Wiliam ap Rhys "Crach"

                                                          "Swansea Miracle"

A Report on the October meeting of Resolven History

It is great to report that the meeting had an improved attendance to hear the mystical tale of the “Swansea Miracle”. It will take a little more miraculous intervention to get the Society back to its previous heyday, but an attendance of fifteen is an acorn from which the great ok can grow again.

The speaker, Anne Marie Thomas of Mount Pleasant, took the audience to Swansea of the 13^th century, under the iron grip of the Norman de Breos family, Lords of Gower. The narrative involved the execution of two native Welshmen who were described as complete nuisances and rogues in harrying their feudal masters. William ap Rhys, also known as “crach”, and Treherne ap Hywel were both taken to Gallows Hill (now Mount Pleasant) and hanged on mediaeval gallows in 1289. Hywel was pronounced dead, but hours later the corpse of Rhys came back to life, and he eventually “recovered” in a Swansea house not far from the present railway station. Lady Mary of Gower had arranged for the “corpse” to be transported and it was she that assigned the recovery to the intervention of the saintly Thomas of Cantaloupe, formerly Bishop of Hereford and led to calls for him to be canonised .

The process of canonisation was complicated by the schism in the Catholic Church which meant that there were two popes with one based at Avignon. Following a long and complex process which can be examined in Mrs Thomas’s book, Sainthood was achieved in 1320 when Thomas was canonised. Lest there be any doubt as to the tale the process is well documented in both Hereford Cathedral and the Vatican. Indeed, a pilgrim’s way was established between Swansea and Hereford stopping at churches and chapter houses along the route including Neath Abbey.

Mr David Woosnam, thanked Mrs Thomas for a memorable talk.

The next meeting of the Society will take place at the Church Hall on Monday, 14^th November at 7:00. The speaker will be Mr Mike Jones who will speak on the history of the Neath and Tennant Canals.

Trefor Jones