Cylchgronau Cymru

Jan. 6th, 1708 Mrs Catherine Cotymor mentioned as of Pentre and owing poor rate Ysgeifiog Poor Rate Book 10th March 1712 Roger Cotymor late schoolmaster at Flint 30th May 1728 Mrs. Bella Cotymor 17th March 1734 Mrs Catherine Cotymor Ysgeifiog Register of Deaths 1731-2 Paid Mr. George Cotymor for 3000 and a half of slates £ 1.15.10 followed by an entry journey to Flint for same to meet the boat" Ysgeiflog Parish Account Books Mrs. and Miss Formby are careful to say that there is a Pentre at Flint as well as in Ysgeifiog pariah. Robert Cotymor in his earlier years could have been a suitable person to carry out the rebuilding of the late seventeenth century. In the principal bedroom the tie- beam of the truss has been sawn out, leaving the truss open to the collar, and the sawn-off ends of the tie-beam have been covered with lath and plaster in such a way as to give a hammer-beam effect. The windows, except in the staircase wing, could be of Robert's time. Gratitude is due to Mrs. and Miss Formby for searching the Parish Books, to Mr. Peter Wild for the admirable photographs and to Mr. and Mrs. Watkin for permission to make a survey of the house. L. J. WALLS and M. BEVAN-EvANS THE BARN AT GELLILYFDY AND THE POET "Y GWISGI GWYN" In their paper on Gellilyfdy house in the last issue of this Journal^ Messrs. Smith and Bevan-Evans pay considerable attention to the great corn-barn built by William Jones, father of John Jones, about the time when the copyist was bom.2 They emphasize the social and economic importance of such an imposing building in a rural area and the englynion printed below* are further evidence of the impact made by this splendid barn on the social consciousness of the neighbourhood. It seems probable that they were composed to celebrate the completion of building or perhaps they were intended for the feast which followed the harvest the first time it was gathered into the new barn. Very little is known about the author Y Gwisgi Gwyn,* but since he seems to have lived in Flintshire it may be appropriate to summarize the few facts known about him and to publish his extant verses in this Journal. Apart from the englynion to the barn at Gellilvfdy there are a few other verses of englyn shape attributed to him in the manuscripts and he is referred to in an anonymous englyn. They are all printed below. The little that is known about him suggests that he lived in Flintshire during the last quarter of the sixteenth century. He seems to have known Si6n Tudur of St. Asaph rather well since an ymryson between them has survived and Y Gwisgi wrote a mocking englyn to the more famous poet. Si6n Tudur as well as being an accom- 1P. Smith and M. Bevan-Evans, A few reflections on Gellilyfdy and the Renaissance in North-Eastern Wales,' ante, Vol. XXIV, pp. 19-43. 2The date 1586 is carved on one of the beams see also my article in the same issue of F.H.S.P., p. 2, where it is argued that John Jones was born c. 1585. p.2, where it is argoued that John Jones was born c. 1585. John Jones's hand. Their literary merit is nil, but they were of interest to him as they referred to his home. 4He does not appear in any of the biographical dictionaries that I have seen.