Cylchgronau Cymru

Lady Llanover and the Triple Harp RACHEL LEY Augusta Hall, Lady Llanover, 'Gwenynen Gwent': three names but one person, and each name reveals a particular facet of a woman who did so much to save the Welsh triple harp from oblivion. Although she only acquired the title of Lady Llanover in 1859 she already belonged to the world of the landed gentry. She made use of her status throughout her life, especially when insisting on having her own way. The eisteddfodic title, 'Gwenynen Gwent' ('The Bee of Gwent'), which she adopted in 1834 illustrates the fervent Welshness she developed. Lastly she was Augusta Hall the married name of a woman who felt the burden of her fellow countrymen's 'betrayal'. Augusta Hall was born to a family of English landowners who set- tled in Llanover, near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. It was there that she was born, lived and died. Although she moved within London circles, she always came back to Llanover. Not only was this the place of her upbringing, at Tŷ Uchaf; it was here that she and her husband, Benjamin Hall, built a new mansion, Llanover Court. In her home she re-created a court which resembled the old houses of the nobility, where generous patronage was offered to bards and musicians. Augusta Hall was not one of those gentlewomen in Wales who cultivated only the English tongue and English ways: she had always been interested in the Welsh language and the traditions of Wales since her childhood, and this interest continued until her death almost a century later. Like many of her fellow Welshmen she embraced the harp as a national symbol, and not just any harp, but the triple harp of Wales. The triple harp was enthroned at Llanover Court from the completion of the house in 1837, and Lady Llanover did all that she could to promote and patronize this traditional Welsh instrument. The triple harp was not, of course, Welsh in origin: the instrument came to Britain from Italy in the seventeenth century. But it was in