Gwastadannas - A House History
Items in this story:
Introduction
The old house of Gwastadannas is a modest single-story and attic stone house, part of a large farmstead situated on the Afon Glaslyn valley floor in Nantgwynant, Snowdonia. Although now much altered, a survey of 1953 found that the house had features showing that it had originally been a hall-house of some status and a plan was published in the Royal Commission’s Caernarvonshire Inventory of 1956 . Recent tree-ring dating for the Dating Old Welsh Houses Community Project has pinpointed the felling date of the timbers to 1508. Research into the owners, tenants and uses of the house and the land revealed its complex history, from the high status family who originally had it built, the tenant farmers who paid rent to the famous Wynne family of Gwydir through to its last occupation by a shepherd who tended vast flocks of sheep on the surrounding mountains.
Meanings of the name Gwastadannas: Gwastad means level ground or land, Onnos is the old plural word for ash tree, but, if spelt ‘Annos’ it would be the common word among sheep farmers for the process of driving sheep to the mountains from a central place where different flocks were gathered - Gwastadannas was used in this way for centuries. If spelt ‘Danas’ meaning ‘deer’ it would mean the level ground of the deer, of which there were many in the oak forests of earlier years.
Aberconwy Abbey lands
In 1199, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Prince Llywelyn the Great) granted over 40,000 acres of lands to the Cistercian Abbey of Aberconwy. The generous grant charter listed the names of the properties including fifteen separate areas in the township of Nanhwynan, starting with ‘Gwastat Onnos’. The Abbot of Aberconwy sunsequently acted as Llywelyn’s representative in the negotiations between Llywelyn and the English later in the century. The Abbey was the burial place of many of the native Princes of Gwynedd, including Llywelyn the Great himself. As part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, the Abbey and its lands were taken over by the Crown in 1537.
Dolwyddelan Castle
The Wynne Family of Gwydir and Gwastanannas
Descendents of the Princes of Gwynedd were tenants of Gwastadannas together with other lands from around 1506. These were first leased from the Abbey and after 1537, directly from the Crown.
The first of these tenants was Maredudd ab Ieuan ap Robert who is said to have had over 21 children. He occupied Dolwyddelan Castle and acquired the Gwydir estate from Dafydd ap Hywel "Coetmor". On his death in 1525 Maredudd’s will divided his estate between his sons; John Wynn, Rees, Humphrey and Cadwaladr. John Wynn ap Maredudd, his eldest son, inherited eight tenancies, including Gwastadannas, and in 1535, this John Wynn was appointed by Henry VIII to be of the commissioners who were tasked with assessing the Abbey’s finances before they were dissolved to the Crown. In 1536, he was also made steward of the Abbey’s lands at a salary of £2 13s 4d and was paid more for acting as receiverto make annual surveys of the estates. He become High Sheriff of Caernarfonshire in 1545 and again in 1557. He was also elected to Parliament.
These Crown appointments were powerful and lucrative positions and that he was chosen reflects the high gentry status of his family and their willingness to change their political and religious allegiances to improve that status. John Wynn’s eldest son Morus Wynn inherited the estates in 1559, Morus married Jane Bulkeley of Baron Hill and their son became the famous Sir John Wynn of Gwydir.
A farm inventory of 1569 lists ‘Gwastad Anas’ as having: 106 cattle and 78 sheep. Up to the end of the 17th century the farm stock would have been mostly the small hardy Welsh Black cattle which provided meat, milk, butter, cheese, leather and horn to the farmer, as well as being driven for sale in markets in England. The 18th century saw an increase in sheep flocks and a decrease in cattle numbers in the Snowdon area. By 1787 Gwastadannas had only 39 cattle but 357 sheep. Among the causes were an increased demand for Welsh sheep for breeding in England, wool for local textile industries and the growing preference for the larger cattle from South Wales and Ireland.
Historical features and 1st tenants of Gwastadanas
Gwastadannas was originally built in 1508 to a long 4-bay plan with a central hall open to the roof and smaller rooms to either end, these being a private chamber at the high end and an entrance bay and service-room at the low end where food was stored and prepared. The reconstruction drawings above show how the house would have looked when it was first built. You can see the vent at the top of the roof which allowed smoke from the central hearth to escape. The massive oak crucks (supporting roof frames) would have been sawn in pairs from a single tree, and impressed visitors with their height and fine carpentry. Originally the floor would probably have been made from rush-covered beaten earth, later replaced by stone flagstones. About a fifty years after it was first built, between 1539 and 1575, a massive central chimney was inserted that allowed other changes; these included, providing a fireplace, dividing the living space and, because smoke now escaped through the chimney, allowing a ceiling to be put in giving living space upstairs. In the 1800s, an enclosed corkscrew staircase was added to lead to the upper floor from the hall. Reconstruction drawings below show the alterations to the building.
Although he held the tenancy, Maredudd ab Ieuan ap Robert probably did not occupy Gwastadannas. He died at Gwydir Castle in 1525 and is buried in Dolwyddelan church. According to Sir John Wynn of Gwydir, the present church of St Gwyddelan was built by Maredudd ap Ieuan who acquired Dolwyddelan Castle in 1488, he rebuilt the church because of fears of being ambushed at the more remote old church. The felling-date range of 1471-1501 obtained for the nave roof is consistent with this story. This beautiful old church and examples of its fine carvings are shown below:
It may be that one of Maredudd’s relatives lived at Gwastadannas, possibly one of his many children, but we have no evidence of who, although we know who held the tenancy; a deed dated 1563 tells us that “John Wynne, Doctor of Lawe” leases “for four years, the tenement called Gwastad Annas, once belonging to the dissolved monastery of Conway from Morys Wynne ap John Wynne ap Maredudd of Gwydir for an annual rent of 40 shillings and services”.
John Wynn, in a letter to his brother dated January 14th 1568, wrote that: “he had spoken to him about having the tenancy of Gwastad Annas and was told he could have it if Morgan could persuaded to relinquish it and take another place as Morus Wyn would not put him out against his will”. A deed of July 1569 names a Thomas ap Morgan and Eliza ap John as tenants of Gwastadannos. Deeds of 1570 and 1571 name Eliza ap John as tenant, then one of 1572 names Richard ap John ap Preese and Griffth ap John ap Preese as tenants for four years.
There is some evidence that tenancies belonging to the family were subject to dispute, but it appears the Morus Wyn ‘devoted himself to conducting his domestic affairs with meticulous care to a far greater degree than any other member of the family before or after. He ‘used faire speech and protested great friendship unto them being his nighe kynffolke
Famine badly affected Caernarfonshire between 1621 and 1631. A survey of 1622 found “the countrey exceeding poor, past beleefe, because the cattel whereon they live, for the foure last years bare no price and bread corne ys exceeding deare whereof they have greate scarcitie”. Sir John Wynn complained of the unseasonableness of the weather and begged for a loan of £500 from Sir Thomas Myddleton (from Chirk Castle). His rents had fallen because his tenancies were in remote mountainous country where no corn would grow, and where the prices of cattle, wool, sheep and butter had fallen in the previous two years. He recorded that many had died of starvation, while others “bear the impression of hunger on their faces”
Morus’s will of 1580 states that his son John was to receive his rights, titles and interest in Gwastadannas yielding the accustomed Crown rents. John, his son was knighted in 1606 and wrote a history of the Gwydir family. He died in 1626 aged 73 and his third son Owen inherited in 1649 after his brother Richard died childless. In 1654 Owen’s son Richard received properties including Gwastadannas as part of his marriage settlement with Sarah Myddleton. Richard inherited the family’s vast estate in 1660. On his death the whole estate passed to his only daughter Mary.
The 18th century: new landlord, same tenant family
From around 1681 Gwastadannas, along with other Wynn properties in the former township of Nanhwynan, was acquired by the John Rowland of the nearby estate of Nant, Betws Garmon. The lands were probably purchased from Sir Richard Wynn’s daughter Mary. John Rowland was a wealthy London banker who underwrote land sales around North Wales when their owners needed money. The grand house of Plas-y-Nant situated near to Nantgwynant (shown above) was built for him in 1671.
John Rowland’s will of 1703 lists Gwastadannas as being in the tenancy of Pierce John Morris. Previously, the 1661 Hearth Tax had recorded a John Morris as the probable tenant of Gwastadannas. His son was Pierce John Morris and is also listed as tenant of Gwastadannas in the Beddgelert 1677 parish baptism record of his son John. We have his will dated 1732 in which he leaves his goods and chattels to his sons William Pierce and Griffith Pierce (presumably his eldest son John had died), and leaves money to his daughters Alice and Mary. His son William Pierce went on to marry Ellen Griffith and they had five children the eldest of which was Ellen (Eleanor) who in 1746, married Hugh Dafydd from Croesor (a farm about 6 miles from Gwastadannas).
William Pierce, son of Pierce John Morris, died in 1769. In his will he bequeaths the following:
- To my wife Ellen Griffith £80, two cows, the featherbed, bedstead, bed clothes, the featherbed, bedstead and bedclothes under the maids, one cupboard that is by our bed, one wainscoat chest, one great corn chest that are both upstairs, and I give my best pan and iron kettles.
- To my son Pierce William £30
- To my grandson William Bellis son of my daughter Gaynor deceased £6
- To grandson William David son of David William a yearling calf
- To my grandson David son of Ellin William a yearling calf
- All the rest and residue to my son David William and my daughter Ellin William divided between them
When we add the value of the bequests of money in this will to the value of the farm stock in the inventory below, we can see that this was a relatively wealthy family. The head of the family is described elsewhere as a ‘yeoman’. At this time, furniture, clothing, pots and chests were treasured items to be handed down. The items bequeathed in this will are typical of 17th and 18th century wills and show that bedsteads and their bedding were among the most important articles of furniture. It also mentions a ‘wainscot chest’. This was a chest with panels sometimes decorated with a carved or incised pattern and it is tempting to think that this chest was handed down over generations and may have been very old, possibly similar to the example below. As well as giving an indication of the way the house was furnished, the will also mentions maids. Farm and household servants were employed at Gwastadannas until the 20th century.
Photographs: Top: A chest dated 1671, Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Bangor, below: an iron cooking pot and a bedstead, The National Museum of Wales, St Fagans
The accompanying inventory lists and values the farm stock to the considerable sum of £293, 14 shillings:
- 10 cows and calfs
- 9 steers, 3 years old
- 6 steers, 2 years old
- 10 yearlings, calfs
- 1 bull
- 3 horses
- 350 sheep
- 5 goats
- Household stuff
- Husbandry
As discussed above, this inventory shows the massive decrease in cattle and increase in sheep numbers on the farm. The bull, probably a Welsh Black like the one above, indicates the relative wealth of the family - ordinary farmers would not have been able to afford one.
The Williams and Hughes families
The Rowland family continued to own Gwastadannas and the Pierce family continued to rent and farm it. From 1763 to 1770 the owner was Emma Rowlands. Emma had married the Right Honorable James, 1st Viscount Bulkeley in 1749 and lived at Baron Hill, when he died of consumption in 1752 she became the dowager Lady Bulkeley, but in 1760 she married Sir Hugh Williams the 8th Baronet of Penrhyn and became Dame Emma Williams. Her will of 1770 (a year after Pierce John Morris’s), leaves the ‘reversion or remainder expectant’ of Nanhwynan to her son Robert Williams, although the land is owned in the meantime by her husband Sir Hugh Williams. In 1785 he leases: ‘houses and lands and MINES in the parish of Beddgelert called Hafod y Rhisg, Gwastad Annas, Hafod y Porth and Cwmdyli’ to Edward Griffith of Caernarfon. Cwm Dyli, on the mountainside very near to Gwastadannas, was the site of a copper mine where many local men earned wages to supplement their farming incomes. The spoil tips of the mine can still be seen. Sir Hugh Williams died in 1794.
Meanwhile, William Pierce’s daughter Ellin or Eleanor married Hugh David/Dafydd and they continued to farm Gwastadannas, until their son, David Hughes took over. The Land Tax assessment of 1784 records Sir Robert Williams as owner of Gwastadannas and Hugh David(Dafydd), yeoman as tenant (annual tax of £2 13s 7d). Hugh Dafydd’s will of 1787 bequeaths a total of £90 to his children and grandchildren. The accompanying inventory lists and values the farm’s stock at the slightly lesser sum of £276, 18 shillings:
- 15 cows
- 1 bull
- 10 steers, 2 years old
- 13 yearling calves
- 357 sheep
- 1 mare
- Bridle and saddle
- Wearing apparel
- Household stuff
- Husbandry
This inventory shows clearly the increase of sheep on the farm and, now the disappearance of goats.
The 1788-89 Land Tax assessment lists the tenant of Gwastadannas as Eleanor Williams, widow. Between 1792 and 1822 the tenant is her son David Hughes, yeoman, paying a rent of £70 a year. This rental is listed in the Baron Hill estate records, which records Hugh David and a William Roberts as joint tenants of Gwastadannas in 1826.
The following list of supplies appears in the 1813 accounts of David Hughes and his mother, Eleanor:
- Wheat £2 2s
- Flour £2 12s
- Money 6s
- Fliod of flour 2s
- Cutting peat 13s 9d
- Stored flour 14s
- Carrying timber 2s
- Hobed [of] wheat £2 2s
- Rake 3s 3d
Various records show that the Gwastadannas tenants were involved in community activities apart from farming. David Hughes, and from 1820 his son Hugh David also, were members of the Grand Jury of the manorial court for the manor of Nanhwynan, held at Beddgelert. A list of early Methodists, worshipping in Beddgelert records a William Hughes of Gwastadannas. According to an essay of 1903, the Hughes family were well educated and well read, D E Jenkins writes: “One of the tenants of the old farmhouse still lives in the memory of the people as a genial old scholar and wit. He kept a school in the upper room of Bethania Chapel for some years”. The poet-farmer Carneddog (Richard Griffith of Carneddi), found the following hand-written inscriptions in the book: ‘Hanes y ffydd ymhlith y cymru ’ ( A history of the Faith amongst the Welsh) by Charles Edwards who was a major figure in the literary history of Welsh Puritanism:
“Griffith David of Gwastadannas is the true owner of this book. Witness his hand 1746, Gruffyd Dafydd”
“William Pirce of Brwynog Issa is the true onor of this Booke. In the year of our Lord 1811. Hugh David of Gwastadannas his hand, winess this 27th July 1811”
And this hand written ‘englyn’ or verse of poetry:
“Rhag drwg adolwg di yn chwaneg
Na chwenych fy nghwmni,
Yr Enw yn wiwlon a weli
Mai gig a fydd os dygi di”
New families and ‘painful’ times at Gwastadannas
Until 1836, Hugh David together with William Roberts continued to farm Gwastadannas, paying a combined annual rent to Sir Robert Williams of £66. Then, in the account books of the Baron Hill estate, the following entry of c. 1836 appears: “Let the whole farm to William Williams for around £66. Hugh David still lives in our house with 10 children. The whole land between the old and new road is well situated for planting. William Roberts has quitted….Beddgelert village. There is £26 due to him from the contractors of the road”. The Tithe Valuation of 1838 lists Gwastadannas as having 1,050 acres and the tenant as William Williams.
Census records began in 1841 and have continued every 10 years since. These records tell us that in 1841 there were three properties next to each other called: Gwastad Annas Isa, Gwastad Annas Ganol and Gwastad Annas Uchaf. Living in Gwastad Annas Isa were John and Jane Jones, aged 30 and 25 with two small daughters. Living in Gwastad Annas Ganol were Hugh and Mary Davies (Dafydd) with eight children, and living in Gwastad Annas Uchaf was William Williams and his son. Mary, wife of Hugh Dafydd (‘Davies’ in the census), was a daughter of William Williams. It seems that Hugh Dafydd gave the tenancy to his brother-in-law, but continued to live and work there. It’s uncertain which of these properties the original house was. William Williams died in 1850 and his brother, John Williams came with his wife Ellen (or Ellinor) to take over the tenancy. According to an essay of 1903, they:
“….went without a lot to start and they were a very young active hard working married couple. They worked hard improving the land, opening drains to dry the land and were very successful. But they were not able to enjoy the fruits of their labor….Old Lawrie, steward of Sir R Bulkeley gave notice that he was coming to inspect the farms, but instead of staying at home to receive the ‘big man’, John Williams went to chapel Bethania to listen to a sermon. The important man was furious and as soon as he could he turned them out of the farm”.
This anecdote tells us something of the power of a landlord’s steward in those days and of the obviously greater power of Methodist feeling which was very strong in Caernarfonshire the early and mid 19th century.
After the couple was evicted, the farm was leased to a Henry Owen in 1860. Henry Owen also owned the nearby Penygwryd Hotel, a popular place for tourists to Snowdonia which, according to the sale particulars of 1897: “…enjoyed a world-wide celebrity owing to its unique and picturesque situation, being situate at the head of the famous vales of Llanberis, Gwynant and Capel Curig, and being at the foot of Snowdon, a favourite resort of mountaineers, Botanists, Fishermen and Geologists”.
Snowdonia had been a popular destination for tourists since the late 18th century and with interest in mountaineering developing from the mid 19th century, mountaineers would come to Snowdonia to practice for their summer trips to the Alps. The new road, mentioned in the Baron Hill accounts above, was built in the 1830s between Beddgelert and Capel Curig and passed by Gwastadannas and the Penygwryd Hotel with a subsequent increase in traffic and visitors, so it is not surprising that Henry Owen capitalized on this opportunity.
The Baron Hill rentals from 1862 to 1878 list Henry Owen paying an annual rent of £80 for Gwastadannas and a ground rent of 15 shillings for Penygwryd, and the 1871 census lists his occupation as Inn Keeper with 1,200 acres employing two men. His wife is Ann, and he has a family of eight children. D E Jenkins, in his history of the people and area, was disparaging of Henry Owen and tells a sad story of what he saw as ‘painful’ developments to Gwastadannas under Owen’s tenancy. In 1899 he describes Gwastadannas as being ‘a simple dwelling of one family’ and as being up to 27 years ago (i.e. c. 1871) ‘a thriving farm, having well-stocked pens and cattle folds.’ He writes of Henry Owen that he: “worked up the sleeve of Sir Richard Bulkeley’s agent, and got all the land which had been connected with these homesteads for centuries attached to the hotel, with results that are painful to observe. Instead of the lively movements of living beings, the sound of the meal-time horn, the crack of the team driver’s whip, the neighing, lowing, and bleating of horses, cattle and sheep, together with the hundred other features of farm life, we have only a few stray sheep, a cow, or an ox here and there, and perchance a living being far from the reach of gesture or voice”.
An estate valuation of 1876 states of Gwastadannas that the “…houses and buildings are all in ruins. Several of the doors and windows have been taken away. The land and fences are in a very dilapidated and slovenly state” it goes on to recommend that: “This holding should be under one tenant so that the land and fences might be under his sole care and looked after. Henry Owen has not half the stock on Gwastadannas the farm is very much neglected” Gwastadannas is described now as a small shepherds house.
A programme of ‘Farm Building and Fencing Improvements’ was begun in 1878 by the Dowager Lady Williams-Bulkeley. In the accompanying report, Gwastadannas is listed as having 1,059 acres. Accounts for December of the same year show a contract to a John Williams for £320, presumably for the construction of new buildings at Gwastadannas, which are also mentioned. There was then a subsequent increase in rents, but in 1879 the tenants signed a joint letter asking for a remission due to an exceptionally bad season which had: “…rendered all our efforts to get in our hay…an utter failure and the corn harvest has been equally bad. The enormous importation of cattle and sheep from abroad has reduced prices of home bred stock to 1/3rd their value in last year’s markets.” They asked for a reduction in their rents of 10%. The second signatory to the letter is Henry Owen.
Henry Owen’s rent for 1883 is now £95 a year. The rental account of 1887 lists Gwastadannas together with Henry Owen’s other farms, Penllan and Geufron, as comprising 1,897 acres situate fronting the old and new roads from Beddgelert to Penygwryd. They are now described as having substantial buildings and being ‘well-watered’.
Henry Owen must have died not long after because the 1891 census lists a John Owens (probably his son) as living there with his family. The rent account for 1892-1896 lists Ann Owen, his wife, as tenant. She died in 1896. The Penygwryd Hotel was sold in early 1897 and the sale particulars state that the purchaser will have the option of acquiring the tenancies of the farms of Gwastadannas and Cwm Dyli “now held in connection with the hotel”. The 1898 rent account states that the tenant is now “representatives of the late Ann Owen”. In 1899, a G. Griffith is paying ground rent on the hotel, and a Mr William Jones from Dolgelley receives a letter from John Lawrie (agent, Baron Hill estate) as follows:
Dear Sir, your account up to present for stock stands as follows:
- 820 sheep @ 18/- £730
- Hay in stock £90
- Hay Rack 14/-
- Ladder 4/-
- 23 chains for tying cows @ 6d 11/6d
- Grinding stone 15/-
I understand that you have agreed to pay for more sheep that may be gathered during the next few weeks. I am obliged to you for doing so. Kindly send me your cheque for £200 now. A contract for doing up the shepherd’s house and Gwastadannas has been signed.
Yours truly, John Lawrie.
William Jones moved to Gwastadannas, but stayed at Hafod Rhisg while work was done on the house. He rented Gwastadannas at £190 a year until around 1913/14. He was a bachelor and died at Gwastadannas.
Shepherds, bailiffs and a big sale
Meanwhile the old house of Gwastadannas appears to be lived in by Robert Lloyd and his family. The 1901 census lists both him and his son, also called Robert, as shepherds. W. O. Williams recalls the son Robert Lloyd as moving away to Penamser, but returning to the Gwastadannas area in the 1930s and 40s to help with the haymaking and to fish salmon. The tenant was now David J Davies who employed the Lloyd’s as shepherds.
The 1911 census has a David Roberts and family living at Gwastadannas. It is written in his handwriting, in Welsh (it was the first census which had a completely Welsh version). He describes himself as ‘Bailiff ar Fferm’ and, aged 29 and born in Conway. Other members of the household are Martha his wife, their two young children, Edward and Maggie, and a housemaid, shepherd and cowman. Idris Evans remembers that the Roberts’s first son Ted was born there in 1907 and baptized in the now demolished chapel there. He moved to the Lodge, Bryn Gwynant in 1933. He and his father David worked as labourers in the new Cwm Dyli power station. David Roberts died in 1975 aged 93.
1911 Welsh census for Gwastadannas and the Roberts family.
In 1921 there was a sale of the Beddgelert “Heart of Snowdonia” lands and Gwastadannas was one of the farms listed in the sale particulars. It lists the tenants as DJ & R Davies. The conditions of sale were that the purchaser “shall take over all the vendor’s interests and liabilities in the lease to the outgoing tenants, Messrs Davies by taking over the sheep stock (limited to 2,200 head)”. It describes the farm premises as “a stone and slated dwelling house, occupied by the shepherd, containing seven rooms and out-offices” together with other “substantial stone buildings comprising a stable, 4-bay hay barn and 2-bay cattle shed and yard”. The land was now a total of 2,908 acres, comprising:
- Excellent lowland meadow & pasture lands 150 acres
- Enclosed sheep walks 260 acres
- Unenclosed sound mountain grazings 2,498
The rent accounts for 1924-1930 lists William Jones as tenant of Gwastadannas and Cwm Dyli. He had bought his family from Plas Uchaf, Glan Conwy. From 1931 the tenancy is in the name if both William and David Jones. In 1928 David married Lily Pierce, possibly a distant relative of the original Pierces’ of Gwastadannas. Their first son was named Gwilym Pyrs Jones.
W. O. Williams remembers going to Gwastadannas aged about 3 years and seeing the large wireless (radio). He also remembers visiting at shearing time when 20-30 men were having their meal seated in the kitchen and in the parlour. He remembered hearing of a shepherd called Robert who came from a large estate to manage the flock of sheep while there was no tenant.
In 1934 a new house was built and became the home of David and Lily Jones. In 1942 Davis’s father William died and David took over sole tenancy of the farm until 1957, when his eldest son Gwilym became joint tenant. In 1964 David moved to Anglesey and Gwilym took over. Gwilym, who was unmarried, retired to Criccieth in 1996. Since 1996 Bedwyr Jones has been farming in partnership with his wife Helen at Gwastadanas, now a 3,000-acre farm with a flock of 1,600 Welsh Mountain ewes.
Photographs from a sheep demonstration at Gwastadannas, October 1959, photograph by Geoff Charles at NLW
Resources used:
- Research notes, Margaret Dunn, Nantgwynant
- An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of Caernarvonshire, Volume II, RCAHMW, 1956
- Snowdonia: the Historical Background, Dr Richenda Scott, 1949
- Household and personal possessions in Radnorshire wills of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Ruth Bidgood, Radnorshire Society transactions - Vol. 51, 1981
- UWB, Bangor 15723: The old ruins……of the parish: No 46 (Gwastad agnes), 1903
- Teuluodd Gwastad Anas, Carneddog (Richard Griffith), Y Genedl Cymreig, 30 Rhagfyr, 1885
- Beddgelert Its Facts Fairies and Folklore, D E Jenkins, 1899
- Court records, 1797-1827 Manor of Nanhwynan (Carnarvonshire), microfilm of original records at the National Library of Wales.
- Welsh Journals online: http://cylchgronaucymru.llgc.org.uk
- British Library Newspapers online, (freely available for people in UK higher and further education and in some UK public libraries).
- Casgliad Geoff Charles Collection, National Library of Wales
- 1911 Census online