Welsh Journals

Notes and Queries Tresilian A rocky bay, a famous cave, a secluded and wooded valley leading back to the road from Llantwit Major to St Donats all these bear the name of 'Tresilian'. No building is shown there on George Yates's Map of 1799 and there seem to be few early records of the name. In a St Donats estate survey of 1754 'Rosillion' appears, referring to a wood; this had become 'Tresilian' wood in another survey of about 1776. 2 It was not until 1837, in The Doom of Colyn Dolphyn, a long poem by Taliesin Williams, that Tresilian entered the published literature. By that date legends, stories and traditions were quickly gathering around this romantic spot and would soon find their way into print. Nineteenth- century readers could take delight in tales of ancient British kings, early Christian saints, pirates and smugglers, secret passages, ghosts and clandestine marriages. Tresilian House, Llantwit Major. (Courtesy of Thomas Lloyd).