This tune was noted down sometime in the late 18th Century by the German-born violinist, Johann Baptist Malchair (1739-1812), known as John Malchair in the UK to where he moved. He had heard it "in the vicinity of Harlech Castle". It was published by Dr William Crotch, professor of music at Oxford University, in "Specimens of Various Styles of Music, Referred to in a Course of Lectures Read at Oxford and in the Metropolis".