Owain Glyndwr was a descendant of the Princes of Powys from his
father Gruffudd Fynchan II, Lord of Glyndyfrdwy. Glyndwr was born
in 1354 to a prosperous landed family, part of the Anglo-Welsh
gentry of the Welsh Marches. Owain probably studied as a legal
apprentice at the Inns of Court in London as a young man. In 1383
he returned to Wales, married and established himself as the Squire
of Sycharth and Glyndyfrdwy. In the late 1390's he quarrelled with
his neighbour Lord Grey over some lands and was unable to obtain
redress from King Henry IV. Glyndwr lost the legal case and was
under personal threat and in January 1400 serious civil disorder
broke out and this led to Owain being proclaimed Prince of Wales on
16th.September 1400 by a band of followers. Then began a guerilla
campaign against the English Lords of the Marches which soon became
a war of independance. In 1402 the English Parliament issued Penal
Laws against Wales and in 1403 Glyndwr was defeated by Henry IV at
the battle of Shrewsbury. In 1405 a formal treaty between Wales and
France was negotiated and French forces landed at Milford Haven and
marched on Worcester. They met the English army but for reasons
that have never been clear both sides withdrew and by 1406 the
French forces had left Wales. Owain remained free and the revolt
continued. In 1412 Owain Glyndwr captured Dafydd Gam ("Crooked
David") a leading Welsh supporter of the English King Henry and
later ransomed him. This was the last flash of the revolt and the
last time that Owain was seen alive by his enemies. Nothing certain
is known of Owain after 1412. It is thought that Owain finally
spent his last years with his daughter Alys, passing himself off as
an ageing Franciscan friar at their home at Kentchurch near
Abergavenny.
This statue of Owain Glyndwr replaced an older more nondescript
one in September 2007. The life size bronze statue weighs just
under one ton and stands four and a half metres high on it plinth
of welsh stone from Trifor quarry, Gwynedd. It depicts Owain on a
battle charger rallying his followers to the Welsh cause at the
time of the commencement of hostilities in 1400 when he was
proclaimed Prince of Wales on 16th. September.The statue was
created by Colin Spoffoth who said 'I would like to represent the
man not only spurred on by his sense of national pride but also the
academic, nobleman and brave warrior.'
Admire the statue and absorb the history while you search for
the cache.