The new artwork outside the Twyn Community Centre is a commemoration to the composers of the Welsh National Anthem. The music was composed by the harpist James James in 1856. The lyrics were written by his father Evan James. Evan was born in Caerphilly in 1809 but moved away from the area when four years old to live at the Ancient Druid Inn near Argoed in the then parish of Bedwellty. Evan’s son James, one of seven children was born there in 1832. Evan James and his family moved to Pontypridd in 1847 to run a woollen factory on the banks of the river Rhondda. He remained there until his death in 1878. James left Pontypridd for Mountain Ash and later moved to Aberdare in 1893 where he died in 1902.
The artwork was jointly commissioned by Caerphilly Town Council and Caerphilly County Borough Council and was designed by the artist Rubin Eynon. It comprises a bronze cast combining the forms of the Welsh Dragon and Welsh Harp with the soundbox formed from the words of the anthem. The sculpture is installed on a block of natural pennant stone.
