Hooded tombs are always a delight to discover - a pinch of ostentation, a dash of glamour. You will find several in North East Wales, ranging from the ruined and barely recognisable to the astonishing. The earliest we know of is that of Robert Wynn of Conwy, dated to 1598, he of the wonder that is Plas Mawr in the town. The last is that of Edward Wynne of Trelawnyd who died in 1710 - a fashion then, of some 100 years.
The hooded tomb of Katherine Wynne - a pinch of ostentation, a pinch of glamour.
The tombs range in flair and quality, the high-water mark of design evident in the hooded tomb of Grace Williams at St Mael and St Sulien in the village of Cwm, and dated to 1642.(1) After that date, they rather decline in design, the tomb at Trelawnyd being described by Butler, perhaps with the glory of the Cwm example dancing on his inner eye, as rather ‘rustic’. For me, however, unschooled and content with that, all are wonderful.
The hooded tomb of Katherine Wynne, within the churchyard of St Trillo’s in the little village of Llandrillo resting in the stunning Edeirnion Valley is a late example, dated to her death in September 1706. Katherine was the daughter of Lord Thomas Bulkeley of Anglesey, 1st Viscount of Cashel (1585-1659) and his first wife, Blanche Coytmore. Katherine was a widow, since records show she was named as Katherine Woods when she married Richard Wynne (1625/1629 - 1706) in 1661. Richard Wynne was a man of some means, a grandson of Sir John Wynne, 1st Baron Gwydir and served as High Sheriff of Merionethshire in 1667-1668. They lived at Branas Uchaf (Ucha) across the River Dee from the church, a building still extant and displaying plenty of 17th century features.
Guilloche, jambs and arches.
The tomb was originally missed by Butler in his initial inventory, possibly because of its distance away from the geographical heartland of the hooded tomb, further north.[2] By 1706, the hooded tombs lacked the overt ostentation of the tomb of Grace Williams, but there are little wonders to be enjoyed, for those who choose to see the ‘gleaming white’ teeth.[3] The tomb has suffered from the elements over the intervening three centuries, as you would expect, the south facing side heavily weathered and worn. Still, the end panels are well preserved enough to admire the guilloche banding on the verticals, and the foliage motifs on the jambs and arches. The hood itself is fascinating, with a sturdy outer rib along its length, the remains of cherubs and a worn vaguely ghostlike skull and crossbones on its inner curve. Beneath the hood and leaning against the wall of the church is a heavily floriated slab, upon which is a shield depicting the remains of the heraldic arms of both the Wynnes of Gwydir and the Bulkeleys of Barons Hill on Anglesey.[4]
Weathered faceless cherubs can be found on the underside of the hood, along with...
...the remains of a skull and crossbones at the apex of the inner hood.
You will have no doubt noticed a prevailing similarity amongst the hooded tombs thus mentioned - the Wynne family. It seems certain that these hooded tombs were a fashion of the extended Wynne family, while others were inspired by them - those at Cwm and Dyserth, for instance, and evidence of an architectural midway point of wealth and means. The hooded tombs at Conwy in the late 16th century and Trelawnyd of the early 18th century bookend the fashion, it seems.
The much worn shield showing the heraldic arms of both the Wynnes and Bulkeleys.
Amongst the leaning, moss wearing, weather whittled graves of the churchyards of Clwyd, the rare, hooded tomb can be quite startling to come across - and all the more wonderful for that, especially since they seem to be hiding in the out-of-the-way churches in our valleys and vales.
Footnotes
1. John Griffith, the husband of Grace and the instigator of the hooded tomb at Cwm seems to have been wary of criticism for the ostentation of the tomb - possibly a sign of the times. Wary maybe, but he did it anyway and it remains still - a work of wonder.
2. Butler believed there to be the remains of a further hooded tomb at Llanycil on Llyn Tegid near Bala.
4. The three eagles displayed in fess of the Wynnes and the chevron between three bulls heads of the Bulkeleys.
Further Reading
L. A. S. Butler, The Hooded Tombs in North Wales, Archaeologia Cambrensis, Vol. 122, (1973)
L. A. S. Butler, The Hooded Tomb in North Wales: Addition and Correction, Archaeologia Cambrensis, Vol. 127, (1978)
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