History is about us -The past opens the door to understanding the present, says Helen Morgan of Abergavenny Local History Society Why do people join a history society? One reason is that they are interested in how the area where they live was shaped by previous generations. In South-East Wales, this means the Celtic tribes […]
Focus Magazines
The local magazines for Abergavenny, Crickhowell, Brecon & Talgarth – Events, News and Advertising
Category Archives: Local History
In the Firing Line
More than 14,000 men from Monmouthshire went to war in 1914. Many did not return. Helen Morgan from Abergavenny Local History Society reports After war broke out against Germany on August 4th, events moved rapidly. Within hours, the order was sent to mobilise the 3rd Battalion, Monmouthshire. Throughout the night, men from towns and villages […]
WWI Centenary
Next time you visit Abergavenny Market Hall pause for a few minutes in the foyer at the entrance from Cross Street and take a look at the First World War memorial sited there. The list of names inscribed on the board is so long it’s estimated that it would take school children half-an-hour to recite […]
Business Mentors : Finding the Magic of Business Success
With over thirty years of business experience, Georgina Lester is a personal and business coach, writer, business and marketing mentor specialising in helping small businesses develop their brand, find their unique stories and master the art of online marketing both locally and internationally. Here she talks about mentoring and how much it can aid the […]
Merthyr’s Meteoric Rise and Fall
In the mid-18th century, a tiny hamlet in the hills became the heartbeat of the industrial revolution. Helen Morgan reports It was the Seven Years’ War that did it. Demand grew for ships, cannon and other war machinery needed to support King George III’s colonial ambitions, and the price of iron soared. Attention turned to […]
What’s in a name? Pubs, Taverns, Inns and Alehouses
Do you know your Alehouse from your Tavern and your Inn from your Public House? The existence of what we now call a ‘Pub’ goes back many hundreds of years. It seems our desire to meet and socialise over a tipple or two is timeless, stretching back across countless generations. Over the years, however, the […]
Crime & Punishment in Victorian times
The stories of women who worked the ports were those of sadness as well as badness. Helen Morgan from Abergavenny Local History Society reports The records of the West Glamorgan Archive Service hold haunting ‘mugshots’ of fallen women including that of Elizabeth O’Brien. She was only 12 years old when she stole 45 hen’s eggs […]
Finding Forgotten Abergavenny
A new community project run by Cardiff University is encouraging people from in and around Abergavenny to help research the long forgotten history of the town. By recruiting local people as volunteers, the team behind the project hope to uncover previously undiscovered or partly forgotten places and moments in the town’s long history and will […]
Medieval Caerleon
Clues to its importance in the post-Roman era are reflected in the street pattern. Helen Morgan from Abergavenny Local History Society reports After the Romans went home, the Welsh abandoned Gobannium and returned to their rural roots. In Caerleon, however, the natives continued to inhabit the former fortress and to benefit from their economic legacy. […]
Looking back on 1913
Maindiff Court and Bailey Park hosted two sensational events. Helen Morgan of Abergavenny Local History Society reports It had been a long, dry summer when the National Eisteddfod came to town amid more than the usual fanfare. The opening Gorsedd ceremony took place at Plas Derwen but the main pavilion with seating for 14,000 was […]
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