top of page

Cliciwch isod i wrando ar yr hanes.

Click below to listen to the story.

YG 7 Cymraeg
YG 7 English

Neu darllenwch yr hanes isod.

Or read the story below (scroll down).

Enw’r plasty mawreddog wrth ymyl heneb Glyndŵr ydi Plas Machynlleth. Ar un adeg roedd yn gartref i Farcwisiaid Londonderry, teulu cyfoethog o wleidyddion Seisnig, gweision sifil a pherchnogion mwyngloddiau.

 

Roedd rhai o'r Marcwisiaid yn hoff o ymladd. Roedd yr Ail Farcwis, Robert Stewart, a fu farw ym 1822, yn weinidog yn y llywodraeth. Cafodd ffrae gyda gwleidydd arall nad oedd yn ei hoffi, a chanlyniad y ffrae oedd ymladdfa gyda dryll, a Stewart yn saethu ei wrthwynebydd yn ei goes! Cafodd ei ŵyr, y Bedwaredd Farcwis, yntau berthynas â chantores opera o’r Eidal, a bu rhaid iddo ymladd gyda’i gŵr o’i herwydd!

 

Roedd Marcwisiaid Londonderry yn gwneud eu harian trwy fuddsoddi mewn gwahanol fathau o fwyngloddio. Roedd y Trydydd Marcwis, Charles Vane, eisiau gwneud i blant weithio mewn pyllau glo oherwydd ei fod yn credu ei bod yn rhy ddrud i wneud y pyllau glo yn ddigon mawr i oedolion! Buddsoddodd ei ŵyr, y Pumed Marcwis hefyd mewn mwyngloddio, a helpodd i adeiladu a rhedeg llawer o'r rheilffyrdd ym Machynlleth ac ar draws Cymru.

 

Wrth ichi gerdded o'r Plas i'r dref fe welwch chi gloc Machynlleth. Fe’i hadeiladwyd ym 1873, a thalwyd amdano gan bobl y dref i ddathlu pen-blwydd y Chweched Marcwis yn 21 oed. Fel ei dad a'i deidiau o'i flaen, daeth hefyd yn wleidydd Ceidwadol a buddsoddi ffortiwn y teulu mewn mwyngloddio.

The grand house beside the monument is Plas Machynlleth. It was once the home of the Marquesses of Londonderry, a wealthy family of English politicians, civil servants and mine owners.

 

Some of the Marquesses were fond of duelling – a contest with weapons, arranged between two people to settle a disagreement. The Second Marquess, Robert Stewart who died in 1822, was a government minister who had a duel with another politician he didn’t like. Stewart himself was unharmed but his opponent was badly wounded in the leg. His grandson, the Fourth Marquess, had an affair with an Italian opera singer and duelled with her husband because of it.

 

The Marquesses of Londonderry made their money through investing in different types of mining. The Fifth Marquess in particular invested in many mining works and helped build and run many of the railways in Machynlleth and across Wales.

 

As you walk from the Plas into town you will see the Machynlleth Clock. It was built in 1873, and paid for by the local townspeople to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of the Sixth Marquess. Like his father and grandfathers before him, he also became a Conservative politician and invested the family fortunes in mining.

WG_Funded_land_mono png.png
bottom of page