Love My Wales Invites you to the Launch of 'Plas Brynkir, Dolbenmaen'!

The highly anticipated Plas Brynkir, Dolbenmaen, a collection of essays, discussing the Welsh landmark, Plas Brynkir, will launch on the 6th of December at Y Ganolfan Gymdeithasol, Golan, Dolbenmaen, Gwynedd, LL51 9YY between 11.00am – 4:00pm. Brynkir, Llewelyn the Great’s lost deer park, with its forgotten mansions, has been brought back to life in this exciting new publication. Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM has kindly provided a foreword for the book and will be at the even from 11:00 - 1:00pm to give a talk and sign books. Authors of the book will also be attending to sign books and give talks on their articles alongside an exhibition of reconstruction and local artworks by Ceri Leeder and Liz Bolloten.

For the first time, this important site of national importance has been researched in depth - specialists from different backgrounds have come forward following three archaeological investigations led by Love My Wales, a local charity to create a book of beauty and originality. Published in bilingual format and featuring original reconstructive artworks of the site, Plas Brynkir, Dolbenmaen, is sure to aesthetically please the eye as well as inform people of this vastly important site.

The book includes chapters by Spencer Smith, records the discovery of Llewelyn’s deer park; Dr. Shaun Evans analyses bardic poetry concerning the Brynkir family; Dilwyn Williams traces the development of the Wern and Brynkir estates; Mark Baker describes the development of the two forgotten mansions, and, with Dr. Mary Chadwick, gives voice to Elinor Huddart, a nineteenth century novelist at Brynkir; architect Adam Voelcker tells the story of Brynkir Tower’s rescue in 1994; archaeologist Sarah Doherty and William Jones recount Love My Wales’ archaeological investigations on site; and geologist Andrew Haycock, from the National Museum Wales shares his knowledge of the geology of Cwm Pennant.

Plas Brynkir Archaeological dig- Day 6

 Day 6 – 14/08/14

I went back to where I was to expose more of the slate floor I had exposed yesterday. To do so, I had to remove several more bottles, some whole and some unfortunately broken. When I cleaned the floor up to a certain point, rows of stacked bottles could be seen there, their bases exposed. We aren’t sure why this has been done here. The bottles, again, had slates on top of them, some roof tiles (moss slates) and then another layer of soil before the stones of the upper floor.

Bill and I removed some more large stones with the winch and large branches were cut in preparation for the open day tomorrow. The upper floor was also cleaned in order for photographs to be taken with a scale to show its size for future record.

Mary discovered another piece of the ornate iron object which she suggested possible held candles whilst being suspended from the roof as the object is heavily decorated and each piece found (3 in total) are rounded and have a hook on them.

I found several pieces of a large tea cup that was white with a blue pattern on it, depicting Chinese or Japanese buildings. Lumps of pitch, fragments of corroded iron and fragments of lead were also found today.

Bill has been saying for days that there is probably a spiral staircase at the edge of the fire place similar to Pant Glas Uchaf to and today he found three steps belonging to it! Roots are a bit problematic in the area but he’s hoping to find some more of it tomorrow.

Mary and I joined up our sections at the corner of the wall to expose the slate floor right through. It probably runs the entire length of the hall, not just our trench.

Diwrnod 6 – 14/08/14

Mi es yn ol bore ma i ddadorchuddio mwy o’r llawr lechan ym mhen draw’r ffos. I wneud hynny, roedd yn rhaid i mi dynnu nifer o boteli, rhai yn gyfan a rhai yn anffodus wedi torri. O dan yr ail lawr, mae posib gweld y poteli ar ben ei gilydd mewn rhesi twt. Nid ydym yn siwr pam mae hyn wedi cael ei wneud. Ar ben y poteli, roedd llechi, rhai yn lechi mwsogl, ac ar ben rheini, mwy o bridd ac wedyn yr ail lawr.

Mi symudodd Bill a fi dipyn o gerrig mawr gyda’r winsh a chafodd nifer o ganghenion eu torri er mwyn y diwrnod agored yfory. Cafodd y llawr uchaf efyd eu llnau er mwyn tynnu lluniau ohono fel bod gennym ni record yn y dyfodol.

Cafodd Mary hyd i fwy o’r gwrthrych haearn a gafodd hi hyd iddo diwrnod o’r blaen. Mae’r haearn wedi ei addurno yn drwm ac mae’r tri darn hyd yn hyn gyda bachyn arnynt ac yn edrych fel eu bod nhw’n ffurfio cylch pan roddwyd nhw at ei gilydd. Mae Mary’n meddwl mai efallai rhywbeth i ddal canhwyllau yn hongian o’r to yw’r gwrthrych.

Cefais hyd i sawl darn o gwpan de fawr wen gyda phatrwn glas arni heddiw. Mae’r lluniau arni yn edrych fel adeiladau Chinese neu Japanese ac mae blodau o’u hamgylch. Cafodd talpiau o pitch, darnau o haearn a darnau o blwm eu darganfod heddiw hefyd.

Mae Bill wedi bod yn dweud ers dyddiau bod yna grisiau tro yn debygol o fod wrth y lle tan, yn debyg i hwnnw sydd yn Pant Glas Uchaf a heddiw mi ddadorchuddiodd dri stepan yn perthyn iddo! Mae gwreiddiau coed yn broblem yn yr ardal lle mae’r grisiau ond mae’n gobeithio darganfod mwy o stepiau fory!

Mi gliriodd Mary a fi y darn oedd rhwng y ddwy  ohonom heddiw er mwyn gweld y llawr llechan yn cario yn ei flaen i ddau ran gwahanol o’r safle. Mae’r llawr lechan yn debygol o redeg o dan y neuadd i gyd ac nid yn unig ein ffos ni.

Plas Brynkir Archaeology Day 5

Day 5 – 13/08/14

I returned to the location of yesterdays bottles by the fire place and continued to clean back and expose more of the slate floor. More bottles came to the surface and it is interesting to note several moss slates lie directly on top of the bottles. The bottles can be seen stacked on top of each other, most whole but some unfortunately broken and so great care is needed to remove them.

Four Hamilton bottles or torpedo bottles were found amongst the 3 types noted yesterday. 3 of the Hamilton bottles were embossed with the company name J Schweppe & Co, who we know today as Schweppes, produced between 1831 and 1895 and the location of Oxford Street and Berners Street along with “aerated waters” and “genuine superior”. The fourth Hamilton bottle was different, embossed with the company name Humphreys and the location as Port Madoc, making it the local town of Porthmadog.

The section believed to be a doorway that Mary is working on produced large pieces of iron and lead today. The exposed slate floor at the edge of the trench closest to the window alcove was recorded in photographs by Bill. The upper floor made up of larger stones was cleared of loose boulders by Bill and myself using a winch so that it can be photographed tomorrow. Unfortunately the rain stopped us working in the late afternoon as the site was too wet.

Diwrnod 5 – 13/08/14

Mi wnes i ddychwelyd at y lle oeddwn  i ddoe gyda’r poteli  wrth y lle tan a dal ati i llnau a dadorchuddio mwy o’r llawr llechen. Daeth mwy o boteli i’r amlwg ac mae’n ddiddorol dweud bod amryw o lechi a mwsog arnynt yn gorwedd ar ben y poteli. Mae llawer o’r poteli yn gorwedd ar ben ei gilydd rhai ‘n hollol gyfan ond yn anffodus mae rhai eraill wedi torri ac mae angen gofal mawr wrth eu dadorchuddio.

Daethpwyd o hyd i bedair potel “ Hamilton” neu “ torpedo” ymysg y 3 math a nodwyd ddoe. Nodwyd yr enw J Schweppe & Co ar 3 o’r poteli -y cwmni a adnabyddir heddiw i ni fel “ Schweppes” wedi eu gwneud rhwng 1831 a 1895 a’r lleoliad “Oxford street a Berners street” arnynt  ynghyd a “aerated waters a genuine superior.” Roedd y bedawredd botel Hamilton yn wahanol gyda enwi cwmni Humphreys arni a lleoliad Port Madoc hynny yw potel o dref leol Porthmadog.

Mae Mary wedi bod yn gweithio ar ran yr ydym yn feddwl sydd yn fynedfa  ac wedi darganfod talpiau o haearn a phlwm. Tynnodd Bill luniau o’r llawr llechen sydd wrth ymyl y ffenestr. Dadorchuddiwyd y llawr uchaf o gerrig anferth gan Bill a minnau drwy ddefnyddio winsh  er mwyn tynnu lluniau fory. Yn anffodus, bu rhaid rhoi’r gorau i’r gwaith yn hwyr yn y p’nawn oherwydd y glaw.

Written by our fabulous blogger and volunteer, Lowri Roberts!

Plas Brynkir Archaeological dig 2014- Day 4

Day 4 – 12/08/14

Continued removal of the upper layer of stones and slates commenced towards the fire place around the boulder in order to remove them. Once Llyr and Bill had removed them, we cleaned to the larger stone level known as the upper floor but found it did not continue up to the hearth.

Roots needed to be removed in order to gain access to some of the larger stones and while that was being done, I started cleaning backwards from the corner formed by one edge of the trench which happens to be a wall and the wall of the fire place. Whilst doing so, I found a glass bottle. More cleaning revealed several more bottles of the same style and by the end of the day we had 50! More can be seen under the large boulder that still remains but measures need to be taken to remove it first so that we can safely remove the bottles. All of the bottles seem to be lying on the slate floor and I have managed to expose it in some areas. Fragments of iron are intermixed with the bottles; one in particular has a key hole in it, representing some sort of lock!

A faint label can be seen on some of the bottles with one in particular showing over half a worn label that depicts some sort of battle. The word MOUSSIRENDER is visible at the base of the label which relates to a Dutch sparkling wine. 3 different types of bottle have been found; the first the ones with parts of labels, the second a similar shape with grooves running up the bottle neck and the third is a longer and thinner bottle.

In another area of the trench, Mary is in a gap in the wall, possibly representing an entrance or doorway. There, she found a long, thin ornate metal object and a piece of lead depicting a symbol known in history as protection to ward off witches, possibly a piece from a doorway or window.

Diwrnod 4 – 12/08/14

Problem gyntaf y dydd oedd y cerrig anferth wrth y lle tan, a’r ffaith eu bod nhw angen ei symyd. Yn lwcus, mae gennym ni ddau ddyn cryf sef Bill a Llyr ar y safle i symud y fath bethau! Unwaith roedd y cerrig mawr o’r ffordd roedd bosib tynnu yr haen dop o bridd a llechi i weld os oedd y llawr uchaf yn cario ymlaen tuag at y lle tan. Fe ddarganfyddwyd nad oedd o.

Dechreuais  llnau yr haen dop o bridd a llechi yn gweithio’n ol o’r lle tan tuag at y ffenestr. Mae wal yn rhedeg lawr un ochr y ffoes ac felly dechreuais yn y gornel a oedd yn cael ei chreu gan y wal a’r lle tan. Yn y gornel, roedd na boptal wydr wyrdd. Wrth llnau mwy, daeth mwy o boteli gwydr gwyrdd i’r golwg ac erbyn diwedd y dydd, roedd gennym 50! Mae na fwy i’w gweld o dan y garreg fwyaf yn y gornel arall ond buasai angen symyd honnooddi yno cyn dechrau meddwl am eu nhol nhw! Roedd yr haen waelod o boteli yn gorwedd ar y llawr llechan waelod ac felly rwyf wedi dad orchuddio dipyn o’r llawr hwnnw yn y pen pella rwan hefyd. Roedd tameidiau bach o haearn ymysg y poteli hefyd, gyda un yn dangos hoel siap clo!

Mae lebal i’w weld ar rhai o’r poteli ond mae nhw wedi gwisgo. Ar un botal benodol, mae’r lebal i’w weld yn fwy clir ac mae’r gair MOUSSIRENDER i’w weld ar ei waelod sydd yn air Iseldireg am win ffisiog. Mae 3 math o botal wedi cael eu  darganfod hyd yn hyn; y rhai cyntaf ydy’r rhai sydd yn dangos y labeli, mae’r ail rai yn debyg ond mae ganddyn nhw linellau yn rhedeg i fyny’r g wddf ac mae’r trydydd yn botal hir a main.

Mewn rhan arall o’r ffoes, mae Mary yn gweithio ar flwch yn y wal sydd efallai yn cynrychioli drws. Yno, cafodd hyd i damaid hir, tennau o fetal wedi ei addurno a hefyd cafodd hyd i damaid o blwm gyda llun blodyn mewn cylch arno. Mae’r symbol yma i’w weld drwy hanes fel rhywbeth i gadw gwrachod allan o’r adeilad a gallai’r tamaid yma fod wedi dod o ddrws neu ffenestr. 

-Written by our lovely volunteer, Lowri Roberts!

Plas Brynkir Archaeology day 3

Day 3 – 11/08/14

We continued to clean back the layer of slate and soil, following the level of the larger stones believed to be an upper floor towards the fire place so that the trench is all the same level. The wall built to block the hearth is seen at the far side of the trench and removing all the soil will give us a better insight in to its structure and condition. The uneven floor seems to stop about a meter away from the fireplace where it is replaced by boulders blocking the way.

The boulders will need to be cleaned so that they can be removed so that excavating the soil and slate layer may continue before we can determine whether or not the upper floor continues right up to the fire place.

There weren’t many finds today except for a few fragments of corroded iron, however, pieces of plaster are commonly found, often showing white in the soil and including shells that were added to it to increase its calcium content.

Diwrnod 3 – 11/08/14

Daliom ati i glirio yr haen uchaf o bridd a llechi gan ddilyn yr haen o gerrig mawr tuag at y lle tan. Mae’r cerrig sydd wedi cael eu defnyddio i flocio y lle tan drwy adeiladu wal i’w gweld ym mhen pella’r ffoes ac felly mae angen cadw at yr haen yr ydym arni nes cyrraedd y pen pella. Wrth wneud hyn, bydd y cerrig yn y lle tan yn dod yn fwy amlwg a cawn olwg ar sut mae nhw wedi cael eu gosod ac eu cyflwr. Mae’r llawr uchaf sef y cerrig anwastad yn gorffen tua medr i ffwrdd o’r lle tan am ryw reswm, ac yn ei le mae cerrig enfawr yn rhwystro’r ffordd.

Bydd angen llnau y cerrig sydd yn y ffordd er mwyn eu symyd i ni gael cario ymlaen i ddadorchuddio’r   pridd a’r llechi o danynt cyn i ni gael bod yn siwr bod y llawr uchaf ddim yn cario mlaen i ben pellaf y ffos.

Ni chawsom llawer o ddarganfyddiadau heddiw ond am dameidiau o haearn, er, mae talpiau o blaster wal yn cael eu gweld ar y safle yn aml. Mae o i weld yn cynnwys cregyn sydd yn amlwg wedi eu rhoi ynddo i ychwanegu fwy o galsiwm.

-Written kindly by Lowri Roberts, one of Love My Wales' amazing volunteers.

Day 2 of the Brynkir dig 2014

Day 2 – 06/08/14

Mary and I continued to remove the mass of soil and slate in an attempt to expose the slate floor that we know is below it. A lot of iron fragments are also present in the rubble but as it’s corroded, it’s difficult to tell exactly what it is or was used for, although nails are still easily identifiable. Several moss slates, some whole, some broken are also being found as we excavate the soil, made clear by the small round hole in their tops.

Under the highest level of soil and slate there is a layer of larger stones, then another layer of slates and stones and then the clean slate floor. Even though the layer of larger stones is fairly uneven, it looks like a floor and so for now we have decided to follow that level. Bill thinks it may be a floor used for animals once the hall was no longer in use.

At the other end of the trench, Bill and Llyr were working on the fire place and think it is an inglenook fire place that has been blocked. Removing the stones that have been used to block it may reveal a collapsed beam characteristically seen in medieval hearths and will allow us to see the internal structure better.

Mary found two wine bottles today in the lower layer of soil and slate.

Diwrnod 2 – 06/08/14

Aeth Mary a finna yn ol i glirio y baw oddi ar y llawr lechan bore ma. Mae nifer fawr o ddarnau bach o haearn yn y pridd ond oherwydd ei fod wedi rhydu, mae’n annodd deud beh ydy’r darnau, er mae hoelion yn hawdd i’w adnabod. Mae nifer o lechi mwsogl gyda’r twll bach yn eu top yn cael eu darganfod hefyd, rhai cyfan a rhai wedi torri.

O dan yr haen uchaf o bridd a llechi, mae haen o gerrig mawr cyn haen arall o faw a llechi a wedyn y llawr lechan lan. Er bod yr haen o gerrig mawr yn edrych yn anwastad, mae o’n edrach fel llawr ac am rwan, rydym am ddilyn y lefel yna yn dad-orchuddio yr haen o gerrig mawr yn lle cael gwared ohonynt i gael at y llawr llechan. Mae llawr anwastad fel hyn yn debygol o fod yn perthyn i ryw gwt anifeiliad medda Bill am nad oes gan wartheg angen llawr gwastad!

Ym mhen arall y ffoes, mae Bill a Llyr yn trio dad-orchuddio y lle tan am ei fod wedi cael ei flocio gan gerrig mwy. Mae tynnu rhai o’r cerrig wedi argyhoeddo  iBill mai lle tan inglenook sydd gennym yma ond mae angen tynnu mwy i weld sut yn union y cafodd  ei adeiladu. Daeth Mary o hyd i ddau botal win gyfan heddiw ma!

Kindly written by Lowri Roberts, one of our awesome volunteers!

Day 1 of Brynkir 2014!

Diwrnod 1 – 04/08/14

Mae’r rhan gyntaf o’r diwrnod cyntaf yn cael ei wario yn trafod y safle, beth sydd wedi ei wneud o’r blaen a beth sydd yn ddisgwyliedig ohonom y flwyddyn yma. Mae mapiau a llunia o’r safle yn ddefnyddiol er mwyn i ni gael gweld yn union lle bydd y cloddio yn digwydd.

Rydym yn gweithio ar dy canol oesol, mewn neuadd lle ma seti y ffenestri  i’w gweld o hyd. Ar y llunia sydd genym ni, mae posib gweld lle tan ochr arall i’r neuadd o’r ffenestr, ond dydy hyn ddim yn golygu y bod nhw o’r un cyfnod na ‘r dyddiad oherwydd roedd y tai yn cael eu newid ac eu ail-ddylunio ar gyfer pwy bynnag oedd yn byw yno ar y pryd.

Mae ffoes 8 medr wedi cael ei osod o’r ffenestr at ben draw y lle tan gyda lled o tua 1.5 medr. Mae yna lawr lechan wedi ei dad-orchuddio wth y ffenestr ers flwyddyn diwethaf sydd yn bosib o’r 17^th ganrif. Dyma lle y dechreuodd fi a Mary heddiw, yn clirio tua 2 droedfedd o faw oddi ar y llawr lechan. Mae yna nifer fawr o lechi yn y baw sydd yn debygol o gynrychioli y to a fu dros yr adeilad ar un pryd. Rydym yn cadw golwg am lechi mwsgl sef llechan do efo twll ynddi lle buasai peg sgwar wedi cael ei roi.

Mae darganfyddiadau heddiw yn cynnwys tamaid o wydr gyda E arno, rhai darnau o grochenwaith gwyn, tameidiau o haearn a marblan.

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Day 1 – 04/08/14

The first part of the first day is always spent being brought up to date on the site, what has been done before and what we are hoping to achieve this season. Brynkir has been dug for a few seasons and so there is a rough expectation of what will be found. Maps and diagrams are useful to show the site from a birds eye view where certain areas can be highlighted.

We are working on a medieval manor house, specifically in a hall where window seats and alcoves can still be seen. On the plans it is possible to see a fire place directly on the opposite side of the particular window we are working from, although it doesn't necessarily mean they are from the same date as buildings are constantly modified and re-designed to suit those living there at the time.

A trench has been set up from the window alcove, extending around 8 meters to the furthest end of the fire place and reaching a width of around 1.5 meters. The slate floor, possibly dating to the 17^th century has been exposed at the base of the window seat and therefore, Mary and I started there, and began on removing some 2 feet of rubble and soil from the floor. The rubble includes a lot of slate that probably indicates the roof that once covered the hall. We have been instructed to keep a look out for moss slates which are a type of roof slate that have a visible hole at their top where a square peg was once located to hold them in place.

Finds from today included a piece of glass with an E on it, some pieces of white pottery, some fragments of iron and a marble.

Written by Lowri Roberts, one of our dedicated volunteers! Thank you, Lowri!

The Amazing Edwinsford Hall!

Throughout Wales there are countless derelict buildings that require a determined owner to come  to their rescue.  I have visited many of these  buildings over the years, but none so magical and evocative as the ruined mansion of Edwinsford in Carmarthenshire.

I had made my first to Edwinsford when I was just 14. It was summer and the mansion had just been put on the market. To my astonishment I had persuaded my parents to take me to  have a look at it. The mansion sits in a valley, with the river Cothi running alongside the main gardens. Crossing over the river is  a  single arched bridge that once linked the main house with the stables, home farm and kitchen garden that were on the other side of the river.  I can vividly remember climbing over the piles of fallen masonry by the house; at this point the front doors were still in situ and the main hall way resembled a forest full of young trees and brambles,  what an exciting place to explore for a 14 year old. I left Edwinsford that day  with a massive grin across my face as I was so sure that I would be able to convince my parents to buy it for me! Alas for all my efforts at persuasion, it did not happen.

It would be over ten years before I next returned there,  this time, in the depth of winter, by now the new owner had made an effort to clear the saplings that had ten years previously surrounded the mansion and he had removed the fallen piles of stones to uncover a cellar and  the boiler room, but  all the clearance work  could not hide the fact that  the structure of the building looked in a perilous state. This was  confirmed when  I discovered a freshly collapsed wall, which  looked as if it could have fallen moments before my arrival.  Other walls also looked so weak, that the next gale would see them tumbling down. Although the state of the house was a sad sight  it still retained the magical feeling that I could so vividly remember from when I was 14. Edwinsford began as a square  building built into the side of a hill. Over time the house was continually enlarged resulting in a somewhat rambling building that we have today. The house included three very fine plaster ceilings, a large oak staircase and many panelled rooms.

 Edwinsford was not to escape the effect that WW2 had on our country houses. It was taken over and used to house Polish refugees, who grew mushrooms under the floor boards.  Later it was used as a school. Long gone were the days when Edwinsford was used as a rather lavish summer residence by Sir William Drummond and his ancestors.

One story I  recall hearing when standing in front of the mansion on a bitterly cold early January  morning speaking to a farmer who had  grown up living on the estate, was that of when Sir William Drummond drove down from the  family seat  of Hawthornden Castle in Midlothian In the 1960’s  to inspect the house. When he arrived he was so horrified by the state that Edwinsford  had been reduce to that he  turned the car around and left without even stepping out  the car.

 Later on a rift in the family saw the mansion being willed to the former butler, who subsequently left it empty and so Edwinsfords future began to look bleak.

Poor old Edwinsford,  I  wonder what will become of this most magical  of buildings?

-Written by Tim James

New Post: Passionate about Buildings at Risk? / Swydd Newydd: Eisiau Gweithredu dros ein Treftadaeth

New Post: Passionate about Buildings at Risk?

Love My Wales is working with other Building Preservation Trusts in Wales to create a new post.   Based in south or west Wales, you will co-ordinate work at a rare Tudor Hall House in west Wales and at a large industrial site in south Wales, whilst securing ongoing funding and working on a strategy to develop Love My Wales.  You will manage and develop a very small staff in Caerffili and liaise with stakeholders and trustees.  Experience in project management is essential, preferably in the construction or heritage industries, or in the third sector.  PT/FT.  We will work with the right person to fashion a post that suits.

For more information, please contact the trustees via lovemywales@gmail.com.

Swydd Newydd: Eisiau Gweithredu dros ein Treftadaeth

Mae Caru fy Nghymru yn cydweithio gydag ymddiriedolaethau cadwraeth eraill yng Nghymru er mwyn creu swydd newydd yn ne a gorllewin Cymru.  Byddwch yn cyd-lynnu gwaith mewn hen neuadd wledig yn y gorllewin ac ar safle ddiwydiannol mawr yn y de, tra’n cael hyd i arian ar gyfer Caru fy Nghymru a gweithio ar strategaeth i ddatblygu’r corff.  Byddwch yn rheoli ac yn tyfu staff bychan iawn yng Nghaerffili ac yn cyd-weithio gyda’r ymddiriedolwyr a budd-ddeiliaid.  Mae profiad rheoli prosiectau ym myd adeiladu neu dreftadaeth, neu yn y trydydd sector.  Llawn amser neu ran amser.  Dylunir y swydd i siwtio ymgeisydd addas.

Am ragor o wybodaeth, cysylltwch â’r ymddiriedolwyr trwy lovemywales@gmail.com.

Stephen Donelly talks of the beautiful Palace Theatre, Swansea

The Palace has been many things to many people since 1888. It's roof has provided shelter to thousands, whether as a venue for vaudeville performance, as Jingles In the 80's and a Techno/Dance club in the 90’s. As Swansea City Centre gets remapped, rebuilt and modernised into a 'European Boulevard City', The Palace's continued presence on High Street stands as an important reminder of the City's culture and the debt it owes to it's past.

In January Swansea Council reported they have had continued to ‘positive confidential discussions’ with the owners of the Palace Theatre Building. A recent feasibility report carried out on the building by the council suggested that returning it to a theatre would be unrealistic because of the structure and current safety regulations, but did suggest other uses.

As of April Swansea Council made grant funding of £75,000 available to the Palace owners to help support the urgent work to help begin urgent repair work to the building, which is a great positive step forwards after years of neglect. Lets hope this is just the first of many positive moves which lead to finding a long-term sustainable reuse for the building, and that further deterioration is stopped sooner rather than later.

https://www.facebook.com/ThePalaceTheatreSwansea

http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-Palace-Theatre-emergency-repair-work/story-20958729-detail/story.html

Blog written kindly by Stephen Donelly from the Save the Palace Theatre

Tim James Visits the beautiful Gatehouse of Dunraven Castle

Throughout my trips spent tracking down abandoned buildings around Wales, I seem to have been drawn to the larger, grander buildings, but I must not forget the beauty of smaller buildings that lie in a similar state of dereliction; equally deserving to be rescued from their current state of neglect.

I have chosen two buildings at the opposite end of Wales.  They are built in different styles, but both of which had the same original use; these are two of the crumbling gate houses of Wales.

Standing in the grounds of the now demolished Dunraven Castle in Glamorgan is a beautiful crenellated gate house. It is situated a stone's throw from the coast up a rough farm track. The  castle-like design bears no resemblance to the actual castle that once stood at the centre of the Dunraven estate.  Despite this building having been out of use for many years the fabric of the building looks to be in surprisingly good shape.  It still retains all its crenellations, and, surprisingly, the roof is largely in situ.  Unlike so many building that have been out of use for a while this structure is free of saplings growing in gaps in its masonry, and this is a pleasure to see. Sadly the inside is in a rather more dilapidated state with rotten beams and stones lying scattered about the floor.  The absence of doors means that this building, intended for human habitation is now open and housing  any wildlife that wanders in.

In contrast to this is the gate house at Baron hill on Anglesey. A fine neo-Palladian building built in the same style of the mansion it once served. The gate house now is covered with ivy. The roof is long gone and so too are the ornate iron gates that once stood beside it. There is evidence that at some point an attempt has been made to keep the elements out of the building by placing corrugated sheeting over the roof. Alas this seems to have been in vain. The inside walls are in a desperate state as saplings push their way through the gaps in the stone work. The building is surrounded by a jungle of vegetation and fallen trees.  What a sad state this building is in.

Here we have two small buildings crying out for attention, both of which would make a great place for someone to live in, or as very popular holiday rentals. If only their owners would place them on the open market I'm sure they would be snapped up at once! 

-piece written by Tim James

Tim James Explores the Amazing Marine Buildings at Penarth, Cardiff

A French Renaissance landmark  located in Penarth overlooking Cardiff Bay is continuing to rot as  plans to convert it back into a hotel continue to be put on hold. The building, known as Marine Buildings, has stood empty for the past 30 years. It has been the victim of fire and continuous water damage as the roof has largely collapsed leaving the building under ever more strain from the elements. The building has now been declared structurally unsound  after many of the internal walls have collapsed.  The impressive front facade is constructed of yellow brick topped off at either end with French pavilion roofs,(one of which now has fallen in).

In 2012 the estimated cost of the redevelopment of the building stood at 6 million pounds. This would include the building of a modern extension to the side and rear as well restoring the existing buildings facade to its former grandeur, reinstating the French Renaissance elements  that give this building its distinctive look.  The four star boutique hotel would boast 55 bedrooms, a wine bar and a restaurant.

But what is actually happening?  After being bought by the current owners in 2000 it was finally granted planning permission to transform it into a hotel. In 2012 all seemed to go quiet and just a few weeks ago  the Penarth Times reported that the renovations would be on hold until 2015 at the earliest.   It  was also reported that there would be a rise in the estimated cost of restoring  the building of an extra million pounds. Marine Buildings is a Grade II listed building and deserves to be restored.  I only hope that the owner finds the necessary funds to restore or at least make safe the current structure  before another decade passes and yet more of this building falls into the basement.  

Local Artist Ceri Leeder Reconfigures Brynkir

Mark and I have worked in the past on previous sites, reconstructing remains from photos, finds and maps. Brynkir had a number of old photos which I began by amassing and staring at. Staring, I have found, is an excellent way of getting to ‘see’ what you’re looking at; It may feel like nothing is happening, but the brain likes it, and will continue on with the work even when you have put it out of your mind. After staring I produced the following sketches in pen and ink:

All of which were inaccurate, but gave me a starting point. It was also interesting to see what mistakes my brain was making...which pieces were privileged and which were diminished. Then I began a series of more measured drawings and ended, with a fairly accurate representation, and finally began to paint and put in colours. At this point I was very dependent on the archaeological finds and needed to see what plaster fragments were being dug up. I also looked at a number of buildings of the same date nearby.

The other side of Brynkir was easier to reconfigure, as there were one or two photos that I could work directly from. Getting the pattern and number of the large stones was the problem in this case. There was also some dispute as to what comprised the outer range of buildings and the line of the wall, and again There was a certain degree of speculation on exactly what was what.

Finally the most challenging drawings were to reconfigure the medieval hall. There are no photos of this, only a few standing remains and I worked from analogies with other medieval halls and gatehouses, There were some test pits put in in the summer of 2013, and these helped with some of the directions and dimensions.
This is very much a work in progress and subject to all sorts of edits and additions.

- Written by, and images kindly donated by Ceri Leeder.

Penmorfa, Llandudno- By Dr. Michael Senior

© Copyright Margaret Clough

Llandudno is going through one of its periodic bouts of Alice-mania.  There is a body called Project Alice setting up trails and plaques.  Huge wooden statues of the characters from the Alice books are dotted around the town.  The rationale is that it is just possible that this was the site of origin of Alice in Wonderland.

It wasn't, of course.  My book Did Lewis Carroll Visit Llandudno? shows the unlikelihood of the author's ever having been there.  The origins of the book are well-attested, and located elsewhere.  Undoubtedly however Alice Liddell, the little eponym, did come to this embryo seaside town with her family as a child.  The only trouble, from Llandudno's point of view, is that there is nothing to show for this - now.

When the family first came they stayed in a boarding-house near the north shore of the town which was as a whole, in 1861, under construction.  It was while they were there on their Easter holiday that Alice's father conceived the idea of adding to the construction of the new town by building himself a holiday home there.  He was Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and so well-off and blessed with long vacations.

Surprisingly he chose the wild west shore, where no development had then taken place, and equally surprisingly he chose an off-the-peg design which he saw in an architect's window in Church Walks.  He commissioned a contractor and went back to Oxford.  Liddell had evidently scant knowledge of how things are done in north Wales.  When he came back that summer he found that nothing had happened, and by the end of another year he grew impatient, sacked the contractor and employed another firm.  The message got through, and by the summer of 1862 the house got finished.  It was, in its original form, a strange anomaly, on the West Shore.  Urban and Gothic in nature, it stood up sharply against the Great Orme as if it had got displaced from a major city.

Over the years Penmorfa was modified by random additions which, though architecturally irreverent, relieved its former mid-Victorian austerity.  It fitted better, as a slightly rambling amalgam, into the largely natural context.  As the Gogarth Abbey Hotel then it had a long and happy life, interrupted by the Second World War, during which it was commandeered as officers' accommodation for the local gunnery school, and the site of the Officers' Mess.  It was a family hotel, the beach being a few yards below it, the Orme above, and it had a wonderful view of the famous West Shore sunsets.  Then in due course it became less financially valid and came up for sale.

It was still the time when developers made easy money out of building flats, or, as they called them, apartments.  The site fell into the hands of one of those, and they sought to pull down the old and inconvenient building.  When the planning authority demurred they tried to incorporate the Liddell's house into a modern scheme, but this was made impracticable by its falling into disrepair.  Its new owners had taken the side off and the roof off so that it was totally exposed to the weather, and what had been only recently a substantial hotel was a sad, and, it was claimed, dangerous shell.

The local authority decided (too late) to get it listed.  It is remarkable that it had never been so.  Cadw claimed that it was not of architectural merit, and discounted the historic and cultural connections. The Council's weakness was a paranoia about being sued for compensation, after being obliged to put up public money to fight a long appeal case.  All the applicant has to do is imply that they can afford the best legal representation and will go for compensation if they win, and the planning authority goes weak. They could not safely spot-list the structure without the suport of Cadw, and Cadw declined to give it.  The result was that the holiday home of Alice's family came down, bringing down with it any valid connection to be seen now between Alice in Wonderland and Llandudno.

It is only a bitter comfort to note that the site is still vacant, a memorial, someone might say, to cynicism and greed.

© Copyright Matt Baines

-Written by Dr. Michael Senior

-Images used under this license. No changes were made to both of these images.

Remote, Derelict and on the Market- By Regular Love My Wales blogger, Tim James

The derelict  farmhouse known as Pemprys,  twenty minutes from Aberystwyth is currently on the market.

If seclusion is what you're after then this house is the one for you! This Grade II listed  building is sited on a small plot of land and it sits in a secluded valley  up a long and bumpy track.

After negotiating the fallen trees and the pot holes I reached the farmhouse. It was dusk and the light was fading fast. The ground was wet and there was  a cold chill in the air.

The walls of the house were thick and seemed to be in a good state, but the roof had many slipped slates and there were no signs of any activity to patch the holes up.

Walking into the house I saw a layer of mud covering the ground floor.  Some attempt to make the house semi- water tight had been made, but this was purely by blocking the windows up with whatever  stones or pieces of wood  had been lying nearby.  In the main room a large inglenook fire place took up the majority of  one of the walls, but the large wooden beam  that held up the chimney  had a great  crack in it and had consequently shifted  allowing the  wall above it to drop.  A rickety staircase led to the first floor, and I had to avoid the holes and rotten floor boards to take a look. There was evidence of wildlife, of various kinds, making the cottage their home. 

There are six rooms in total,  as well as a barn which is built onto the end of the house. This is a good size cottage sitting in the most beautiful position.

Sadly,  planning permission has already been refused twice, with the local authority suggesting  that a better use would be to use the building to house animals! Surely this is not the right answer!   Further worries from the council  include access and the presence of bats at the property. The lack of facilities at the property and  its remote location are factors that could put off many perspective buyers, but for someone wanting to live off-grid this could be perfect!

I will watch and hope that someone who can take on the many challenges of this property will appear and bring it back to life.

-Post courtesy of Tim James

The Archaeological View: A few of my Favourite Finds

I thought in this guest blog post I would share with you some of (in my view) my most interesting finds. It is a question often posed to the archaeologist, aside from the shudder inducing “Do you dig dinosaurs?”  immediately replied with a resounding “NO!”  I have had the good fortune to work in various sites as an archaeologist and ceramicist, both in commercial and research projects, in a variety of locations including the UK, Romania, Egypt and Sudan. I have been lucky enough to dig in some of the most incredible sites of the ancient world.

However, it is often the most every day, mundane item that can inspire you. On my first job as a commercial archaeologist, fresh out of university in 2008, I worked on a site in Shoreditch. The area was about to be developed into a hotel extension and so needed to be checked for archaeology. London is well known to contain a variety of building activities, particularly during the Roman, Medieval, and Victorian periods. We hoped that the site that I was worked at would be Roman date. However, I came across a sole of a leather shoe belonging to a young child in the middle of a soggy London grey clay ditch. It proved to be medieval and so the feature was dated accordingly. The shoe had been beautifully made, formed in a delicate point. (I have rather unevenly drawn it for you within the water it was stored in to conserve it in case you can’t see it). 

The medieval shoe found on Shoreditch high street, London excavations (ASE UCL)

Egypt

An exciting puzzle came during excavations at the site of Heit el Gurob, el Fayoum, Egypt in 2011. I was helping the team to document and record some of the looted tombs in the area. Many had been sadly trashed and human remains lay scattered all around. We sought to record as much as possible of what was left. We came across a gloriously decorated ceramic coffin that had been smashed to smithereens. We found 72 bits in all, and managed to fit most together. See http://www.gurob.org.uk 

Virpi displaying one of the uncovered painted ceramic coffin pieces

Sudan

More recently in February 2013 I was lucky enough to join the British Museum team at their site of Amara West, Sudan. The site dates to the Late Bronze Age and was an Egyptian town within Northern Sudan. At that time, Northern Sudan was part of the Egyptian empire and Amara West was a key administrative hub for the area. I was assigned to excavate one of the houses, which was remarkably well preserved including mud floors, benches, plastered walls, ovens and hearths all surviving. As an Egyptologist, I'm often asked if like Howard Carter when he discovered Tutankhamen, I’ve seen “the glint of gold.” Well I have to admit in Sudan, I did, albeit a very small piece within a necklace. 

Some of the rooms of the house (containing the circular hearths). Courtesy of British Museum. Click here 

I found the necklace (F6925) laying curled up on top of a piece of pottery sherd within a layer of debris of ash, animal bones and pottery. It comprised of around 100 very small beads made of Egyptian faience, 2 of carnelian and one beaten gold bead in the centre. Within this same room an incredible stone schist bowl, a metal chisel and a large sheep/goat skull was also uncovered in a room with three large bread ovens.

The partially excavated gold, carnelian and faience necklace. Courtesy of the British Museum.

Selim with the beautiful stone schist bowl he found on top of the oven in E13.16.2

Within the largest bread oven, deeply embedded into fired clay was a large storage pot, the most exciting find for a ceramicist! It is exceedingly rare to find a complete vessel within an ancient house, whereas they are comparatively common within graves and tombs. It proved tricky to excavate, as it had been completely cemented into the base of the oven, perhaps even heated, and then crushed slightly as sand blew in after the house was abandoned. In the end, I was forced to (carefully!) hack away underneath it with my hand mattock for days before it finally could be released. Before it could be lifted, I had to empty it of windblown sand. Sand can be surprisingly heavy believe me!

Adly, Micki, Camel train, Large Pot and I within the oven where it was excavated from, Amara West

So far, I have been remarkably fortunate in my fieldwork opportunities. I hope you enjoyed this short blog post on some the highlights of my short career in Archaeology and Egyptology. I’ve only recently graduated in my PhD in Archaeology, and have plenty of new opportunities for fieldwork in 2014. Funding and job opportunities allowing, who knows what the future might bring for an Early Career Archaeologist?

Many thanks for reading!

Sarah