Preserving a piece of our Welsh history to honour war and words hero Hedd
WORK has started on restoring an historic National Eisteddfod chair won posthumously by a poet nearly a century ago.
Ellis Humphrey Evans, better known by his bardic name Hedd Wyn, entered the premier competition for poets at the 1917 Eisteddfod held in Birkenhead.
He penned an epic poem, Yr Arwr (Hero), which reflected the horrors of war.
But just days before the Eisteddfod he was killed in action in Flanders.
Announcing the sad news the chair was draped in a black shroud and was later taken to Yr Ysgwrn, Hedd Wyn’s home, at Trawsfynydd near Blaenau Ffestiniog.
It has taken pride of place among the other bardic chairs won by Hedd Wyn during his lifetime.
Hedd Wyn’s mother promised to keep the farmhouse door open to anyone who wanted to see the chair and that vow has been maintained until now by his nephew Gerald Williams.
The chair was removed from Yr Ysgwrn last year for restoration by specialist craftsman Hugh Haley and taken to his workshop near Carmarthen along with other pieces of furniture from the farmhouse.
“The chair itself is made of solid wood but the decorations have been glued on. These have become fragile with age and over the years the glue holding some of the parts together has weakened and they have fallen off.
“I visited Yr Ysgwrn some three years ago and glued some of the pieces back on. I was handed the infamous Oxo tin where he kept any pieces that did fall off,” he said.
Hugh said some parts have had to be remade including the wingtips of two dragons on the armrests.
“I have scarfed them onto to the wings and will colour them to match the wood,” said Hugh.
A dragon’s tongue remains one of the few jobs that remain to be carried out on the iconic chair which was made by Flemish carpenter Eugeen Vanfletern.
“His initials are carved into the wood underneath where the poet would have placed his feet,” revealed Hugh.
During the restoration work Hugh has been able to study the chair very carefully.
“Gerald told me he is convinced the chair is made from wood rescued from a burnt-out church in Llangollen but experts have been sceptical.
“But looking at the wood closely I have spotted some damage that was clearly there before the chair was made. There is some scorching in places for instance.
“I’ve also found some signs of death watch beetle which is indicative of the timber being used for structural purposes rather than just for furniture,” he said.
While it took pride of place at Yr Ysgwrn it was not really possible to examine the fine detail of the chair very closely.
“It is very intricate in places and I’m always finding some new detail,” he said.
Hugh, who has run his furniture restoration business in Carmarthenshire since 1984, did not know the story of the Black Chair at first.
“I’ve got to know it very well since I started work on this project,” he said.
It is believed the Black Chair had been taken away from Yr Ysgwrn only twice before in the 99 years since it arrived. The first time was to be put on display at the National Eisteddfod in Bala and later it was taken to Wrexham.
In 2012 the Snowdonia National Park Authority (SNPA) purchased the house and farm from Gerald Williams and drew up plans to conserve the farmhouse and create visitor and interpretation facilities on the site. The restored Ysgwrn is set to reopen in May.