Ty Mawr Wybrnant
Encyclopedia
Penmachno
Penmachno is a village in the isolated upland valley of Cwm Penmachno, 4 miles south of Betws-y-Coed in the county of Conwy, north Wales.It is renowned as the home of Bishop William Morgan , who lived at Tŷ Mawr, Y Wybrnant, near the village. He was one of the leading scholars of his day, having...
, near Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-Coed is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It has a population of 534. The name Betws or Bettws is generally thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon Old English 'bed-hus' - i.e. a bead-house - a house of prayer, or oratory...
in Conwy County Borough, North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
. It was the birthplace of Bishop William Morgan
William Morgan (Bible translator)
William Morgan was Bishop of Llandaff and of St Asaph, and the translator of the first version of the whole Bible into Welsh from Greek and Hebrew.-Life:...
, first translator of the whole Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
into Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
.
Tŷ Mawr Wybrnant is owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and has been sensitively restored to its probable 16th-century appearance. Despite its name (Tŷ Mawr, "Big House") it is very small by today's standards, but it houses some old furniture and a collection of Welsh Bibles, including William Morgan's Bible of 1588. There are also other Bibles in many other languages, donated by visitors to the house from around the world.
The house is most easily reached from the village of Penmachno, 4 miles from Betws-y-coed, but can also be reached from the A470
A470 road
The A470 is a major long-distance connective spine road in Wales, running from Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. It covers approximately 186 miles , over a zig-zagging route through the entirety of the country's mountainous central region, including the Brecon Beacons and...
between Betws-y-coed and Dolwyddelan
Dolwyddelan
Dolwyddelan, Welsh language : 'the meadow of Gwyddelan', is a village and community in Conwy county borough, north Wales, on the main A470 road between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Betws-y-Coed...
.
The Afon Wybrnant is the stream near which the house is located, and its name is usually appended to the house's name to distinguish it from other Tŷ Mawrs. The origins of the name Wybrnant are not wholly known. Although nant denotes a small stream and wybr is an old word for sky or cloud, some would have it that the word is derived from a corruption of gwiber, meaning "adder" or "viper". According to legend, long ago a gwiber was a huge flying snake, and one lived in this valley.