: Construction & Architecture

Mud walls and thatched roofs

Today, hardly any rural cottages erected since before the middle of the eighteenth century survive in Wales — it was generally believed that the poor simply could not afford materials good enough to last. New research suggests that this is not the case.

In fact, cottages were built with great ingenuity and attention to detail, using the best materials available locally.

Examination of Welsh cottages and the study of contemporary surviving accounts by Amgueddfa Cymru have concluded that it was a lack of maintenance and, above all, changing fashions brought about by the Industrial Revolution that led to their disappearance.

Sustainable construction

Transporting materials cost money so traditional builders were expert at exploiting their local environment in a sustainable way. Cow dung, for instance, provided fertilizer for the fields, was used in the making of clay flooring, added to help bind cottage walls and also as a fire-retardant for chimneys made of woven wattle.

Earth and turf

As the poor could not afford bricks, cottage walls were built from stone, earth or timber. They used whatever they could most readily and cheaply get. In western lowland areas of Wales — Anglesey, Llŷn and west Wales — that was often earth.

Few earth cottages survive in Wales today; many more can by found in the drier areas of England. In the very wet uplands, many turf-walled cottages were built, as turf lasted much longer than earth.

Thatched roofs

Up until the development of the great slate quarries of north Wales in the 19th century, and the coming of railways, thatch was a very common material. Today, very few thatched roofed buildings survive compared to in England.

Four different thatching techniques were common in Wales; only one still survives today in eastern Wales.

In west and north Wales the top coat of thatch was formed of knotted handfuls of straw thrust with a forked implement into a thick underthatch layer. The underthatch itself was often laid on a woven wattle foundation.

In the most exposed areas, the roof could be held down by a network of ropes pegged to the walltop, or held down by heavy stones.

Chimneys of straw and wattle

Cottage floors were often earth or mud. Partitions could be made of woven wattle or straw rope, covered with daub. The smoke hood above the chimney-stack was also often of daubed wattle, as was the chimney stack itself; no wonder that so many of these cottages were destroyed by fire.

But however sustainable the building materials used in these cottages, they fell prey to changes in society, and to fashion.

Changing fashions

With the growth of the Industrial Revolution, and the importation of food from abroad, more and more people left the countryside, most of them cottage dwellers.

More and more cottages, too, became the property of great estates, who began building larger homes for their workers. It was often easier to demolish the early cottages than it was to give them a second storey or to adapt them.

Today, traditional early cottages are rare survivals, and all the best remaining examples are listed as being of special architectural importance.

The coach before work began

The interior of the main part of the coach

The completed coach

A 19th-century railway coach has been at the centre of one the largest conservation and reconstruction programmes undertaken by Amgueddfa Cymru.

19th-century passenger railways

At the end of the 19th century, Cambrian Railways covered much of mid-Wales. Unlike the lines in south Wales, whose main purpose was to carry iron and coal from the valleys the short distance to the coast, Cambrian Railways provided long-distance passenger services. They connected coastal resorts such as Aberystwyth to the large cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London.

Quality and luxury

In comparison to today's trains, passenger coaches in the 19th century were quite complicated. Coach No.238 had a small luggage compartment at one end, then two first-class compartments and four third-class compartments. There were three toilets, one allocated to first-class use only. To make sure there was no mixing of classes, the corridors for first and third-class compartments were on opposite sides of the coach.

Coach No.238 was built in Birmingham in 1895 to very high standards, its original plans stating: “Interior panelling of polished sycamore framed with walnut wood and gold lined”.

From luxury coach to hollow shell

The coach entered service in 1895 and was used mainly between Aberystwyth and Manchester before finally being withdrawn in 1939. During the Second World War it was converted into a wireless van. Later it was put into storage before being transferred to Amgueddfa Cymru in 1991 by which time the coach was essentially a hollow shell.

The Museum decided to restore one first-class and one third-class compartment at either end of the coach, with the rest of the space to be used for groups of visitors. A special canopy was constructed to house the coach, allowing the restoration to go ahead even in bad weather.

Restoration of the coach

Work began with re-roofing the coach, then replacing the floor with 'tongue and groove' planks. The first-class compartment was found to have one set of planks laid at 45 degrees to the body of the coach, with a top layer laid at 90 degrees to the lower layer. Apparently this gave a quieter ride for the first-class passengers. Next to be renewed were the external panelling and mouldings, then the internal partitions and seat frameworks, all following the original plans. Such was the attention to detail that the metal brackets supporting the luggage rack were copied from an original with replicas being made in the brass foundry at the National Slate Museum in Llanberis.

The coach originally had 14 coats of paint; fortunately, modern paints do not require such methods. The lower half of the coach is finished in Cambrian Green, with an original sample of paint used to produce the appropriate shade.

Finishing touches

The coat-of-arms of the Cambrian Railway Company and the Prince of Wales feathers provided the finishing touches. These were taken from originals that were photographed, scanned and laser printed to provide identical copies.

The glory of this coach will serve as a reminder of the halcyon days at the beginning of the 20th century when people travelled from all over England to visit Cardigan Bay.

Excavation of the granaries at Usk. The horizontal lines running across the image are the foundations for the timber granaries, with the holes for vertical posts visible in the base. A later pit can be seen cutting through one of the foundations trenches on the left-hand side. The vertical lines are unexcavated areas.

Reconstruction of the East Gate, Usk (by Martin Dugdale). Built of timber, as was all the fort, it consisted of twin towers flanking a double carriageway, linked by a walkway above the road.

Reconstruction of the three large granaries at Usk (by Martin Dugdale). The floors of these buildings were raised clear above the ground to prevent damp and vermin reaching the grain and other food stored inside.

Finds from the excavations at Usk are housed at the National Roman Legion Museum at Caerleon.

Excavations in the town of Usk, South Wales in the 1960’s, revealed a fortress that was once home to Rome's Twentieth Legion.

William Camden (1551-1623) was the first to record a link between the Romans and Usk (Monmouthshire) - identifying it as the site of Burrium. However it was not until the late 1960s that an early legionary fortress was discovered beneath the southern half of the town.

It was built in about AD55, probably by the Twentieth Legion, as a base for the conquest of south Wales.

The fortress covered an area of 19.5ha (48 acres) and was defended by an outer V-shaped ditch, and a clay and turf rampart faced with timber. This had a walkway on top, wooden towers at intervals and a gateway on each side.

Granaries and cavalry regiments

Large-scale excavations between 1965 and 1976 revealed two groups of granaries - used to store the provisions necessary to feed the large invasion force - a workshop and part of an officer's house, all built of wood. More recent work suggests that an auxiliary cavalry regiment (known as an ala) may also have been stationed with the legion.

Reorganization of the Roman army in AD66 or 67 saw the transfer of the Twentieth Legion from Usk to Wroxeter (Shropshire). This move established a line of fortresses running north-east from Exeter to Lincoln and rendered Usk obsolete as a fortress.

A new legionary fortress

However, Usk continued to be held by a small 'caretaker' garrison until AD74-75 when a new legionary fortress was established eight miles downstream at Caerleon (Newport) - a location which was less liable to flooding and was easier to supply by sea. Even then, Usk was not completely abandoned by the Romans, who established a small auxiliary fort/works depot on the site. This fort did not last beyond the end of the 1st century AD, but the works depot appears to have had a much longer life.

Today nothing survives of the fortress above ground to indicate the part this small town played in the conquest of Wales. The fortress was systematically demolished by the Romans and any timbers left have long since rotted away.

Background Reading

Report on the Excavations at Usk 1965-1976: The Fortress Excavations 1968-71 by W. H. Manning. University of Wales Press (1981).

Report on the Excavations at Usk 1965-1976: The Fortress Excavations 1972-74 and Minor Excavations on the Fortress and Flavian Fort by W. H. Manning. University of Wales Press (1989).

Aerial view of Segontium showing the playing-card shape that is typical of Roman forts. Many of its stone buildings have been exposed for public display. Image: Cadw (Crown Copyright).

R. E. M. Wheeler with Lady Lloyd George (far right) at Segontium in 1922. Image © Private collection.

In the early 4th century construction of a bathhouse began in the south-east corner of the fort. The building was never completed.

Roman soldiers worshiped many gods. This relief from Segontium depicts Mars, the god of war and, on some occasions, healing.

The Roman fort of Segontium was founded in AD77 and was garrisoned until about AD394. No other Roman fort in Wales was held so long.

Segontium's name comes from that of the river: 'sego-' , meaning 'vigorous', which is hidden in its modern form, Seiont. The fort, one of the most famous in Britain, occupies a key position in the Roman military network. It is built on the summit of a broad rounded hill overlooking the Menai Strait and the Isle of Anglesey.

The first excavations were undertaken by R. E. M. Wheeler, then Keeper of Archaeology at the National Museum of Wales. Wheeler undertook excavations within the fort between 1921 and 1923. Many of the stone buildings now on view were uncovered at this time.

Further excavations undertaken between 1975-79 revealed a number of timber barrack blocks dating to the later 1st century and earlier part of the 2nd centuries AD. This indicates that the fort was designed initially to accommodate a 'cohors milliaria' (a regiment of auxiliary infantry, up to 1,000 strong).

There is clear evidence that the garrison had been reduced in size by about AD120. A large courtyard house, with its own small bathhouse, was constructed in the mid 2nd century. This impressive building may have been the residence of an important official who was possibly in charge of regional mineral extraction.

In the earlier part of the 3rd century the garrison was the First Cohort of Sunici, a 500-strong infantry regiment originally recruited from Germany. The name of the unit appears on an inscription, which records the repair of the fort's aqueduct around AD200.

The garrisons of the later 3rd and 4th centuries were much smaller. At this time Segontium's main role was the defence of the north Wales coast against Irish raiders and pirates. Coins found at Segontium point to a continued presence of troops at this key fort until AD394.

This extraordinarily long occupation can be explained by the need to protect the fertile and mineral-rich lands of Anglesey. Throughout the Roman period Segontium was the military and administrative centre for north-west Wales.

The military significance of Caernarfon did not end when the Romans left. In the medieval period a Norman 'motte' (a mound upon which a castle was sited) was established at the mouth of the Seiont, followed in the late 13th century by the famous Edwardian castle with its walled town joining it and, finally, by a small fort planted at the mouth of the strait in 1775.

Background Reading

'Excavations at Segontium (Caernarfon) Roman Fort, 1975-1979', by P. J. Casey and J. L. Davies. Published by the Council for British Archaeology (1993).

'Roman & Early Medieval Wales' by C. J. Arnold & J. L. Davies. Sutton Publishing (2000).

'Segontium and the Roman Occupation of Wales' by R. E. M. Wheeler. In Y Cymmrodor, vol. 33 (1923).

Mass produced Pottery in Roman Wales

Jar, bowl and flagon in Caerleon red-slipped ware. Soil conditions have all but destroyed the red-slipped surfaces, however, substantial patches still survive on the flagon at the rear of this group.

Study of a unique type of pottery from the Roman fortress at Caerleon, south Wales, sheds light on the relationship between local civilians and the army in Roman Wales.

Pottery was a mass-produced commodity in the Roman world and provides an important resource for archaeologists researching this period.

Different fashions in the shapes and fabrics of Roman pottery allow archaeologists to identify pottery industries: their production areas, trade routes, and date their rise and fall. Wales was home to several of these pottery industries, one of which has been the subject of study and debate since the late 1920s.

Pottery at Caerleon

Sir Mortimer Wheeler's excavations at the Caerleon Roman amphitheatre.

It was during the excavations at the Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon that the pioneering archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler first identified a group of fine, well made pottery including jugs, bowls, plates, and beakers. Many of these seemed to imitate the forms of metal and samian pottery vessels imported from the continent.

Since Caerleon was home to the second Augustan legion it seemed reasonable to assume that these pots were directly linked to the Roman army.

Roman tableware

The kiln at Abernant during excavation at the Celtic Manor resort in 1996. The pottery to be fired would be stacked on a fired clay floor over the pit in the centre of the image. Photo © Peter Webster.

Wheeler believed he had discovered the tableware used by the legion in the 2nd century AD.

Further excavations have found this type of pottery at Roman sites in and around Caerleon. With so much being discovered, it seemed obvious that it had been produced locally, and it became known as Caerleon Ware. The question was where?

It took another seventy years of work at Caerleon before this question was answered on the Celtic Manor golf course 1.6 miles (2.6 km) north-east of the fortress.

Celtic Manor Golf Course

Caerleon Ware was produced in imitation of well known continental types such as Samian. On the left is an authentic Samian bowl, and on the right the less-defined Caerleon Ware imitation.

In 1996, as the Celtic Manor golf course was being built, archaeologists revealed a kiln and the remains of several buildings - possibly drying sheds. The kiln contained a range of broken Caerleon Ware pots.

The Abernant kiln provided proof that the pottery, which Wheeler had grouped together, was made locally. But another question remains unanswered: who were the potters?

Wheeler believed that the potters were Roman soldiers. However, a close look at the 'name' stamps used on the large mixing bowls (mortaria) suggested the potters were illiterate - unlike the stamps used on tiles which were clearly literate.

If the makers of the pots were illiterate, they were probably not soldiers, but local civilians. Also the pottery was being made at a time when large sections of the legion were away in northern Britain.

It would appear that some enterprising civilians had set up business to supply the legion with pottery in a style that it recognised.

Background Reading

Not all of the Caerleon potters were literate. On the right is a stamp on the rim of a bowl on which the initials 'S. B.' can be seen. On the left is a stamp produced by an illiterate potter. Here the letters have become stylised shapes.

'Bulmore, Celtic Manor golf course, No. 3' by B. C. Burnham. In Brittania vol. 28, p401-2 (1997).

'The Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon, Monmouthshire' by T. V. and R. E. M Wheeler. In Archaeologia vol. 78, p111-218 (1928).