Cadeirydd – Eric Smith

Croeso cynnes i chi i’n Diwrnod Agored blynyddol ar drothwy’r Nadolig unwaith eto! I ble mae’r amser yn mynd? 

Mae’n bleser eich cyfarch ac i gofnodi holl weithgareddau’r Grŵp ers y Daflen Newyddion diwethaf.

Cychwynnodd ein cyfres o sgyrsiau’r hydref gyda chyflwyniad gan Adrian Hughes, sy’n aelod o’r Grŵp Hanes, am hanesion llanciau ifanc o Ddeganwy a laddwyd yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf a’u henwau’n ymddangos ar y gofeb rhyfel yn Eglwys yr Holl Saint yn y pentref. Cafwyd darlun eglur o fywyd yn y pentref ar yr adeg yma ond trist iawn hefyd oedd clywed am golli cenhedlaeth o ddynion ifanc o un pentref. 

Pryd byddwn yn dysgu?

Ym mis Hydref, oherwydd ei anhwylder, cyflwynwyd darlith Vicky Macdonald am Ddeganwy yn y cyfnod cynnar a Maelgwn Gwynedd gan Elan Rivers.

Elan Rivers

Mae’r ddwy wrth gwrs yn aelodau o’r Grwp Hanes ac rydym mor ffodus bod ein haelodau yn gallu cydweithio fel hyn. Rhoddodd Elan darlith ei hun wedyn am hanes Deganwy a Gogledd Cymru yn y canol oesoedd.

Cynhaliwyd ein cinio Blynyddol yn Nhachwedd, ym Mwyty Paysanne. Ein gŵr gwadd oedd Cai Ross sef gŵr y bwyty ac yn ogystal â’i ymddiddan a ni, ef hefyd oedd yn gyfrifol am goginio ein cinio. Roedd ei sgwrs am y ffilmiau a wnaed yng Ngogledd Cymru yn hynod o ddifyrrus a diddorol oedd clywed am yr enwogion o faes y ffilmiau a gafodd y pleser o fwyta yma.

Yn dilyn y Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol yn Nhachwedd, cafwyd darlith gan John Griffiths, un arall o aelodau’r Grŵp Hanes, a thestun ei gyflwyniad darluniadol oedd am adeiladu Harbwr Mulberry ar y Morfa yng Nghonwy yn ystod yr 2^il Ryfel Byd, a chyfraniad y gŵr lleol, Iorys Hughes, i’r gwaith yma dan orchymyn 10 Stryd Downing.

Yn ein Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol, cyfeiriwyd at gyfraniad holl aelodau’r Pwyllgor at waith y Grŵp o wythnos i wythnos ac rydym yn ddiolchgar iawn i bob un ohonynt am hyn.     

John Griffiths

Llongyfarchiadau i John Griffiths, Vicky Macdonald ag Arfon Williams ar gael eu hail-hethol i’r Pwyllgor a hefyd i Lucinda Smith am gael ei hethol i’r Pwyllgor am y tro cyntaf .

Yn ein Diwrnod Agored cewch y cyfle i ailymuno a’r Grŵp am 2017. Mae’r taliad am flwyddyn yn parhau i fod yn £12 a £2.50 i ymwelwyr sy’n galw i mewn yn achlysurol. Diolch i Adrian am baratoi’r Diwrnod Agored ar ein cyfer. Testun  eleni yw ‘Deganwy a’i Phobl’. Cewch gyfle i brynu tocyn raffl ac rydym yn ddiolchgar i bawb a gyfranodd tuag at hwn. Un o wobrwyon eleni yw print nodedig gan Kyffin Williams.

Wrth edrych yn ol dros flwyddyn a aeth heibio mae’n braf i’n hatgoffa  ein hunain am y pethau a chyflawnwyd gennym. Yn ddi-os y peth sy’n aros yn y cof yw dadorchuddio’r Panel Dehongli ger Ffynnon Santes Fair yb Llanrhos gan Faer Conwy.

Mae’r Panel ei hun yn ddarn o grefftwaith arbennig ac mae’n ychwanegu at urddas y safle. Ewch draw i’w weld pan gewch gyfle. Yn 2017 rydym yn gobeithio gosod ffens a giât o amgylch y safle a fydd yn cyd-fynd ag awyrgylch y lle. Rydym yn hynod o ddiolchgar i bawb a gyfrannodd tuag at gostau’r Panel ac am y ffens a’r giât sydd ar ddod, sef Cyngor Tref Conwy, y Cyngor Sir, Hafod, Ymddiriedolaeth Gaynor Cemlyn-Jones a Chronfa Gymunedol Gwynt y Môr. Rydym yn awyddus iawn i gadw’r safle yn daclus ac os hoffech fod yn rhan o dîm glanhau’r Ffynnon, byddem yn falch iawn i glywed gennych.

Mae gennym raglen amrywiol a llawn a ddiddorol ar eich cyfer yn 2017 a gobeithiwn y byddwch yn parhau i’n cefnogi.

Erin Lloyd Jones

Yn ein cyfarfod cyntaf ar 19 Ionawr, bydd Erin Lloyd Jones yn cyflwyno darlith ar Fryngaerau Gogledd Cymru a’r Gororau.

Ein siaradwyr gwadd am weddill  y tymor sy’n dod yw fel a ganlyn:

Chwefror 16 – Gwarchod Adeiladau Hanesyddol – Elinor Gray-Williams

Mawrth 16 – Noson anffurfiol ‘Pigion Hanes’ lle bydd aelodau unigol o’r Grŵp yn siarad am agweddau hanesyddol sydd o ddiddordeb iddynt hwy.

Ebrill 20 – Castell Gwrych – Mark Baker;

Mai 18 -Ymweld â Chastell Gwrych  

Gobeithio bydd y fwydlen uchod yn ddigon blasus i’ch denu i ymuno a’r Grŵp a’i weithgareddau. 

BARGEN! Ar hyn o bryd mae llyfr Betty Mills ‘Flowers on a Path’ ar werth am bris gostyngedig o £2.50 am un copi neu £5 am 3 copi hyd at ddiwedd mis Ionawr yn unig, felly manteisiwch ar y fargen yma, anrheg wych i’ch cyfeillion a’ch teulu’r Nadolig hwn. Bydd yr holl incwm yn mynd i goffrau’r Grŵp Hanes.

Wrth derfynu, anfonwn ein dymuniadau gorau atoch am Nadolig Hapus ac am Flwyddyn Newydd Dda.

Nadolig 2016

Chairman – Eric Smith

A warm welcome to you to our Annual Open Day with Christmas time upon us once again! Where does time go?

It’s a pleasure to greet you and to record all of the Group’s activities since our last Newsletter. 

Our autumn series of talks in September kicked off with a presentation by Adrian Hughes, a member of the History Group, about the young men from Deganwy who died in the First World War and who’s names appear on the war memorial at All Saints Church. We were given a vivid picture of life in the village at this time, but it was so very sad to hear about the loss of a generation of young men from one village.

Adrian Hughes

When will we ever learn?

In October, because of her incapacity, Vicky Macdonald’s talk about Maelgwn Gwynedd and early Deganwy was given by Elan Rivers.

Vicky Macdonald

Both of course are members of the History Group and we are so fortunate that our members can collaborate in such a way. Elan then gave her own talk about the history of Deganwy and North Wales during the medieval period.

We held our Annual lunch in November, at the Paysanne Restaurant in the village. Our guest speaker was mine host, Cai Ross and apart from giving his talk, he was also responsible for feeding us. His presentation about the films produced in North Wales was extremely entertaining and it was interesting to hear about the famous celebrities from the film world who had eaten at his restaurant.

Following the Group’s AGM in November, John Griffiths,  another History Group member, gave an illustrated presentation about the building of the Mulberry Harbour on the Morfa at Conwy during the 2^nd World War’ and the contribution of  the local man Iorys Hughes to this work under the instruction from 10 Downing Street.  

At our AGM, reference was made to the contribution of all the Committee members to the Group’s work from week to week and we are very grateful to each one of them for this. 

Congratulations to John Griffiths, Vicky Macdonald and Arfon Williams on their re-election to the Committee. Congratulations also to Lucinda Smith on her election to the Committee for the first time.

At our Open Day you will have an opportunity to re-enrol your History Group membership for 2017. The fee has remained the same at £12 for the year and £2.50 for visitors who call in for the occasional meetings. Thanks to Adrian for preparing the Open Day for us. This year’s theme is ‘Deganwy and its People’. You will have the opportunity to buy raffle tickets and we are very grateful to those who have provided the prizes. One of this year’s prizes is a notable Kyffin Williams print.

In looking back over the year it is good to remind ourselves of what we have achieved. Undoubtedly the one thing that stays in the memory is the unveiling of the Interpretation Panel at St Mary’s Well at Llanrhos by the Mayor of Conwy.

The Panel itself is a piece of special craftsmanship that has added to the dignity of the site. Go over there to have a look when you get the opportunity. In 2017 we are hoping to erect a fence and gate around the site that will blend in with the ambience of the place. We are extremely grateful to everybody who contributed towards the cost of the Panel and for the fence and gate to be erected, namely Conwy Town Council, the County Council, Hafod, the Gaynor Cemlyn-Jones Trust and Gwynt y Môr Community Fund. We are very anxious to keep the site in a tidy condition, so if you would like to be part of the Well maintenance team, we’d be glad to hear from you.

We have a full and varied programme for you in 2017 which we hope you will continue to support.    

At our first meeting on 19 January, Erin Lloyd Jones will give a lecture on the Prehistoric Hillfortsof North Wales and the Borders.

February 16 –

Conservation of Historic Buildings, with Elinor Gray- Williams

March 16- ‘Snippets of History’ where individual Group members have volunteered to speak about certain aspects of history which are of interest to them.

April 20 – Gwrych Castle – Mark Baker

May 18 – Visit to Gwrych Castle 

We hope that the above menu is tasty enough to entice you to join the Group and its activities.

Mrs Betty Mills with Jason Weyman

BARGAIN! We have a special offer at the moment with Betty Mills’ book ‘Flowers on a Path’, on sale from now until the end of January only, at a reduced price of £2.50 for one  copy or 3 copies for £5 so take advantage of this bargain, an ideal gift for your friends and family this Christmas. Income from the sale of the book goes to the History Group funds,