Ystumllyn

The house was apparently built at the end of the 16th century by Ellis ap Cadwaladr (d. 1597),{{sfn|British Listed Buildings}} a member of the Welsh Ellis family, which claimed to trace its lineage back to Gollwyn ap Tangno, founder of one of the Fifteen Tribes of Wales.{{sfn|Davies|1959}} Ellis obtained the property from the Crown,{{sfn|British Listed Buildings}} and is the first member of the family to be described as "of Ystumllyn".{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=240}} When it was first built, the house was likely one of the earliest storied buildings in the region.{{sfn|British Listed Buildings}} Before 20th-century renovations, the house bore two dated inscriptions of 1720 and 1729 giving a likely date for the extensive 18th-century remodeling and extensions.{{sfn|British Listed Buildings}} The owner in this period was Rev. Humphrey Wynn (d. 1724),{{sfn|Davies|1959}} whose initials are featured on the earlier of these inscriptions.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=239}} By 1725, it was in possession of Ellis Wynn (d. 1759) who held in until his death.{{sfn|Green|2019}} In 1824, the estate passed to philologist Rowland Jones.{{sfn|Davies|1959}} The roof was raised and the fenestration was remodeled in the 19th century.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=239}} In {{circa|1946}}, J. Egbert Griffiths of Porthmadog carried out several minor alterations, adding some extra windows and rearranging the internal room structure.{{sfn|British Listed Buildings}} On 12 December 1994, the building was designated a Grade II* listed building,{{sfn|British Listed Buildings}} a listing reserved for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest".{{cite web |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/listed-buildings/ |title=Listed Buildings |website=Historic England |access-date=28 October 2019 }}

The house was home to several local notables throughout its history. The Welsh poet Gruffydd Phylip (d. 1666) composed several poems addressed to the Ellis family, including a poem directly referencing the house, "{{lang|cy|Hiraeth y bardd am Ystumllyn}}" ("The Bard's Longing for Ystumllyn").{{sfn|Davies|1959}} John Ystumllyn (d. 1786), who took his name from the household, was employed by the Wynn family at this estate as a gardener and survived as the first well-recorded black person of North Wales. He was of uncertain origins, and was possibly kidnapped from Africa by the Wynn family, but lived out a happy life in Ystumllyn, eventually running away with and marrying a local woman.{{sfn|Green|2019}}

File:Ystumllyn, Plan, Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire.png

Ystumllyn is a rubble-built house of two stories, composed of two blocks arranged into a T-shaped plan. The east-facing block is the earliest part of the building, dating to the late 16th century, while the north-facing block (which bisects the east block) was constructed in the early 18th century.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=239}} The building has been described as historically remarkable in the British Listed Buildings{{'}} rationale for registering it as a Grade II* listed building; its original component "incorporates an important example" of 16th-century architecture, while its 18th-century additions "represent high quality vernacular work of the period".{{sfn|British Listed Buildings}}

File:Ystumllyn, hall, late 16th-century, Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire.png|Large hall in the south of the original block, 16th-century.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=239}}

File:Ystumllyn, door, late 16th-century, Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire.png|Original doorway in the east side of the original block, 16th-century.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=239}}

File:Ystumllyn, panel in hall, late 16th-century, Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire.png|Panel in hall, left of fireplace, depicts the arms of Owain Gwynedd (1100–1170), king of Gwynedd.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=239}}

File:Ystumllyn, bedroom door, 18th-century, Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire.png|North bedroom door, 18th-century. One of the few remaining unmodernised parts of the north wing.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=240}}

File:Ystumllyn, S. bedroom, 18th-century, Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire.png|Fireplace in south bedroom, 18th-century.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=240}}

File:Ystumllyn, staircase, early 18th-century, Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire.png|Staircase, reassembled during 18th-century renovations.{{sfn|RCAHMW|1964a|p=240}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite web |title=Ystumllyn: A Grade II* Listed Building in Criccieth (Cricieth), Gwynedd |url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300015355-ystumllyn-criccieth |website=British Listed Buildings |access-date=28 October 2019 |ref={{harvid|British Listed Buildings}} }}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last=Davies |first=William Llewelyn |author-link=William Llewelyn Davies |date=1959 |title= ELLIS family, of Bron y Foel and Ystumllyn, Ynyscynhaearn, Caernarfonshire |encyclopedia=Dictionary of Welsh Biography |url=https://biography.wales/article/s-ELLI-YNY-1354? }}
• {{cite ODNB |last=Green |first=Andrew |date=10 October 2019 |title=Ystumllyn, John (d. 1786) |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-112797 }}
• {{cite book |author=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |date=1964a |title=An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire: II Central: the Cantref of Arfon and the Commote of Eifionydd |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGPu616n3vsC |ref={{harvid|RCAHMW|1964a}} }}
• {{cite book |author=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales |date=1964b |title=An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Caernarvonshire: III West: the Cantref of Lleyn together with the General Survey |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bkTkS4CZf3oC |ref={{harvid|RCAHMW|1964b}} }}

{{refend}}

• [https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/17059/details/ystumllyn Ystumllyn Site Details at Colfein]

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Category:Criccieth

Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Gwynedd

Category:Houses in Gwynedd