A look back to less tranquil times
Visit the quiet village of Grosmont today and you'd be forgiven for thinking its history has been nothing but peaceful, despite the castle in the heart of the village. But, as David Pilling, shares with MCL, it was the site of one of the key battles in Owain Glyndwr's campaign for Welsh independence
The Battle of Pwll Melyn (Yellow Lake) was fought in the spring of 1405 near Grosmont, in Monmouthshire, and was one of the key battles during the Welsh wars of independence led by Owain Glyndwr against the King of England, Henry IV.
The scale of the battle and its consequences were significant enough to be noted by a contemporary Welsh chronicler Adam of Usk, who described it as a slaughter' and the beginning of the end for Glyndwr and his cause.
By May 1405 Glyndwr's rebellion was beginning to lose momentum. Prior to then the Welsh had been virtually unstoppable, defeating English armies in several pitched battles and capturing important castles such as Harlech, Conway and Aberystwyth, but the tide slowly began to turn as the English poured all their efforts and vast resources into suppressing Glyndwr's rebellion.
King Henry appointed a new commander to deal with the situation in Wales - his own son and heir Prince Henry, the future victor of Agincourt, who though only 18 years old was already a seasoned and ruthless soldier.
Prince Henry soon established himself as a thorn in Glyndwr's side, defeating a Welsh force at Campston Hill in Monmouthshire and killing the standard bearer, a man with the proud, if lengthy, name of Ellis ap Richard ap Howell ap Morgan Llwyd.
Henry defeated the Welsh again at Grosmont in March 1405, and Glyndwr was faced with the prospect of losing the whole of South East Wales.
Needing to regain the initiative, Glyndwr sent an army into the region led by his eldest son Gruffydd.
Their target was Usk Castle, which was garrisoned by English troops under the command of Richard Grey, Baron of Codnor, a Herefordshire knight named Sir John Oldcastle and a Welsh soldier in English pay named Dafydd Gam.
Prince Henry was based in Hereford and though in general command of English forces was not present at the battle.
According to chroniclers, Dafydd Gam played a crucial role in the ensuing battle. He held land in the area at Llantilio and Crossenny and it is possible that his knowledge of the local area and reputation enabled him to gain advance warning of the Welsh army marching on Usk.
What is certain is that the defences of the castle and numbers of the garrison were strengthened before the Welsh attacked, and that the Welsh commander Gruffydd had little idea that the place was so strongly fortified.
Two years earlier the town of Usk was razed to the ground by Glyndwr's men, and local people hostile to their cause may have passed on news of the Welsh army's movements to the English.
The battle began when Gruffydd led his men in an all-out assault against the walls of Usk Castle, perhaps expecting it to be lightly garrisoned and thus easily stormed. However the garrison was ready for the Welsh and repulsed their attack without too much difficulty.
Surprised by the numbers and determination of the garrison, the Welsh fell back and attempted to retreat over the River Usk into the safety of the forest of Monkswood that lay beyond.
As they retreated the gates of the castle opened and vengeful English horsemen came thundering in pursuit, led by Grey, Oldcastle and Dafydd Gam. The retreat now turned into a full-scale rout as Gruffydd and his men were harried across the river, through Monkswood towards Mynydd Pwll Melyn - the Hill of the Yellow Pool'.
It was on Mynydd Pwll Melyn that the worst of the slaughter occurred as the fleeing Welsh tried to regroup but were caught in the open by the pursuing cavalry and cut down without mercy.
Adam of Usk sadly relates how there (the English) slew with fire and the edge of the sword many of them and they crushed them without ceasing'.
Among those slain in the massacre were Glyndwr's brother Tudur and John ap Hywel, Abbot of the Llantarnam Cistercian monastery and an important supporter of the Welsh cause.
Tudur's facial resemblance to his brother briefly convinced the English that they had killed Owain Glyndwr himself, while the Abbot's death was especially poignant as he was killed while bravely attempting to tend to the wounded of both sides.
Another personal blow to Glyndwr was the capture of his son and the commander of the Welsh force, Gruffudd, who was afterwards loaded down with chains and sent to the Tower of London.
The Welsh were reckoned to have lost about 1,500 men during the battle and subsequent rout, and apart from Gruffudd no mercy was shown to the 300 Welsh soldiers who were captured.
Adam of Usk reports that these luckless men were dragged back to Usk Castle and beheaded en masse outside its gates. Adam goes on to state that after the disaster of Pwll Melyn the fortunes of Owen (Glyndwr) waned' in the region, and the Welsh Annals agree with this, describing how Glamorgan now made its submission to the English, except a few who went to Gwynedd to their master'.
Thus the Battle of Pwll Melyn seems to have virtually put an end to the hopes of the Welsh cause in South East Wales, and the loss of so many soldiers severely undermined Glyndwr's efforts to raise an army to join his French allies when they arrived later in 1405.
Ultimately the defeat suffered by the Welsh at Pwll Melyn was the beginning of the end of the rebellion that initially promised to sweep the English out of Wales and secure the country's independence.
Nor is the battle forgotten: the 600th anniversary was commemorated in 2005 by a son-et-lumiere show and in 2007 a plaque was placed near the spot where hundreds of men fought and died so long ago.
12:11pm Tuesday 1st July 2008
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