Some interesting facts about the 1936 Gorsedd Circle
The twelve tall stones that form the circle are all engraved with the names of the local parishes from which they came.
The stone marked Llanfairnantygof is different from the rest. The top appears to have been shaped to resemble a tenon joint. This is exactly how the horizontal lintel stones are fixed to the vertical Sarsen stones in the outer circle of Stonehenge. Nobody appears to know how or why this particular tall stone looks like this. Perhaps it was originally part of an ancient structure long before it arrived at Penslade.
The boulders in the middle of the circle form the Logan stone, as the central platform is called. It appears to be carved with steps but in fact this shape is entirely natural. It’s a geological formation known as columnar, or hexagonal, jointing which was created by the rapid cooling of volcanic rock. It can be seen in the cliffs on either side of the old harbour. If you go down the steps as the end of the quay at a very low tide and walk around to your right you can see it in the cliff face of the first small cove you come to. The Logan Stone must be a section that came away from its original position somewhere.
The 1936 eisteddfod was possibly the only occasion on which Dylan Thomas spent any time in Fishguard. He accompanied the famous artist Augustus John, who had been invited to judge the art competition, and his young model Caitlin Macnamara with whom Dylan had already fallen in love. They spent more time in Fishguard’s pubs than at the eisteddfod. On the way back to Laugharne the two men quarrelled over Caitlin and Augustus threw Dylan out of the car around Carmarthen. Nevertheless by the end of the year Dylan and Caitlin were engaged to be married.
When Under Milk Wood was filmed at Lower Town the cast and crew posed for publicity shots at the Gorsedd Circle.
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