Twm Sion Cati - Wood Carving - Tregaron, Wales. - Outside Wooden Display Carvings on Waymarking.com

A wood-carving of Twm stands on Tregaron Square created by Grace Young Monaghan.
A lifesize wooden statue of Twm Sion Catie, Shown wearing a mouse face mask, raised felt hat with a feather, jacket, & long boots. Twm appears to be hiding, shown hugging a carving of a tree stump. The Tree stump, has an owl, mouse, & a pot of coins carved into it.

To see the sculpture in its full colour visit, Grace Young-Monaghan's Photos on her web page: (visit link)

"Twm was active in west Wales, with forays into England, in the late sixteenth century. Stories centre on his tricks, with which he outwitted law-abiding people and criminals alike.

The original character is often said to have been based on one Thomas Jones (c. 1530-1609) who, according to the Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales, was pardoned for unspecified offences in 1559, wrote poetry, was a steward who "often had recourse to the law", and married the widow of Thomas Rhys Williams of Ystrad-ffin. It seems unlikely, however, that all the tales told of Twm Siôn Cati in later times can be attributed to this one man. The Oxford Companion further asserts "he has been confused with others of the same name who were raiders and highwaymen in the district of Tregaron" and lists another eleven Thomas Joneses in the field of literature alone". Text Source: With Thanks: (visit link)

Wikipedia also informs: "Although the original tales were passed on orally, there were later a number of written stories of Twm Siôn Cati. An English-language pamphlet, Tomshone Catty's Tricks, was printed in 1763. William Frederick Deacon wrote two books involving him in the 1820s. In 1828, T J Llewelyn Pritchard's The Adventures and Vagaries of Twm Shon Catti, descriptive of Life in Wales was published. Enlarged (and somewhat altered) editions of this followed. An eight-page pamphlet, Y Digrifwr, was published in 1844, its subtitle admirably describing its contents ("The jokester: a collection of feats and tricks of Thomas Jones of Tregaron, Cardiganshire, he who is generally known under the name Twm Sion Catti"). George Borrow, walking through Wild Wales in 1854, heard several tales about Twm from a fellow-walker on the way to Tregaron and later read what was probably Pritchard's book".

URL of the statue: (visit link)

Type of wood carving: Chainsaw, grinder, chisel & carving tools Artist's Name: Grace Young Monaghan Approximate size/height: 5 feet 6 inches. Other type: Not listed Type of wood: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
All logs must be the result of an actual visit to the wooden carving.
"Visited" only remarks will not be accepted.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/26/2012 veritas vita visited it