The Hollow Oak of Nannau

In the park of Nannau stood an ancient hollow oak that Pennant called Derwen Ceubren yr Ellyll, the hollow oak, the haunt of demons. Tradition said that Owen Glyndwr killed Howel Sele, lord of Nannau, and hid his body in the hollow of the tree, where his fate lay unknown for years. Pennant saw the oak in its last decay, pierced by age into the form of a Gothic arch, and the cinders and ashes of Howel’s house nearby. Hone prints the tale in verse from the notes to Scott’s Marmion, where the country people are said still to point the tree out to passers-by.