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The Purpose of this Memorial
This monument will be the London Welsh contribution to the many Glyndwr memorial activities which started in Wales last year to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the uprising. The memorial will raise the profile of Wales in London and internationally.
This is an exceptional opportunity to promote greater understanding of shared history and current issues. All Welsh communities in London can unite in this reminder of how Welsh national identity was built and in reflection on the memorial theme - the suffering of all women and children in war.
Enthusiasm for this memorial is wide ranging both at the grassroots level and from senior political and City figures. There is strong support for this memorial from Wales itself and from the Welsh in London. The main Welsh societies in London have already given their support.
"Welsh history is a series of devastating ruptures out of which the Welsh have continued to grow and re-shape themselves",- this sculpture makes concrete the enduring spirit of Wales. People can take pride in being involved in this memorial - so close to the heart of the people of Wales.
Catrin's story
The memorial is dedicated to Catrin Glyndwr, Owain Glyndwr's daughter. She was captured in 1409 at Harlech and taken to the Tower of London with her children and her mother, Glyndwr's wife, during Owain's fight for the freedom of Wales. Catrin, her son Lionel, and three daughters were important hostages. The children were potential heirs to the throne of England through Catrin's marriage to Edmund Mortimer after his capture at the Battle of Bryn Glas in June 1402.
Catrin and her children remained imprisoned in the Tower four years, as is confirmed in records for the cost of their upkeep. But by 1413 the force of Owain Glyndwr's uprising was spent and the new king Henry V took the throne in March. By December Catrin and two of the children were dead and their burial, in 1413 at St Swithin's church in the heart of the City of London, is recorded in Exchequer documents: "To William del Chambre, valet of the said Earl (Arundel). In money paid to his own hands, for expenses and other charges incurred for the burial and exequies of the wife of Edward (sic - Edmund) Mortimer and her daughters, buried within St Swithin's Church London…. £1."
In spite of the circumstances in which Catrin married Edmund Mortimer, there is no reason to believe this was an unwilling match. Shakespeare chose to portray Catrin's great love for Mortimer in Henry IV - Part 1: Owain Glyndwr describes his daughter's love and her fighting spirit to Mortimer: " My daughter weeps; she will not part with you, She'll be a soldier too; she'll to the wars" She was: "one that no persuasion can do good upon". So this was a potentially stormy relationship! But in spite of a language problem "my wife can speak no English, I no Welsh", Shakespeare writes that Mortimer returned her feelings: "I understand thy looks: that pretty Welsh, Which thou down-pourest from these swelling heavens" "I understand thy kisses, and thou mine"
Long-term Benefits
The memorial will provide a focus for people with Welsh connections in and around London for events and celebrations in the future. This memorial is particularly significant as the burial site is the only one known and documented of a member of Owain's immediate family. There are traditions and folk memories relating to the grave site of Owain Glyndwr in Herefordshire, but nothing is known for certain. Similarly, details of the aftermath of Owain Glyndwr's fight for the freedom of Wales and the fate of his immediate family, are still sketchy. It is hoped that this memorial will raise awareness of this important period in Welsh and English history and may stimulate further research in London, Wales and Herefordshire where many of these important events took place.
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