Lincolnshire 3 - Sempringham - a sad and lonely life for a welsh princess Gwenllian

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OK readers of my blog. Where are the intrepid travellers today? Well , Suzy is still on the drive. She has not gone anywhere. We have booked a few days next month in Oxford and plan visits to the city itself and to the Ashmolean Museum. There are still a few weeks though before that trip. The weather is cold ,miserable and at times wet but we can still find places to visit. Yes they are few and far between but hidden out there are gems which are sadly neglected .

So what do you know of British history? How about the Princes in the Tower? This was the title frequently used to refer to Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. The two brothers who were the only sons of Edward IV of England and his wife Elizabeth Woodville. At the time of their fathers death in 1483 the boys were 12 and 9 years old,

So where are we ? Well let's start with the story and horrible history of the Princes in the Tower. If you know your British history you will know the princes were lodged or prisoned depending on which way you view it in the Tower of London. They were supposedly to be protectedby their uncle , the Lord Protector Richard Duke of Gloucester. He was supposed to look after them until the time that Edward would be crowned King of England. Well we all know where this is going - don't we? Richard took the throne for himself and the boys disappeared. What happened to them? Well it is assumed the poor boys were murdered somewhere around 1483. The evidence though is circumstantial and still today we have no idea what happened to them. Some have said that they were murdered by Henry Stafford the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Another suspect Henry VII. Names were bandied about and some of the stories even were around the fact that perhaps one child escaped and turned up as Perkin Warbeck a pretender to the throne. A gory history and one well known to many schoolchildren and adults alike.

So why am I talking about the boys in the tower when I am in Lincolnshire? This is perhaps a bit of history not quite as familiar as the story of the Princes in the Tower. However it is eqaully important but has been long forgotten. Think a field in Lincolnshire, an abbey, the last Princess of Wales and a mountain named after her. I doubt you will have any idea what on earth I am talking about. Well our trip today was into the flat lands of Lincolnshire to a small village called Sempringham. Not a famous village , in fact I doubt if many know it exists.

The journey was an easy one. Down the Great North Road until we reached the spot we were looking for. Thank goodness for Sally Sat Nav. The village was small and spread out but the site we were looking for was less than easy to find. A little like the history it seemed as if the way we were looking for was out of the way , down a dirt track and at the end of a road. Yes it was signposted but it was easy to miss the signs. The tiny dirt track took us through agricultural fields. In the distance we could see a church. Surely this was the spot we were looking for. Sempringham Abbey. Not quite an abbey these days. More a parish church with small neat and tidy graveyard.

So why are we standing in a cold old graveyard in the middle of nowhere? Looking for the monument to Gwenllian the last Princess of Wales . The stone monument stands alone just around a corner. It has a slate plaque with inscription in both Welsh and English. A board told the history of Gwenllian in both languages . Gwenllian of Wales also called Gwenllian ferch (daughter of ) Llywelyn born June 1282 died June 1337. She was the only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd the last native Prince of Wales. Poor old Gwenllian was doomed and led a very sad life. She was born in the Gwynedd royal home of Abergwyngregyn near to Bangor. Her mother was Eleanor de Montfort who died during childbirth. She was descended from not one but two bloodlines. Not only was was she the daughter of the Prince of Gwynedd and heiress of the Royal family of Aberffraw her great grandfather was King John of England. She was always going to be a problem for the English and her fate sealed.

A few months after Gwenllian's birth North Wales was encircled by the English army of Edward the First . Her father was killed in battle. Gwenllian and the daughters of her uncle Dafydd ap Gruffudd were all shipped off and confined for life in remote priories in Lincolnshire. They were never allowed freedom. Gwenllian was placed in the Gilbertine Priory at Sempringham. That is why we are standing in a cold old graveyard looking at what is left of a priory. Not a lot left really. It is easy in parts to see the origins of what looks like a Saxon church at one end. However at the other end the church has been dissected by a huge tower and an apse. Sadly the church was closed so we were not able to go inside and see what remained of the abbey and Gwenllian. She lived there for until her death fifty-four years later. In committing her to a convent, Edward's aim was not only to prevent her from marrying and having sons who might lay claim to the Principality of Wales, but also to hide her away, unknown to the outside world. Sempringham felt remote today so heaven knows what it must have been like when Gwenllian resided there. Far away from her home land.

Having been taken from her native land so young, Gwenllian never learned any Welsh, and likely never even knew the correct pronunciation of her own name. Documents indicate that the priory record-keepers were not sure how to spell her name; she is listed as "Wencilian" and was herself shown to have signed her name "Wentliane". How sad not to know your own language and to be with people who had no idea what to call her. English gaolers looking after a foreigner with an odd sounding name. King Edward III Edward I's grandson, endowed Gwenllian with a pension of £20 per year; this was not money for her personally, simply a sum paid on her behalf to the priory in respect of her food and clothing. No creature comforts for a threat to English rule .

The memorial is poignant planted with daffodils the Welsh national flower which blooms in Spring. The Merched y Wawr (the W. I) maintain a book which can be filled in when you visit. There is poem about Gwenllian written in Welsh but translated into English We forgo t, and confined herto the convent yard,and chastity's grave.We forgot, and ordained her to stare at stone walls down windowless days. We forgot, we barred and withered her womb, denied her the ardor of one white-tipped wave. We forgot, and expelled her to a place where no mountain, or hill, breasts the sun. We forgot, and condemned her to die a loving mother languishing unborn. We will free her from remoteness when we claim the key that lets remembrance in.

We just stood there in the quietness and a saying came to mind - Knock on the sky and listen to the sound. A Zen saying which felt very true in the quietness of the graveyard. The sky was blue with not a cloud in site. The quietness could be felt . I can imagine knocking on it and listening to the sound reverberating back to us. There was a sadness for a lady long forgotten but such an important part of Welsh history that a mountain peak has been named after her. A bit of history long forgotten.

We finished the day off with a visit to The Three Kings Inn where we ate Venison and Merlot casserole with mashed potato and seasonal vegetables and Chicken, Bacon and Leek pie with chunky wedges and vegetables. Leeks felt oddly right for the occasion.

Poor Gwenllian - what a sad life for a Welsh princess.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Where did the boys go?
Yes, if only these walls could talk. All those old historic buildings would have so many stories to tell.

[JenGog]

the boys
Yes agree wouldnt we like to know the truth. History is full of so many what if's and what happened . I noticed someone is following me RentaCar in Dubai or something like that . I dont think it is a travel blog . I think you are a moderator so don't know if it has slipped through