Tŷ Newydd () is a historic house in

Llanystumdwy Llanystumdwy () is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The village lies on the southern coast of the Llŷn Peninsula, with a beach facing Cardigan Bay, between Cricci ...

, near

Criccieth Criccieth, also spelled Cricieth (), is a town and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales, on the boundary between the Llŷn Peninsula and Eifionydd. The town is west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It had a ...

, in

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, north-west

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Since 1990 it has housed the National Writing Centre of

. The centre specialises in residential

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

and retreats. The courses are in both the English and

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

s, and cover many genres, forms and styles. The centre also holds regular seminars and forums.

House

The

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

was built in the fifteenth century. The name ''Tŷ Newydd'' translates literally from Welsh as 'New House'. The house has six bedrooms, a large dining room, a kitchen, a conservatory and two libraries. The outbuilding, Hafoty, is the tutors' quarters, and has six extra rooms for guests. Other architectural features of the house include a "Chinese Chippendale" balustrade, a panelled front door with fluted pilasters and a

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

, and a vaulted ceiling in the library.

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

, the Welsh politician who served as British Prime Minister during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, owned Tŷ Newydd from 1942 until his death in 1945. He had asked for his bed to be moved to the

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, and died in that room. The grounds overlook

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay () is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geography Cardigan Bay ha ...

and provide a scenic setting considered conducive to literary creativity. During the 1940s these were restyled by the architect Sir

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Military Cross, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate architecture, Italianate village of Portmeirion in North ...

Lloyd George period

David Lloyd George (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was a British Liberal politician and statesman, and Prime Minister of the Wartime Coalition Government (1916–22). Lloyd George grew up in Llanystumdwy in Caernarfonshire. As a child, he was educated in the local Anglican school, Llanystumdwy National School. Tŷ Newydd was originally a farm, whose land extended to the road adjacent to Lloyd George's other home, Brynawelon. Brynawelon was later the home of his daughter

Megan Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in ...

. In 1942, Lloyd George and his wife

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

bought Tŷ Newydd and initiated a major renovation by the architect

(28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978). Under his direction, new additions such as the library window and the front window finals were made. Like the rest of the house, the library extension was built of local stone rubble and externally whitewashed. In 1944 the couple moved into Tŷ Newydd. Lloyd George died in 1945, aged 82, and was buried beside the

River Dwyfor The Afon Dwyfor is a river in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, in total the river is in length. It rises in Cwm Dwyfor at the head of Cwm Pennant, gathers to itself numerous streams which drain the surrounding mountains from Mynydd Graig Goch in the ...

in Llanystumdwy, only a short distance from the house. A

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

englyn (; plural ) is a traditional Welsh short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent known as . Ear ...

'' (a strict-metre stanza in the Welsh language) engraved on slate in his memory, composed by his nephew Dr William George, an accomplished poet who won the

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

at the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

in 1974.

As a writers' centre

Robert Minhinnick, who, with

Gillian Clarke Gillian Clarke (born 8 June 1937) is a Welsh poet and playwright, who also edits, broadcasts, lectures and translates from Welsh into English. She co-founded Tŷ Newydd, a writers' centre in North Wales. Life Gillian Clarke was born on 8 ...

, was a tutor on the first course run at the house after it was converted to a writers' centre, credits Sally Baker with the idea for the project. During work carried out in preparation for the opening of the centre, a medieval "post and panel" screen was discovered; it is considered the most historically significant feature of the house.

References

External links

*
Literature Wales site

David Lloyd George Exhibition, National Library of Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ty Newydd Welsh literature Welsh-language literature Education in Wales Grade II* listed houses in Wales Llanystumdwy David Lloyd George Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom Houses in Gwynedd Grade II* listed buildings in Gwynedd