
visit this interesting village.

Clydach and William Shakespeare

Find out the links between William Shakespeare and Clydach in the new
article by Marit Meredith. Do you have any items about the history of
our area?



http://www.clydach-gilwern-llanellyhill.org.uk/

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Shakespeare and Clydach PDF Print E-mail

Clydach - and Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream

The story goes that Shakespeare himself not only visited Clydach on
his travels, but that he also drew inspiration for Midsummer Night's
Dream from local myths and superstitions.

The great Bard is said to have stayed at Clydach House when he stayed
in the village- and was quoted as 'the stranger who came looking for
the house of many windows' (which it still has to this day).

What would have spurred him on to come looking for this place, we'll
never know, unless the legends of Cwm Pwca (Hobgoblins' Dingle - or
Valley of Puck) were known further a field, perhaps.

It has been suggested that his friend Richard Price, son of Sir John
Price, of the Priory, Brecon, was the person who first made
Shakespeare aware of the Cambrian fairies and that when visiting his
friend, he sojourned to 'the Valley of Fairy Puck' (The fairy Glen)-
which became the principal machinery for his Midsummer Night's Dream -
supposedly penned as he sat in what is now known as Shakespeare's
Cave, in a dingle just above Cwm Pwca.

Cwm Pwca was where waters from the river Clydach mingled with waters
from another stream - a place that filled people with dread, because
of the malicious powers of some evil spirits believed to be residing
there.

Cwm Pwca lies below Devil's Bridge (the bridge can be accessed by
walking down past the Drum and Monkey in Blackrock, on through the
subway under the Heads of the Valley Road, then continuing down
towards the river). It is apparently called Devil's Bridge because it
looks as though the face of the devil himself is hewn into the rock
below. The river runs through a narrow channel at this point and drops
straight down into a swirling pool below, which is called 'Pwll Cwn' -
or the Dog's Pool. This dark and cavernous pool forms the centre of
the valley called Cwm Pwca -

and was where
Shakespeare
is thought to have visited and got his inspiration, if not his
knowledge, of Puck, who he subsequently introduced into his Midsummer
Night's Dream.

So is the Pwca of Clydach and the 'shrewd knavish sprite that frights
the maidens of the villag'ry ... at every turn' one and the same? It
would certainly seem so...

http://www.clydach-gilwern-llanellyhill.org.uk/index.php?option=3Dcom_conten=
t&task=3Dview&id=3D99&Itemid=3D38

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>
> I've found a blog referring to the Shakespeare story of Clydach,
> here is the post...
>
> (written only 4 days
> before I discovered the same BBC page myself...)
>
> ```````````````````
>
> (quote)
>
> these anecdotes go back to at least to the 19th century, when it was
> documented in a letter by the poet Campbell to Mrs. Fletcher that it
> was thought that Shakespeare visited this village.
>
> ```````````````````
>
> (quote)
>
> Mater
>
> Clydach's links with Shakespeare
>
> Author: mater (add to friends)
>
> Some time ago I mentioned Shakespeare and his possibly spurious links
> with my village. I found this last night and thought I'd share it with
> you.
>
> [More:]
>
> Powys Literary Links - William Shakespeare
>
> 'A great deal of William Shakespeare's life is shrouded in mystery. In
> the parishes of Llandefalle and Bronllys, Breconshire legend has
> supplied the answer to one of the questions surrounding the
> playwright. Here, it is firmly believed that Shakespeare stayed at
> Trebarried around 1595.
>
> Information provided by Powys County Archives:
>
> The original house at Trebarried was the mansion of Bois, Lord of
> Trebois. All that can be seen of this are the remains of a moat in the
> field to the east of the house.
>
> The present house, which Theophilus Jones says "rose from the ruins,
> and perhaps was partly composed of the materials of the old house,
> though not built on the same foundation" was built in the mid
> seventeenth century for William Parry or William ap Harry Vaughan, a
> descendent of Roger Vaughan of Bronllys (sometimes 'of Talgarth'),
> himself a natural son Sir Roger Vaughan of Tretower.
>
> Whilst staying at Trebarried, Shakespeare is said to have visited the
> picturesque Clydach Gorge, near Abergavenny. Clydach was part of
> Breconshire at that time. Here, in a part of the gorge called the
> Fairy Glen, he is supposed to have written 'A Midsummer Night's
> Dream', which he intended for the celebrations at the wedding of a
> friend. There is a cave in the gorge still called 'Shakespeare's
> Cave', where he sat, so the story goes, to write his fantasy of
> fairies, star-crossed lovers and 'rude mechanicals'. The cave is one
> of many in the area explored by cavers.
>
> In the sixteenth century, the gorge was wild and largely unspoilt,
> though evidence has been found that it was the site of the earliest
> iron workings in the world. Later, the Industrial Revolution was to
> bring more extensive exploitation of the natural resources lying
> hidden beneath the gorge, as can be seen from the 1880 Ordnance Survey
> map.
>
> We shall probably never really know whether Shakespeare visited
> Trebarried and Clydach, or where he wrote 'A Midsummer Night's Dream',
> but it does no harm for us to indulge in a little fantasy, and there
> is the compelling evidence of the name of that cave...'
>
> Comments, Pingbacks:
>
> Comment from: jak
>
> How exciting, Marit. Inspirational too, I should think.
> 25/02/08 @ 09:43
>
> Comment from: sue kendrick =B7http://www.suekendrick.co.uk
>
> Marit, I always think the more vague the connections the better, it
> gives you more scope to make things up!
> 25/02/08 @ 14:40
>
> Comment from: jon =B7http://jon1words.blogspot.com
>
> I love all these myths and legends. All the better if they're close to
> home and you can get a few hours to explore.
> 25/02/08 @ 19:02
>
> Comment from: gillyflower
>
> I wonder how true this is. Sometimes I suspect tourist bureaus employ
> people to write up plausible stories like this to encourage more
> visitors to their regions. Great if it was true though.
> 03/03/08 @ 10:19
>
> Comment from: mater
>
> It could well be anecdotal, although if it is, these anecdotes go back
> to at least to the 19th century, when it was documented in a letter by
> the poet Campbell to Mrs. Fletcher that it was thought that
> Shakespeare visited this village. At that time Clydach was dominated
> by smelly Ironworks, employing almost one and a half thousand people
> and was certainly no tourist attraction.
>
> Although we have the beauty of the gorge and rich history, some
> beautiful walks and the access to the longest underground lake in
> Europe, there isn't so much as a local shop, let alone a public toilet
> in the area - and making up stories about the past would not generate
> any income for anyone, let alone the tourist bodies. As a story, I
> love it - I must admit - but I'm not claiming it to be the truth, just
> the story as it has been told down the years.
>
> I'm writing a series of articles about the myths, legends and
> historical background of the village, for the local 3-village
> community web page. I have done a little more research on Shakespeare
> and his visit and have written an article in my own words. I might
> post that one, along with the next one (when I write it) just for
> members' eyes.
>
> 03/03/08 @ 18:25
>
> http://www.writelink.co.uk/blogs/mater?title=3Dclydach_s_links_with_sha...=