Thomas Edwards

Twm o'r Nant ('Tom from the Brook') was the pseudonym of a Welsh language dramatist and poet, Thomas Edwards (January 1739 – 3 April 1810), also known as Tom of the Dingle. He was famous for anterliwtau (interludes or short plays), which he performed mainly round his native Denbighshire.

Early life

Edwards was born in Llannefydd, Denbighshire (now in Conwy County Borough). As a child, he moved with his parents to Y Nant Isaf (Welsh for 'Lower Brook'), near Nantglyn, from which he took his pseudonym. Edwards had little formal education: he attended one of Griffith Jones's circulating schools, where he learnt to read, and a school in Denbigh for two weeks to learn English. However, he was eager to learn to write – he cadged writing paper and wrote with ink that he made from elderberries.

In 1749 Edwards joined a company of touring actors, which typically performed on an improvised stage such as a cart. He wrote seven interludes before he was 20 years old, but all have been lost.

In 1763 Edwards married Elizabeth Hughes, the wedding being conducted by the poet-priest Evan Evans (Ieuan Fardd). The couple settled in Denbigh, where Edwards worked hauling timber, performing in his interludes throughout North Wales and selling printed copies of them. After financial problems caused by the bankruptcy of an uncle, for whom he had stood surety, Edwards moved to South Wales, where he again worked in timber haulage and for a time kept an inn in Llandeilo. He returned to North Wales in 1786 to resume his performances, and became a stonemason. In 1808 he was working for William Madocks on the construction of the Porthmadog embankment.