In 1876, the National Eisteddfod was held in Wrexham for the first time.
It was a memorable Eisteddfod, but for sad reasons. The Bardic chair was awarded to Thomas Jones of Llangollen, bardic name Taliesin o Eifion, for his awdl. Unfortunately Taliesin o Eifion died the night his poem was sent to Wrexham. For the first time in Eisteddfod history, the bardic chair was draped in black in remembrance (the second, more infamous time being when the chair was awarded to Hedd Wen in 1917, 6 weeks after the poet had died in battle during World War One).
The newspaper Baner ac Amserau Cymru reported the ceremony was an emotional affair, Lady Edith Wynne broke down crying during her performance and members of the audience sat 'with tears bursting forth silently, running into rivers along their cheeks'.

The chair is currently on display at Llangollen Museum, on loan from Denbighshire Heritage Service.

A 3D model of the chair has been produced and can be viewed here:
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/the-black-bardic-chair-at-llangollen-mu…