Two years ago, there were no statues of real women anywhere in Wales. As of Saturday, June 10, there are now three. The extraordinary poet, preacher, journalist, campaigner and teacher Sarah Jane Rees, better known by her bardic name Cranogwen, was unveiled in her home village of Llangrannog.
Cranogwen, the first women to win a poetry award in the National Eisteddfod of Wales, joins late Cardiff headteacher Betty Campbell and writer, dramatist and evolutionary theorist Elaine Morgan, in having been honoured with a statue thanks to the Monumental Welsh Women campaign.
The ceremony took took place at the Urdd Centre - Gwersyll yr Urdd, Llangrannog, Ceredigion, where Cranogwen was born in 1839. To honour Cranogwen being the first woman to win an award for poetry at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Professor Mererid Hopwood - the first woman to win a Chair at the National Eisteddfod - guided the ceremony. Local artists and school children also took part in the event.
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Cranogwen's statue was designed and created by renowned sculptor Sebastien Boyesen, the statue represents Cranogwen's extraordinary life and her many and varied achievements. The statue stands in the newly renovated community garden in the centre of Llangrannog, near the church where Cranogwen is buried.
The statue to honour Cranogwen comes from a campaign by Cerflun Cymunedol Cranogwen Community Monument, a subgroup of the Llangrannog Welfare Committee, in partnership with Monumental Welsh Women. This is the third statue commissioned by Monumental Welsh Women to honour and recognise women’s contribution to Welsh history.
It follows the unveiling of the Betty Campbell Monument in Cardiff in September 2021, and of the statue of writer Elaine Morgan in Mountain Ash in March 2022. Monumental Welsh Women’s mission is to erect five statues honouring five Welsh women in five different locations around Wales in five years.
The statue was commissioned following the Hidden Heroines campaign organised by Monumental Welsh Women, broadcast on BBC Wales. The other women on the shortlist were Margaret Haig Thomas (Lady Rhondda), Elizabeth Andrews, Elaine Morgan and Betty Campbell, who became the first woman on the list to be honoured with a statue.
Cranogwen was a skilled mariner and worked for two years as a sailor on cargo ships between Wales and France. At 21 years old, she became a headteacher, overcoming opposition to the appointment of a woman. Cranogwen was the first woman to win a poetry prize at the National Eisteddfod and went on to be one of the most popular poets in Wales.
She was also the first woman to edit a Welsh-language women’s magazine – ‘Y Frythones.’ Packed with stories, poems and features, it campaigned for girls’ education. At a time when public speaking by women was frowned upon, she embarked on a career as a lecturer, Temperance campaigner and preacher who travelled across America twice. Cranogwen died in Cilfynydd in 1916.
Helen Molyneux, founder of Monumental Welsh Women group said: "Our Mission is to celebrate female ambition and success by commemorating the achievements of great Welsh Women - and to inspire the next generation of great Welsh women. We are delighted to be able to announce the unveiling of this - the third statue in our campaign.
"This permanent memorial of Cranogwen will stand in the heart of her beloved community of Llangrannog, and will serve as both commemoration of a remarkable, brave and pioneering woman and her many groundbreaking achievements and as inspiration to all of us who come after her."
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