"Thomas Harriot beat Galileo in showing the world what the lunar surface looked like by nearly six months, and he did it all while working for the 9th Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy. Maths students can also thank him for giving us modern algebra . . . and the potato!"
Lyra
(quote)
North connection to first map of moon
Jan 18 2009 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun
GALILEO has always been celebrated as the father of modern astronomy,
peering endlessly through his famous telescope to create detailed
charts of the moon.
But it seems the lunar claim to fame doesn’t lie with the Italian
stargazer at all . . . it’s a discovery that was made by a lesser-
known scientist who worked for the landed gentry in the North.
Thomas Harriot beat Galileo in showing the world what the lunar
surface looked like by nearly six months, and he did it all while
working for the 9th Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy.
Maths students can also thank him for giving us modern algebra . . .
and the potato!
Harriot, an astronomer, mathematician, translator and explorer, will
now finally get his day, because his moon maps are going on display to
launch the International Year of Astronomy, 400 years after he created
them in the summer of 1609.
Top astronomer and broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore said: “Harriot saw
the mountains, craters and so-called seas. His map really is a
wonderful thing. It’s better than Galileo’s. And it’s British.”
Cynics among us might think that Harriot craftily backdated his
drawings in the hope that his achievements would be recognised later.
But by all accounts, Harriot just wasn’t that type of man. Oxford-
educated Harriot was wealthy enough in his own right, and had no wish
to be famous.
Sir Walter Raleigh was first to recognise his genius and hired him as
a maths tutor. That’s how the potato comes into play . . .
Harriot secured one during a 1585 expedition to Virginia and brought
it back in July the following year, giving it to Raleigh to plant on
his Irish estate.
After returning from exploring the New World, Harriot went to work
with one of Sir Walter’s friends Henry Percy, the 9th Earl of
Northumberland, who shared Harriot’s passion for cartography, alchemy
and all things scientific. Indeed, he was dubbed “The Wizard Earl”.
While the Earl was born in Tynemouth Castle and had land across the
North, he also had estates in Surrey, at Petworth House and Syon
House.
Harriot moved up the social ladder and became a member of the landed
gentry in the late 1590s, when the Earl gave him property in Durham,
Cornwall and Norfolk.
The Earl also gave him the use of one of the houses on the estate at
Syon, and it was here that Harriot made his lunar discoveries.
Surviving manuscripts held in West Sussex are now owned by Lord
Egremont, a descendant of the Earl of Northumberland. They chronicle
Harriot’s fascination with the moon and provide the evidence he won
the space race all those years ago.
His first drawing is dated July 26, 1609. Galileo, it seems, was still
struggling to focus and he didn’t reveal his drawings until December
of that year.
Harriot and Percy were not alone in their love of the sciences.
Together with poet Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe, Sir Walter Raleigh and
dramatist George Chapman, they were members of a scientific
investigation group which met at Syon House, and was even mentioned in
Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours Lost as “The School of Night”.
Today, no one would bat an eyelid at a group of men sitting around,
smoking tobacco as they discussed science, religion and philosophy,
but in the late 1590s and early 1600s it was tantamount to treason.
Some claimed they were Satanists and pagans who worshipped pagan gods
at night and all of the men were suspected of atheism.
As the monarch Elizabeth I was the head of the church, atheism was, in
effect, to be against the queen.
Richard Chomley, an anti-Catholic spy for her Majesty’s Privy Council,
claimed Christopher Marlowe had “read the atheist lecture to Sir
Walter Raleigh and others”.
This brought charges of atheism against The School of Night.
Stargazers and philosophers of our times, it seems, don’t know they
are born.
HERO CAUGHT BY GUNPOWDER PLOT
IT wasn’t just the School of Night that got Henry Percy in
trouble . . . his family connections landed him in the Tower of
London.
Henry employed his second cousin Thomas Percy, great-grandson of the
4th Earl of Northumberland, as a rent-collector at Syon House. Thomas
was an unscrupulous type who had 34 charges of dishonesty brought
against him.
As a Catholic sympathiser, he suffered under Elizabeth I, so when it
became clear that Protestant James VI of Scotland was likely to take
the throne from her, he sent Thomas on three secret missions to James’
court in 1602, saying English Catholics would accept James as king if
he reduced the persecution of Catholics.
Unfortunately for him and thousands of others, persecution increased.
Thomas Percy went on to become one of the five conspirators in the
Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and when the plot was uncovered he was shot
dead. Henry was also suspected of being involved, and spent the next
17 years as a prisoner in the Tower of London. He also paid a fine of
£30,000, which is equivalent to around £3m today.
While he was in the Tower, he was also joined by Thomas Harriot, who
was released after a short period of time, and by Sir Walter Raleigh.
Lyra
`````````
(quote)
`````````
(with drawings by Harriot)
``````````
Did an Englishman beat Galileo to the first moon observation?
History credits the Italian philosopher as the first to turn a
telescope towards the moon, but months earlier Thomas Harriot drew
detailed maps of our heavenly neighbour, revealing mountains, craters
and giant plainsComments (13)
A drawing by astronomer Thomas Harriot, possibly the first recorded
observation of the moon using a telescope, dated 26 July 1609. With
permission, Lord Egremont
Thomas Harriot, a wealthy but publicity-shy astronomer and mapmaker,
produced a series of exquisite lunar drawings, one of which is dated
26 July 1609 (above), pre-dating Galileo's much-celebrated
observations of the moon by six months.
A composite drawing of the moon dating to 1612 or 1613 (below) is
considered by some experts to mark the birth of modern cartography.
The lunar drawings by Harriot will form part of an exhibition at West
Sussex Record Office in Chichester in July to mark the International
Year of Astronomy.
17th century astronomer Thomas Harriot "Crucially one of his maps is
dated, which proves Harriot pre-dated Galileo, who has always been
thought to have done the first observation of the moon through a
telescope," said Alison McCann, an archivist at the West Sussex Record
Office. "Galileo was very good at self-publicity but Harriot wasn't
interested. He didn't publicise his work and this is why few have
heard of him."
Galileo was hard up and in search of fame and fortune, but Harriot,
who had money but also two friends in the Tower of London for
political crimes, had no wish to draw attention to himself.
Composite lunar drawing by astronomer Thomas Harriot, 1612 or 1613.
With permission, Lord Egremont The maps belong to Lord Egremont of
Petworth House in West Sussex and are looked after by the West Sussex
Record Office. Lord Egremont is a descendant of the Earl of
Northumberland, who was Harriot's first employer. A further exhibition
of the drawings will take place at the Science Museum in London from
July.
Posted by
Ian Sample Wednesday 14 January 2009 16.11 GMT
yorkshiregit
14 Jan 09, 5:07pm
British astronomy - best in the world
Recommend? (1)
Clip | Link gazon
14 Jan 09, 5:25pm
Another Vinland map
Recommend? (1)
Clip | Link LondonEye
14 Jan 09, 5:43pm
Yeah, and the Italian Antonio Meucci was the real inventor of the
telephone, not Alexander Graham Bell
Why does human progress always have to boil down to petty
nationalistic concerns?
Recommend? (6)
Clip | Link Pixaholic
14 Jan 09, 6:21pm
Another entry for the old Ladybird books series! Whatever it was, an
Englishman invented it or was there first. Even on the Moon,
apparently :-)
Recommend? (1)
Clip | Link bigredeye
14 Jan 09, 6:53pm
Well Done Harriot (no doubt Al-BBC will discover a Muslim landed on
the moon in the 8th century).
Recommend? (0)
Clip | Link LogicLover
14 Jan 09, 8:16pm
Two world wars, one world cup...and the first viewing of the moon
through a telescope.
Recommend? (1)
Clip | Link Saurs
14 Jan 09, 8:36pm
Fine, but the 1609 one above (the one pre-dating that horrid,
attention-seeking Galileo, etc. etc.) hardly looks like the moon, does
it?
Recommend? (3)
Clip | Link PeleMcAmble
14 Jan 09, 10:21pm
If that's the best Thomas Harriot can do with the aid of a telescope I
have to wonder about his claim to fame. Most of us could do better
with the naked eye. But I have to confess that the last time I looked
at the moon, I didn't spot any of those numbers, not one of them.
On the plus side, this latest revelation might prove once and for all
that the 1969 lunar landing never happened. Neil Armstrong, in his
giant leap for mankind, never mentioned those numbers at all. And he
was supposed to be there!
Recommend? (1)
Clip | Link maninthemoon
14 Jan 09, 10:53pm
The first telescope I saw trained on me was without doubt Mr Thomas
Harriot.
Recommend? (0)
Clip | Link kentgoldings
14 Jan 09, 11:02pm
It looks like the stain his coffee cup left on his kitchen table.
Recommend? (0)
Clip | Link DrMaybe
14 Jan 09, 11:38pm
The first one, he appears to be drawing the shape of the edge of the
sun's light on the moon, showing the presence of lunar mountains
(don't know if he recognised them as such, though). Any chance we get
an idea what the labels on the second one are indicating?
Galileo's maps of the moon weren't particularly good. That's not the
point - they were the first maps that were well publicised. Apart from
personal curiosity, there's not a lot of point discovering something
if you then keep it secret. Now, if they'd only founded the Royal
Society fifty years earlier, Harriot might have told someone what he'd
seen.
Recommend? (0)
Clip | Link EwanMarshall
15 Jan 09, 12:51am
There could of been an other man before both of the two astronomers
that made a telescope and looked at the moon but dident live long
enough to let the people of europe know
Recommend? (0)
Clip | Link gazzaofbath
15 Jan 09, 10:48pm
Interesting but the discovery is really significant only when it is
put in the public domain. So Galileo deserves the credit for his work,
not just on the moon but other planets, and with a telescope that
would now be worse optically than the cheapest you can buy in Argos.
I don't think people should feel Harriot was cheated because he kept
his work unpublicised. Darwin only just learnt that lesson when he
rushed publication of his classic work on evolution as he had hidden
this for some time and panicked a bit when he heard someone else was
on the same track and about to publish.
So all hail the discoverer who publicises his work.
Recommend? (0)
A drawing by astronomer Thomas Harriot, possibly the first recorded
observation of the moon using a telescope, dated 26 July 1609. With
permission, Lord Egremont
21 Nov 2008
16th-century skeleton identified as astronomer Copernicus
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jan/14/thomas-harriot-galileo-moon-drawings
> http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2009/01/18/north-conn...
Lyra
(quote)
Wed, 14 January, 2009, 03:12 GMT
'English Galileo' maps on display
400-year-old "Moon maps" created by a little-known Englishman are to
go on display to mark the launch
of the International Year of Astronomy.
Experts say they prove their creator - Thomas Harriot - beat Galileo
to become the first man to view the Moon through a telescope.
The Italian philosopher is credited with the feat in December 1609.
But papers at the West Sussex Record Office show that Harriot drew
images of the Moon several months earlier.
And Dr Allan Chapman, a science historian at Oxford University, said
Harriot's composite drawing of the Moon
- produced in 1612 or 1613 - marked "the birth of modern
cartography".
"Thomas Harriot was not only the first person ever to draw an
astronomical body with a telescope on 26 July 1609,
he rapidly developed to become an absolutely superb lunar
cartographer," he said
"There weren't equivalent lunar drawings to be done for another 30
years.
"Tragically, no-one knew of it until relatively recent times, so
Galileo gets all the credit."
Harriot was a wealthy gentleman with no desire for fame and fortune,
unlike Galileo, said Dr Chapman.
"He was comfortably off and had two friends in the Tower of London for
political crimes and had no wish to raise his profile.
"Galileo in Italy on the other hand was relatively hard-up, mid-40s
and wanted fame and distinction.
Galileo goes for publication. Harriot stays nice and quiet; and it
wasn't until modern times that Harriott's achievements get noticed."
The first Moon map he drew - on 26 July 1609 - will be on display in
Florence, Italy, this summer as part of an exhibition on Galileo.
A selection of other images will go on display at the Science Museum
in London from 23 July
at an exhibition, Cosmos and Culture, to celebrate the International
Year of Astronomy.
Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore said: "I'm sorry Harriot isn't better
known over here... after all, we all know Galileo.
"But Harriot was first... and his map of the Moon is better than
Galileo's."
"Looking at Harriot's map, it really is a work of art. He saw the
mountains, craters and the so-called seas.
It really is a wonderful thing and it's British."
"Harriot was first, no question about it, and his map of the Moon was
good. Galileo came after, but went much further.
"Harriot never took things as far as he might have done. We've got to
give Galileo pride of place but don't forget Harriot."
The general public can see copies of the priceless originals -
privately owned by Lord Egremont -
at the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester.
There will also be a month-long exhibition at the Record Office, from
24 July,
featuring Harriot's images of Jupiter's satellites, sunspots and
Halley's comet.
A range of events across the UK and internationally are being staged
to celebrate the IYA, which is being officially launched in Paris on
Thursday.
British astronomers hope that, 400 years on, Harriot will finally get
some of the wider recognition that he deserves.
Astronomers in Wales also played a role. Dr Chapman said letters to
Harriot from Sir William Lower in Carmarthenshire prove
that astronomers there were also making observations on the Moon.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/pda/front_page/newsid_7820000/newsid_7827700/7827732.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/7827732.stm
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jan/14/thomas-harriot-gal...
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Lyra
(quote)
SPACE.com News Space Flight Science Technology Entertainment
SpaceViews Night Sky Community
The first drawing of the Moon through a telescope, dated July 26,
1609, by Thomas Harriot. This crude but historic sketch roughly
delineates the terminator, the line that marks the boundary between
day and night on the lunar surface. The original image is a little
more than 15 cm across. The dark patches correspond to Mare Crisium
(at the top), Mare Tranquilitatis and Mare Foecunditatis.
Credit: © Lord Egremont
Thomas Harriot's map of the whole Moon, made after looking through an
early telescope. This image accurately depicts many lunar features
including the principal Maria (lunar 'seas' - actually lava-filled
basins) and craters. Labelled features include Mare Crisium ('18') on
the right hand side and the craters Copernicus ('b') and Kepler ('c')
in the upper left of the disk. Credit: © Lord Egremont
A photograph of a purported portrait of Thomas Harriot, from Trinity
College, Oxford. Credit: Max Alexander / Trinity College / Science
Photo Library © Trinity College
Yahoo! Buzz
```````````````````
History Corrected by 400-year-old Moon Map
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 14 January 2009
11:43 am ET
Galileo Galilei is often credited with being the first person to look
through a telescope and make drawings of the celestial objects he
observed. While the Italian indeed was a pioneer in this realm, he was
not the first.
Englishman Thomas Harriot made the first drawing of the moon after
looking through a telescope several months before Galileo, in July
1609.
Historian Allan Chapman of the University of Oxford details that 400-
year-old breakthrough in astronomy in the February 2009 edition of
Astronomy and Geophysics, a journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society.
Chapman explains how Harriot preceded Galileo and went on to make
other maps of the moon's surface that would not be bettered for
decades.
The story
Harriot lived from 1560 to 1621. He studied at St Mary's Hall (now
part of Oriel College), Oxford, achieving his BA in 1580.
He then became a mathematical teacher and companion to the explorer
Sir Walter Raleigh. In the early 1590s Raleigh fell from royal favor
and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Harriot was passed to the
patronage of Henry Percy, the Ninth Earl of Northumberland who was
himself imprisoned as one of the Gunpowder Plotters in 1605 but
continued to support Harriot in his residence at Sion (now Syon) Park,
in what is now west London.
Harriot became a leading force in mathematics, Chapman explains,
working on algebraic theory and corresponding with scientists across
Europe.
By 1609, Harriot had acquired his first "Dutch trunke" (telescope),
which had been invented in The Netherlands in 1608. He turned it on
the moon on July 26, becoming the first astronomer to draw an
astronomical object after viewing it through a telescope. The crude
lunar sketch shows a rough outline of the lunar terminator (the line
marking the division between night and day on the moon, as seen from
the Earth) and includes a handful of features like the dark areas Mare
Crisium, Mare Tranquilitatis and Mare Foecunditatis.
Harriot went on to produce more maps from 1610 to 1613, Chapman said
in a statement released today. Not all of these are dated, but they
show an increasing level of detail. By 1613 he had created two maps of
the whole moon, with many identifiable features such as lunar craters
that crucially are depicted in their correct relative positions.
The earliest telescopes of the kind used by Harriot (and Galileo) had
a narrow field of view, meaning that only a small portion of the moon
could be seen at any one time and making this work all the more
impressive. No better maps would be published for several decades.
Despite his innovative work, Harriot remains relatively unknown.
Unlike Galileo, he did not publish his drawings. Unlike Galileo,
Harriot is not being widely celebrated during 2009, dubbed the
International Year of Astronomy as a commemoration of the telescope's
400th year.
Chapman attributes this to his comfortable position as a "well-
maintained philosopher to a great and wealthy nobleman" with a
generous salary, said to be "several times the level of the Warden of
Wadham College, Oxford." Harriot had comfortable housing and a
specially provided observing chamber on top of Sion House, all of
which contrasted with Galileo's financial pressures.
Galileo, interestingly, was unable to buy a telescope. So he figured
out the optics of it and built his own. He also examined the moon, and
then found that the Milky Way was composed of individual stars.
Galileo also discovered four moons around Jupiter and spent much time
observing and drawing sunspots.
"Thomas Harriot is an unsung hero of science," Chapman said. "His
drawings mark the beginning of the era of modern astronomy we now live
in, where telescopes large and small give us extraordinary information
about the universe we inhabit."
Professor Andy Fabian, President of the Royal Astronomical Society,
agrees.
"As an astrophysicist of the 21st century, I can only look back and
marvel at the work of 17th century astronomers like Thomas Harriot,"
Fabian said. "The world is right to celebrate Galileo in the
International Year of Astronomy – but Harriot shouldn't be forgotten!"
Skywatcher's Guide to the Moon
Image: Englishman Thomas Harriot
Gallery: Moon Images
Comments (54)
zog wrote:
The Italians are not going to like this.
7 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 12:08:31 PMrommel543 wrote:
Can't celebrate a discovery that's not known about.
Plus Galileo advanced astronomy so much more.
16 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 12:32:59 PMTSS wrote:
This map certainly makes a great news!
5 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 12:40:38 PMMasterComposter wrote:
Thomas Harriot certainly deserves some credit for his contributions to
astronomy. I believe he is overshadowed by Galileo because Harriot
chose to wear one of those ridiculous ruffly collars, and his beard
was much less spectacular than Galileos.
16 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 1:03:02 PMJerromy wrote:
Hurrah for Galileo... the pressures of life and the lack of resources
did not deter him from exploring his passions and pursuing his
dreams... I'm suprised a wealthy, comfortable man like Harriot did not
exploit his resources toward more fame and recognition.
4 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 1:12:34 PMMrcACrl wrote:
"By 1613 he had created two maps of the whole moon" Wow... Innovative
telescope, could even see around the Moon to the dark side... Nice.
"The world is right to celebrate Galileo in the International Year of
Astronomy." Damn right, he worked harder, did a lot more, and suffered
more with his astronomy.
6 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 1:29:22 PMMercTheMad wrote:
Science is advanced by building on the work of those who came before
you. Not publishing ones work is a serious failing in science. While
Harriot should recieve some credit for the fact that he did the
research he did, Galileo is the true 'man of the hour' for Astronomy.
By publishing his works he left behing a legacy that has been built
upon for the last 400 years. Without the foundation work he did our
modern understanding of the universe would either not exist or be
quite a bit further behind where it is now.
5 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 1:51:36 PMAdmiralQuality wrote:
I didn't know Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower of
London. I suppose he got what he deserved for getting an entire
hemisphere addicted to tobacco.
"I'm so tired, I'm feeling so upset, although I'm so tired, I'll have
another cigarette, and curse Sir Walter Raleigh he was such a stupid
git. " - John Lennon
0 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 1:51:52 PMmr_mark wrote:
I say let's celebrate everyone who expands our knowledge of the
universe and our place in it. Hat's off to Thomas Harriot and his
work.
6 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 1:54:52 PMIxSonicxI wrote:
I prefer facts in my history as opposed to political rhetoric. If
Harriot was indeed the first, then he should be noted as the first.
Doesn't make Galileo was less important. Just means he wasn't the very
first.
6 Recommend | posted 1/14/2009 1:58:22 PM
Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090114-first-moon-map.html
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/pda/front_page/newsid_7820000/newsi...
Lyra
(quote, excerpts)
Telescope400 - a major event to be held at Syon Park on Sunday 26th
July 2009
Is this Thomas Harriot?
Telescope400 will draw attention to the importance of the telescope in
astronomy today and in the past and highlight the unique contribution
to UK astronomy made by Thomas Harriot (1560 - 1621)
Come and celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the first ever telescope
observations of the Moon - made by Thomas Harriot at Syon Park in
Middlesex on July 26 1609
Open to all and suitable for all ages, the event will be held in the
grounds and buildings of Syon Park
Exciting and interesting activities for all the family
A memorial to record Harriot's achievements will be unveiled during
the day
Booking not necessary
Pay only the normal admission charge to Syon House and Gardens click
for prices
Note: some additional activities are chargeable
```````````````````
Activities
The current plan includes:
Exhibitions (including pictures, early telescopes and archive
material)
Demonstrations (solar telescopes)
Planetarium (Star Dome)
Competitions (build a water rocket)
Things to make and take home
Talks
Watch this space for more details
```````````````````
Who was Thomas Harriot?
On July 26th 1609, several months before Galileo, an English
scientist, Thomas Harriot, carried out the first observations and
drawings of the Moon made using a telescope at his residence in the
grounds of Syon House, West London.
Syon House
There is very little public recognition of Thomas Harriot in the UK
and no lasting memorial to his very considerable achievements in
maths, physics, engineering as well as astronomy.
He collaborated with some of the most brilliant scientists of his
time. He was a close friend and in the service of Sir Walter Raleigh,
with whom he sailed to Virginia as a scientist/explorer.
His lunar observations were remarkable for the time. His very detailed
observations and drawings of the Sun and sunspots may also have been
the first. He also recorded the motions of Jupiter’s satellites. Read
this biography of Harriot, specially written for this event by Dr
Allan Chapman of Wadham College, Oxford.
This Website is still being developed and will be expanded to provide
full information and other resources to support the anniversary and
event.
LATEST: BBC Coverage of Harriot. See News Page and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7827732.stm
You are invited to use our Web based discussion forum. You are welcome
to ask questions - you will need to register. You can also assist by
posting your own information and views on this forum.
http://www.telescope400.org.uk/
>
Lyra
```````````````````
I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
```````````````````
> LATEST: BBC Coverage of Harriot. See News Page andhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7827732.stm
Lyra
> ```````````````````
>
> I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
>
> http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
>
> ```````````````````
The following article is about a friend and correspondent of
Thomas Hariot,
who, in addition, married
the stepdaughter of Henry Percy the Wizard Earl
(friend of Kit Marlowe).
```````````````````
A nice quote...
"According as you wished, I have observed the moone in all his
changes. In the new manifestlie I discover the earthshine a little
before the dichotomie; that spot which represents unto me the man in
the moone (but without a head) is first to be seene. A little after,
neare the brimme of the gibbous parts towards the upper corner appeare
luminous parts like starres; much brighter than the rest; and the
whole brimme along looks like unto the description of coasts in the
Dutch books of voyages. In the full she appears like a tart that my
cooke made me last weeke; here a vaine of bright stuffe, and there of
darke, and so confusedlie all over. I must confess I can see none of
this without my cylinder." [3,8]
```````````````````
(quote)
SIR WILLIAM LOWER
(c.1570-1615)
Introduction
The introduction of the telescope into astronomy at the start of the
17th century revolutionised people's understanding of the Universe.
The immediate discoveries supported the Copernican model, which put
the Sun at the centre of the planetary system rather than the Earth.
Among the pioneers of the telescope in astronomy were Galileo Galilei,
Thomas Harriot, Simon Marius, and in Carmarthenshire, Sir William
Lower and John Prydderch.
This page is an extended version of an article written in 2003 for the
Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers.
Early life
William Lower was born in Cornwall in either 1569 or 1570. [2] He was
the eldest son and heir of Thomas Lower of Winnow in Cornwall. His
brothers included Nicholas Lower (later Sir Nicholas) and Alexander
Lower. [2]
He went to university at Oxford, entering Exeter College in June 1586
at the age of 16. In 1589 he studied at the Middle Temple in London.
He was elected to the English Parliament in September 1601 as member
of parliament for Bodmin in Cornwall, and later represented
Lostwithiel from 1604 to 1611. He was knighted by King James I of
Great Britain in 1603. [2,6,8]
A Carmarthenshire scientist and landowner
Despite his strong Cornish background, William Lower married Penelope
Perrot from Carmarthenshire around 1601, and moved to her family's
estate at Trefenty in southwest Wales (which has also been spelt
Trefenti, Treventy and even Tra'venti). Penelope Perrot had inherited
her father's estate on his death. Her mother had remarried the Earl of
Northumberland in 1586, the Earl becoming her stepfather. This brought
Lower and the Earl into close contact.
Left: Lower's estate at Trefenty from page 266 of Seryddiaeth a
Seryddwyr. [4] Silas Evans credits a Mrs. Davies, The Vicarage,
Llanfihangel-Abercowin, for the picture.
Meanwhile, the Earl became the chief patron of the distinguished
English scientist Thomas Harriot; Harriot moved to the Earl's estate
at Syon House, Isleworth, Middlesex, which was then a short distance
outside London. It was here that Harriot carried out much of his
research. Lower and Harriot became good friends. They corresponded
regularly on scientific issues including astronomy, mathematics and
physics; the surviving correspondence is the main source of
information about Lower's astronomical activities. [1]
In 1607, from Carmarthenshire, Sir William Lower observed the bright
comet which had appeared in the sky that September; we now know that
this was Halley's Comet. He observed it regularly between 17th
September and 6th October with the naked eye and used a cross-staff to
measure its position in relation to the stars. His first observation
on the 17th September was made as he travelled on a ship across the
Bristol Channel to Wales, when he saw the comet in Ursa Major. He
attempted to follow it each night if the weather permitted. Lower sent
his measurements to Harriot at Syon House, who also made his own
measurements. While these observations were not published at the time,
some were published by F. X. von Zach in 1784; these data were
subsequently used by an obscure apprentice named Friedrich Wilhelm
Bessel to refine the orbit of Comet Halley. As a result of this work,
Bessel was appointed to a position in an observatory and went on to
become one of the most important astronomers and mathematicians of his
day, thanks in a very small way to the observations of Lower and
Harriot! [1]
A pioneer of the telescope in astronomy
The invention of the telescope is conventionally credited to
Lippershey in the Netherlands in 1608. Within a year, news had reached
Galileo Galilei in Italy and Harriot in England. Harriot, who was an
expert in optics, constructed his own telescopes and used them to
observe the sky. He sent a telescope to Lower in Wales. [1,3]
Sir William Lower turned the telescope to the sky, working with his
friend John Prydderch (or Protheroe) of Nantyrhebog, Carmarthenshire.
[1,4] He established his observatory on some high ground near his
house. In a letter to Harriot dated 6th February, 1610 - the most
famous of their correspondence - Lower described the appearance of the
Moon through the telescope:
According as you wished, I have observed the moone in all his changes.
In the new manifestlie I discover the earthshine a little before the
dichotomie; that spot which represents unto me the man in the moone
(but without a head) is first to be seene. A little after, neare the
brimme of the gibbous parts towards the upper corner appeare luminous
parts like starres; much brighter than the rest; and the whole brimme
along looks like unto the description of coasts in the Dutch books of
voyages. In the full she appears like a tart that my cooke made me
last weeke; here a vaine of bright stuffe, and there of darke, and so
confusedlie all over. I must confess I can see none of this without my
cylinder. [3,8]
This description shows that Sir William had observed the irregular
character of the Moon's surface, seeing craters (though he did not
recognise their exact character).
Lower then went on to describe his work with his Carmarthenshire
colleague John Prydderch (or Protheroe):
Yet an ingenious younge man that accompanies me here often, and loves
you, and these studies much, sees manie of these things even without
the helpe of the instrument, but with it sees them most planlie I mean
the younge Mr. Protheröe. [1,8]
Left: the cartoon of Lower and Prydderch on page 265 of Seryddiaeth
a Seryddwyr. [4] Lower looks through a telescope while Prydderch holds
a cross-staff. The cartoon had been used earlier by Arthur Mee in his
book The Story of the Telescope in 1909. [5] The artist was J. M.
Staniforth, the artist-in-chief of the Western Mail newspaper.
Several weeks later, Galileo published his own observations in his
book Sidereus Nuncius. We see that Lower and Prydderch had made their
observations at a similar time to Galileo. However, they, like
Harriot, failed to publish their discoveries. For that reason, the
scientific credit for discovering the irregular character of the lunar
surface goes to Galileo, who also published his discovery of
satellites of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and sunspots. [1,3]
Following Galileo's announcements, in December 1610 Harriot and Lower
themselves observed the satellites of Jupiter while Lower was visiting
Syon House. Lower was present when Harriot first observed sunspots at
sunrise. On returning to Carmarthenshire, Lower and Prydderch were,
however, unable to see the Galilean satellites, which suggests that
Lower's own telescope was of lower quality than those of Harriot. On a
later visit to Syon house in December 1611, Lower himself saw
sunspots. [1]
His later years
Sir William Lower continued to live at Trefenty. He died on 12th
April, 1615, aged 45 years. [1,2] He was survived by his wife Lady
Penelope and a daughter, Dorothy. At the time of his death, Penelope
Lower was pregnant and subsequently gave birth to a son, Thomas, the
heir to Sir William. Penelope later remarried, to Sir Robert Naughton
and moved to live with him in London. [1] Of the children, Thomas died
in 1660. [1]
References
Some of the reference materials can be found on the companion page
here.
[1.] John W. Shirley, Thomas Harriot: A Biography, publ. Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 1983.
[2.] J. Foster, Alumni Oxoniensis 1500-1714, publ. Parker & Co.,
Oxford, 1891.
[3.] Henry C. King, The History of the Telescope, publ. Charles
Griffin and Co. Ltd., London, 1955.
[4.] J. S. Evans, Seryddiaeth a Seryddwyr, publ. William Lewis
(Printers) , Cardiff, 1923, pp. 264-267.
[5.] A. B. P. Mee, The Story of the Telescope, publ. privately by
Arthur Mee, Cardiff, 1909. [A scan is available at the Internet
Archive.]
[6.] W. T. Lynn, Sir William Lower's Observations of Halley's Comet
in 1607, The Observatory, 14, 347-348, 1891.
[7.] W. T. Lynn, The first Welsh Astronomer, The Observatory, 17,
302-303, 1894.
[8.] S. P. Rigaud, Supplement to Dr. Bradley's Miscellaneous Works:
with an Account of Harriot's Astronomical Papers, published by the
Oxford University Press in 1833 (reprinted by the Johnson Reprint
Corporation, New York, 1972). [A scanned version is available at the
Google Books resource.]
[9.] J. O. Halliwell, A Collection of Letters Illustrative of the
Progress of Science in England from the Reign of Queen Elizabeth to
that of Charles the Second, published by the Historical Society of
Science, London, 1841. [A scanned version is available at the Internet
Archive.]
Further reading
A short, but excellent, account of the lives of both Lower and
Prydderch can be found in the book Thomas Harriot: A Biography by John
W. Shirley, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1983.
J. J. Roach worte an authoritative article about Lower for the Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography.
Arthur Mee of Cardiff researched the work of Lower and Prydderch. Mee
quoted articles by himself in the magazines Knowledge in December
1908, and The Nationalist in October 1908. Shirley quotes an article
by Mee in the transactions of the Carmarthenshire Antiquarian Society,
IV, 43-44 (1908-1909). An article also appeared in the magazine Wales
in 1894. The author of this page has not had the opportunity to
examine these publications.
Some of Sir William Lower's letters to Harriot were published by S. P.
Rigaud in 1833 (Supplement to Dr. Bradley's Miscellaneous Works: with
an Account of Harriot's Astronomical Papers, published by the Oxford
University Press; it was reprinted by the Johnson Reprint Corporation,
New York, 1972). A biography of Lower appeared on pages 68-70 (as Note
I).
Transcriptions of other letters by Lower to Harriot appeared in A
Collection of Letters Illustrative of the Progress of Science in
England from the Reign of Queen Elizabeth to that of Charles the
Second by J. O. Halliwell, published by the Historical Society of
Science, London, 1841.
No entry about Lower (nor John Prydderch) appears in the Dictionary of
Welsh Biography, the Dictionary of Scientific Biography or in the old
Dictionary of National Biography.
Information on John Prydderch can be found on a companion page.
http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
Lyra
> > I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
>
> >http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
````````````````````````````
>
> The following article is about a friend and correspondent of
> Thomas Hariot,
>
> who, in addition, married
> the stepdaughter of Henry Percy the Wizard Earl
> (friend of Kit Marlowe).
````````````````````````````
This next article is about another astronomer friend.
`````````
(quote)
JOHN PRYDDERCH
(JOHN PROTHEROE)
(c.1582-c.1624)
Introduction
The introduction of the telescope to astronomy at the start of the
17th century revolutionised people's understanding of the Universe.
The immediate discoveries supported the Copernican model, which put
the Sun at the centre of the planetary system rather than the Earth.
Among the pioneers of the telescope in astronomy were Galileo Galilei,
Thomas Harriot, Simon Marius, and in Carmarthenshire, Sir William
Lower and John Prydderch (or Protheroe).
John Prydderch (also called John Protheroe, John Pretherch and John
Rytherch) was born in about 1582 in Carmarthenshire, son of the very
wealthy landowner James Rytherch. He was probably educated at Jesus
College, Oxford, and attended Lincoln's Inn, London. He inherited the
estate of Nant-yr-hebog (occasionally referred to by its direct
English translation, Hawksbrook).
Prydderch became friendly with Sir William Lower of Trefenty, only a
few miles from Natyrhebog. The two men discussed scientific issues,
including astronomy. Through Lower, Prydderch was introduced to the
distinguished English scientist Thomas Harriot. When Harriot sent a
telescope to Lower, very shortly after the invention of the
instrument, Prydderch assisted Lower in making some of the very first
telescopic astronomical observations.
More information is given on the page about Sir William Lower.
[References: Thomas Harriot: A Biography by John W. Shirley (Clarendon
Press, Oxford, 1983); The History of the Telescope by Henry C. King
(Charles Griffin and Co. Ltd., London, 1955).]
Account in Seryddiaeth a Seryddwyr
Silas Evans provided a short biography in Seryddiaeth a Seryddwyr,
pages 276-279, with two photographs.
It reads as follows (with a translation into English to follow):
Trown o Sir Benfro i Sir Gaerfyrrddin. Yn fuan ar ol darganfyddiad
egwyddor y telescôp cawn fod THOMAS HARRIOT, y dyn mwyaf blaenllaw
mewn gwyddoniaeth yn y wlad hon y pryd hwnnw, wedi danfon am rai o'r
gwydrau. Cyfeillion mawr i Harriot oedd SYR WILLIAM LOWER, o Treventy,
yn agos i Lacharn, a JOHN PRYDDERCH, o Nantyrhebog, Sarnau, yn yr un
ardal. Anfonodd Harriot un o'r gwydrau i Lower a Prydderch, ac â hwn
buont yn "arsyllu" yn Treventy yr un adeg oeddd Galaileo yn arsyllu yn
yr Eidal, sef yn 1609. Ceir hanes o hyn gan Mr. Mee yn Knowledge a'r
Nationalist. Un o Gernyw oedd Syr William Lower, ond ymbriododd â
merch i Syr Thomas Perot, a daeth i fyw i Treventy. Yr oedd tad
Prydderch yn Uchel-Sirydd Sir Gaerfyrddin yn 1599, a'i fam yn ferch i
Robert Byrt, Maer Caerfyrddin yn 1593. Ymbriododd Prydderch ag un o'r
Vaughans, Gelli Aur, ac yr oedd yn un o gyndadau y Stepneys, Hamlyn
Williams, a theuluoedd ereill. Nis gallwn nag edmygu y ddau seryddwr
clodwiw hyn, a charwn ategu awgrym Mr. Mee, mai gweddus fyddai gosod i
fyny gofeb yn Treventy i atgoffa'r ffaith mai yno y buwyd yn "arsyllu"
yr wybren serennog gyntaf erioed yn y wlad hon, a hynny yn y flwyddyn
gyntaf y daeth y telesgô i fodolaeth.
This is Rhys Morris's translation of Silas Evans's account:
We turn from Pembrokeshire to Carmarthenshire. Shortly after the
discovery of the principle of the telescope we hear that THOMAS
HARRIOT, the foremost authority on science in this country at that
time, had sent for some of the lenses. A close friend of Harriot was
SIR WILLIAM LOWER of Trefenty, near Laugharne, and JOHN PRYDDERCH [or
John Protheroe] from Nantyrhebog, Sarnau, in the same area. Harriot
sent one of the glasses to Lower and Prydderch and with this they were
observing in Trefenty at the same time Galileo was in Italy. The
history of this by Mr Mee can be found in Knowledge and The
Nationalist. Sir William Lower was from Cornwall, but he married the
daughter of Sir Thomas Perrot, and came to live in Trefenty.
Prydderch's father was high sheriff of Carmarthenshire in 1599, and
his mother was daughter of Robert Byrt, Mayor of Carmarthen in 1593.
Prydderch married one of the Vaughans of Gelli Aur and was one of the
forefathers of the Stepneys, Hamlyn Williams and other families.
We can but admire these two praiseworthy astronomers, and I would
agree with Mr. Mee's suggestion that a monument should be constructed
in Trefenty to commemorate the fact that this was where the sky was
observed for the first time in this country and this in the first year
of the telescope's existence.
Left: the cartoon of Lower and Prydderch on page 265 of Seryddiaeth
a Seryddwyr. Lower looks through a telescope while Prydderch holds a
cross-staff. The cartoon had been used earlier by Arthur Mee in his
book The Story of the Telescope in 1909.
Further reading
More information is given on the page about Sir William Lower.
Useful biographical information about Prydderch (and especially Lower)
can be found in the book Thomas Harriot: A Biography by John W.
Shirley, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1983.
Shirley refers to a brief account of Protheroe by Arthur Mee in his
article Carmarthenshire and Early Telescopes in the transactions of
the Carmarthenshirs Antiquarian Society, IV, 43-44 (1908-1909). Mee
quoted articles by himself about Lower and Prydderch in the magazines
Knowledge in December 1908, and The Nationalist in October 1908.
Shirley also refers to articles The Squires of Hawksbrook and
The Vaughans of Golden Grove
by Major Francis Jones, former County Archivist of Carmarthenshire and
a descendant of of one of the daughters of John Prydderch, in the
Transactions of the Honorable Society of Cymmrodorion.
No entry about John Prydderch appears in the Dictionary of Welsh
Biography.
http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/jprydderch/p_jprydderch.html
````````````````````````````
Lyra
> > > I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
>
> > >http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
```````````````````
This next article links Kit Marlowe, Shakespeare,
Richard Field, the Vaughans of Golden Grove,
and Sir William Lower. Also Thomas Hariot, and the Wizard Earl, etc.
```````````````````
Also John Florio, and Henry Wriothesley.
```````````````````
A very interesting page.
```````````````````
(quote, excerpts)
Sir William Vaughan
It was in 1597 that the Rosicrucian Sir William Vaughan published
Erotopaignion pium, the first hard evidence we have of his interaction
with Shakespeare's coterie - for the book's title-page features
Richard Field's printing device.
Vaughan could not help being drawn towards the charismatic figure of
the Earl of Essex, for his sister-in-law was the daughter of the
dangerous political adventurer, Sir Gelly Meyrick, the steward of
Essex's household. Vaughan dedicated Speculum humane condicionis…
(1598) to Meyrick and Poematum Libellus continens (1598) to the Earl
of Essex. Meyrick played a key role in the Essex rebellion of 1601
against Elizabeth; we have on record the story of how he paid forty
shillings extra to Augustine Phillips of Shakespeare's acting company,
the Lord Chamberlain's; Men, for a performance of Richard II -
presumably with the notorious abdication scene included, which was
censored from the published editions - on the eve of the Essex
uprising.29
Vaughan's theatrical connections, although he was soon to profess his
contempt for stage-players (The Golden Grove chapter 66), are not
exhausted by the Meyrick avenue.
Canticum canticorum Salomonis has an elegy by Vaughan dedicated to the
patron of the Lord Admiral's Men, Charles Howard, Lord Effingham. But
this may have arisen as a consequence of Matthew Gwinne, a close
friend, having a brother, Roger, who served as Howard's apothecary.
Gwinne, with his intimate friend, John Florio, provided commendatory
verses to Sir William's The Golden Grove of 1600. The traces of
Florio's various writings have been convincingly detected in several
of Shakespeare's works. Gonzalo's speech portraying a communist utopia
in The Tempest was largely lifted from Florio's marvellous translation
of Montaigne.
Florio served the young Earl of Southampton at a time when the Earl
and Shakespeare appear to have been close acquaintances: the legend
goes that Southampton lent the Bard £1,000. Beyond dispute is the fact
that Shakespeare dedicated both Venus and Adonis and The Rape of
Lucrece to Southampton.
The murder of Christopher Marlowe in 1593 remains an enthralling
mystery to this very day. Strangely, for several years no accurate
descriptions of the death saw print. The notion widely circulated, in
fact, that Marlowe died of the plague.
Then in 1600, in As You Like It (III. iii. 9-12), Shakespeare makes an
allusion to the murder which betrays, we know now, an insider's
knowledge of the circumstances.
By a startling coincidence, in the same year, in The Golden Grove
(Chapter 3 First Book), Sir William Vaughan provided a detailed
description of the deed, which is accurate in most respects. Did he
and the Bard have a common source, who was at last spilling the beans?
This must remain an open question.
One thing is indisputable, however: Sir William, in Carmarthen, was
part of a circle of gentlemen that were very familiar with the
"atheist" ideas of Giordano Bruno, which had so taken the Marlowe-
Ralegh set by storm.
Astronomy was a favourite pastime amongst the gentry in the district;
and we have even a letter from Sir William Lower of Trefenty - about
ten miles from Carmarthen - to Thomas Hariot, the great mathematician
who was alleged to be the prime "atheist" in the society of Sir Walter
Ralegh, discussing Bruno's ideas. Frances Yates wonders inconclusively
if Sir William Vaughan was connected with Sir William Lower.30 They
certainly knew each other! Lower's wife was Penelope Perrot, daughter
of Sir Thomas Perrot. Lower's father-in-law was the son of Sir John
Perrot. Sir William Vaughan step-mother, Lettice, was the daughter of
the same Sir John Perrot. And The Golden Grove includes a commendatory
verse by James Perrot, an illegitimate son of Sir John.
Among Sir William Vaughan's friends must be counted Gabriel Powel, a
Denbighshire man, who had commendatory verses in three of Vaughan's
tracts. Power became chaplain to Richard Vaughan, Bishop of London,
and acted as Licenser of the Press on a few occasions. A manuscript
title-page has survived for the 7th September 1609, inscribed with
Powel's signature and the signatures, on behalf of the Stationers'
Company, of Humphrey Lownes and Richard Field.31
30. The Vaughan quote given in F.S. Boas Christopher Marlowe p. 281;
Shakespeare's on p. 283. F.A. Yates A Study of Love's Labour's Lost.
p. 93. Lower, in a further letter to Hariot, mentions that its
"bearer" was a "Mr Vaughan" British Library MS 678
http://www.alchemywebsite.com/h_shake.html
````````````````````````````
> > The following article is about a friend and correspondent of
> > Thomas Hariot,
Sir William Lower
> http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/jprydderch/p_jprydde...
Lyra
> > > > I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
>
> > > >http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
>
> ```````````````````
Well, here is the time to refer to my own blog, I guess...
`````````
(why? well, it's about the apparent links with Shakespeare,
of the Vaughan and Williams families of Wales.
[see the earlier post about Sir William Lower, on this thread])
`````````
http://shakespeares-welsh-cave.blogspot.com/
"It is a little known story that Shakespeare
lived for a while in Wales ...
there are three locations, all close to each other,
and all keeping the story of his visit."
``````````
(quote, excerpts)
Clydach Vale. Its old name was Cwm Pwca (Puck's valley);
local legend has it that Shakespeare knew a family in
Aberclydach,
and wrote 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' here.
An extract from from"Around Alton Photographic Memories".
```````````````````
Blog Archive
▼ 2008 (21)
▼ March (21)
Shakespeare's Welsh cave ... and more ...
Did Shakespeare write "A Midsummer Night's Dream" ...
A summing up (for those without time to read the r...
First thoughts on the BBC ideas from Powys
Gwernyfed
Rhydspence inn, Whitney on Wye
Shakespeare's Caves
Trebarried in Wales
Vaughan of Golden Grove
Vaughan Whitney marriage
Williams of Gwernyfed
Latest discoveries ...
Latest discoveries ... 2
Latest discoveries ... 3
Latest discoveries ... 4
Latest discoveries ... 5
Latest discoveries ... 6
The Whitneys of Whitney
The Whitneys of Whitney - 2
The Whitneys of Whitney - 3
Is Clydach the same as Aberclydach? - it seems so....
The list of posts in the archive, above,
starts at the FIRST post,
and ends with the post sent the most recently.
(quote, excerpts)
Clydach Vale. Its old name was Cwm Pwca (Puck's valley);
local legend has it that Shakespeare knew a family in
Aberclydach,
and wrote 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' here.
An extract from from"Around Alton Photographic Memories".
```````````````````
http://shakespeares-welsh-cave.blogspot.com/
````````````````````````````
Lyra
>
> > > > > I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
>
> > > > >http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
`````````
> Well, here is the time to refer to my own blog, I guess...
`````````
> (why? well, it's about the apparent links with Shakespeare,
>
> of the Vaughan and Williams families of Wales.
`````````
> [see the earlier post about Sir William Lower, on this thread])
this may be found at
http://groups.google.com/group/humanities.lit.authors.shakespeare/msg/fe1eca66b0180f14
`````````
and also another post at
http://groups.google.com/group/humanities.lit.authors.shakespeare/msg/8d2f8c6c1188c4df
Lyra
>
> > > I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
>
> > >http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
>
> ````````````````````````````
Gelli Aur, the home of
John Prydderch's wife,
a Vaughan,
is the same as
Golden Grove.
```````````````````
(quote, excerpts)
A 'Warm Welsh Welcome' awaits you!
Gelli Aur Country Park is 60 acres of wooded parkland with outstanding
views across the scenic Towy Valley.
Once the home of the Vaughn
and Cawdor families,
the privately owned mansion is located next to the present day Country
Park.
This is a wonderful secret part of Wales, so enjoy it and I wish you
all a pleasant visit.
http://www.goldengrovecafe.co.uk/
Welcome to Gelli Aur Country Park and 60 acres of wooded parkland
surrounding a magnificent mansion. With commanding views across the
beautiful Towy Valley, Gelli Aur was once the home of the Vaughan and
Cawdor families.
This "Golden Grove", to use its English translation, has a wide range
of attractions that the visitor will treasure.
For your further enjoyment a programme of events, craft demonstrations
and guided walks is available throughout the year.
Gelli Aur Country Park is managed by Regeneration and Leisure of
Carmarthenshire County Council.
> http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/jprydderch/p_jprydde...
Lyra
>
>
>
> > > > I'm sending this (link) in because I don't want to lose it...
>
> > > >http://www.jonesbryn.plus.com/wastronhist/people/wlower/p_wlower.html
>
And I don't want to lose this either!
(quote, excerpts)
The Gower and Carmarthen Bay Experience
MYSTERY & LEGEND
Wales the Land of Legends and Myths, the last home of the Druids –
still shrouded in mystery – their learning lost in the mists of time….
The Romans stayed for more than 300 hundred years and were here with
their galleys in the shipyard at Loughor beneath their fort on the
hill. They had their roads or "strada" (Stradey) to Llanelli and its
Fort, then onto Carmarthen, the first city in Wales with its
amphitheatre that you can still see. Wales is rich in minerals and the
Romans had their Gold Mines still visible on the Roman road to the
Llandeilo forts - they were a considerable presence but in the end
they left to put right the wrongs in Rome - to return in their
descendants...
The mystery is still here and to this day you can feel it in your very
being, your soul and you somehow make that connection into our past
from when the Romans left and the true kings reappeared, Constantine,
Vortigen, Ambrosius, Arthur,……
It was here, born in the Dark Ages from the elemental mix of the
Picts, the Goeddels , the Angles and Brythons, heated by the fire from
the beacons in the crucible of war both Arthur and Merlin were forged.
The obvious sign posts are to be found here – Arthur’s Stone,
Carmarthen - Caerfyrddin(Castle of Merlin) and there are many hidden
clues for the scholars. Ketgueli is now thought to be Kidwelly, Rheged
the coastal region including the Gower.
New studies point to some of Arthur’s battles being fought in Gower,
Loughor, the hills behind the Rivers Loughor and Dulais. Merlin comes
from Carmarthen and Arthur’s Court at some time was in Ammanford
[With many thanks to Brian Williams for the historical information on
the Dark Age]
http://www.gowerandcarmarthenbay.co.uk/section234092.html
Carmarthen Bay and Gower is one of the most beautiful areas, not only
in Wales but in the whole of the United Kingdom. A land of Cliffs,
Golden Beaches, Rivers and Streams, Vikings, Romans, Druids, Celts,
Merlin, Arthur, Woodland, Castles and Dragons, Fire and Water, Mists,
Winds, Rain, Sun, Magic, Mystery, Poetry, Dylan Thomas and Secret
Places still waiting to be found.
Look into the history that permeates this whole area from the
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman,
Medieval and Post Medieval.
Tombs, Standing stones, Caves, Churches by streams or on the hills,
Chapels, Battlefields, Canals, Steam engines, Castles on their rocky
cliffs, and Roman Forts still guarding the coasts.
First populated by the Iberians, then the Celts, invaded by the
Romans, some Vikings and Saxons, then the Irish Celts to develop into
the South Welsh with its own language. At this time Kidwelly,
Carnwyllion (Llanelli area) and Gower were one - the hundred of
Eginog.
Five rivers flow into Carmarthen Bay, the Llwchwr, the Lliedi, the
Tywi, the Gwendraeth and the Taf and their valleys lead to a
hinterland of more exceptional beauty. Some if it is tamed into
beautiful gardens - Carmarthenshire is the Garden of Wales.
http://www.gowerandcarmarthenbay.co.uk/?gclid=CNyZlbHKpZgCFUwb3god5kQomQ
> http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=gelli+aur+golden+grove&d=7531635...
Lyra
`````````
More about the Vaughans of Golden Grove.
``````````
(quote)
Home
People from the past
Walter Vaughan
(died 1597)
The Vaughan family of Llanelli
Walter Vaughan of Golden Grove was the eldest son and heir of John
Vaughan of Golden Grove and his wife Katherine Morgan of Muddlescombe
near Kidwelly. He married twice, firstly to Mary Rice of Dinefwr, and
secondly to Lettice Laugharne. Walter, being the eldest son, inherited
the lands and mansion at Golden Grove and he is also said to have
owned a house in Carmarthen.
He continued to follow the family tradition taking an active part in
land ownership and politics. He purchased and acquired leases of lands
in Carmarthenshire, including Kidwelly, Llangunnor, Llanstephan and
Llanelli, opening coal mines in Llangennech, Llwynhendy and Kidwelly.
Walter’s assets increased rapidly from the income of his extensive
properties and his new coal ventures. His two marriages strengthened
the position of the Vaughan family considerably. He was appointed to
many of the same posts as his father and grandfather before him
including:
High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire
Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire
Mayor of Carmarthen three times
Warden/Governor of Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Carmarthen
Justice of the Peace
High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire
Walter Vaughan had many children including:
Sir John Vaughan (c.1575-1634) Golden Grove, Created 1st Earl of
Carbery 1628.
William Vaughan (c.1577-1641) Torycoed, Llangyndeirne.
Richard Vaughan Derllys, Merthyr, Carmarthenshire
Henry Vaughan (c.1586-1660). He married Sage of Derwydd, Llandybie.
Elinor Vaughan. She married John Protheroe of Nantyrhebog.
Walter Vaughan (d. 1635). He married Anne Lewis of Llanelli.
http://www.llanelli-history.i12.com/people_vaughan_walter.htm
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People from the past
John Vaughan
(died 1574)
The Vaughan family of Llanelli
John Vaughan, the only son of Hugh and Jane Fychan, married Katherine
Morgan of Muddlescombe. He inherited his father’s estates, and was the
first Vaughan to live at Golden Grove. John Vaughan followed in his
father’s footsteps, and became heavily involved in land ownership. He
also obtained leases of additional lands in Carmarthenshire, including
many lost by Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd, of the Dinefwr family. His wealth
multiplied owing to the increasing number of rents he received from
the tenants occupying his lands and properties.
During his lifetime he served as:
1553 Senior Bailiff of Carmarthen
1554 & 1563 Mayor of Carmarthen
1558 & 1559 Member of Parliament for Carmarthen Borough
1560 & 1561 Commissioner for Lay Subsidy
1563 Carmarthenshire’s High Sheriff
1565 Commissioner involved in taking action against troublesome
pirates
1565 Justice of the Peace
1571 Committee Member that produced the Treason Bill directed against
those who supported Mary Queen of Scots
He served as Member of Parliament for the County of Carmarthen until
he died in 1574
John Vaughan built a mansion at Golden Grove between 1565 and 1570.
However, the Mansion House that is at Golden Grove today is not the
original Vaughan residence. The original house stood a short distance
away in the valley, below its present location, and was discovered by
a farmer, when his tractor sank into the ground and he accidentally
found the cellars of the original building.
Golden Grove pictured in 2001
John had eight sisters including Elen who married Thomas ap Rhys of
Cwmgigfran (Ravensdale). Elen & Thomas were the great great
grandparents of Lucy Walter, the daughter of William Walter and grand-
daughter of Rowland Walter of Haverfordwest and Roch Castle
Pembrokeshire.
Lucy Walter was one of Charles II’s mistresses, and bore him an
illegitimate son James, later Duke of Monmouth, who was beheaded after
the Battle of Sedgemoor in Somerset in 1685.
One of John Vaughan’s other sisters, Elinor married John Protheroe
(born c. 1582) of Nantyrhebog (Hawksbrook) who became an astronomer
and they were also related to Lucy Walter, Charles II’s mistress.
John and Katherine Vaughan of Golden Grove Estate were the parents of
Walter Vaughan who married twice. First time he was married to Mary
Rice of Dinefwr and then he was married to Lettice Laugharne. Walter
Vaughan died in 1597.
http://www.llanelli-history.i12.com/people_vaughan_john.htm
Lyra
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(quote)
People from the past
The Vaughan family of Llanelli
Hugh Vaughan
John Vaughan (d. 1574)
Walter Vaughan (d. 1597)
Walter Vaughan (d. 1635)
Francis Vaughan (d. 1637)
John Vaughan (d. 1669)
Margaret Vaughan (d. 1733)
Welsh gentry families occupied a position of authority and they ruled
unquestioned, unchallenged and obeyed. They owned most of Wales and
from the time of the Acts of Union 1536 until 1889 when the County
Councils were established they administered both national and local
government as country squires. They had sole Parliamentary
representation and enjoyed a monopoly of all official judicial posts
including Lieutenant, Deputy Lieutenant, Sheriff, Magistrate, and
acted as commissioners of parliamentary acts.
They could and very often did render Acts of Parliament ineffective
when they conflicted with their own interests or convictions.
It was from the gentry or their nominees that Clerks of the Peace,
County Treasurers, Customs and Excise Officers, Stewards of Crown
lands, were recruited and as unpaid governors they administered their
counties mainly through Quarter Sessions. The gentry were the only
people who received an education, training, enjoyed leisure, great
wealth and ruled by tradition in both national and local government.
It was Hugh Vaughan who claimed descent from the Welsh Princes and
kinsman of the Tudor family, who founded the powerful, influential and
wealthy family that became known as the Vaughans of Golden Grove. It
was from this family that the Llanelli Vaughan family was descended.
The Vaughans of Golden Grove owned land in the Llanelli area before
1600 and members connected with Llanelli were:
Walter Vaughan (d. 1635). He was the 4th son of Walter Vaughan of
Golden Grove and his wife Mary Rice of Newton (Dynevor) and was the
first Vaughan to settle at Llanelli following his marriage to Anne
Lewis.
Francis Vaughan (d. 1637). The elder son of Walter and Anne Vaughan,
he married Elizabeth Pryce of Aberbychan, Montgomeryshire.
John Vaughan (d. 1669). Younger son of Walter and Anne Vaughan. He
married Margaret Lloyd of Maesyfelin near Lampeter.
Walter Vaughan (d. 1683). He never married and was the only surviving
son of John and Margaret Vaughan.
Margaret Vaughan (d. 1733). Daughter of John and Margaret Vaughan
married Thomas Stepney of Prendergast who became the 5th Baronet.
http://www.llanelli-history.i12.com/people_vaughan_family.htm
Lyra
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The early days...
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(quote)
Home
People from the past
Hugh Vaughan
The Vaughan family of Llanelli
Hugh Fychan was the son of Gruffydd Fychan and Katherine daughter of
Maredudd ap Tudor. Katherine was also the sister of Owain Tudor
(executed 1461, son of Maredudd ap Tudor).
Owain Tudor had married Catherine de Valois, the widow of Henry V, and
they had four children, Edmund, Jasper, Owain, who became a monk, and
a daughter, Margaret, who died very young.
Edmund Tudor married Margaret Beaufort heiress, daughter of John of
Gaunt and his one time mistress Catherine Swynford.
Margaret Beaufort was also the great great grand-daughter of Edward
III, and her son Henry Tudor, who was born after her husband Edmund
Tudor died, was destined to become Henry VII, King of England, the
first of the Tudor Dynasty.
Hugh Fychan who had come to Carmarthenshire in 1485, just after the
Battle of Bosworth, claimed he was descended from Bleddyn ap Cynfyn,
Prince of Powys who had been killed in the Kingdom of Deheubarth in
1075 during the Battle of Ystrad Tywi.
Hugh Fychan married Jane the daughter of Morris ap Owain, grandson of
the powerful and influential Gruffydd ap Nicholas, and the family home
was Cwrt Bryn y Beirdd, a very large and ancient mansion near Carreg
Cennen Castle. Jane’s father Morris ap Owen had been a staunch
supporter of Henry Tudor during his struggle to seize the English
throne from Richard III.
Soon after the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485, when Richard III was
beheaded and Henry Tudor was crowned Henry VII, King of England,
Morris ab Owen was appointed Steward of the Lordship of Kidwelly and
Receiver of the two Commotes of Iscennen and Carnwyllion.
As a wealthy and influential landowner, Morris ap Owain was in an
excellent position to promote his son-in-law’s career, and during 1485
Hugh Fychan was appointed Forester of Kidwelly.
In May 1492 it is said that Hugh Vaughan, Esq., of Kidwelly, Gentleman
Usher to Henry VII, took part in a great tournament held by the King
at Richmond in Surrey. Vaughan fought a duel with the knight, Sir
James Parker, concerning a disagreement over the arms to him and for
which he had the King’s permission to use. According to an account
published in 1631, the unfortunate Sir James was accidentally killed
at the first encounter and described thus:
‘A combate was holden, and done betwixt Sir James Parker, knight and
Hugh Vaughan, Gentleman-Usher upon controversie for the Armes that
Garter gave to the said Hugh Vaughan; but he was there allowed by the
King to beare them, and Sir James Parker was slaine at the first
course. The cause of his death was thought to be long of a false
helmet, which by force of the Cronacle, fayled and so he was stricken
into the mouth, that his tongue was borne into the hinder part of the
head and he died incontinently.’
An entry in a book of the Household Expenses of Henry VII, ‘Item to
Hugh Vaughan for ij harpers xiijs., 10d., 2d Jan, 1497,’ shows that
Hugh Vaughan was living and in the King’s service in 1497.
In 1532 Hugh Fychan gained more promotions, through his father-in-
law’s influence when he was appointed Groom of the Chamber at Court.
He was also appointed Keeper and Receiver of lands in Kidwelly, which
had been confiscated by Henry VIII, from Rhys ap Gruffydd of Dinefwr
as a penalty for acts of treason. Rhys ap Gruffydd was Jane’s
relative.
With the help of his father-in-law, Hugh became exceedingly
influential and wealthy, and with his wife Jane they founded the
powerful and influential Fychan or Vaughan family, who were later to
settle at Golden Grove.
Hugh and Jane had one son John Vaughan (d. 1574) and eight daughters.
http://www.llanelli-history.i12.com/people_vaughan_hugh.htm
Lyra
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> > > More about the Vaughans of Golden Grove.
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The following excerpts from earlier posts today,
show
1. how the Vaughans and other Welsh gentry
had great power and prestige.
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2. the close family link of the Vaughans of Golden Grove,
and the Tudor royal family.
The Vaughans descend from the sister of Owen Tudor,
who is the founding ancestor of the family of
Elizabeth I.
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1.
Welsh gentry families occupied a position of authority and they
ruled
unquestioned, unchallenged and obeyed.
They owned most of Wales and
from the time of the Acts of Union 1536 until 1889 when the County
Councils were established they administered both national and local
government as country squires.
They had sole Parliamentary
representation and enjoyed a monopoly of all official judicial posts
including Lieutenant, Deputy Lieutenant, Sheriff, Magistrate, and
acted as commissioners of parliamentary acts.
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2.
The Vaughan family of Llanelli
Hugh Fychan was the son of Gruffydd Fychan
and
Katherine daughter of Maredudd ap Tudor
Katherine was also the sister of Owain Tudor (executed 1461, son of
Maredudd ap Tudor).
Owain Tudor had married Catherine de Valois, the widow of Henry V, and
they had four children, Edmund, Jasper, Owain, who became a monk, and
a daughter, Margaret, who died very young.
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An entry in a book of the Household Expenses of Henry VII, ‘Item to
Hugh Vaughan for ij harpers xiijs, 10d, 2d Jan, 1497,’ shows that
Hugh Vaughan was living and in the King’s service in 1497.
In 1532 Hugh Fychan gained more promotions, through his father-in-
law’s influence when he was appointed Groom of the Chamber at Court
He was also appointed Keeper and Receiver of lands in Kidwelly, which
had been confiscated by Henry VIII, from Rhys ap Gruffydd of Dinefwr
as a penalty for acts of treason Rhys ap Gruffydd was Jane’s
relative.
With the help of his father-in-law, Hugh became exceedingly
influential and wealthy, and with his wife Jane they founded the
powerful and influential Fychan or Vaughan family, who were later to
settle at Golden Grove.
Hugh and Jane had one son John Vaughan (d 1574) and eight daughters.
http://wwwllanelli-historyi12com/people_vaughan_hughhtm
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