Cadeirydd

Mr Eric Smith

Gwefan  www.deganwyhistory.co.uk.

Gwanwyn 2015

Taflen Newyddion Rhif 17

Mae’r etholiad cyffredinol drosodd erbyn hyn a chawn ddychwelyd i fywyd arferol unwaith eto heb yr ymdriniaeth barhaus gan y wasg a’r cyfryngau – tybed?

 

Mae’n bleser eich cyfarch unwaith eto ac i ymdrin â rhai o weithgareddau’r Grŵp ers Taflen Newyddion y Nadolig.

 

Cychwynnodd ein cyfres o sgyrsiau ar gyfer 2015 pan ddaeth Eric, ein Cadeirydd, a nifer o aelodau’r Grŵp i roi cyflwyniadau oedd o ddiddordeb arbennig iddynt hwy. Cawsom noson arbennig o dda gyda’r cyflwyniadau yn ymdrin ag amryw o feysydd gwahanol. Yn gyntaf, gwelsom ffilm ddramatig, a cherddoriaeth lawn mor ddramatig, yn dangos enbydrwydd y storm yn Rhagfyr 2013 ar ei eithaf – y storm  a rwygodd y Promenâd yn Neganwy. Dilynwyd hyn gyda sgwrs am y defnydd o flychau awyr mewn badau achub. Yna cawsom hanes y gwladgarwr enwog Owain Glyndŵr. Yn dilyn hyn cawsom gyflwyniad am Hugh Iorys Hughes, y Peiriannydd Sifil a fu’n ffigwr

amlwg yn adeiladau Harbwr Mulberry ar y Morfa yng Nghonwy ar gyfer glaniad D-Day ym 1944. Parhawyd gyda thema’r 2il Ryfel Byd pan gawsom hanes teimladwy iawn am arwr lleol, Bill Williams oedd yn llywiwr gyda’r Llu Awyr. Ei gamp oedd gallu dychwelyd i’r wlad hon yn yr awyren Lancaster oedd wedi’i ddifrodi’n sylweddol. Daeth y cyfarfod i ben gyda’r hanes am y llwybrau dewisol oedd ar gael ar gyfer yr A55, yn cynnwys y twnelau. Mae’r Grŵp yn ffodus iawn o gael aelodau gyda diddordebau mor amrywiol ac efo gymaint o wybodaeth ac arbenigedd. Oherwydd llwyddiant y noson, bydd ‘Pigion Hanes’ yn parhau i 2016.

 

Yn Chwefror, daeth Margaret Dunn o Grŵp Dyddio Hen Dai Cymreig atom i roi sgwrs ddiddorol a brwdfrydig am sut i ddyddio hen dai gan ddefnyddio dendrocronoleg. System yw hon sy’n mesur tyfiant blynyddol trawstoriad o ddarn o bren ac felly asesu’r flwyddyn pryd dymchwelwyd y goeden. Mae Grŵp Margaret wedi gwneud maint sylweddol o waith yng Ngogledd Cymru ac maent rŵan yn awyddus i barhau gyda’r gwaith yn Nyffryn Conwy.

 

Ym Mawrth, rhoddodd Kevin Slattery, Is-Gadeirydd y Grŵp, mewnwelediad hanesyddol i Ffynnon Santes Fair a Chrogfryn yn Llanrhos. Codwyd y cwestiwn am enw Ffynnon Santes Fair tra bo’r Eglwys gyfagos wedi’i chysegru i St Hilary. Cawsom esboniad trylwyr gan Kevin. Cyfeiriodd hefyd at y gwaith arbennig a wnaed gan Ken Davies at atgyweirio’r Ffynnon yn dilyn y llifogydd ym 1993. Mae’n ymddangos bod yr enw Crogfryn yn cyfeirio at fan i fyfyrio am y Croeshoeliad a’r Groesbren, ac nid y syniad cyffredinol mai lle i grogi dihirod lleol.

 

Yn Ebrill cawsom gyflwyniad dan yr enw ‘Gwaith Celf Hanesyddol’ gan David Chapman o Ddeganwy. Mae David a’i gwmni yn arbenigwyr yn y maes hwn a rhoddodd trosolwg o waith diweddar y cwmni efo archaeoleg ail-luniad. Dangoswyd delweddau o’r ceudyllau copr cynhanes ar y Gogarth ynghyd â darganfyddiadau archeolegol eraill. Dangosodd hefyd sut y bu i’w waith arbrofol blaenorol efo technegau mwyndoddi a chastio cynnar helpu i ddynodi pwysigrwydd y safle hwn. Esboniodd David sut y bu i archaeoleg arbrofol y 30 mlynedd diwethaf trawsnewid ein dealltwriaeth o’r gorffennol ac arwain at well ddealltwriaeth am fywyd pob dydd ein hynafiaid. Cyflwynodd David arteffactau cynhanes i’r aelodau cael gweld a phrofodd hyn i fod o gryn ddiddordeb i’r aelodau.

 

Dychwelodd Debbie Wareham o ‘Ships Timbers’ atom ym Mai i roi hanes morwrol arall. Y tro hwn, y testun oedd hanes llongddrylliad y “Flying Foam” sy’n gorwedd ar y traeth oddi ar Ben Morfa.

 

Ar ddiwrnod bendigedig o braf ym mis Mai, aethom ar ein gwibdaith flynyddol. Eleni mentrwyd i bellteroedd Swydd Gaer gan ymweld â nifer o fannau diddorol ar y ffordd yn cynnwys yr Eglwys Farmor ym  Modelwyddan, Ffynnon Gwenffrewi yn Nhreffynnon, Parc Treftadaeth Maesglas, Abaty Basingwerk, Muriau Caer a’r Gadeirlan. Yn dilyn taith hamddenol am ddwy awr ar yr afon yng Nghaer, daeth y diwrnod i ben gyda chinio blasus yn Llanelwy.

 

Mae gennym raglen lawn ag amrywiol ar eich cyfer am weddill 2015. Mae’r rhaglen am y tymor sy’n dod fel a ganlyn:

Mehefin 18 – taith gerdded min nos i weld sgerbwd y “Flying Foam”.

Gorffennaf 16 – taith gerdded archeolegol ar y Fardre.

Dim cyfarfod yn Awst.

Medi 17 – Atgofion am y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf

 

Gobeithio bydd y fwydlen uchod yn ddigon blasus i’ch denu i ymuno â’r Grŵp ac i ddod i’n cyfarfodydd yn y dyfodol.

 

Cewch mwy o hanes am ddigwyddiadau’r Grŵp ar ein gwefan – cysylltwch â’r Ysgrifennydd ar 01492 582012 neu e-bost ifor65@hotmail.co.uk.

 

Gwanwyn 2015

 

 

 

 

Chairman

Mr Eric Smith

Website www.deganwyhistory.co.uk.

Spring 2015

Newsletter No. 17

Well, the dust has settled on the general election and we can now settle down to normality once again with no more continuous press and media coverage – or can we?

 

It’s a pleasure once more to give you some coverage of the Group’s activities since our last Christmas Newsletter.

Our 2015 series of talks started in January, when Eric, our Chairman brought together a number of members of the Group to talk on matters which were of particular interest to them. It was a splendid evening and the presentations covered a variety of areas. Firstly we had a dramatic movie with equally dramatic musical effects showing the storm of December 2013 at its height – the storm that wrecked Deganwy Promenade. This was followed by a talk about the use of air boxes in lifeboats. Then we were given an introduction into the life of the famous Welsh patriot Owain Glyndŵr. We then had a presentation about local Civil Engineer, Hugh Iorys Hughes, who was a key figure in the building of the Mulberry Harbour on Conwy Morfa prior to the 1944 D-Day landings. The World War 2 theme continued with a very moving talk about a local hero, RAF Navigator Bill Williams, who managed to bring home a stricken Lancaster bomber. The meeting ended with a presentation about the choice of intended routes for the A55, including the tunnel alternatives. The Group is so fortunate to have members with such a diverse range of interests and with so much expertise and knowledge. In view of its success, ‘Snippets of History’ will continue in 2016.

 

In February, Margaret Dunn of The Dating of Old Welsh Houses Group gave us a very interesting and enthusiastic talk about how to date old houses using dendrochronology. This system is a means of measuring the annual growth of the tree rings of a cross section of a piece of timber and thus assess the year in which the tree was felled. Margaret’s Group has undertaken substantial work in North Wales and are now anxious to continue the work in the Conwy Valley area.

 

In March, Kevin Slattery, our Vice-Chairman, gave us a historic insight into St Mary’s Well and Crogfryn Lane at Llanrhos. The question arose as to why it was called St Mary’s Well whilst the nearby Church is dedicated to St Hilary. We were given a very interesting and illuminating answer by. Kevin. He also referred to the splendid work done by Ken Davies to restore the Well following the floods of June 1993. With regard to the name Crogfryn, it appears that contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t mean the gallows where local criminals were hanged but rather a reference to a place for contemplation of the Crucifixion and the Cross.   

 

Our April talk entitled ‘Works of Ancient Arts’ was by David Chapman of Deganwy. David and his company ‘Ancient Arts’ are specialists in this field and in his presentation, he gave an overview of the company’s work in the field of re-constructional archaeology. We were shown images of the prehistoric copper mines on the Great Orme as well as other archaeological discoveries He showed how his previous experimental work in early smelting and casting techniques had helped to identify this as a very important site. David explained how over the past 30 years, experimental archaeology has transformed our understanding of the past and has led to a better understanding of the everyday lives of our ancestors. David also brought along some prehistoric artefacts which created a great deal of interest.

 

May saw Debbie Wareham, of ‘Ships Timbers’, return to give us another nautical tale. This time it was about the

wreck of the “Flying Foam” which is beached on West Shore.

 

On a glorious May morning we set off on our annual Field Trip. This year we decided to venture into the depths of Cheshire calling at several places of interest on the way including the Marble Church at Bodelwyddan, St Winifred’s Well at Holywell, Greenfield Heritage Park, Basingwerk Abbey, Chester City Walls and the Cathedral. After a leisurely two hour boat ride on the river at Chester, the day ended with a tasty evening meal in St Asaph.

 

We have a full and varied programme for the remainder of 2015. Our forthcoming programme is as follows:-

June 18th – an evening walk to view the wreck of the “Flying Foam”

July 16th – an archaeologically based evening walk on the Vardre

No meeting in August

September17th – Recollections of the 1st World War.

We hope that the above menu is tasty enough to entice you to join the Group and to attend our future meetings.

 

for more information please contact the Secretary on 01492 582012-e-mail ifor65@hotmail.co.uk

Spring 2015

 

 

 

 

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