Wales Feed

Aberystwyth pier - courting disaster

Phil Carradice — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:49:54 +0000

Over the closing months of 2012 the promenade and pier at Aberystwyth took something of a pounding from the elements. Wind, rain and waves all seemed to conspire, as if trying to smash the coastal section of the town off the face of the earth.

The pier - the Royal Pier to give it its full name - and promenade are well used to the vagaries of Welsh weather. Arguably the crowning glory of the town, over the years the pier has endured the worst that the Irish Sea storms could possibly throw at it.

Aberystwyth pier has been battered and, at times, almost destroyed but it is still there and parts of it at least are still in use.

Aberystwyth pier

Aberystwyth was the first pleasure pier to open in Wales in 1865. British pleasure piers, a peculiarly Victorian invention, had a two-fold purpose - firstly, to embark passengers on paddle steamers and other holiday craft, and secondly - probably more importantly for Aberystwyth - to give holidaymakers the opportunity to parade up and down the wooden planking, taking the sun and feeling for all the world as if they were on board ship - without, of course, being seasick!

Aberystwyth Pier was developed by a group of local businessmen who banded themselves together into the Aberystwyth Pier Promenade Company. Designed by the famous Eugenius Birch (the Capability Brown and doyen of pier builders) and constructed by the local firm of JE Dowson, Aberystwyth Pier was 242 metres in length and cost £13,600 to build - an enormous sum of money in the 19th century.

The pier opened on Good Friday in 1865 and was considered to be an essential part of the town's development as a seaside resort. On opening day over 7000 visitors paid their admission fee and duly walked out onto the pier, marvelling at the waves and water 50 feet beneath their feet.

The huge turnout on that spring day was partly due to the popularity of the enterprise but also partly due to the fact that the new railway line between Machynlleth and Aberystwyth opened on the same day. It was the ideal chance for visitors and locals to use the new railway and, at the same time, experience the town's new tourist attraction.

So far so good. But disaster struck just seven months later, in January 1866, when the town was hit by one of the most severe gales of the winter. The storm washed away 30 metres of the seaward end of the pier, smashing the iron girders as if they had been made of matchsticks.

The original owners of the structure - still struggling to recoup their initial investment - were simply unable to make good the damage. And so the pier was sold. The new owners took their time and for six years it lay half demolished and open only at the landward end.

Finally, however, in 1872 a new 70 metres was added to the pier, making the structure longer and thinner in construction than the original. A new head gallery and refreshment stall was added at the same time and business carried on as usual.

A new glass pavilion was added to the pier (designed by Gordon Croydon-Marks) at the end of the 19th century. Opened by the Princess of Wales on 26 July 1896, it was a Gothic-style building with glass domed roof - hardly the ideal design for a building that was constantly prone to the vagaries of the weather.

Despite the potential problems of the design, the pavilion and pier struggled on for many years. Then, on the evening of Friday 14 January 1938, yet another gale hit the town.

This time the storm was immense, the worst in living memory. Winds estimated at 90mph smashed into the pier and into the promenade. Most of the houses along the road were damaged as pebbles, paving stones and rubble flew through the air. Many of the second floor windows in the houses were smashed, either by debris or by the force of the wind.

Most serious of all, however, was the damage to the pier. Over 60 metres were again washed away this time reducing the length of the pier by half. In the aftermath of the disaster, repair and reconstruction work began again, although the missing seaward end was not replaced.

A coffer dam was built as added protection, the work on this lasting until 1940. It cost the staggering sum of £70,000, the modern day equivalent of over two million pounds.

During World War Two the pier was regarded as a serious safety risk and so the structure was closed until the end of hostilities. After the war it was again repaired but facilities were not improved. By the 1970s the seaward end of the still-truncated pier had become so bad that it was once again closed for public use.

In 1979 the pier was bought by Don Leisure Group, a company that spent almost a quarter of a million pounds on refurbishment. There were plans to build a new pier, alongside the old one, but these came to nothing - perhaps fortuitously, considering the rather chequered career and life-span of the original.

The Royal Pier at Aberystwyth remains in place on the seafront of the town. It has survived some of the worst gales the area has ever seen - and that alone must speak volumes about the quality of workmanship from the original builders, men and speculators who dared to challenge and defy the weather on this, the most open and defenseless part of the Welsh coast.

Welsh theatre plunges to new depths... underground

Laura Chamberlain — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:32:08 +0000

The traditional theatre-going experience of putting your glad rags on and enjoying a small tub of ice cream in the interval is perhaps becoming a thing of the past.

Some of the unusual locations used by National Theatre Wales of late - military training ranges, beaches, village halls - seem to support this idea.

Yet Theatre Rue, a touring theatre company based in Machynlleth, are taking things a step further with their latest production. You’ll even need a hard hat.

The setting for their latest play Life And Death Underground is literal, as the action takes place in the old Braich Goch slate mine in Corris.

The play dramatises the plight of a Victorian mining family in the 1870s when production at the mine was at its height.

Mark Waite as Dafydd in Life And Death Underground. Photo © Stuart Worton

I asked the writer/director of Life And Death Underground, Nicola Burgess, a couple of questions about the production:

How did the idea of staging a play in a slate mine come about?

"It started with Mark Waite and the Corris Mine Explorers. Mark is an expert on the mines in the area and has researched them very thoroughly. He is also very experienced in caving and climbing.

"About three years ago I went on one of his Corris Mine Explorers tours. We went deep into the mine and Mark showed us the artefacts and relics of times and the tools that the miners had left behind when the mine closed in the early 1970s.

"The underground chambers, or 'bargains' as they were called by the company, which were created by human endeavour, dated back to the 1800s and the story of the lives of the quarrymen made a deep impression on me.

"I felt that it was a local history story that should be told and that the bargains themselves would lend themselves as an extraordinary performance space. I was also excited by the possibility of writing and performing their story in the place where it actually happened.

"The chance to illustrate the working lives and conditions of the miners in the actual space where they worked was too good to miss."

What can the audience expect from the play?

"The audience are taken on a guided tour as 'investors' in the mine. Their guide is Mr TB Thompson, an agent for the mine, who leads the audience to a working chamber to see the rock men at work and to see how their 'investment' in the mine is being spent.

"It is a factual performance, everything that the audience is told is actual fact as far as we can ascertain, and the miners are using authentic tools too. The feedback from the audience is that it is educational and thought provoking, which is exactly what we want it to be.

"The audience get to go underground into an actual old slate mine. They will learn about the workings of the mine and the lives of the men who worked there. The story that unfolds is lit by candle and lantern light, and they can expect to be surprised and moved by what they learn."

Mark Waite as Dafydd in Life And Death Underground. Photo © Stuart Worton

Have you encountered any difficulties due to the challenging underground nature of the venue?

"We haven’t encountered difficulties as such, but there are a couple of restrictions do to the nature of the venue. The first is that we can only take 30 people underground at a time, so the audience numbers are restricted, and secondly there is no wheelchair access.

"Authenticity is the key, so the venue has not been altered in any way to accommodate the audience, they have to adapt to the space they are presented with. To get to the entrance of the mine the audience have to walk up an embankment track, so sadly the performance is not really suitable for the very elderly or infirm. Also, only children eight years old and over are admitted."

Will the audience have to wear hard hats and other safety equipment to watch the performance?

"Yes, hard hats are provided and must be worn at all times underground. In order for the audience to be comfortable in the underground environment we advise them to wrap up warmly - preferably in a waterproof coat - as the temperature underground is a cool eight degrees all year round, and to wear strong walking boots or wellingtons as the ground is a little uneven and there can be large puddles."

Life And Death Underground runs on every remaining Wednesday throughout August 2012, with two performance each Wednesday at 4pm and 7pm.

For more information or to book tickets (Adults £10, children £7): 01654 761244, email info@corrismineexplorers.co.uk or call into the Corris Mine Explorers reception.

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The wicked squire of the west

Phil Carradice — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:12:52 +0000

Sir Herbert Lloyd of Maesyfelin and Peterwell just outside Lampeter can arguably be acknowledged as one of the wickedest men Wales ever produced.

In many ways he was the archetypal evil squires so beloved by romantic writers and early film makers. If he had been born and lived a hundred years later it would be easy to imagine him tying delicate young maidens to railway tracks and laughing as the train came ever closed.

In the 18th century, of course, there were no railway trains and Lloyd's wickedness took him in other directions.

Born in 1720, Sir Herbert Lloyd succeeded to the family estate of Maesyfelin after the death of his brother John in 1755 but had little liking for the place, preferring his own inherited property, the nearby land and house at Peterwell.

Indeed, he literally plundered the riches of Maesyfelin - its contents, its treasures, even the very stones of the place - in order to embellish and enrich his favourite house at Peterwell.

However, by inheriting the estate at Maesyfelin, Lloyd also succeeded to control of the court sessions at Lampeter.

As a JP he was brutal and vindictive, always seeking to fill his own pockets. Thanks to the corrupt nature of voting in the mid 1700s - servants and tenants of Lloyd's estates being enrolled as voters - he also became member of parliament for Cardigan Boroughs in 1761.

Representing his constituents meant nothing to Lloyd, it simply gave him more opportunity for lining his coffers, invariably at the expense of others. As someone once said of him, "he will never cease to persecute. It is become second nature to him."

Aided and abetted by his steward Oakley Leigh, Lloyd became famous for his violent and tyrannical lifestyle, heading up a band of friends and retainers who were soon regarded as being as dissolute as Lloyd himself.

He was vain, greedy and arrogant and during his time as Lord of Lampeter his control of the courts and their finances - their revenue meant to be a means to enforce things like road repairs and trade tariffs - was brutally enforced. Fines increased dramatically, much of the revenue undoubtedly finding its way into Lloyd's pockets.

The tale of the black ram

So vicious and violent was Herbert Lloyd's reputation that many of his deeds have gone down in Lampeter and Ceredigion folk lore. There are dozens of stories about the man but none is more powerful than the tale of the black ram. There was even an opera about the events written in 1957.

Apparently, Sir Herbert Lloyd wanted to gaze out at only his own lands from the roof of Peterwell - a vantage point that, amazingly, boasted an elegant roof garden. Unfortunately his vista was broken by the lands of one Sion Philip, an old farmer. He refused to sell his land to Lloyd and so a dastardly scheme was hatched by the owner of Peterwell.

Lloyd's prize black ram was taken and hidden away. Declaring the ram to have been stolen, Lloyd conducted searches all over the area. This went on for several days. Then, one dark night, servants from Peterwell climbed onto the roof of Sion Philip's cottage and carefully lowered the ram down his chimney. Philip and his wife slept on, unmindful of the fact that they were about to be charged with what was then a capital offence.

Sir Herbert Lloyd immediately sent for the Lampeter constable and, together with Oakley Leigh, headed for the cottage. The noise of the ram being lowered down the wide chimney had woken Philip but before he could do anything the constable and Sir Herbert burst in through the door. Philip was arrested and, apparently, marched off to jail, a journey of 30 miles through deep snow and frost.

The old man refused to confess to something he had not done and spent several weeks chained up in jail before a jury - hand-picked by Sir Herbert Lloyd, of course - convicted him for sheep stealing. He was duly hanged and Sir Herbert quickly acquired his lands.

At this distance, it is hard to say whether or not the story is true. Certainly Sion Philip existed and his small parcel of land did eventually end up as part of the Peterwell estate. And Sir Herbert was cruel and greedy enough to resort to such tactics. However you view it, it remains a fascinating tale and there are many people who still believe it implicitly.

In another country legend from the Lampeter area, the house and estate at Maesyfelin were subject to a curse, placed upon them by the local vicar. When Herbert Lloyd died in London on 19 August 1769 - some say by his own hand, others from natural causes - the two Lampeter estates were in severe financial difficulties. Most of the problems, it seems, were due to Lloyd's bad management and dissolute ways.

It seems, however, that the curse was effective. Sir Herbert Lloyd died childless and his estates soon passed into ruin. Many of the locals claimed that the curse on Maesyfelin was transferred to Peterwell along with the stones that Lloyd had moved from the original building to his favourite house.

By the end of the 19th century neither Maesyfelin nor Peterwell remained, the houses smashed down and left to moulder. Now all that remains of Peterwell is a pile of old stones and a stately avenue of trees. And, of course, the legend of Sir Herbert Lloyd, west Wales' very own wicked squire.

The history of the Royal Welsh Show

Phil Carradice — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:15:54 +0000

No doubt about it. You either love the Royal Welsh Show and can happily spend hours wandering around the show ground every July - or you hate it with a vengeance and sit there, in your car, fuming as you try to navigate your way around Builth Wells. Whichever category you fall into, one thing is sure - you can't ignore it.

The Royal Welsh Show came to Llanelwedd at Builth Wells for the first time on 23 July 1963. Before then it had led a peripatetic life, the show being held at no fewer than 37 different locations, alternating between the north and the south.

The new show ground, slap bang in the middle of Wales, was an ideal venue being relatively easily reached from most parts of the country.

Heddiw filming the show jumping at The Royal Welsh Show, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells 1963

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society was founded in 1904. It was then called, simply, the Welsh National Agricultural Society and the inaugural meeting, when rules and regulations were set down, took place at the House of Commons in London.

Twenty well-known and established figures from the field of agriculture made up the initial forum and right from the start it was clear that the main aim of the society was to encourage the growth and development of agriculture throughout the whole of Wales.

The early days of the society were not easy. There were arguments between members and finances were usually perilous. Nevertheless, the society survived, holding its first annual show at Aberystwyth in 1904, the year of its creation.

For that first meeting there were just over 400 livestock entries; within four years that figure had risen enormously with over 200 cattle trucks and horse boxes making their way to the seaside town. Twenty three special trains had to laid on in order to cater for the visitors and those wishing to show their livestock.

The Royal Welsh Show has continued to grow. These days livestock entries number around 8,000 each year and 20,000 cars are expected every day of the four day gathering. Many people bring their camper vans or tents and spend the week in and around Builth Wells. No wonder something of a log jam can be created at certain times! As anyone who has ever been to the show will tell you, the experience is well worth the effort.

The first show at the new ground in Llanelwedd in 1963 brought in just over 40,000 people. These days that figure has risen to an average of 200,000. In 2004, the centenary year, 227,360 people made their way to the ground and since then the attendance figures have continued to climb.

Heddiw at the Royal Welsh Show 1963, Llanelwedd, Builth Wells

The Royal Welsh Show has the avowed aim of showcasing the very best of Welsh livestock and certain days - such as the Welsh cob day - have become important moments in the rural year. But the show is more than just livestock. There are stalls and exhibitions, displays of country sports and traditional Welsh crafts. The showcasing of high quality Welsh food and drink makes a visit to the show almost compulsory.

The Royal Welsh Show is not just for farmers and those who live in the country - these days there are almost as many town dwellers to be found around the show ring. The show is an important part of the Welsh social calendar, for everyone, regardless of where they live or their occupation. It is something not to be missed.

Don't forget to check out he BBC Wales Nature website every day for the latest blogs and galleries from the Royal Welsh Show and to watch Royal Welsh Show 2011 on BBC Two Wales from Monday 18 July to Thursday 21 July, when Sara Edwards, Rachael Garside and Rhys Jones will explore the highlights from the show.

How a village in Powys helped the future George VI

BBC Wales History — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:20:39 +0000

Last night, The King's Speech won seven British academy awards (Baftas), winning both best film and outstanding British film.

Colin Firth won the best actor award for his portrayal of George VI struggling to overcome his stammer.

Prince Albert stayed at Clochfaen house for three weeks in 1917

BBC Wales News has an article on the little-known role that a small mid Wales village called Llangurig played in the health of the future king.

In September 1917, shortly after serving in the Battle of Jutland during World War I, Prince Albert was said to have suffered from the effects of a duodenal ulcer.

Prince Albert stayed in this bedroom at Clochfaen house

Clochfaen was an estate owned by Harry Lloyd-Verney near Llangurig on the banks of the River Wye. Lloyd-Verney was a senior member of the royal household at the time and the house, which was newly built, was considered to be the ideal location for the prince.

Although the future king was clearly taken by the tranquility of the area, it seems that the scenery was not enough to cure his health woes.

James Stirk, whose grandfather bought the house from the Lloyd-Verneys in 1928, and now helps to run Clochfaen as a holiday business, said:

"He travelled to Llangurig with his doctor Louis Greig and stayed for three weeks. According to a biography of George VI by [John] Wheeler-Bennett, Prince Albert wrote to his father from Clochfaen, depressed and saying he was not getting better and he needed an operation."

Clochfaen house is now run as a bed and breakfast and holiday cottage business

Read the full article on the BBC Wales News website.

Memorial to broadcaster Wynford Vaughan-Thomas restored

BBC Wales History — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:02:11 +0000

A memorial to Swansea-born radio and television broadcaster and writer Wynford Vaughan-Thomas has been restored following an appeal by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW).

Broadcaster and author of books about the history and topography of Wales, Wynford Vaughan-Thomas.

The Welsh slate viewing platform near Machynlleth in Powys highlights 13 of Wales' highest peaks. Opened in 1990, it had fallen into disrepair and had been vandalised.

CPRW successfully raised £11,000 to repair the memorial which will be reopened by Montgomeryshire MP, Glynn Davies.

Vaughan-Thomas established a reputation as one of the BBC's most respected correspondents. In this archive clip below from 1981, Michael Parkinson interviews him about his flight in a Lancaster Bomber over Berlin in 1943 as it completed an air raid.

Commenting on the dangerous journey, Vaughan-Thomas recalled: "I'll never forget coming up to Berlin. Literally it was surrounded by a bullring of searchlights ... and it was terrifying."

You can read more on the story in this BBC Mid Wales News article.

The CPRW have an audio file on the remarkable life of Wynford Vaughan-Thomas. You can download it from this page (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

View more clips featuring Vaughan-Thomas in the Wales History archive section.

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Owain Glyndŵr Centre's £275k grant

BBC Wales History — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:41:30 +0000

The Owain Glyndŵr Centre in Machynlleth is to receive a £275,000 grant from CADW, the Welsh Assembly Government's historic environment service. The funding will be used to restore the Grade I-listed Parliament House.

The Parliament House in Machynlleth

The building provides meeting rooms for community activities. The Old Parliament Building - the site of the parliament held by Owain Glyndŵr in midsummer 1404 when he was crowned Prince of Wales - was converted into an Interpretative Centre which explores the campaigns, life, ideals and history of Owain Glyndŵr.

The Owain Glyndŵr Centre is open to the public from 10am to 4pm until the end of September. Find out more about the history of the building on the centre's website.

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David Davies: Wales' first millionaire

Phil Carradice — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:24:53 +0000

The story of David Davies, the man who can justifiably claim to be Wales' first millionaire, is a classic.There is no other way to describe it; his life is a real tale of "rags to riches."

Born in 1818 at Llandinam in Montgomeryshire, he was the eldest of nine children and yet rose from being a humble sawyer to a position of power and prestige at the very top of Welsh society.

When he died in 1890 his personal estate was valued at over £400,000. And yet, for the first 30 years of his life he could barely read or write.

Upon leaving school at the age of 11, David Davies began to work on the farm and in the sawpits of his father, also called David Davies.

The young man's nickname, "Top Sawyer," dates from this time - he was proud to record and tell the story of how he had always had the good sense to work at the top of the sawpit and thus avoid being covered by shavings and sawdust.

For several years Davies worked as a sawyer, farmer and local contractor but then, after the early death of his father from TB, he was given the opportunity to create the foundations and the approaches to a new bridge across the Severn at Llandinam. The County Surveyor, one Thomas Penson, was so impressed with the work that he began to put other projects Davies' way. He was on the road to success.

Commenting on the death of his father and brother at this time, Herbert Williams, Davies' biographer, wrote:

"The cause of death of David Davies, farmer is given as 'Decline,' and the next column, reserved for the signature, description and residence of the informant, bears the words 'The Mark X of David Davies, Present at the Death.' Eight weeks later he made his mark a second time as witness to the death of his brother Edward. Five years were to pass before he carefully wrote his name on his marriage certificate."

David Davies had clearly taught himself to read in the years between the death of his brother and his marriage to Margaret Jones of Llanfair Caereinion. And from then on it was all upwards for the young entrepreneur.

As well as roads and bridges, he built several railways across mid Wales, his most notable achievement being the crossing of the mighty Tregaron Bog to finish the line between Lampeter and Aberystwyth. Building railways soon became second nature to Davies, and he even headed to the south west to construct the Pembroke to Tenby line.

By the 1850s he might have become an important and wealthy man but Davies never lost touch with his roots. In his book Davies The Ocean, Herbert Williams wrote:

"He was still the old Davy, ready to roll up his sleeves and turn to with the lads. One morning he saw them struggling to roll heavy stones into trucks in a quarry and with a cry of 'Sweet boys, up with them!' helped them shoulder the stones into place. His effort was all the more impressive in that he was on his way to London on business and wearing a dark suit which was so covered in dust that he had to go home to change before making the journey."

In 1864 David Davies bought land in the Upper Rhondda Valley and sank the Parc and Maerdy coal pits. Further mines followed, including the Garw and the Lady Windsor. So successful was the enterprise that in 1887 the Ocean Coal Company Ltd was established, and became one of the most enterprising coal companies in Wales.

As the Taff Vale Railway Company and Cardiff Docks were unable to cope with the traffic from Ocean Collieries, Davies promptly built himself a new dock at Barry - not without considerable opposition from Parliament and the powerful lobby of Lord Bute, who owned the land around Cardiff Docks.

David Davies was a Liberal MP for many years, representing the town and then the county of Cardiganshire. But as an opponent of Irish Home Rule, he quarrelled with Gladstone and lost the 1886 election by a margin of just nine votes. It was devastating blow and Davies died just four years later.

He had made an incredible journey, from humble labourer to the richest man in Wales. David Davies symbolises the energetic, hard working and imaginative Victorian entrepreneur, a self made man who knew exactly where he was going and, more importantly, precisely how he was going to get there.

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'At risk' historic house saved

BBC Wales History — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:30:00 +0000

The future of one of Wales' oldest inhabited buildings, Llwyn Celyn within the Brecon Beacons National Park, has been secured.

The building will be bought by the Landmark Trust after securing £335,000 funding from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and Cadw.

Llwyn Celyn (Crown copyright: Royal Commission of the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales)

The main hall and an adjoining block were built between 1480 and 1500 and the Grade-I listed medieval hall is considered to be the most significant inhabited building "at risk" in Wales.

Read the full article on this historic house in the Western Mail.

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History articles on BBC Local websites for Wales

BBC Wales History — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:41:42 +0000

North East Wales reports on commemorations held to mark the part Flintshire played in the Battle of Britain. Read the story.

North West Wales reports on Nant Gwrtheyrn used to be a little quarry village on the Llŷn Peninsula's northern coast. But when the mine went, so did its residents. Today it is a Welsh language centre and holiday hideaway and heritage centre staff are busy putting together materials on the community's history. Read the story.

Mid Wales has an article on Tŷ Mawr near Castle Caereinon which is the largest restored medieval aisled hall in Wales. It celebrates its 550th anniversary this year with a series of special weekend events. Read about the planned celebrations.

South East Wales reports on an exhibition in Cardiff that charts the role played by the city in Captain Scott's trip to the South Pole which left 100 years ago this month. The exhibition can be seen at National Museum Wales till Monday 14 June and then at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea from Wednesday 14 July. Read the story.

South West Wales A replica of Trevithick's steam locomotive can be seen going through its paces at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea on Sunday 13 June. Read the story.

History highlights on BBC Local websites for Wales

BBC Wales History — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:08:56 +0000

North West Wales has a feature on Gil Kennedy who had always kept quiet about his wartime experiences, but a chance find has inspired a children's book based on his story. Read the story.

North East Wales reports on the town Shotton which has a history of military bravery with three servicemen receiving Victoria crosses. Read the story.

Mid Wales has the final instalment of the final instalment of Grafton Maggs' memories of Major Humphrey Lloyd-Jones of the Parachute Regiment. Read the story.

South East Wales has a feature on the Antiques Roadshow which is coming to St Fagans National History Museum in Cardiff on June 10. Read the story.

South West Wales' gallery of photographs of historic buildings continues to grow. Take a look at the gallery.