Amgueddfa Cymru holds an extensive collection of superbly illustrated topographical books dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

11th century cross-slabs near Margam, from Donovan's Excursions (1805)

One such book, Descriptive Excursions through South Wales and Monmouthshire in the Year 1804, and the Four Preceding Summers, was written by the natural history writer Edward Donovan. A prolific author, his books cover various aspects of the animal kingdom including insects, shells and fish. They are characterized by a large number of coloured plates, many of a very high quality.

Donovan also made a large collection of natural history specimens, and it was this collection that was opened to the public in 1807 as the London Museum and Institute of Natural History. Although Donovan was originally a wealthy man, he died virtually penniless, as booksellers seem to have had control of all his writing, which was valued at over £60,000 in the 1830s.

Welsh parrots

In the two-volume Descriptive Excursions through South Wales and Monmouthshire in the Year 1804, and the Four Preceding Summers, which he published in 1805, he describes travels from Bristol to Pembrokeshire. Donovan makes a large number of comments on the natural history and geology encountered on his tours, such as the puffins at Caldey Island, which were known to seamen as 'Welsh parrots'.

Donovan's account covers the topography, local customs, architecture and antiquities of the places he visited. He acquired a Roman table-top from Caerleon depicting Venus, and included an illustration of this now lost piece of sculpture in his account of his tours.

The first volume takes the tour up to the Ewenny area near Bridgend, while the second volume takes the reader from Margam to Tenby. One chapter of over eighty pages describes the state of the remains and antiquities of Caerleon, not only a useful archaeological account in itself, but one that is accompanied by several engravings of finds from the Roman fortress, for example, sculpture, pottery, coins and tiles.

The Margam stone crosses

Antiquities of a later period are described in the second volume, when Donovan visited the Margam area. A feature of this area, besides the remains of the Cistercian abbey of Margam, was a number of inscribed stone crosses generally known as Early Christian monuments. A pair of these lay near the farmhouse of Cwrt-y-Dafydd.

The Cwrt-y-Dafydd crosses were then being used as a footbridge over a stream, depicted in one of the more charming plates used to illustrate the account of the tour, and Donovan describes them, making comparisons with similar monuments that he had seen at Llantwit Major. These cross-slabs now form part of the collection in Margam Abbey Museum, and are known from their inscriptions as the crosses of Ilquici and Ilci, and date to the 11th century.

Donovan went on to visit Margam itself, admitted to the grounds by the gardener who was 'allowed to admit strangers of respectable appearance', and describes and illustrates two further Early Christian monuments in the surrounding area.

These accounts offer a valuable insight of day-to-day life in Wales during the late 18th and early 19th century.

'Nauseating ales' and 'filthy inns'

A view of Llangollen from Pugh's Cambria Depicta, a town where the growth of the tourist industry led to improvements in inns such as The Hand.

The accounts of tours of Wales undertaken by well-to-do Englishmen in the late 18th and early 19th centuries have always been a major source of information for studying early modern Wales. The descriptions of towns and antiquities, regional costumes, customs, industries and the state of communications can prove very helpful and informative. The nature of the inns and hostelries encountered on the travels is yet another aspect full of interesting detail.

A warm Welsh welcome

When J.T. Barber published details of his tour of south Wales in 1803, among the inns at which he and his friend stayed was the Green Dragon at Carmarthen. It was described as 'comfortable', as was the Bridgewater Arms at Pontypridd and the Red Lion at Llanrhystud, which was a 'tolerably decent ale­house'.

However, not all the inns encountered by Barber and his companion provided pleasant memories. On reaching Carew, having got lost, the first inn he tried had no decent accommodation, nor stable for the horses. The second inn had even less, so the travellers returned to the first inn where at least a bed could be had.

'Nauseating ale'

The interior was discoloured, the landlord and his wife looked care-worn, and the meal consisted of hard barley bread and salt butter with 'nauseating ale'. The bed consisted of a bag of straw in a recess in a room the travellers shared with two of the landlord's children. The sheets were very damp, and the exhausted travellers found they were also sharing the room with fleas and rats.

Some of the inns on the main routes taken by the English tourist were excellent, particularly the one at Pile built by the Talbots of Margam. Barber's opinion of this inn was that it 'might be mistaken for a nobleman's seat', and that it catered well for all tourists. Henry Skrine's account of his tours in Wales, published in 1798, also mentions the inn at Pile, stating that it 'rather resembles a palace than an inn'.

North Wales

The Reverend W. Bingley's account of his 1798 tour of north Wales mentions the inn at Caernarfon built by the Earl of Uxbridge, stating that it had good views from its premises and excellent accommodation, and that few establishments in England could rival it.

A guide to the area published in 1827 confirms that this inn, the Uxbridge Arms, was 'large, handsome, and commodious', meeting all the needs of travellers at a reasonable cost. Bingley also refers to the Eagles Inn at Llanrwst as being comfortable and the only place there where post horses were kept. The disadvantage of the inn was that it was too popular, summer tourists making the atmosphere crowded and unpleasant.

It is apparent that the main hostelries on the tourist routes in Wales were, or had become out of necessity, suitable places to stay, notably those on the roads used by travellers heading for Ireland, such as The Hand in Llangollen, described by Bingley as tolerable, but too crowded and with an uncivil landlord. The Reverend G. J. Freeman who toured in the 1820s noticed the considerable changes The Hand had undergone since he had first visited Llangollen a year before Bingley.

Exceptions, such as the inn at Carew, were usually those where the tourist would not be expected to stop; for instance, the town of Tenby would have had the necessary hotels for this area of south-west Wales. However, there were occasions when travellers visiting towns were disappointed in the accommoda­tion that they found.

Filthy Inns

E. D. Clarke visited Haverfordwest in 1791 and commented that he had 'never felt more disposed to quit any place than Haverford', a feeling exacerbated by the filthy state of the inn.

He compared his room to a sty. The sheets were damp, and as the bed had not been changed since the last visitors it was full of sand from people's feet! Worse was to follow, for in the morning Clarke found that his carriage had four horses attached to it, not the two he had requested. He had no alternative but to take all four — 'Any inconvenience was better than staying with Pharaoh and all his host'.

Clarke was not alone in his experience of Haverfordwest, for Henry Penruddocke Wyndham tells a similar tale in his account of his travels made in the 1770s.

The ichthyosaur specimen before conservation (1750 mm by 720 mm by 70 mm)

Ichthyosaur after conservation showing head from separate individuals, and paddle bones set in plaster

Press coverage of the story

Routine conservation of the fossil collections at Amgueddfa Cymru, revealed a specimen that, on first examination, appeared to need a small amount of remedial work. What was to have been a small job turned into a major conservation project which attracted international media interest.

The ichthyosaur

The specimen in question is an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived during the Mesozoic Era, 65-200 million years ago - the same time as the dinosaurs. They are similar to dolphins, with large eyes and distinctive long jaws with sharp teeth and limbs modified into paddles.

The specimen was donated to the old Cardiff Museum in the 1880s and subsequently became part of the National Museum collections. It was originally mounted in plaster with a surrounding wooden frame and then both the plaster and the specimen were painted.

The specimen was restored several times during the twentieth century, and this included new plaster and repainting. A label identified the species as Ichthyosaurus intermedius, collected from Street, Somerset, and described the skeleton as 'the greater part of a small individual preserved with but little disturbance of the bones' — a statement later found to be rather inaccurate.

A detailed investigation of the specimen was undertaken and extensive damage was discovered, with cracks running through it. The plaster and wooden mount were in poor condition so the decision was made to remove all restoration and paint, and to get back to the original skeleton and rock. It was not a decision made lightly because we knew that the whole appearance of the specimen was going to be radically altered.

Revealing the specimen

Removal of the paint layers revealed that the missing ends of the ribs had been moulded in plaster and then painted to match the rest of the specimen, giving the false impression of actual bones.

Study of X-rays taken of the specimen revealed an inconsistency in one section of the spine of the fossil; a dark shadow surrounded the bones. When the paint from this area was removed, it became clear that a channel had been carved in the rock and individual loose bones had been fixed into it with plaster.

Beneath the paint it was discovered that the bones of the single preserved front paddle were also set in plaster. Holes in the surrounding rock suggest areas from which bones may have been removed before being relocated, but it is possible that some bones had been taken from other specimens.

The biggest surprise came when the paint was removed from around the jaw; the rock was a totally different colour and type to the rest of the skeleton. Not only were there at least two individuals involved, but further study proved that the head and body were two entirely different species of icthyosaur! This was a specimen that had been considerably altered by the Victorian preparators.

Re-displaying the conserved fossil

Although the specimen was made up of two different species, it was decided that the head and the body should be kept together as originally intended. The plaster surrounding the paddle and a part of the ribs made from plaster were also left intact. A new light-weight support system was built. Instead of being displayed simply as a museum specimen, this ichthyosaur will be used to highlight the techniques used by some Victorian enthusiasts to 'restore', display and present fossil specimens and how painstaking conservation work today revealed the true nature of our specimen.

Intense media interest was sparked when the Museum announced a public talk on the conservation of the specimen. This resulted in the story being covered in the national and international press in addition to television, radio and the internet, and included a live interview with ABC Radio in Australia!

In 1994, forty pieces of pottery and porcelain were given to Amgueddfa Cymru.  They were the gift of W. J. Grant-Davidson a distinguished historian of the Welsh potteries. Amongst the collection were several unique and important items, manufactured in Swansea in the early 19th century.

The Swansea earthenware tankard by William Weston Young.

Generous gifts

One of the most interesting pieces is a large earthenware tankard. It was made at the Cambrian Pottery, Swansea, in the opening years of the 19th century. It is decorated with the head and shoulders of a druid. We can tell from the inscription that this was painted by William Weston Young (1776-1847). The decoration is unique, though Weston Young also painted a plaque with a druid cutting mistletoe (now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London).

William Weston Young

William Weston Young worked at the pottery from 1803 until 1806 as a painter and as assistant to the owner, Lewis Weston Dillwyn. A land surveyor by profession, Weston Young was subsequently a partner in the Nantgarw China Works.

A pictorial puzzle

Other household items in the collection include a milk-pan, egg cups and a jug inscribed 'John Jinken 1793'. There is also a punchbowl decorated with a swan and a pike. This may have been made especially for the Pike family, who came from Dorset and shipped clay to Swansea. An image used as a pun like this is called a rebus.

Pioneer potter

Mr Grant-Davidson was also interested in English ceramics. There are ten examples from the mid 18th century in the collection he gave to the museum. As well as three fine Staffordshire stoneware teapots, there are two documentary pieces of Josiah Wedgwood's creamware. The collection includes one of the four known pieces of manganese decorated creamware, made by the potter Enoch Booth. Made in the first half of the 1740s, these may be the earliest examples of an earthenware body which is one of Britain's principal contributions to ceramic history.

Historian and collector

W. J Grant-Davidson was a distinguished historian of the Welsh potteries. He collected British ceramics from the late Middle Ages to the early 20th century. His best known publications are the article 'Early Swansea Pottery, 1764 - 1810' and the book ‘The Pottery of South Wales’. These feature many pieces from his collection.