Bronze Age Gold from Wales

In 1950/51 the Dodds family of Cardiff commissioned a caravan to be built to their specification by Louis Blow & Company of Canton, Cardiff, furniture makers who were branching out into garden furniture and caravans. The caravan cost £600, which was a very large sum - a terrace house at the time would have been worth £500 or less. The interior of the van bears all the hallmarks of the furniture maker’s craft. Lovely wood panelling throughout and purpose fitted cupboards, drawers and sliding doors. One shelf was even designed to house the baby’s carry cot. The whole family took to caravanning with gusto, and joined the Caravan Club. Mother, father, four children and a nanny would set forth to various farmer’s fields around the south Wales coast from Penarth to Pembroke. They towed the caravan with a variety of cars of the time including a Landrover, but eventually the caravan was sited in a field near Newport, Pembrokeshire where it stayed for the next fifty years! Up until 2009 many members of the family would spend happy summers camping in this beautiful part of Wales. It was last used in the Summer of 2011.

The Dodds family paid £600 for this caravan in 1950. That was the price of a small house in those days. It was made especially for them by Louis Blow & Company from Canton, Cardiff. The caravan hasn’t changed much since then. The family joined the Caravan Club and travelled around the south-Wales coast on holiday.