Kent and the Welsh Connection

Ancient part-fantasy and part-history and 19th century verifiable history provide two examples of links between North Wales and Kent. The first subject takes us back to the Dark Age period of the mid-fifth century in Kent, when the Celtic chieftain, Vortigern held power in British Kent, filling the vacuum after the Roman legions had been recalled to Rome. His name is forever associated with Hengist and Horsa, his English conquerors but it seems that perhaps he should have been regarded as 'High King of Britain' if Welsh sources have any validity. In the old principality of Powys, just outside Llangollen, close to the later Medieval abbey of Vale Crucis, stands the remains of a ninth century pillar, on which Prince Eliseg named his ancestors: one of the earliest names is that of Vortigern. The fantasy can be found in an ancient Welsh legend, re-told by, among others, Geoffrey of Monmouth.

This tale recounts how Vortigem was forced to fly from Saxon attackers to the safest place in his kingdom - to lhe mountains of North Wales, where close to Snowdon he attempted to build a fortress on the hill top of Dinas Emrys. This required the magical powers of the young Merlin and also involved a red dragon, adopted by Vortigern as his shield emblem. This was the beginning of the red dragon symbol of Wales, later carried by Henry Tudor on his standard at Bosworth Field, and used by the Tudor dynasty on its coats of arms. We are on much firmer ground historically with the second link which connects Mount Mascall, an estate in North Cray (in the present Borough of Bexley}, with a great drainage scheme in Gwynedd, the building of two new towns and the creation of industrial prosperity in a depressed agricultural area during the last century. Porth-Madog, where the Society's Summer Excursion was based this year was one of those new towns; the nearby Tremadoc was the second, both named after their founder.

William Alexander Madocks was the son of a City entrepreneur who had bought himseli a country estate, Mount Mascall. W. M. Madocks came into a considerable fortune on his father's death which carried a stipulation that it was to be used for the acquisition of land. He K travelled through that part of North Wales and decided that the wide expanse of marsh and sand flats could be made into productive land by the construction of a great embankment and by the diversion of the Glaslyn river. This he carried out between 1808 and 1811. In 1825, he built a harbour which shipped 116,000 tons of slate to world ports in one single year later in the century. The harbour was in the new town of Porth Madog, his second town Tremadoc, survives today as a fine example of early 19th. century town planning. He intended it to be the final staging post for travellers to Ireland but this and the little harbour village of Porthdinllaen were rejected in favour of Holyhead. He also provided local employment by building woollen, fulling and corn mills. He is gratefully remembered in the area today. It is interesting to note that in late June 1994 the National Trust purchased the complete village of Porthdinllaen, some eighteen houses, a pub and a lifeboat station.

Joy Saynor