Castle Studies in Wales (and beyond) John R. Kenyon, 1 April 2009 Chepstow Castle © Cadw, Welsh Assembly Government (Crown Copyright) Wooden gates at Chepstow Castle dating from the 1190s, making them probably the oldest castle doors in Europe. © Cadw, Welsh Assembly Government (Crown Copyright) Dolforwyn Castle from the air. © Cadw, Welsh Assembly Government (Crown Copyright) The ruins of Dolforwyn Castle. © Cadw, Welsh Assembly Government (Crown Copyright) Dolwyddelan Castle. © Cadw, Welsh Assembly Government (Crown Copyright) The development of medieval studies was a significant aspect of archaeology after World War 2, and work on castles was a prominent feature of these studies. For those wanting to discover the facts about medieval castles in Wales, then a book that was published in 2008 is for you. This is Castles, Town Defences and Artillery Fortifications in the United Kingdom and Ireland: a Bibliography 1945-2007 (Donington: Shaun Tyas), compiled by John R. Kenyon. However, much work had been done on castles long before 1945, although our understanding of these monuments has altered over the years. Because of the fine examples of castles to be seen in Wales, castle studies in this country have played an important role in the way that our research on these buildings has evolved over the last 150 years or so. The great stone castles of Wales George Thomas Clark has been described as the founding father of the castle studies. He was an engineer who worked under the great I. K. Brunel on both the Great Western and the Taff Vale railways in the 1830s. From the 1850s he was managing the Dowlais ironworks in Glamorgan, and well placed to indulge himself in examining the castles of Wales, on which he wrote numerous papers, later collected in book form. His theories on the origin of the earthworks of the first Norman castles in England and Wales, notably the castle mounds or mottes, such as that can be seen at Cardiff Castle, were soon shown to be wrong by later researchers, such as Ella Armitage. Nevertheless, a considerable amount of his work on the great stone castles of Wales and elsewhere is still of value. The Bibliography 1945-2006, with its 740 pages, indicates just how popular castle studies, both academic and popular, have been since 1945. Worth noting is the excavation of the first Montgomery castle, known as Hen Domen [Old Mound], from 1960 to 1992, as this has given us a fascinating picture of what this earth-and-timber castle in the Welsh Marches would have looked like in the twelfth century. The oldest castle doors in Europe Other recent research has helped us change our understanding of the development of certain features to be found at some of the great stone castles. One of the best examples of this concerns Chepstow in south-east Wales. The introduction of rounded twin-tower gatehouses, such as the outer gate at Chepstow, has in the past been seen as a development from the about the 1220s. However, the wooden gates that hung in the gatehouse until 1962, and which are now on display inside the castle, have been dated through the analysis of the tree rings (dendrochronology) to the 1190s, making them probably the oldest castle doors in Europe. Elsewhere, excavation and conservation of a number of the castles of native Welsh lords have been undertaken, for example at Dinefwr and Dryslwyn in Carmarthenshire. Dolforwyn in Powys, the last castle to be built by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales (d. 1282), has been totally uncovered, and the results of the work at all three castles have appeared in popular guidebooks and academic reports.
Catherine of the Wheel 1 November 2007 What do a firework and a painting from a medieval church have in common? Medieval wall painting of St Catherine, from St Teilos church, dating to around 1400. In 1998 St Fagans National History Museum began the challenging work of rebuilding and refurbishing a stone-built medieval church that had been moved from its original site in west Wales in 1984 — one of the first projects of its kind to be attempted in Europe. During the dismantling process, a number of extremely rare wall paintings were uncovered from beneath the limewashed walls. St Catherine One of the oldest paintings uncovered at the church dates from around 1400-1430 and represents St Catherine of Alexandria. It had remained hidden for centuries under layers of limewash, which had to be removed using doctors' scalpels. Once the complete image had been painstakingly uncovered and the many thin layers of limewash delicately removed, St Catherine was revealed dressed in late fourteenth/early fifteenth-century costume, standing next to a spiked wheel and holding a sword. Torture wheel and sword Close up showing detail of St Catherine's face after conservation and cleaning by Jane Rutherfoord & Associates Ltd of Milton Lilbourne, Wilts. The work involved removing the backing that had been applied during initial conservation work in 1986, and replacing it with a modern high-tec solution based on hexlite - a lightweight aluminium hollow board used in aircraft manufacture. The surface was then cleaned to reveal the original paintwork. The spiked wheel she is pictured next to is the instrument of torture that Catherine was condemned to death on by the Roman Emperor Maxentius [306-312] for her strong Christian beliefs. According to legend, the wheel itself broke when she touched it, so she was beheaded with the sword she is seen holding. The torturous wheel that St Catherine is associated with gave rise to the name 'Catherine wheel' for the popular firework. The re-erected church can be seen at St Fagans National History Museum. The wall paintings have been faithfully and expertly reproduced to show how the church would have appeared in about 1530. The St Catherine painting is not represented in the re-erected building, as it would have been covered over by this time. The original wall painting of St Catherine is currently stored at the museum and can be viewed upon request in advance.
The death of Tewdric Mawr - King of Gwent 11 October 2007 This sculpture depicts the death of Tewdrig Mawr, saint and King of Gwent and Morgannwg, who died at the moment of victory over the Saxons at Mathern, around 630AD. The composition originated as a plaster shown at the Abergavenny Eisteddfod in 1848. This was subsequently shown at the Royal Academy in 1849. A bronze electrotype of it was exhibited by Elkington, Mason & Co. in the Great Exhibition of 1851. Two casts are known today, both also made by Elkington’s. The other is on display in the Brecknock Museum. This one, which is dated 1856, was given by a group of subscribers to Morris C. Jones, editor of the Montgomery Collections, in 1876. A brass plate recorded: ‘This bronze group represents the death of Tewdric Mawr, King of Gwent and Morganwg 610 AD. Tewdric Mawr, in his old age, was induced to appear in defence of his country against the Saxons whom he thoroughly vanquished near the junction of the Severn and the Wye. The Welsh King, though mortally wounded, urged his brave followers to pursue the fleeing Saxons. In his dying moments he was comforted by his daughter Marchell, mother of Brychan, while an aged Bard proclaimed to him by harp and song, the victory. The group was designed, from suggestions by Lady Llanover, by the late John Evan Thomas F.S.A. and modelled by his brother W. Meredyth Thomas Medal Student RA. Elkington & Co. fect, Liverpool.’ The sculptor John Evan Thomas was born in Brecon in 1810. He studied under Sir Francis Chantrey and on the Continent. He produced the first of many church monuments in 1831, and began to practice as a portrait sculptor in London in 1834. He established a studio at 7 Lower Belgrave Place, from which he frequently exhibited portrait busts at the Royal Academy until 1862. Despite his move to London, Thomas retained close links with the gentry of his home town and with the principal Welsh landed families, many of whom were to sit for him. Consequently he was the first Welsh sculptor to establish a significant career and reputation largely through Welsh patronage. Thomas’s principal works are a statue of the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry (Westminster Abbey), a statue of the 2nd Marquess of Bute (also exhibited in Great Exhibition and cast in bronze in 1853, now in Cardiff city centre), Sir Charles Morgan (Newport), a memorial to the 1st Duke of Wellington (Brecon), John Henry Vivian (Swansea) and the statue of the Prince Consort erected on Castle Heights, Tenby, in 1865. Although principally a portrait sculptor, he contributed mediaevalising statues of Henri de Londres, Archbishop of Dublin, and of William, Earl of Pembroke to Pugin’s scheme for the rebuilt House of Lords in 1848. Described by Benedict Read as the ‘only unqualified example of ideal sculpture with history as a subject matter’, The Death of Tewdric is a significant episode in mid-Victorian art. It is also of fundamental importance in the context of the Welsh national revival of the 1830s and 1840s, being the principal work of art to emerge from the triennial Abergavenny eisteddfodau patronised by Lady Llanover. Peter Lord calls it ‘the most notable example of national academic art in the first half of the 19th century’. The Death of Tewdric also appears to have been the largest work exhibited by Elkington, Mason & Co. at the Great Exhibition in 1851, employing the firm’s newly invented electrotype process. Both the bard (derived from the well-known de Loutherbourg print of 1784) and his harp are formed as separate sections, and are bolted to the base. The Death of Tewdric, 1848–56 Bronze, height 167 cm (65 inches), length 127 cm (50 inches), width 63 cm (25 inches) Signed: I EVAN THOMAS Sc and Elkington Mason & Co fect 1856 Bronze, cast by Elkington & Co, Birmingham and Liverpool
Spirit of the miners 1 October 2007 The modern county of Ceredigion is not immediately associated with mining. As you travel towards Aberystwyth on the coast, following the inland valleys of the Ystwyth, Rheidol and the Mynach rivers in the northern part of the county, you could be mistaken in thinking that the economy of Ceredigion - formerly known as Cardiganshire - had always been dependent on agriculture. As you journey through the hills, take a closer look at the changing landscape and a different story unfolds. Driving from one rural settlement to another, the ancient landscape hides many stories, traditions and intrigues of the years gone by. Mining for metals such as copper, lead, zinc and silver has been an important part of the economy of the county for nearly 4,000 years. The scattering of small communities such as Ponterwyd, Pontrhydfendigaid, Ffair Rhos, Cwmystwyth, Ysbyty Ystwyth, Goginan, Ystumtuen, Pontrhydygroes, Cwmsymlog, Taliesin and Talybont often have nothing seemingly in common. However they do have one theme linking them all - the history and legacy of metal mining. This information forms part of the website 'Spirit of the Miners' - a community regeneration project that sets out to create an identity for northern Ceredigion using the legacy of metal mining as a theme for regeneration.
The Palace in the Lake 13 September 2007 Llan-gors Lake, with crannog in background. Image: Cadw (Crown Copyright). Llan-gors crannog during excavation. This image of the 1991 excavations shows planks from the crannog's palisade wall. Oak plank from Llan-gors, 60cm (2 foot) long. Submerged oak planks like this formed part of the palisade around Llan-gors crannog. Reconstruction of Llan-gors crannog, based on the excavation. Excavations at the artificial island or crannog in Llan-gors Lake, near Brecon, have provided a unique glimpse of a royal Welsh court. Excavations between 1989 and 1993 by the National Museum Wales and Cardiff University have revealed that the crannog, the only one known in Wales, was an early medieval royal site of the ruler of the inland kingdom of Brycheiniog. The small early kingdom of Brycheiniog (Brecheiniauc) corresponded approximately to the historical county of Brecknockshire in south Wales. The territory took its name from Brychan, dynastic founder of the royal line according to later legend.. Irish influence The crannog was carefully constructed of brushwood and sandstone boulders, reinforced and surrounded by several lines of oak plank palisade. Tree-ring dating of the well-preserved timbers has established that they were felled between AD889 and AD893. The site seems to have been influenced by Irish building techniques, and was possibly constructed with the assistance of an Irish master craftsman. The kings of Brycheiniog claimed to be descended from a part-Irish dynasty, and their use of such an unusual and impressive construction may have enhanced their political standing and strengthened their claims to Irish ancestry. Objects of high quality As a royal site Llan-gors crannog would have been a centre of administration, as well as a place for hospitality, where the ruler seasonally held court, received tribute and indulged in hunting and fishing. The artefacts uncovered, which include embroidered textile and parts of a portable shrine, confirm the site's aristocratic status. The crannog is attacked The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in AD916 Æthelflaed, 'Lady of the Mercians', sent an army into Wales three days after the murder of Abbot Ecgberht and his companions. The army destroyed Brecenanmere (the Anglo-Saxon name for Llan-gors Lake) and captured 'the king's wife and thirty-three other persons'. This record of an attack probably refers to the crannog, and the capture of the wife of king Tewdwr ap Elisedd. During excavation, a charred, burnt layer was uncovered - probably representing this attack. The site gives an unique glimpse of life on a royal site in the late 9th and early 10th-centuries. Timeline 880s: Elise ap Tewdwr, ruler of Brycheiniog forced by the aggressive actions of Gwynedd to seek overlordship of Alfred the Great. 889-93: Llan-gors crannog constructed by the ruler of Brycheiniog. 894: Vikings ravaged Brycheiniog. 916: Brecenanmere (probably Llan-gors crannog) destroyed by Mercian (Anglo-Saxon) army. Background Reading 'On a crannoge, or stockaded island, in Llangorse Lake, near Brecon' by E. N. Dumbleton. In Archaeologia Cambrensis (4th series) vol. 1, p2-98 (1870). 'The early medieval crannog at Llangorse, Powys: an interim statement on the 1989-1993 seasons'. In The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology vol. 23, p189-205 (1994).
