Abandoned Landscapes - Chronological Change: 16th Century to The Present
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Multi-periodCountry: Wales
16th to 18th century: the transition from cattle to sheep farming in the uplands
This period, symbolically commencing with the Act of Union of 1536, prefigures the key changes which transformed the use of the uplands from the 18th century.
Originating with large-scale sheep farming by the Medieval monastic houses, and stimulated by an increasing market in England for wool products, there was a significant shift from cattle to sheep production. Although this was the heyday of cattle droving, for many farmers and landowners wool became a better cash crop than beef. Sheep needed less intensive care in the hills as no ceaseless round of milking and cheese-making was required, and flocks could be looked after by a single shepherd and dog, with specific processes such as shearing taking place only periodically. Thus the transhumance system was in terminal decline (see Davies 1997, 71-2; Williams 1981, 59-60.).
The old hafod sites, with pre-existing access and infrastructure, were natural growth points for new, independent sheep farms. By the 16th century at the latest many of the most productive such sites on the intermediate uplands (between c.1000-1250 ft) had become permanent farms, often occupied by the younger sons of the owner or tenant family (Sayce 85). In North East Wales for example we can see still-occupied farms with hafod place-names in the valleys of the Berwyn, the Hiraethog, the Tanat and Ceiriog (Davies 1997, 67).
On the high pastures beyond these now-permanent farms there was still much going on. Traditional cattle-dominated transhumance continued to operate into this period in some places, perhaps with cattle destined for market rather than as part of a subsistence dairy-based economy. This is exemplified by the definitive excavations at the 16th century site at Hafod y Nant Criafolen in the Brenig valley (although the possibility that this was in fact a short-lived permanent settlement has been raised (Ward 1997, 106-7)). Here several rectangular buildings were found beside the little stream. As well as indications of production and subsistence such as the bones of cattle and sheep and several spindle whorls for wool spinning, the people living at this remote site had access to a wide range of market products, including imported pottery, horseshoes, a spur and possible harness fittings, pieces of a sword and a pistol, and a socketed arrow head. (Allen 1979).
Sheep farming also required an upland infrastructure. Farms were generally small and the scale of the flock reflected this. During the winter season the sheep, especially the ewes and lambs, would be kept on the enclosed pastures around the farm or sent away to other wintering grounds on lowland farms. In spring the shepherd (increasingly a hired-man) would take each flock to its defined grazing area in the uplands where it would be looked after day and night by the shepherd. The ewes and new lambs might remain behind to follow on a little later. In late June/early July the older sheep would be taken down to the edge of the mountain to be washed ready for clipping (each flock may have had its own washpool although sometimes communal facilities were used). After a week or so they were clipped and returned to the hills. Finally, towards the end of September they were brought down to the farm again for overwintering [note 18].
Intake Walls
The major phase of upland enclosure was yet to come, but pasture was frequently improved around the new permanent sheep farms and occasionally we can see early stone intake walls at the boundary of the fridd and the open mountain [note 19].
Folds, Pens, etc.
Small folds, sorting pens, washing places and sometimes shepherds' hafodai which appear to belong to this period can still be seen in abundance on the hills above the intake walls [note 20].
The upland folds could meet a variety of needs. The most basic were for shelter in bad weather and for protection e.g. from fox predation on lambs. Some may also have been specifically built or sometimes used for hefting (familiarising) new flocks to their rake (territory) on the largely unenclosed mountain pastures. Lambs may also have required separate penning when first brought up from the farm and were being weaned from their mothers [note 21].
The examples dating from this period appear to be simple, small stone-built structures, frequently oval, D-shaped or sub-rectangular and are generally in poorer condition than later ones. It is usually possible to distinguished them from dwellings or other roofed structures by their thinner walls. Some have one or more internal divisions and occasionally other features, perhaps mainly to separate lambs, sick animals etc., or may have functioned as gathering and sorting pens (see below). An interesting sub-type met on the moorland slopes of Hiraethog has cross-shaped walls which form 'open' shelters (See Bangor to Severn Valley chapter). There is no clear pattern to their siting although sheltered spots are preferred. A perplexing characteristic is their frequency in specific areas, sometimes with clusters of similar types in a particular locale, and it is difficult to understand why so many were needed in these places. In favoured settlement locations, earlier structures may have been adapted and reused [note 22].
Shepherd’s Shelters and Huts
The remains of shepherds' huts fall broadly into two categories: Firstly there are small shelters, about 3 x 3m or less, often but not always within or associated with a fold. These were probably mainly used for day shelter, mealtimes, and storage. Undated structures which may have been early versions of such sites are found at diverse locations and consist of shelters, often very denuded, built against natural rocks or boulders. By looking carefully you can often find remains of an associated enclosure big enough to pen a few animals. In the early 19th century Fenton records the use of one of the Neolithic Carneddau Hengwym chambers for this purpose (see Tal y Bont chapter). The free-standing types occur in all states of preservation; sometimes only the foundations survive whilst in others (presumably more remote or recent examples) the walls stand to roof height and internal features such as fireplaces and stone seats can be seen. The occurrence of this type may stretch from the Medieval period through to the 19th century but I think their floruit was in the Post Medieval period.
Secondly, where larger huts are found in association with upland folds there is a strong possibility these were true shepherds' hafodai. There are also many other apparently isolated small rectangular buildings often on steep and rough terrain where a similar interpretation may be applicable [note 23].
Gathering and Washing Facilities
As well as this infrastructure for summer grazing, additional facilities were required for gathering, sorting and processing the flocks when they were brought down from the mountain. These would be located at convenient funnelling points, usually beside valley streams and near tracks, at or close to the intake boundary. However, because the flocks were small and closely managed, I think the requirements were relatively limited: most of the many features of this type which cluster at such locations were probably more recent (see below).
However, one feature which was needed was the washpool. Washing of the sheep was undertaken a few days before shearing to clean and soften the fleece. This required an enclosure which opened onto a suitably deep stretch of stream, the watercourse sometimes being dammed to create a pool. Each flock may have had its own small washpen which during this period was probably usually a simple oval or sub-rectangular enclosure of the type to be found beside the streams of the Northern Carneddau.
Later 18th century to the present day
This period witnessed several interrelated as well as sometimes conflicting changes. North Wales became fully integrated with the growth of capitalist and industrial production throughout the British Isles, along with population expansion and improved communications. For the uplands, the crucial changes are:
1. The growth of large-scale sheep farming (removal of cattle from upland economy, the final extinction of transhumance, an increase in the size of farms, and enclosure of common lands in the uplands).
2. Temporary encroachment of permanent settlement followed by depopulation (Pressure from an expanding population leading to encroachment by homesteaders and small-holders until widespread abandonment from the later 19th century).
3. Exploitation of natural resources and materials for the British industrial economy (e.g. people, slate, lime, lead, water, timber).
4. The take-off in tourism and leisure pursuits (mainly outsider interest in the Romantic landscape leading to touristic economy and a variety of other leisure uses).
Each will be examined in turn below:
1. Growth of large-scale sheep farming:
The scale of market-orientated sheep farming increased during this period with the trend towards landowners and tenant farmers enclosing the open mountain and operating them as large sheep ranges. In the face of such pressures, transhumance, which is still reported in the later 18th century, had discontinued by the mid-19th century (cf. Sayce 1956, 126).
Enclosure Walls, Rectilinear Folds and Shepherd’s Shelters.
The main period of mountain enclosure appears to date from the late 18th/early 19th century, resulting in the extensive linear systems of drystone walls which still divide up vast tracts of the upland. The typical structures associated with this transformation are rectilinear pens of various sizes. On the high ground, small shelter-folds are quite often built into the corners of the fields, and whilst many of the earlier, independent folds lost their role, some were (and still are) used by sheep for shelter on a pragmatic basis.
With changes in flock management systems requiring fewer shepherds and less close watching on the enclosed mountain pastures, the small, remote shepherds' hafodai seems to have been in decline, although some of the best preserved shelters with fireplace and chimney may date from this time. However, some of the isolated ruined buildings found high in remote cwms may represent more substantial summer accommodation for the shepherds of this period [note 24].
Gathering and Sorting Facilities
These became larger and more complex to cater for the bigger flocks and the increased need for sorting, counting, treating, and exchanging. These are usually rectilinear and may have numerous internal compartments. As well as those close to the actual farmsteads, a favoured location was close to the intake boundary wall beside a path and stream. They also occur part way along or at the head of cwms, or on sheltered ground below crests and ridges. It is sometimes difficult to understand the date and purpose of some of the more remote examples.
Linear sorting pens are frequently encountered on intermediate or lower ground, on or beside tracks and junctions, or at entrances to enclosure-period field systems. The sheep are funnelled individually into a narrow passage and sorted into the appropriate pen by the use of a swing gate. Modern examples are constructed of metal railings [note 25].
The Curvilinear Pens of the Carneddau
The most fascinating of the complex pens are the unique curvilinear multi-celled folds of the Carneddau. Many of them appear on the manuscript OS map of c.1810 and are generally thought to be associated with the expansion of sheep farming in the later 18th century. It seems the sheep were gathered communally from the unenclosed upland into the large central enclosure where they could be identified and separated back into their respective flocks. Several examples have openings onto streams indicating their additional use as washpens, and they may also have been used for shearing and marking as well. I tentatively suggest these were a transitional form of enclosure, perhaps originating in the 17th/earlier 18th century, designed to cope with a burgeoning sheep population held by many small farms, and were fairly rapidly replaced by the large rectilinear compartmented pens suitable for the larger flocks of the late 18th/early 19th century [note 26].
Current Sheep Farming Practice
The organisation of the contemporary sheep farming landscape is appropriate to flocks tended by farmers using 4 wheel-drive vehicles and quad bikes. Whilst many of the extensive stone-walled field systems in the mountains are still utilised and maintained (and frequently supplemented by post and wire fencing), most of the upland shelters, folds and pens are disused and many have become boggy and overgrown with rushes. However, sheep still use them for shelter from the elements and there is little need for newly constructed shelters (the only example I know is a brick and concrete shelter set into the slope in the North Berwyn at 131375). In contrast, on the intermediate and lower ground many of the old pens are still used, adorned with wire and corrugated iron rather than the wooden hurdling which would have been used in the past.
2. Encroachment of settlement onto the Uplands
A contrary impetus to large-scale sheep production and enclosure of the uplands was caused by an increase in population which gathered pace in the Post-Medieval period and reached a peak in the 18th and 19th century. Three types of settlement can be identified with this expansion; small tenant farmsteads, the squatter homes of the landless poor, and husbandry associated with industrial communities (Davies 1996, 94-5).
Small Tenant Farms
These are the most relevant to our study. The upland fringe is dotted with abandoned examples surrounded by small fields and enclosures. The pre-existing and successful 'traditional' farm sites had already colonised the favoured settlement locations, and we can usually identify the new homesteads by their small size, their frequent lack of placename, and their siting on relatively unproductive and often difficult terrain. Most of these probably operated mixed subsistence regimes (including arable), perhaps supplemented by income from other sources such as home-working [note 27] .
Squatter Homesteads
The landless poor encompassed a variety of occupations including hired labourers and stockmen, home-workers, farmers reliant on the common pasture, and the destitute. Some were tenants whilst others were squatters. Because their homes were often poorly built and tended to be in the more populated areas, they have frequently been destroyed (although see Crew and Musson for the aerial photograph of the squatter settlement at Y Garn). They usually have no more than a garden enclosure. Evans, writing about his upbringing on the Denbigh Moors, describes squatters houses and their occupants:
'Many a poor man built his Caban Unnos on the hill land and brought up his family in it.... There were several of these turf houses in the neighbourhood of my old home... in one of them, I remember, a family of six children was brought up. In that particular house there was some kind of central partition which divided it into two rooms, and the father had made a low loft over the sleeping quarters for some of the children.' (Evans 1948 70-1). He recounts that one occupant of a cabin was a cow man, whilst another was a failed farmer now making and selling woollen stockings (71).
He also describes the rights of the poor to the resources of the common land prior to enclosure:
'when the hill land was open all the people who lived in the district had certain recognised rights and privileges. They were free to gather rushes and whinberries, they could cut clods to roof their houses and outbuildings with, they could cut and harvest peat and heather for fuel, and they had grazing rights for a certain number of sheep or ponies or, it might be, for a cow in summer...' (Evans 1948, 73)
Quarrying and Mining Settlements
These communities also supplemented their income through smallholdings on the poor ground around their villages. This is manifest in the semi-rural appearance of some areas of these settlements (e.g. Bethesda, Talysarn).
Upland Population Decline
The second half of the 19th century saw a process of upland population decline, caused by a number of factors. One of these was the pressure towards larger farms. Again, Evans provides us with first hand evidence, this time of the situation in the 1860's/70's from the viewpoint of the small tenant farmer:
'When I was a lad the greed of the larger farmers for more land was proverbial. If they could snatch a piece of the mountain land they would do so. Others watched the smaller holdings and when one of them became vacant tried to outbid their poorer neighbours by offering more rent. More often than not this un-neighbourly action was successful, especially if the house and buildings on the smaller holding were in a bad state of repair, for then the landlord was only too glad to be spared the cost of renovation. Hundreds of small holdings in Cwm Eithin and the adjoining Cymoedd were annexed to larger farms in the period I am writing about, with the result that the population steadily declined.' (Evans 1948 22-3)
Environmental factors also played their part. The unsustainability of arable farming in the uplands would always make mixed farming on smallholdings a harsh and precarious livelihood (see above). A series of disastrous harvests between 1875-85, leading to agricultural depression in the 1880's saw the depopulation of the marginal upland areas, with hundreds of families leaving their upland farms and homesteads in favour of the burgeoning industrial towns (Webley 1976 24). Many of the derelict homesteads we see in the uplands were probably abandoned around this time.
3. Exploitation of natural resources and materials for the industrial economy
The extraction and processing of natural resources on a significant scale in the region is as old as human occupation (e.g. the Graiglwyd axe factory, the Great Orme copper mines, Iron production at Bryn y Castell hillfort and Medieval lead mining at Minera). However, there was a quantum leap from the 18th century when the resources of the area were exploited on a large scale to supply the needs of industry and the urban centres (Dodd 1951). Each of these has left its archaeological residue.
As has been noted above, the people themselves were an important local resource, providing labour for the industrial economy, leaving many farms and homes to fall into decay. The largest and best known industry was slate production. By the 18th century there was an export trade to Liverpool, London and Dublin, and in the later part of that century, Richard Pennant had set up large scale exploitation of Dyffryn Ogwen. Other industrialists followed in the early 19th century, and infrastructure such as tramways was introduced on a widespread basis. The 1860's was a period of expansion and investment in the industry, and many of the 400-plus sites in NW Wales date from this period. Decline set in from the First World War, with many quarries closing during the great depression of 1929-31, with contraction continuing into the 1960's (Gwyn and Williams 1996, 4-5). Graiglwyd stone (the same outcrop used in the prehistoric period) was quarried from 1830 for stone road setts (Gwyn and Williams 1996, 5). Mining for metal-bearing minerals was extensive and the archaeological remains it creates are similar to those of quarrying e.g. extraction points (quarries, trial levels), spoil heaps, processing facilities, workers barracks, access tracks, tramways/ropeways, and miners paths. Examples of interesting upland sites worth visiting include Cwm Bychan, Cwm y Llan/Cwm Merch, and Cwmystraddlyn.
Reservoirs for urban populations and for hydro-electricity have affected whole landscapes (and sometimes communities). These are usually natural lakes enlarged by dams and are accompanied by features such as spoil heaps, access tracks, pipelines and leats. The largest example is Llyn Vrynwy (commenced 1881), but most sizeable upland lakes have been utilised. Particularly damaging in visual terms are the hydro-electric schemes in Cwm Dyli and Cwm Cowlyd, whilst the most plaintive site is the breached dam in Cwm Eigiau.
Timber production has been perhaps the most environmentally damaging industrial development, with monoculture plantations encroaching onto large upland tracts since the Forestry Commission was established 1919. Its associated features include surfaced tracks and occasional forestry buildings but its main archaeological legacy is the obliteration of pre-existing landscapes and ecologies.
4. Tourism and Leisure
It would be wrong to think that outsiders didn't visit and appreciate the landscapes of the region before this period, but the rise of the Romantic movement in the late 18th century (and particularly the influence of writers such as Thomas Pennant, poets such as John Dyer and artists such as Richard Wilson) created a 'charisma of place' which brought about a transformation in tourism and leisure usage which has continued to this day (Moore 1976a and b, and see Schama 1995). This was a similar process to that in the Lake District, although for the English middle classes the latter has always taken pride of place, due in large measure to the role of Wordsworth. The activities partially developed here - and now played out in the hills and mountains across the globe - represent a hugely important and iconic cultural development within western society related to individual and social identity and aspiration.
Hill Walkers
There are many outdoor activities which take place here but since the mid-nineteenth century at least, the dominant one has been hillwalking. Several writers have highlighted the element of pilgrimage in this activity (defined as physical (pedestrian) movement through a symbolically-charged landscape (Coleman and Elsner 1995 167, 214-7 and see for example Perrin 2001). From this perspective the whole of Snowdonia can be thought of as a 'sanctuary' zone, with its specially formulated texts and aesthetics (guides and other literature), and its gurus. For many hillwalkers the main goal is the gaining of specific peaks - most commonly Yr Wyffda, but also the other 3,000ft tops. Prescribed routes have been established which seek the most spectacular or exposed routes to the tops, usually along ridges (although earlier paths are frequently utilised to cross the lower and intermediate altitudes). The cognitive geography held by the hillwalking community bears little relation to the traditional patterns of movement through the uplands (which are largely concerned with access to pastures, natural resources, and communications), and it is partly with a view to changing this situation that I have written this journal.
There have been hundreds of walking guides produced since the mid-19th century when the railway network made access from the urban centres of England practicable. Poucher's Welsh Peaks of 1962 provides an exemplar, featuring extracts from OS maps accompanied by photos with the paths marked on. Pride of place is given to Snowdon for which 10 routes are presented (63-134). The panorama of surrounding tops is described for each main summit. There is also a chapter in which he prescribes the best locations for properly composed photos of the different peaks, including times of year and day (52-7).
The archaeological evidence for hillwalking is extensive. Worn pathways have developed on many routes and made-paths and even stone stairways have been constructed on classic routes such as the Devil's Kitchen and the Pig Track. The Bronze Age cairns which sit on most of the main summits have been ruthlessly modified to provide wind-shelters (although in some cases this may have been done by earlier shepherds), and on minor unmarked tops small cairns or posts propped up by cairns have been constructed. In addition there are two kinds of route-marker cairns; those which locate the start of a descent path from a ridge top, and those which simply occur at intervals along a defined route. These tend to be on broad ridges where the route can be lost in mist e.g. from Glyder Fawr to Llyn y Cwn, and along the west ridge of Cadair Idris [note 28].
Summit buildings exist on Yr Wyfdda and Cadair Idris (the latter having a now-ruinous predecessor). The Gladstone Rock on the Watkin Path up Yr Wyfdda and the plaque on the 'Wayfarer's Pass' in the North Berwyn are rare examples of formal monuments associated with a pathway [note 29].
Rock Climbing
The ritual element which can be seen in hillwalking applies even more powerfully to rock climbing, and its practice and mythology in North Wales is second to none. Along with the Lake District this was the locus for the development of modern rock climbing from the later Victorian period. In addition it was a training ground for alpine climbing and mountaineering, an activity closely associated with the British spirit of exploration and discovery at the height of its colonial ambitions [note 30].
Throughout its history, rock climbing has consistently exhibited many features of a cultic activity such a mythology based on the exploits of individuals and a broadly accepted ethos (which changes through time). Each special face or crag contains a myriad of patterns and micro-landscapes which can be read and experienced only by the initiate. These are shared through a canon of accepted and graded 'routes' based on common codes and disseminated by word of mouth or in written form. The activity has an informal but complex social structure, usually based on small networks and clubs (sometimes class-based), and special clothing and kit.
As natural places which have rich cultural and social resonances, the climbing grounds represent important archaeological sites in themselves. Examples with special significance include Y Lliwedd, Clogwyn Du'r Arddu and the Idwal slabs. Some archaeological residues can be identified although these are rather ephemeral; paths to the base of the crags (more remote and 'thinner' than hillwalking routes), stripping of vegetation from ledges, nail scratches, and the polishing of rock holds, and even chalk marks. The low stone campfire shelters on the flat area near Clogwyn Du'r Arddu may be from climbing parties in the Post-War period. More poignant vestiges are the stone crosses at the base of Y Lliwedd (not checked on the ground). In addition to such direct indications, there are places strongly associated with key individuals or episodes in the history of climbing such as the Pen y Gryd hotel, Pen y Pass, the farmhouse at Helyg (base of The Rucksack Club in the 1960's) (Redfern 1993 15-19).
As I write this I am struck by the parallels between modern hillwalking and rock climbing with prehistoric ritualistic use of natural places and special sites. All these activities are richly textured and highly structured ways of being and moving in the landscape, yet they cannot be understood without knowledge of their social context and immersion in their unique codes and syntax.
Field Sports
Fishing will have taken place in the high lakes from earliest times and fishing paths often lead to them and occasionally there are huts associated with this pastime (e.g. Lyn Conwy). Grouse shooting has had far more impact on the landscape. Shooting and its allied activity of hunting was one of the most important ways in which the elite (the aristocracy, gentry, and later the upwardly aspiring middle class) defined themselves. Nationally this primarily affected marginal land which was traditionally a common resource, and there is a largely forgotten history of class conflict enacted between poachers and gamekeepers in the coverts and game-bird reserves across rural Britain from the mid-18th century to the Great War and even beyond. The upland shooting reserves were a bone of contention with regard to access throughout the 20th century (culminating with the great Kinder Scout Trespass of 1932) which is only now reaching the endgame with the Right to Roam legislation.
In North Wales large areas of moorland and adjacent woodland are still ‘kept‘, especially in the Denbigh Moors and the Berwyn (see Hopkins 1986; Newman 2001 118-90; Mursell 1996, passim and see North Berwyn and Llangollen below). Archaeological remains include shooting butts (cone-like pits in which the shooter waited) which appear to come into fashion from the second half of the 19th century (Newman 2001, 118-9). Butts can also refer to lines of shooting stands marked by posts or even wooden pallets (frequently appearing on the large scale maps). The remains of shooting lodges, located on high ground and providing shelter or even accommodation for the parties of sportsmen, can occasionally be seen such as Gwylfa Hiraethog, and perhaps Jubilee Hall (see Above Llangollen chapter). However they were abandoned from at least the end of the Great War with the decline of the large estates and the improvement in motor transport. Occasionally small shooting huts still survive but these are for storage and day-shelter only (e.g. Bryn Du above Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog at 157362).
Note 18: See Winchester 2000: 57-61 and AWR, 'A Cumberland Clipping' from 'the Table Book of William Hone (1827) in Gossett 1911 218-9)]
Note 19: For example above Llyn Cwmystradllyn there is an earlier relict wall mirroring the line of the classic 19th century enclosure wall slightly higher up the slope which perhaps dates to this phase (area of c.567459). On the southern slopes of Cwm Dyli there are undated contouring walls (area of 647538), and across the boulder field below Llyn Du'r Arddu in Cwm Brwynog is a length of ruined walling (c.596559). See also Williams 1981 67, and Winchester 2000, 62-73 for similar examples from Northern England.
Note 20: It is very difficult to provide a robust typology and sequence for many of the features described herein. Some may be earlier and some later. Similarly, in several places (such as the Northern Carneddau) numbers of still-useable folds exist in proximity to each other, some very similar in kind. In these places there has been a sequence of changing requirements, useages and fashions which are now all but impossible to disentangle. Finally, at the broader level, constructing a general typology is hampered by the variety of local types which reflect environmental, economic and social differences. Thus the interpretation offered is only tentative.
Note 21: See Winchester 2000 109-13 for the concern with keeping flocks separate at Wasdale Head in the 16th century, and also Jones, T. 1809 'Habits of Welsh Sheep' in Gossett 1911 69-70.
Note 22: Examples from the Carneddau of dense provision are the oval enclosures on the moors below Tal y Fan (sq.7373) and the sub-circular shelters c.8m wide sheltered against rock outcrops on the upland between Cwm Eigiau and Cwm Cowlyd (c.726644, 730637 and 733637). At Cwm Pen-llafar there is both an abundance of structures and indications of reuse and adaption of earlier features (vicinity of 659648).
Note 23: An early-looking lean-to shelter with indications of a relict enclosure can be seen in the North Berwyn beside Nant Croes-y-wernen (103388). Others lie in Cwm yr Afon Goch at c. 671697 (Carenddau), and below Cwm Merch at c.637518 (although the latter may be a pen). Small isolated rectangular foundations can be seen high in Cwm yr Hafod below Moel Eilio (c.561577), and in Cwm Caseg below Yr Elen (c.676650). Free-standing small shelters inside folds survive in the North Berwyn beside Nant Fach (105388), just north of Bwlch cwm Brwynog (593558) and at Cwm Penmachno (764506). The shelter built into the slope of Gau Graig, Cadair Idris, appears to have no associated enclosure (c.747152).
(23 cont.) The most evocative of the larger shepherds' hafodai occurs in the Cwmglas Bach boulder-field (665637) with another at Cwm Pen-llafar (661650) (Carneddau). Other possible examples lie beside the Nant Fawr in the North Berwyn (100393), above Bwlch y Rhiwgyr in the Rhinogau (640206), and sheltering beneath rocks in Cwm Llefrith to the west of Moel Hebog (551469).
(23 cont.) Directly comparable evidence for shepherds' hafodai occurs in many European upland environments: For example, in the Picos de Europa Mountains of Northern Spain in a side valley off the south side of the Deva valley above the village of Bareena beside the Riega de la Media at about 830m, in terrain now overgrown but which was clearly grazed until a few decades ago I observed what appeared to be a shepherds' shelter utilising natural outcrops and boulders still with remains of a timber roof, with a small associated stock enclosure. Close by was a sub-circular hut, also utilising natural rocks, its wall standing to its full height of about a metre with collapsed roof timbers in situ. Recent shepherding transhumance in the Bifurno Valley in Italy is recorded by Graeme Barker, where 'Traditionally, the young men from the community took the sheep into the high pastures...for the summer months, penning the flocks at night in rope enclosures and themselves sleeping in rough stone and turf shelters.' (Barker 1995, 34-6). Nicholas Crane's excellent book provides an accessible account of contemporary life amongst the transhumant shepherds of Eastern Europe, including descriptions of their huts (Crane 1996)]
Note 24: A mid-19th century account by a retired shepherd of the South Downs states that shepherds huts were less common than formerly (i.e.. the earlier 19th century). He explains that 'in rough, sluckish weather the shepherd used to turn into his hut and lie by the hour together, only looking out once in a while to see that the sheep didn't stray too far away. ..' (Lowther, M. A. 1854 'Shepherds' Huts on the South Downs' in Gossett 1911 17). The larger type of building is represented by those in Cwm Anafon, Cwm Caseg and Cwm Eigiau in the Carneddau, and North Berwyn.
Note 25: Stone examples integral to the enclosure period walls lies below Craig Las, Cadair Idris (658139), and at Bwlch y Gaer in the North Carneddau (743692)
Note 26: The Carneddau remained common land until late and intensified usage led to overgrazing; in the 1790's the tenant farmers of the area met annually to agree the number of sheep (Sayce 1956, 122, 128). The pens are described in more detail in the sections on the Carneddau. . A recent survey identified three size types: A] 3-5 cells B] multi-celled 6-14, and C] 17-60m (Skeates 1998 AIW 81-2. See also RCHMW 1956 lxxvii. Each of the main cwms had at least one large fold.
(26 cont.) The procedures described by Smith for gathering sheep and lambs from the mountains of Skye in the mid-19th century provide an illuminating parallel (Smith, A. 1865 'Lamb-branding in Skye' in Gossett 1911 185-7). Shepherds and their dogs brought the stock to the 'fank', a large square turf-walled enclosure, half of which was an open yard, the remainder being occupied by chambers and compartments. Stock were sorted as follows: 'The most perfect ewes- destined to be the mothers of the next brood of lambs on the farm - were placed in one chamber; the second best , whose fate it was to be sold at Inverness, were placed in a congeries of compartments...' (186) The lamb enclosure led into the open yard but was barriered off. Just here a peat fire was burning which held the brands. Lambs were plucked through the barrier and branded by a man sitting on a large stone near the fire. The lambs were then free to wait in the yard area.
(26 cont.) Another ethnographic account deals with co-operative sheep shearing and aftercare in 1969 in Montgomeryshire (Geraint Jenkins 1976 52). Firstly the farmer gathered in the 2000 sheep from the open mountain with the help of 4 sheep dogs. The sheep were washed in a mountain stream and then dealt with as follows:
'On shearing day, when twenty-five neighbours had congregated in the shearing shed, the sheep were brought down from the moor to a field near the farm in the valley and the great annual task of shearing began. Two young boys were given the task of catching the wild, unruly sheep and carrying them to the shearers, who sat astride low, narrow benches in the shed.' Afterwards, the owner 'marked each one with its mark of ownership, marked its ears if necessary, treated wounds, clipped its hoofs and then allowed the shorn sheep to return to the rest of the flock in an adjacent field. For two days this process was continued until the whole flock was shorn and treated.'
It should be noted that washing declined from the early 20th century due to the drop in wool prices in the face of competition from abroad (Gossett 1911 211). Washing should not be confused with dipping, which was introduced around 1800 to treat parasitic infestations (Ryder 1983, 708-10).
Note 27: Almost any of the archaeologically busy upland cwms or hillsides will have examples. Favourite places of mine include the land between Llanberis and Moel Eilio, along the Afon Cadair above Llanfihangel-y-pennant, and along Pennant Lliw above Dolhendre, and Cwm Nantcol in the Rhinogau.
Note 28: The use of such route-markers must be an ancient practice, sometimes with a symbolic dimension, and is to be found in mountainous regions across the globe. Some 'traditional' markers can be seen along the west flank of Moel Wnion, and I suspect the Cadair Idris markers originate in the early tourism period of the late 18th century].
Note 29: North Wales is only one of a number of special mountain environments which have been appropriated for hillwalking in Britain. Others are the Lake District and increasingly the ranges of Scotland where the cult of Munro bagging attracts increasing numbers of followers.
Note 30: The first recorded rock climb took place at Clogwyn d'ur Arddu. Another important pioneering climb was by O.G. Jones on Cyfry Arete (Cadair Idris). (Jones and Milburn 1986; Kelly and Doughty 1937; Perrin (on and off the rocks))
See here for contents page, or here for the bibliography.
Note: The concluding, complete part of the archaeological introduction; beginning on Monday, M M Robinson's personal journies through these Abandoned Landscapes will start to be added. This is part of an original series of articles written by archaeologist M M Robinson.
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