10/07/2026
The Last Ride of King Tewdrig: The Warrior Saint of Mathern and his connection to the Welsh Gatehouse, Moynes Court
Have you heard the legend of St Tewdrig before? What other legends do you think deserve to be better known?
If you stand quietly in the churchyard at Mathern, South Wales, just a few miles from the Welsh Gatehouse: Historic Holiday Let, it is easy to imagine that the stones themselves remember.
This peaceful village hides one of Wales' greatest legends. Long before castles, Norman lords or even the stories of King Arthur had been fully woven together, there lived a king whose final journey would become part history, part miracle and part myth.
His name was Tewdrig.
He was a warrior king who ruled the ancient kingdoms of Gwent and Glywysing during the sixth century, a time when Britain was being torn apart by invading Saxons. Unlike many rulers, Tewdrig eventually laid aside his crown voluntarily. Having spent much of his life defending his people, tradition tells us that he handed the kingdom to his son, Meurig, and withdrew from the world to live as a hermit amongst the wooded hills overlooking the Wye Valley, near Tintern.
One can picture him there: an old soldier who had exchanged armour for prayer, listening to birdsong instead of battle cries. Yet peace would not last.
News soon reached his lonely retreat that Saxon armies had crossed into his former kingdom. His son, now king, prepared to defend the land but knew that the people needed more than an army. They needed hope. They needed the old king.
Reluctantly, Tewdrig agreed to fight one final battle.
The ageing warrior once again fastened on his armour, mounted his horse and rode beside his son. Father and son fought together, driving the Saxons back in what became known as the Battle of Pont-y-Saeson, the "Bridge of the Saxons", near modern-day Tintern.
Victory came, but at a terrible cost. Tewdrig was mortally wounded by a spear.
According to Welsh tradition, his followers placed him on a wagon to carry him to the holy island of Ynys Echni (Flat Holm). The wagon was drawn not by horses, but by two white stags. Wherever they paused, fresh springs miraculously appeared to bathe the wounded king.
The final stop was at Mathern, only a stone's throw from the Welsh Gatehouse. Here, the wagon broke down beside a spring, and Tewdrig died. That spring is still known today as St Tewdrig's Holy Well, and it can still be visited. His son later built a church nearby to honour his father, and the village itself became known as Merthyr Tewdrig – the burial place of Tewdrig.
In the early 1600s, Bishop Francis Godwin of Llandaff who was at the time living at Moynes Court, possibly in the Welsh Gatehouse, reported discovering a stone coffin beneath St Tewdrig’s Church, believed to contain the remains of the ancient Welsh king. He arranged for the coffin to be moved to the chancel and commemorated with a memorial tablet. Centuries later, during Victorian restoration, the coffin was rediscovered beneath the altar, renewing the connection between Mathern and the legend of St Tewdrig’s final resting place
The story of Tewdrig is one of courage, sacrifice and faith, and it reminds us that the peaceful countryside around Mathern and the Welsh Gatehouse, Moynes Court has witnessed extraordinary events over the last 1,500 years.
And if you think this story sounds as though it belongs in the world of King Arthur, you're not alone. There are fascinating Arthurian connections to Tewdrig's family... but that's a story for another day.
