The Remains at Hafod Y Celyn
The bridge known as Bont Newydd, Aber, is roughly situated near the junction of the valley of the Aber Fawr, at the upper end of which are the well-known Aber Falls, and of the Anafon Valley, in which is Llyn Anafon or the Aber Lake. From Pont Newydd there is a grass road called on the Ordnance Map the "Roman Road," which ends in a gate. Passing through this gate and keeping to the right, a small cottage known as Hafod-y-Celyn is soon passed on the right ; a little higher up the slopes of Foel Dduarth the path that leads into the Anafon may be seen skirting the slopes of the before-mentioned mountain. Between the wall that bounds the road just before the gate is reached on the right there are some fields that extend right down to the Anafon river and southwards as far as the cottage (now disused) Hafod-y-Celyn

In this area there are the remains of quite an extensive series of buildings (Fig. 28), and tradition has it that Llywelyn ap lorwerth and Llywelyn ap Griffith had a palace in or near this site.
In 1261, Llywelyn ap Griffith, after defeating Sir Roger Mortimer, returned to Aber under Penmaenmawr, a palace between Conway and Bangor, in which he occasionally resided. *
Again, in 1281, when Edward was residing at Rhuddlan in July, the Archbishop of Canterbury sent a monitory letter to Llywelyn and his adherents, in answer to which Llywelyn and his Council sent a memorial dated at Garth Celyn or Aber, in Carnarvonshire, in the latter part of October, urging the King to redress their wrongs. All the correspondence seems to be dated at Garth Celyn. David ap Llywelyn ap Iorwerth died at Aber, a palace at which he usually resided in Carnarvonshire.
The above remarks show that there was a palace at Aber or Garth Celyn, but there seems to be no definite information as to whether the palace was in Aber-village or near the spot where the cottage, Hafod-y-Celyn, now stands. The large chimney of this cottage was protected with scythes intersecting each other at regular intervals; the mortar was made with cockleshells; this is common in some of the old houses at Aber, and the beach is now often strewn with cockle-shells, and the name of the village is often called Aber-gwyn-gregin (the mouth of the river of white shells), possibly to distinguish it from Aber-garth-celyn. Further, there is a tradition that there was an old church above Aber, near Hafod-y-Celyn, about 100 yds. From the edge of the steep slope down to the river, and in a W.S.W. direction from a small building which may have been a tithe barn. It is said that the priest who officiated at this church was the same as the one who officiated at Gyrn on the Llanllechid Mountain, but the existence of the latter church is only based on tradition. Between the two places was a foot-path, and the course is indicated by the following place-names :- Rhyd-yr-Offeiriad (the priest's ford), Rhaiadr-yr-Ofleiriad (the priest's waterfall), Sarn-yr-Offeiriad (the priest's stepping stone), and Pont-Sgubor-Goch (the red barn bridge). Part of the path is cut in the rock, but this and the Sarn are all that now remain. In any case, the numerous remains of foundations of buildings both round and square on this spot seem to show that it was a place of considerable importance.
The following is a general description of what may be seen on this spot at the present time. A general view (Fig. 28) of the site is given, taken from a point near the slopes of Foel Dduarth, and more exact details are given on the accompanying

Perhaps the most noticeable feature is a large rectangular enclosure I measuring 134 ft. by 124 ft; the walls are 6 ft. thick. The entrance to this is at E on the N.N.E. side, about 31 ft. from the corner H of the square; the entrance is 8 ft. wide, and on the east side is a large stone. A rough wall made of small stones and faint, runs from the west side of the entrance to a rude hut (8) of large stones.

       * "Old Churches of Arllechwedd," by Mr. North (Supplement).
A grassy way beside a drystone wall takes us into Cwm Anafon. Down a narrow path on the right is a jumble of abandoned buildings - a small ramshackle corrugated iron structure, a roofless one-roomed cottage and a shed. Looking more closely I noticed the remains of a chimney seeming to belong to an earlier building now overgrown. Most people wouldn't give this place a second glance but this is the site of Hafod-y-gelyn, the hafod of the Prince's manor at Aber. Remains of the Medieval site have been found but the current buildings apparently date from the 18th century, perhaps at a time when the hafod was converted to a smallholding (see Davies 1979 24). In Fenton's time its was 'an old house in ruins, with a small farm house close to it' (Fenton 206). Nowadays it seems to only be in marginal use, perhaps for storage, and is not maintained. We can tell that the site is in a favoured micro-environment because leading from the holding down towards the stream are two large fields green with a crop of kale. All this however, is only the tail-end of a much longer sequence of usage, attested by the extensive prehistoric settlement, houses, fields and cairns recorded in the immediate vicinity (area of 676714, RCHMW 1956, 10-13).