White Ox of Nannau

[Nigel Porter]

Hello, I have inherited an original print of the White Ox of Nannau, see story below, and apparently there were 200 of these produced and given to guests at the banquet.  I believe an ancestor of mine, Robert Pughe of Helygog, may have attended, so does anyone have access to the list of attendees at the party please?

On 25 June 1824 one of Wales's grandest 21st-birthday celebrations took place for the son of Merioneth's biggest resident landowner. Held on the Nannau estate, Dolgellau, 200 guests sat down to an extravagant banquet that included a huge joint of beef from the white ox of Nannau. Various items produced to commemorate the event are now in the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru including a candelabrum made from the horns and hoofs of the prized white ox.  The white ox was commemorated in a painting by Daniel Clowes of Chester.

[dcbnwh]

I am not sure if there is a list of attendees but I have some more information about the the ox and the painting, which was sold in 2008.

This is the link to the site, which has a brief description of the celebration on page 1. The ox horns and the picture are the last two items on page 2. Click on the images for a larger image.

http://www.tamlynscatalogues.co.uk/Catalogues/GS091208/index.htm

If I can find a list of attendees, I will let you know.

I imagine that you will have seen this link to Helygog documents at the National Library

http://isys.llgc.org.uk/isysquery/irl2cce/1/doc#hit1

Regards,
David

[Nigel Porter]

Hi David,

Thanks for your reply and yes I had seen the catalogue and knew about the papers in the National Library, but living in Oxfordshire I don't get back to Wales often and I thought I'd try this route first.  In the catalogue item 56 is the original of my print and I'm after the names on the document featured in lot 51.  I'm planning a visit to Aberystwyth and Dolgellau this summer, but until then I thought this forum was my best chance.

Nigel

[Blank Name]

Did anyone find the list of attendees for the banquet?

[Nigel Porter]

Hello,

I've not been sent a list and online searches have drawn a blank, so it will need to wait until I visit the Welsh archives.

Nigel

[dcbnwh]

There is an article about the celebrations, which includes a list of principal attendees, in the British Newspaper Archive (also on Findmypast). Copyright prevents posting the image but if you go to http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search and search on Nannau 1824, it should be the first result - Chester Courant 06 July 1824.

Regards,
David

[chwiliwr]

Bigpotts

Going off on a tangent, are you aware that a Robert Pughe of Helygog is named on the Dolgellau and District World War 1 Memorial? I have researched his story, along with the other 106 named on the memorial, for a book I am releasing at the end of this week "Dolgellau and The Great War".

Chwiliwr

[Nigel Porter]

Hi, was he the son of Robert Pughe and Jane Williams, born in 1899?

[chwiliwr]

That's right. He died in what is now Pakistan in 1920.

Chwiliwr