Most of those interested in the history of our nation and, especially, in the history of our greatest of national heroes, Owain Glyndr and his great war for Cymric Independence are well aware of the role that the town of Machynlleth had played in regards to that history but, I wonder how many are as aware of the fact that the town of Dolgellau had also played a similarly important role in the war?

It is well documented that the Prince and his Consul had dispatched at least one letter from Dolgellau to Charles V1 of France on the 10 ^th May 1404 seeking a treaty with that King so where exactly in Dolgellau was this letter and, possibly, others (such as one that was dispatched to Henry Dwn of Cydweli at around the same time) composed?

The letter/s would have been composed at a consul gathering in a building important enough for such gatherings and according to local tradition, the building is question is one which bears the name Plas Cwrt yn Dre but which has been known locally, down through the centuries, as The Old Parliament House of Owain Glyndr.

Plas Cwrt yn Dre or Owain Glyndwrs Parliament House was a substantial property of high status in its day, It housed a hall and a balcony which was accessed by steps placed on the outside of the building so could have been a very appropriate site for Prince Owain Glyndr to hold assemblies with his Consul and other allies. Granted, local tradition, in itself, cannot be taken as evidence of the propertys authenticity as Owain Glyndrs Parliament House but if the surviving documented proof that the letter composed and dispatched to Charles V1 on the 10 ^th May 1404 was composed in Dolgellau is taken into consideration alongside the local tradition which has survived centuries, then I would suggest that there is a strong enough case for acceptance of the authenticity of this property as being, at the least, one of the Assemblies of Prince Owain Glyndr where important political strategies such as treaties with France and other allies were debated and acted on.

The case for the propertys authenticity as an Assembly/Parliament House used by the Glyndr regime is strengthened further in a report compiled by the architect A.B. Phipson who carried out a survey on the property in 1885. Interestingly, he refers to the building as Old Parliament House Dolgelley (and not Plas Cwrt yn Dre) in both the plans he drafted of the property and his accompanying report. It was also revealed in the report that substantial parts of the property dated from the 14 ^th century. If that indeed was the case, and Im sure that a professional architect such as Mr Phipson knew how to do his job and can be believed, the property was in existence well before the Owain Glyndr War of Independence had started so it was available to be made use of by the Prince.

In my view, the accumulating evidence in regards to the property in question should have been more than enough to ensure that it was treasured as a national treasure should be but to strengthen the case for such even further, it transpires that the property had continued to play a role in Welsh history well over a century after the mysterious disappearance of Prince Owain Glyndr. By the middle of the 16 ^th century, it had become the home of Baron Lewis Owen who was an important figure in the English Parliament during this period. He was also Chancellor to the Treasury covering North Wales and represented Merionethshire in Parliament but was dramatically killed in an ambush by the Red Bandits of Mawddwy in 1555.

By the mid 18 ^th century, the Old Parliament House, along with a number of other buildings that formed the property Plas Cwrt yn Dre was fast deteriorating from neglect and the whole lot was sold at auction to a Mr Edward Jones who also owned the Ship Hotel located directly opposite the property. Even in those days, it seems that this historical old building had become the main tourist attraction in Dolgellau and some influential local townspeople who had begun to realise its importance - and potential, set up a committee with as its aim, to raise money to purchase and renovate the old Parliament as a museum for the town.

This committee commissioned A.B. Phipson to carry out a survey on the property and as well as confirm in his report that substantial parts of the property dated from the 14 ^th century (as noted earlier) he also drew attention to certain fittings from that period that should be carefully preserved during restoration and quoted that the overall cost of the restoration would be between 150 - 200 which was a small sum to raise to save such an important building, even in those days.

Had this committee achieved its aim, no doubt the Old Parliament House would have been saved in its wholeness and renovated to its former glory and would still be standing on its site in Dolgellau today as a magnificent memorial to the achievements of Owain Glyndr and as a strong symbol of his ambition for Cymru but, alas, that was not to be.

On the 5 ^th November 1875, a public meeting was held to discuss the possibility of buying the property for the town. According to the local paper (Y Dydd) Mr Edward Jones came to this meeting and offered the property to the town for the price that he had paid for it at the auction or, he was prepared to rent the property to the town for five years for the reasonable sum of 21 per annum which would allow the town enough time to consider the purchase but, unbelievably, it was decided not to launch an appeal for funding to buy Plas Cwrt yn Dre because the then M.P. of Merioneth, Samuel Holland, had already launched another appeal in the town, to raise 1,000 towards the cost of establishing a private school for girls, Ysgol Dr Williams.

Dr Daniel Williams, a theologian from Wrecsam, had no association whatsoever with Dolgellau but on his death in 1716, he had left a substantial sum of money to be used for educational charity purposes in Cymru and, at this time, the Charity Trust involved was offering funding for the establishment and upkeep of a school in North Wales - on the condition that the town awarded the funding, could guarantee the sum of 1,000 towards the cost of building, along with 2 acres of land on a site that would be suitable for the school.

In all honesty, it would have made more sense to establish the school in Dr Williams home town Wrecsam but Samuel Holland was hell bent on getting the school for Dolgellau. As a result of this and due to the fact that the other committee had not even taken up Mr Edward Joness offer to have the property on a rental basis for five years, the opportunity to buy Plas Cwrt yn Dre for the town was lost forever and in the following year, the property was sold to a Mr Pryce-Jones (later to become Sir Pryce-Jones) of Newtown.

Plas Cwrt yn Dre was dismantled stone by stone and the hall, balcony and outside steps of the Old Parliament House were loaded into thirty two trucks and taken by rail to Newtown and restored in Dolerw Park on the Pryce-Jones Estate but. Apparently and unfortunately, much of the character of this important historical treasure was lost in the restoration process but nevertheless, whats left of this important part of our history still remains standing and is crying out to the nation to save it for the nation.

During the last century, it has been occupied for use by the army in the 2 ^nd world war and then by the Girl Guides in the 1950s and then, incredibly, it was given to the Quakers as a gift by Lady Sara Pryce-Jones in 1968. The Quakers have held meetings in the property regularly since 1986 but have now come to the decision that they can no longer afford its maintenance. During the last few years they have offered the property (for free!) to St Fagans (in the first instance) and then to Cadw. Unbelievably, both these establishments (that are meant to be custodians of our national heritage) declined the offer! St Fagans claim they cannot find the letter of offer and feel now that its best to leave the property where it is and Cadw declined the offer on the grounds that there is no definite proof in regards to its historical associations! Indeed, when Cadw registered the building as a Grade11 listed building in 1988, they stated haughtily on the registration document Incorrectly termed Owain Glyndrs Dolgellau Parliament House and this without taking any notice whatsoever of the expertly carried out survey and associated report produced by the architect A.B. Phipson and without carrying out any tests of their own on the property and what about the historical association with Baron Lewis Owen? Theres plenty of evidence in regards to him having resided in the property.

Following refusals by both St Fagans and Cadw to take the property off their hands, the Quakers have now placed it for sale on the open market and are in the process of selling it for 55,000 to an English Quaker who lives in England. I do not know what this gentlemans intentions are for the property but whatever his plans, I still feel strongly that it should be bought for the nation. I have spoken to the Welsh Quakers and they understand and sympathise with this sentiment and have expressed that they would still consider selling it to the Nation if a body such as the Welsh Assembly or Cadw comes forward with a definite commitment to buy and there still is a slim chance - as the buyer has asked Cadw to carry out a new assessment of the property as a listed building and the sale will not go through until Cadw has done so. This means that theres still a chance to save the old Dolgellau Parliament House for the nation so, I will appeal to all out there who cares about this important part of our history and who cares about the prospect of losing another of our national treasures to immediately write to Huw Lewis the Heritage Minister at the Welsh Assembly drawing his attention to this issue and demanding that this property be purchased for the nation. 55,000 is not a great deal of money and if the property is purchased for the nation, it can be renovated to its former glory and can be opened to the public as a museum that would display the history of the building from the days of Owain Glyndr to the present.

I therefore appeal to one and all to immediately write to the Minister aforementioned and others that may be in a position to assist to save this unique part of our history. Remember, nobody campaigned to save Owain Glyndrs Prison House in Corwen and it has been lost for ever. Lets make sure history is not repeated and that the chance to save and renovate this historic treasure is not lost for ever this time. Lets ensure Owain Glyndrs Old Parliament House as a worthy Calennig to give to our nation at the launch of 2012.

I appreciate that not everyone has the time to write a letter, great if you can do but I also appeal to one and all to please sign the 'on line' petition I have set up on the Welsh Assembly's 'On Line Petition' section in regards to this property and whilst there, you would do Cymru - and the Cymru of the future a great favour if you would sign my other petition for the Welsh Assembly to name the A470 "Priffordd Tywysog Owain Glyndr in memory of our greatest of warrior princes. I was under the impression that people living outside of Wales could not sign National Assembly petitions but, i have checked and have established that anybody in the world can sign them. So, please do...It would be a great help to these causes.

Many thanks in anticipation of your support

Sin Ifan