The village of Llanteg, in east Pembrokeshire, has seen some curious happenings in its long history, but few more dramatic than the public shaming of a young woman caught up in a relationship with a married man. The incident took place about the year 1852 at a farmhouse called Craig-y-Borion, where the young woman was employed as governess to her lover's children.
From the 1851 census, we know that the family concerned was named Severn, and that the head of the household was Mr Francis Severn, a farmer aged 39, originally from Derby. His wife, Mary, was three years younger, and they had five sons and two daughters, ranging in age from three months to 10 years of age.
Mr Severn seems to have been comfortably well-to-do, employing three men and a boy on the farm, and five domestic servants in the house. The census informs us that on the 30 March that year his domestic staff consisted of a cook, a housemaid, two general servants, and a nurse. The account of the dramatic events which took place at Craig-y-Borion does not name the young woman involved but simply refers to her as the governess, so we have no way of identifying her from the census. What we do know, however, is that once the affair was uncovered, the moral outrage felt by Mrs Mary Severn and her friends was directed not against the erring husband but against the unfortunate governess, taking the form of a particularly unpleasant kind of punishment - the ceffyl pren, or wooden horse.
The ceffyl pren was derived from an ancient Welsh law abolished during Tudor times, and was a wooden frame on which an offender was bound and carried through the streets to be publicly humiliated. The wrongdoers were generally those whose misconduct offended the strong rural sense of morality and justice: wife beaters, adulterers, young men refusing to marry girls made pregnant by them, or else neglecting to support their illegitimate children. The punishment was also much used during the Rebecca Riots on informants against the rioters.
Among the papers of the Mathias family of Pendeilo (between Llanteg and Amroth) now in the possession of Mrs Kathleen Phillips (née Mathias), there is the following vivid description of the ceffyl pren:
'Wooden horse: a ladder used as a stretcher in former years for carrying a person, tied thereon, around the district so as to expose them for some great sin, or disgraceful act which they had committed. The leading carriers were all masked so as to disguise their identity, and it was part of their programme to stick pins in the person tied on the wooden horse, as well as to torture them in other ways. It was the same in principle as the ducking stool of olden times, and was in later years replaced by a burning of a person's effigy, which consisted of an image made with a stick and old rags (a kind of Aunt Sally) which was saturated with oil or tar and then put fire to - the crowds around singing loudly, "We'll hang old ---- on the sour apple tree", using the name of the person desired to be exposed.'
The paper then goes on to describe what happened at Craig-y-Borion:
'The last wooden horse carried in Amroth was that of Miss ---- who had betrayed her trust as a Governess, with Mrs Severn of Great Craig-y-borion; the wooden horse proposed emanating from Mrs Severn and her lady companions in the district, who well paid the gang of men who in disguised attire carried the ladder around from Gt Craig-y-borion up around the Folly cross, thence to and through Amroth village, around Summer Hill to her home, or rather lodgings, at C.borion.'
'As a result, Mr Severn eloped with the Governess on the following day and never returned to Amroth again. This was about the year 1852. Several effigies have been burnt since in Amroth, the last being in Oct. 1892.'
Reading this description, one can only guess at the fear and humiliation experienced by the young governess during her ordeal - and the equally painful humiliation of the wife whose husband chose to abandon her and their seven children in so public a manner.
Judith LloydWilliam Severn, who says he is descended from Francis Severn, has contacted us:
'
Severne is with an e.
Francis was my great great grandfather.
We also know the name of the governess whom he later married was: Caroline Bingham Yelverlton. They lived in Kong, Ireland on one of the family estates before leaving for New Zealand. Both taught in the Havelock School near Nelson. One his sons from his first marriged Francis Egerton Severne followed his father to NZ of whom I am a descendant.'
your comments
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Antony Davies from Mandurah, Westyern Australia
I have lived in western australia since 1982 when I left Wales with my family to emmigrate, the town where we now live is called Mandurah about 75 klm south of Perth, we would love to have the wooden horse (ceffyil pren) over here to give the car hoons a ride on, I think they would be soon cured.
Wed Aug 20 14:34:43 2008
Derek Wells, Porthcawl, S Wales
Slightly changing the subject, but does anyone know if it was the custom in the mining industry to carry the body of a fatally-injured miner home, using a ladder as a stretcher? My grandfather's body was said to have been carried four miles home by this method in the 1920s. There must have been plenty of wheeled vehicles available. Or was it a mark of respect on the part of his workmates?
Mon Dec 31 10:58:34 2007
Ruth Roberts, Llanteg
I'm Secretary of Llanteg History Society and we published Judith's research in one of our books (she was a member before moving).If anyone would like to pass on more information to us we have a website www.llanteg.co.ukor a History Society Blogwww.llanteghistorysociety.blogspot.comThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites
Mon Oct 1 09:57:11 2007
Alan Jolley, Lancashire, UK
A previous comment mentions a link to the USA. A similar punishment is described in Huckleberry Finn, where it is called "riding a rail". A quick search on the Internet suggests that that punishment was not peculiar to SW Wales, although calling it "ceffyl pren" probably is.
Wed Mar 14 12:37:18 2007
Janice Swanwick, Wellington NZ
I am also a descendant of Francis Severne and Caroline Yelverton and as with a wronged woman in my father's ancestry why is it that the woman is always singled out and not the man - he thoroughly deserved to be paraded on the wooden horse - she was a very young woman just out of a French finishing school according to family tales. They went on to become very respected teachers at Havelock School in the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island of NZ from 1870-71. Just three days ago I found the grave of Francis (he died at age of 88)in Havelock and some male Severnes - probably the sons of his first marriage as only daughters are listed from Caroline and Francis. One of those was my great grandmother. Descendants of those daughters still live around Havelock and are scattered through NZ and inc Brownlees, Hughes, Masons and Pickerings. The headstones are mostly toppled and not all legible and I will need to check the cemetery records in the hope of finding Caroline too.
Mon Oct 23 13:56:44 2006
Louise Raw, Herts. England
Can Brian Jones or anyone tell me any more about the song mentioned above, about hanging people on the 'sour apple tree'? I'm very interested in this as I know Civil War soldiers used this couplet in the US in their song 'John Brown's Body' after 1859 and had alwasy thought it was American, but here's an example of it being sung years earlier in Wales! Was it a trad. Welsh rhyme? Specifically, was it/ is it likely to have been sung by the Rebecca rioters when using the ceffyl pren on informants? Would love to know! Thanks very much
Thu Apr 6 20:00:11 2006
Cari Gorsgoch
Too good for words.
Sat May 28 17:52:03 2005
John from Creigiau
I would welcome any info re "y ceffyl pren" especially in or around the Gilfach Goch or Glyn Ogwr area.
Mon Mar 7 15:25:20 2005
Brian John from Newport (Pembs)
The ceffyl pren was well known in SW Wales in the administration of "folk justice". Justice and public entertainment went hand in hand. For more detail on how the ceffyl pren was used, and how its traditions were incorporated into the Rebecca Riots of 1839-44, see my new novel "Rebecca and the Angels."
Tue Jan 25 23:25:18 2005
P. Midwest usa
WOW! What a story! A person would live in great fear,if they ever committed wrongful deeds. I wonder if Public Humilitation would work in regards to our present governmental administration?
Happy New Year to all!!
Fri Jan 2 02:12:35 2004
Have you heard of the wooden horse / ceffyl pren? Add your comments below.
Judith Lloyd of Llanteg Historical Society writes about the 'Wooden Horse' - 'Ceffyl Pren' punishment:
