Heol Gwrgan and Heol Iestyn

In the centre of the Coat-of-Arms for the City of Cardiff is a shield with a red dragon. The dragon is proudly holding a square standard of three silver chevrons on a red background.

This square standard (shown below) with the chevrons is the insignia of Iestyn-ap-Gwrgant, the last Welsh King of Glamorgan.

So, who is Iestyn-ap-Gwrgant and what is his connection to the Cardiff flag and particularly why have 2 streets in Whitchurch been named after him?

Iestyn-ap-Gwrgant was part of an ancient Welsh family who for many hundreds of years held lands throughout Glamorgan from their strongholds in Senghenydd, a castle at Morgraig (the ruins of which still lie next to the Travellers Rest) and a homestead called Treoda somewhere in Whitchurch. Some have suggested that this homestead was located a little to the north of Whitchurch Common. Like many of the Welsh chieftains, Iestyn-ap-Gwrgant continually squabbled with his family, and the other Welsh princes, but maintained order and a general peace.

After the Norman invasion in 1066, Robert Fitzhamon, a Norman knight swept through Monmouthshire and Glamorgan and captured Cardiff. He raised a motte and bailey castle in the town and made this his base. After many skirmishes he encountered Iestyn-ap-Gwrgant and attempted to win the lands north of Cardiff too.

In 1088, there was a decisive battle between Iestyn-ap-Gwrgant and Robert Fitzhamon’s Norman knights. The location of the battle is unsure, but was waged over lands around Rhiwbina and north Whitchurch. Some books refer to this battle as the ‘Battle of the Little Heath’. The brook which flows through Cae Delyn and Whitchurch was renamed ‘The Bloody Brook’ or ‘Nant Waedlyd’. Sadly, the battle did no go well for Iestyn as his army was defeated. The rest as they say is history!

What became of Iestyn? One legend claims he became a monk at Keynsham Abbey near Bristol, while another maintains that he was slain and buried locally under a mound known as the ‘Twmpath’. Is this the mound below Cefn Onn, or the ancient mound near to the Fox and Hounds in Whitchurch?

So, two little roads in Whitchurch, just off the common are the only memorials to our last local king, the Welsh King of Glamorgan.

Does anybody have any other information or stories about this last King of Glamorgan? Simply email awen.cymru@gmail.com.

Thanks go to Dennis Morgan and his book ‘Discovering Cardiff’s Past’ for the information on the Cardiff coat-of-arms.

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