Dic Penderyn was a young Welsh miner who was caught up in the midst the Merthyr Risings of June 1831. His trial and subsequent execution for a crime he did not commit, made him a martyr to the Welsh working-class and he became a symbol for those who tried to fight for change and oppose oppression. In death he has become a Welsh folk hero who still remains in the minds and hearts of the Welsh people to this day.
We know very little of his early life before the riot. Richard Lewis, also known as Dic Penderyn, was born around 1808 at Aberavon in a cottage named Penderyn, his family moved to Merthyr Tydfil in 1819 when his father found work in the mines.
During the month of June 1831 a large riot broke out in Merthyr Tydfil over working conditions and wage cuts within the iron mines, which became known as the Merthyr Rising. In a desperate attempt to regain control, the authorities sent one of the Highland Regiments stationed at nearby Brecon. When the soldiers fired into an unarmed crowd that had gathered outside the Castle hotel, 24 people were killed. While no soldiers were killed, one of them – a private called Donald Black – was stabbed in the leg with a bayonet which had been wrestled off one of the soldiers. Private Black was unable to identify his attacker but Richard Lewis, known throughout Merthyr Tydfil as Dic Penderyn, was arrested and charged with assault. Arrested alongside Dic was his cousin Lewis Lewis, one of the riot’s leaders and known to authorities as someone heavily involved in the organisation and planning of the unrest. Richard Lewis had limited involvement with the riot and had been there more as a spectator, why he was marked out for arrest has never been made clear.
The result of the trial was never in doubt; both men were found guilty and sentenced to death. Lewis soon had his sentence commuted to transportation, despite his involvement in starting the riot, it became apparent that he had actually saved the life of Special Police Constable John Thomas by shielding him from angry rioters. Special Constable John Thomas testified to this thus helping Lewis Lewis escape the gallows, Dic however was not so fortunate. Despite numerous appeals for a reprieve – and the people of Merthyr Tydfil presenting a petition which had amassed 11,000 signatures – the Home Secretary, Lord Melbourne, a man known for his severity, only delayed the execution for two weeks but refused all appeals for mercy. To many it seemed the execution occurred solely because Lord Melbourne wanted at least rebel to hang as an example to others.
Dic Penderyn was hanged outside Cardiff goal, on the gallows in St Mary’s Street, which is now the entrance to Cardiff Market, on the 13th of August 1831 at 8am. He was 23 years old. According to legend his last words were ‘O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd’ which translates as ‘O Lord, this is iniquity’. The legend also tells that Dic’s young wife was pregnant at the time and due to the shock of her husband’s arrest, trail and execution caused her to miscarry. Many thousands grieved and lined the route as Dic’s coffin made its way from Cardiff to St Mary’s churchyard Aberavon were he was buried. The truth would eventually be revealed after many years, even if it was too late for Dic Penderyn. In 1874, a man named Ianto Parker confessed on his death bed to a minister, that he had stabbed Black and fled to America to escape capture thus exonerating Dic Penderyn. Another man, James Abbott, who testified against Dic at his trial, later admitted that he had lied under oath.
If Lord Melbourne and the authorities thought that young Dic Penderyn would soon be forgotten, they were greatly mistaken.
Today Dic Penderyn is remembered as a true Welsh martyr. A plaque dedicated to him stands outside Cardiff market, near to the gallows site, and in 1966 a memorial was placed at his grave by local trade unionists. A book by Alexander Cordell published in the 1970s, The Fire people, kept his name alive and in 1977 a memorial was unveiled outside Merthyr Tydfil library. More recently has been the call for Dic Penderyn to be granted a pardon, which as been presented in the House of Commons by numerous MPs, however to this date the struggle to exonerate Dic Penderyn in the eyes of the law continues.
Written by Siôn Williams who enjoys all things old and historical.
Published: 14th June 2024
