1739-1810
Twm o’r Nant was the pen name of the Welsh language dramatist and poet Thomas Edwards (January 1739 – 3 April 1810), also known as Tom of the Dingle. He was famous for his anterliwtau (interludes or short plays), which he performed mainly around his native Denbighshire. Edwards was born in Llannefydd, Denbighshire (now in Conwy County Borough). When a child his parents moved to Y Nant Isaf (Welsh for Lower Brook), near Nantglyn, from which he took his pen name. Edwards had little formal education: he attended one of Griffith Jones' circulating schools where he learned to read, and attended 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.