The Gunter Mansion in Cross Street, Abergavenny, is a Grade 2* listed building that has an important place in the history of Abergavenny, and in the story of Catholicism in post reformation Monmouthshire. Yet visitors to the town, and even those who have lived here for many years, may have no idea of the significance […]
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Category Archives: Local History
History of The National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod is the largest and oldest celebration of Welsh culture, unique throughout Europe as each year it visits a different area of Wales. Eisteddfod literally means a sitting (eistedd = to sit), perhaps a reference to the hand-carved chair traditionally awarded to the best poet in the ceremony ‘The Crowning of the Bard’. […]
Best In-tents
History was heralded at the Eisteddfod for the first time in 2015. This year it will return and will focus on Monmouthshire’s heritage. Helen Morgan of Abergavenny Local History Society reports. When Caroline Fairclough arrived home from last summer’s Eisteddfod she was buzzing with news of a Lle Hanes (history tent). As a keen supporter […]
Hidden History on the Blorenge
A wealth of ancient and industrial archaeology lies in the vegetation near the footpaths that criss-cross the Blorenge. You just need to know where to look. Helen Morgan from Abergavenny Local History Society reports Keeper’s Pond along the B4246 to Blaenavon is familiar to most of us. Its Welsh name, Pen ffordd goch (top of […]
Cheshire Territorials at Abergavenny, 1913
The BFI have released over 750 films from 1900 to 1999, many unseen since they were first shown. The films form part of the BFI’s Britain on Film project, that reveals hidden histories and forgotten stories of people and places from every corner of Great Britain from the UK’s key film and TV archives, available […]
A Day out …at the Regimental Museum, Brecon
The Regimental Museum of the Royal Welsh in Brecon is recognised as breing one of the finest regimental museums in Britain. A visit to the museum makes for an interesting and informative day out where you can see one of the finest collections of military artefacts, which tell a story of great events of the […]
Pictures that spoke 1,000 words
JM Staniforth’s cartoons lightened the dark days and recorded the propaganda of war. Helen Morgan from Abergavenny Local History Society reports One cartoonist more than any other captured the mood of the nation. World War I lasted 1,561 days and during that time Joseph Morewood Staniforth produced more than 1,300 cartoons for the Western Mail […]
Monsoon ‘Millionaires’
Joining the infamous East India Company paved the path to riches for younger sons with a sense of adventure. Helen Morgan of Abergavenny Local History Society reports Wales may not have been in the vanguard of the conquest of Bengal, yet the tangled skeins of trade and empire had already begun to affect the economy […]
When Dai became Tommy
Welsh miners were in the front line of underground warfare. Helen Morgan from Abergavenny Local History reports. Tunnelling has been a tool of warfare since the Bronze Age when warriors undermined their enemies’ walls, causing them to collapse. It went out of favour in medieval times. But in 1914 the Germans revived it as a […]
World War I tribute unveiled in Abergavenny
An impressive and colourful quilt depicting scenes from the First World War was unveiled in public for the first time on 5th November. The launch took place at Monmouthshire County Council’s Abergavenny One Stop Shop. The quilt was commissioned by the Monmouthshire Decorative and Fine Arts Society (MDFAS) and is the result of work by […]
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