Yr Ysgwrn
Yr Ysgwrn is a historic farmstead nestled in the heart of Snowdonia in northwest Wales, and it holds a place of profound cultural significance in Welsh national memory. The farm is most celebrated as the boyhood home of Hedd Wyn, the bardic name of Ellis Humphrey Evans, the Welsh-language poet who was posthumously awarded the Bardic Chair at the National Eisteddfod of 1917 — one of the most emotionally shattering moments in the history of that institution. When his name was called and no one rose to claim the honour, the chair was draped in black, an image that has resonated through Welsh culture ever since. That draped chair, known as the Black Chair, still sits at Yr Ysgwrn today, making the farmhouse not merely a historic site but a living memorial to a generation lost to the First World War.
The story of Hedd Wyn is inseparable from the farm itself. Born in 1887, Ellis Evans grew up working the land at Yr Ysgwrn with his family, tending sheep on the slopes of the Rhinog mountains while composing poetry in Welsh, often scratching lines on any surface to hand during breaks from farm work. Despite having limited formal education, he possessed a remarkable lyrical gift and competed at eisteddfodau throughout his youth. In 1917, facing conscription, he completed his prizewinning awdl — a strict-metre Welsh ode — titled "Yr Arwr" (The Hero) and sent it to the National Eisteddfod judges just before shipping out to the Western Front. He was killed at the Battle of Passchendaele on 31 July 1917, six weeks before the Eisteddfod was held at Birkenhead. The ceremony was never forgotten: the chair draped in black became a national symbol of grief and sacrifice, and Hedd Wyn was immortalised as the Shepherd Poet of Trawsfynydd.
Visiting Yr Ysgwrn today is an experience that moves almost everyone who makes the journey. The farmhouse itself is a traditional Welsh long house, stone-built and low-slung, sitting modestly in its upland landscape as if it has grown from the hillside rather than been placed upon it. Inside, the rooms have been preserved with extraordinary care by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, which acquired the property in 2012 from the last surviving family members. The Black Chair occupies a position of quiet dominance within the house, and photographs of Hedd Wyn hang alongside the everyday objects of Edwardian rural Welsh life — farm implements, kitchen furniture, personal effects. The atmosphere inside is hushed and intimate, more like stepping into a family home than visiting a museum, which is precisely what makes it so affecting.
The landscape surrounding Yr Ysgwrn is quintessential southern Snowdonia — open, rugged, and wide under enormous skies. The farm lies in the Crawcwellt area, just to the north of the village of Trawsfynydd and overlooking a terrain of moorland, rough pasture, and the distant profiles of the Rhinog mountain range to the west. Trawsfynydd Lake (Llyn Trawsfynydd), a large reservoir created in the early twentieth century, is visible from parts of the surrounding area, and the decommissioned Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station sits on its shores, lending a certain haunting contrast to the ancient pastoral character of the region. The air is clean and cool, the sounds are those of wind across open moorland and the distant bleating of sheep, and on clear days the views stretch across some of the most elemental countryside in Wales.
In practical terms, Yr Ysgwrn is accessible by car via the A470, which runs through Trawsfynydd. The farm is signposted from the village, and there is parking on site. The Snowdonia National Park Authority manages the property and offers guided tours, which are strongly recommended since much of the significance of the interior is best understood with context. Tours are available in both Welsh and English, and the bilingual nature of the experience feels entirely appropriate given the site's role in Welsh cultural identity. Opening is seasonal, typically from spring through to autumn, and it is advisable to book in advance, particularly during summer months and around significant dates in the Welsh cultural calendar. The site is not heavily commercialised, which adds to its authenticity, though a small shop carries relevant books and publications.
One of the more quietly remarkable aspects of Yr Ysgwrn is how it managed to survive so intact. The farm remained in the Evans family for generations after Hedd Wyn's death, and his descendants maintained both the building and its contents with devoted faithfulness. Gerald Williams, a nephew of Hedd Wyn who lived at the farm into the twenty-first century, continued to farm the land and welcome visitors long before the property passed to the National Park. The 1992 Welsh-language film "Hedd Wyn," directed by Paul Turner, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film — the first Welsh-language film ever to receive such a nomination — and brought renewed international attention to both the poet and the farm. The film was shot partly on location in the area and did much to introduce Hedd Wyn's story to audiences beyond Wales, ensuring that the significance of Yr Ysgwrn is understood not merely as local or national heritage, but as part of a wider human story about art, war, and the cost of conflict.