Press Release
3 July 2008
WATER WOOD AND FIRE
a new imagined history of Penrhys
written and illustrated by local young people
from Penrhys Primary, Ysgol Gymraeg Llyn Y Forwyn
and Ferndale Community Schools
the first product of the
PENRHYS PILGRIMS Project 2008
a Penrhys Partnership initiative
to mark the four hundred and seventy years since the destruction of the Penrhys Shrine
and the confiscation and burning of the statue of the Mother and Child
and the fortieth anniversary of the completion and occupation of the Penrhys estate,
and to celebrate the survival and enduring importance of both.
WATER WOOD AND FIRE was launched on Wednesday 2 July at Penrhys Primary School to coincide with the 55th Anniversary of the erection of the modern statue at Penrhys – Our Lady of Penrhys. Pupils from Ysgol Gymraeg Llyn Y Forwyn, (who undertook their very own pilgrimage from Ferndale to Penrhys) Ferndale Community and Penrhys Primary Schools were present to read extracts from their work published in this book, the first product of the yearlong PENRHYS PILGRIMS Project
The Deputy Mayor Councillor Robert Smith and his wife Deputy Mayoress Margaret Smith of Rhondda Cynon Taf presented free copies of the books to each of the children from the three schools which had taken part in the project. Penrhys now has over 100 more published authors than it did yesterday!
"WATER WOOD AND FIRE is an act of creative remembering of those aspects of the distant past in the life of the communities which have occupied the Penrhys hill which, due to their great age and often-contested significances, have received only the most sketchy and sometimes contradictory of re-tellings by historians.
In exploring and re-evaluating the records, myths, stories and beliefs through poetry and illustration, the young people involved in the project have resurrected these rich historical memories for the generations which will follow them, offering a new / old identity for the village.
Penrhys has a unique story to tell, its significance as a major European religious centre stretching way back into the mists of time. The sixteenth century bard, Lewys Morgannwg, spoke of there being "nine heavens in one meadow" in Penrhys. But, today, it is only a select few who recognise this place’s well-hidden riches.
WATER WOOD AND FIRE, as one of the elements of the PENRHYS PILGRIMS Project 2008, has been made possible with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and a generous donation from the late Dorothy Worthington. It will play an essential part in restoring Penrhys’ place in the contemporary life of Wales through its re-imagining of this long and rich history."
The PENRHYS PILGRIMS Project 2008 is an extensive year of celebrations organised by Penrhys Partnership. Our plans include the production of 3 new publications, a new exhibition and a film made by local young people; the conducting of a major oral history project; and the running and organisation of a series of workshops, performances, pilgrimages, conferences and special outdoor events.
Penrhys Partnership - a limited company by guarantee with full registered charitable status (no. 1027848) - was established in 1992 as a public, private and voluntary sector grouping to give local people a voice, by bringing all of the various agencies serving the village together and developing social amenities in order to address Penrhys’ environmental, cultural, social, educational and economic needs.
