Machynlleth was the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Parliament in 1404,[5] and as such claims to be the "ancient capital of Wales". However, it has never held any official recognition as a capital. It applied for city status in 2000 and 2002, but was unsuccessful. It is twinned with Belleville, Michigan.
The etymology of the name Machynlleth derives from "ma-" [field, plain] and "Cynllaith".[6]
History
There is a long history of human activity in the Machynlleth area. In the late 1990s, radiocarbon dating showed that copper was being mined in the Early Bronze Age (c. 2,750 years ago), within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the town centre.
The Romans settled in the area; they built a fort at Cefn Caer, near Pennal, 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Machynlleth, and are reputed to have had two look-out posts above the town at Bryn-y-gog and Wylfa, and another fort, called Maglona, at Machynlleth.[7] One of the earliest written references to Machynlleth is the Royal charter granted in 1291 by Edward I to Owen de la Pole, Lord of Powys. This gave him the right to hold "a market[5] at Machynlleth every Wednesday for ever and two fairs every year". The Wednesday market is still a busy and popular day in Machynlleth 700 years later.
The Royal House, which stands on the corner of the Garsiwn, is another of the mediaeval houses that can still be seen today. According to local tradition, Dafydd Gam, a Welsh ally of the English kings, was imprisoned here from 1404 to 1412 for attempting to assassinate Owain Glyndŵr. After his release by Glyndŵr, ransomed Gam fought alongside Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt and is named amongst the dead in Shakespeare's Henry V. The name Royal House undoubtedly refers to the tradition that Charles I stayed at the house in 1643.[citation needed]
The Dyfi Bridge (Welsh: Pont ar Ddyfi) was first mentioned in 1533, by Geoffrey Hughes, "Citizen and Merchant taylour of London" who left £6 13s 4d (ten marks) "towards making of a bridge at the toune of Mathanlleth". By 1601 "Dovey bridge in the Hundred of Mochunleth" was reported to be insufficient, and the current one was built in 1805 for £250. Fenton describes it in 1809 as "A noble erection of five large arches. The piers are narrow and over each cut-water is a pilaster, a common feature of the 18th century".[This quote needs a citation]
Machynlleth, c. 1830
Rowland Pugh was the Lord of Meirionedd,[8] and lived at Mathafarn about two miles east of Machynlleth. Pugh supported the Royalist side in the English Civil War. On 2 November 1644, Sir Thomas Myddleton of Chirk Castle was marching on Machynlleth with a force of the Parliamentarian army, when he was ambushed by a force organised by Pugh. In retaliation for the attack, Myddleton burned down Mathafarn on 29 November 1644, along with a number of houses in Machynlleth.[9]
Laura Ashley's first shop was opened in Machynlleth (at 35 Maengwyn Street) in 1961.[10]
To celebrate the 21st birthday of the Seahams’ eldest son, Viscount Castlereagh, the townspeople paid for the clock tower which stands at the town's main road intersection. Erected on the site of the old town hall, it has become the symbol of the town. The foundation stone was laid on 15 July 1874 amid great festivities. The clock tower, designed by Henry Kennedy of Bangor and now a Grade II listed monument, cost £800; the townspeople raised £1,000, of which the remainder was spent planting trees along nearby streets.[11]
The house was given to the townspeople in December 1948 under the stewardship of the then Machynlleth Urban District Council.
Celtica
Various local government re-organisations saw responsibility for the Plas pass first to Montgomeryshire District Council, who in 1995 converted it into the Celtica visitor centre. Celtica interpreted the history and culture of the Celts with a walk-through audio-visual exhibition housed in a purpose-built addition to the house. The £3 million attraction was part-funded by the European Union. The centre had a high-profile in the Welsh media, with opera singer Bryn Terfel officially opening the attraction in October 1995.
Powys County Council took over Celtica and the house when it was formed as a unitary authority in 1997. The centre was successful in attracting tourists, school groups and conferences for a number of years; however initial predictions of visitor numbers proved to be too ambitious, and the council was unwilling to prolong its subsidy. With little scope for alternative investment, Celtica closed in March 2006, and the house stood empty while Powys County Council sought to relinquish responsibility for it in line with their policy of selling many of their publicly owned buildings.
At this point, Machynlleth Town Council, realising that the town was in danger of losing the Plas house and grounds, which they saw as belonging to the community in the spirit of the 1948 bequest, began discussions with Powys Council with a view to the Town Council taking ownership of the Plas.[citation needed] On 1 April 2008, in a move thought to be unprecedented for a community council of its size, Machynlleth Town Council took ownership of the Plas and its parkland and facilities. It has reopened the restaurant by leasing it to a local licensee, and the 1st and 2nd floors of the main building are rented out as office space. Medium-sized meeting rooms and conference space are also offered for hire.
From 1859 to 1948, the town was served by the narrow gaugeCorris Railway, which brought slate from the quarries around Corris and Aberllefenni for onward despatch to the markets. The railway's Machynlleth station building, built in 1905, can still be seen alongside the road approaching the town from the north.
Machynlleth is served by two TrawsCymru long-distance bus routes. The T2 connects the town with Bangor to the north and continues to Aberystwyth, where connections can be made to South Wales. There is also the T12 which runs to Wrexham, via Newtown; this is branded as TrawsCymru Connect.[13]
Welsh language
Machynlleth retains its linguistic tradition, with Welsh spoken alongside English. The 2011 Census indicated that 67% of the population have some knowledge of Welsh, with 39% able to read, write and speak the language.[14]
The building said to be Owain Glyndŵr's 1404 Parliament House
Machynlleth has a special role in Welsh history because of its connection with Owain Glyndŵr, a Prince of Wales who rebelled against the English during the reign of King Henry IV. Owain was crowned Prince of Wales in 1404 near the Parliament House, which is one of three mediaeval houses in town, in the presence of leaders from Scotland, France and Spain, and he held his own Parliament in the town. He held his last parliament in the nearby village of Pennal, by the Church of St Peter ad Vincula. It is thought that after the rebellion floundered, Owain went into hiding in the area around Machynlleth.
Agriculture continues to play a significant part in the make-up of the town and surrounding area.
Another important local industry and employer is the renewable energy sector: the area has a renewable energy industry with several small to medium-sized companies operating in or around the town.[citation needed]
The town has a market on Wednesdays which includes traditional Welsh, Spanish and French food stalls.
Performance at the 2016 comedy festival
The town has hosted the Machynlleth Comedy Festival annually since May 2010, featuring comedians such as Jon Richardson, Pappy's, Josie Long, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring. The festival dominates the town for a weekend, with events running over three days in nine venues.[15]
Machynlleth is the home of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Wales. It originated in 1986 as Y Tabernacl, a centre of performing arts in an old chapel, a private initiative by former journalist Andrew Lambert. In 1994 this was expanded with a new complex of art galleries, a recording studio and a language laboratory.[16] Lambert had previously tried to convert the town's old railway station into a hotel and museum, employing international architect Richard Rogers.[16]
MoMA Wales hosts the annual Machynlleth Festival, as well as its own annual open exhibition of art.[17]
Environment
Machynlleth is the home of Ecodyfi, a locally controlled organisation that was set up to foster and support a greener community and economy in the Dyfi Valley.[18]
There are two tiers of local government covering Machynlleth:
Machynlleth Town Council at community (town) level. The town council is based at Y Plas and has fourteen councillors.[23][24] In 2019, the town council became the first in Wales to formally support Welsh independence.[25]
Powys County Council at county level. The ward elects a county councillor. The current county councillor, Michael Williams, was unopposed again at the May 2017 election, but won a contested election in 2022. He had been elected unopposed since first winning the seat in 1980. He had also sat on the Machynlleth Town Council since 1974.[26]
Machynlleth was an ancient parish in the historic county of Montgomeryshire.[27] When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, the parish was made an urban district.[28] The Machynlleth Urban District was abolished in 1974, with its area instead becoming a community. District-level functions passed to Montgomery District Council, which in turn was abolished in 1996 and its functions passed to Powys County Council.[29][30]
Sport
Machynlleth Town Football Club, founded in 1885, plays in the SparMid-Wales district league and the reserve team is in the Cambrian Tyres Division 2 Amateur football league. The Machynlleth Rugby Club plays in the North Wales Division 2.
^ abRowan, Eric; Stewart, Carolyn (2002), "Conclusions", An Elusive Tradition: Art and Society in Wales 1870 – 1950, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 216–7, ISBN0-7083-1769-3
