On John Ystumllyn: A Black British gardener and craftsman

John Ystumllyn (c.1738-1784/1786), also known as Jac Du or Jack Black, was a Black British gardener, craftsman and florist. The tale of how he ended up in Wales is still up for debate. According to his gravestone, it notes that he was born in the West Indies and was baptised in Wales. Some say he was stolen straight from his mother’s arms on the coast of West Africa, brought to London and sold amongst other African boys. This kidnapping is backed up by John’s recollection, stating that he remembers being on the banks of a stream, when he was accosted by white men. It is said that John lamented as he remembered the screams of his mother, who was in pursuit. Taken, as a piece of memorabilia from his home, like other young men, women, children, plants, animals and family heirlooms during the Atlantic Slave Trade. It is reported to have been fashionable to have black children, mainly boys, as servants in households in London and across Europe during the 18th century. We can look at the example of the philosopher Anton Wilhelm Amo^[1], who was taken from his home of Axim in Ghana and presented as a gift to members of the House of Weif. I first came across Ystumllyn (pronounced us-tim-lynne) after the Frank Walter exhibition^[2] closed, when Janine Nelson introduced me to Zehra Zaidi. Zehra and I spent over two hours on the phone, discussing his life, as well as Zehra’s compelling campaign^[3] to get the John Ystumllyn Rose named in his honour – it was a painful and inspiring listen. How to pronounce Ystumllyn, as demonstrated by Dr Marian Gwyn:

His portrait reminds me that his memory cannot just be a snapshot of him as a 16-year-old. John had a life before and after this painting, one that must be equally celebrated and enquired about in its entirety.

Most of what is known about John comes from a pamphlet made by Robert Isaac Jones in 1888^[4]. Jones’ grandfather treated John in his later years and told stories about John’s life to his grandson, who became dutiful in carrying on the story so that it is “not lost to memory… as a means of keeping the story alive for the generations to come… “. Jones’s account may not be entirely accurate because it was not a first-hand account, and was written well over 100 years after John’s death. Art historian Theo Mould is soon to publish his research into the painting, which will be the definitive study of John and his portrait. John Ystumllyn was the name that was given to him. At the ages of six to eight, he was brought to the Ystumllyn estate in Cricceth by clergyman Ellis Wynne Sr. John had a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings and it is a shame that Jones remarks that the family “had considerable difficulty for a long time in domesticating him” as he had “no language, only something akin to a howl, or screams”. As a fellow poet, who constantly ponders on new ways that human beings can communicate, it is a shame to hear a poet describe a West African language in such a way. Dr Marian Gwyn points out that Jones was part of efforts to protect the Welsh language in resistance against the legacies of the Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales, commonly known as the Treason of the Blue Books. This report regarded Welsh people as dirty, lazy, ignorant and immoral. The report also maintained that teachers should only speak English in areas where children only spoke Welsh. The legacy of the Treason is ever-present today. Currently, only 17.9% of people in Wales speak Welsh as a first language. In a survey conducted last year, an estimated 27.7% of people aged three years and over were able to speak Welsh – which is the lowest percentage recorded in over eight years. A gentleman named Ollie, who I met in Cardiff, told me that after GCSEs, there isn’t much onus to speak Welsh in the major cities.