Bronze Bell; Tal-y-bont Maritime Wreck

The site was found in 1978 by divers from Glaslyn and Harlow Sub Aqua club who came across the large stone blocks, cast and built-up iron guns and a Bronze Bell. The divers formed themselves into the Cae Nest Group and together with the Welsh Institute of Maritime Archaeology and History at the University of Wales (Bangor) applied for site designation and a licence to survey. Haverfordwest Museum offered to conserve the finds and the Royal Armouries undertook to excavate, raise and conserve one of the breech-loading wrought iron guns. Finds include a bronze bell cast with the date 1677 and a stack of pewter concreted to one of the main guns. One of these platters is shaped like a cardinal's hat with a halmark stamp of Lyon dated 1700. Coins from 10 countries suggest a date of post 1702 for the wreck. Other finds include navigational dividers, fine cutlery, a dental plate, a seal, remains of pistols and a rapier, and a gunner's rule.
The weight of the marble blocks calculated at 66 tonnes, suggest that the vessel was not large despite all the armament. The origin of the guns and majority of coins suggests that the vessel was a French trader, and was carrying marble from the Italian quarries of Carrera exported via Genoa or Leghorn. There is a strong location tradition that artefacts from the wreck found their way into everyday use within Cors y Gedol Hall. The ship's timbers were incorporated into a building in the hall's grounds. A survivor called Juan Benedictus may also have lived as part of the local community. His death is entered in Llanendwyn Parish Register in 1730. Many of the recovered items from the wreck are now on display at local museums, including Barmouth.

Full site details: Bronze Bell; Tal-y-bont

Learn about other fascinating maritime wrecks around Wales on Coflein, the online database for the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW), the national collection of information about the historic environment of Wales.

Other useful links:
Maritime Archaeology In Wales
Maritime wrecks - Cadw

Royal Commission Dates for Your Diary 2010

 Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, takes a look at Trysorau Cudd/Hidden Histories with the Royal Commission's education officer Angharad Williams at the National Eisteddfod in Bala, Gwynedd, 2009.

This year the Royal Commission’s stand will have a number of displays and events highlighting its work of recording and surveying the built heritage of Wales, with images from the national archive relating to archaeological sites, historic buildings and landscapes.

Exhibition and show dates for Royal Commission in 2010:

Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru
Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion
31 May - 05 June 2010

Royal Welsh Show
Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, Powys
19-22 July 2010

The National Eisteddfod of Wales
Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys
31 July – 7 August 2010

Come along and learn how to use the resouces from the Royal Commission such as Coflein the public online database.
Did you know? The National Monuments Record of Wales contains information about 70,000 sites across Wales and maintains an archive of over a million items.

More Reviews for Hidden Histories

The Royal Commission’s book, Hidden Histories: Discovering the Heritage of Wales, has been getting some excellent reviews in various journals as they come out. Last year, British Archaeology called it ‘an inspiring tool for anyone engaged with Welsh heritage.’ The latest generous comments are in Morgannwg, the journal of the Glamorgan History Society (2009), by the Society’s President, Professor Gwynedd O. Pierce. Professor Pierce says that the arrangement of the book ‘makes the reader’s progress through the pages of this sumptuous volume a journey of sheer pleasure’. He concludes, ‘it can be regarded as the most beautiful fully comprehensive social history of Wales that has been hitherto produced.’

Another enthusiastic recent review has come out in Landscape History (2009). Paul Stamper of English Heritage writes,  ‘this is a very classy offering indeed’ and ‘a fine publication which deserves to find a wide readership.’ His only criticism is the apparent omission of any mention of the heritage of sport, and in particular rugby. Happily, there is in fact a two-page spread by Neil Harries on the demolition of the old Cardiff national rugby stadium and the construction of the Millennium Stadium in its place.

Hidden Histories and the Welsh-language edition Trysorau Cudd are still available from bookshops or direct from the Royal Commission.

National Monuments Record of Wales Library Closures

The library will be closed on the following dates:

23 April 2010 pm

27 April 2010 am

28 April 2010 am

30 April 2010 am

Y Bwthyn Cymreig: Arferion adeiladu tlodion y Gymru wledig 1750-1900

Y Bwthyn Cymreig
Gan Eurwyn Wiliam, 2010

Er mai'r bwythyn traddodiadol yw o nodweddion mwyaf arbennig tirwedd Cymru, mae ef bellach yn adeilad eithaf prin am i filoedd o enghreifftiau ohono ddiflannu dros y can mlynedd diwethaf. Er hynny, dysgwyd llawer iawn amando drwy astudio'r adeiladau sydd wedi goroesi a thrwy gofnodi eraill yn ofalus cyn iddynt ddarfod o'r tir. Mae'r waliau o bridd neu goed, y lloriau cerrig a'r toeon o frwyn, tywyrch neu gerrig yn yr adeiladau diymhongar hynny, a'u nodweddion eraill, yn adrodd hanes eithriadol o ddiddorol am draddodiadau lleol arbennig, am y sgiliau a drosglwyddwyd o genhedlaeth i genhedlaeth, ac am ymdrech gwerin gwlad i oroesi.

Clawr: Caled
Maint: 280 x 220mm
Tudalennau: 288
Darluniau: 212
ISBN: 9781871184389
Pris: £29.95
Clundiant: £0.00

Gwerthu Llyfrau
CBHC
Plas Crug
ABERYSTWYTH
Ceredigion
SY23 1NJ

Ffôn: 01970 621200
Ffacs: 01970 6217701
neu e-bostiwch yr adran Gwerthu Llyfrau gan ddefnyddio’r Ffurflen Ymholiad

Related Links:
Y Bwthyn Cymreig

The Welsh Cottage: Building traditions of the rural poor 1750-1900

The Welsh Cottage
By Eurwyn Wiliam, 2010

The Traditional cottage is one of the most distinctive features of the landscape of Wales. With the loss of thousands of examples over the past century it has become almost an endangered species, but a great deal has been learned from studying cherished surviving buildings and making a careful record of others before they were lost forever. The earth or timber walls, pebble floors, and roofs of rush, turf and stone in these humble buildings, among other features, tell a fascinating story of distinctive local traditions, skills handed down from generation to generation, and the struggle to survive.

Cover: Hardback
Size: 280 x 220mm
Pages: 288
Illustrations: 212
ISBN: 9781871184372
Price: £29.95
Postage: £0.00

Book Sales
RCAHMW
Plas Crug
ABERYSTWYTH
Ceredigion
SY23 1NJ
U.K.

Telephone: 01970 621200
Fax: 01970 627701
or email Book Sales via the Enquiry Form


Related Links:
The wonders of the Welsh Cottage

Copperopolis: Swansea Copperworks

Pen and ink drawing of the elevation of Swansea Copperworks. Fig 619 from Tomlinson's 'Cyclopedia of Useful Arts, Manufacturing, Mining and Engineering' Vol 1, 1854.
Copyright reserved: Contact RCAHMW for details


Swansea University has recently announced a new project to celebrate one of Swansea's famous copperworks. Hafod Copperworks was one of the largest in Swansea and only closed in 1980. Significant remains still stand and the project plans to involve the local community in activities and exhibitions and to produce computer generated animations, bringing the copperworks "back to life".

The history of Swansea as the centre of the copper-smelting industry and its significance in the national and international context of the industrial revolution are explored in the Royal Commission's publication: Copperopolis.

Visit the Swansea University website to read about the project in more detail

Cadw Grant For Restoration of Melingriffith Waterwheel & Pump

Cadw and Cardiff City council have agreed to award a grant of over £100,000 to restore the Melingriffith water wheel, which was originally used to power a water pump feeding waste water from the Melingriffith Tinplate Works, back into the Glamorganshire Canal. This water wheel was renovated in the 1980s but has deteriorated since then.

The undershot waterwheel is 18.5 feet in diameter and 12.5 feet wide. It is connected to the the pumps via two twenty-two feet long beams made from American oak. The measured drawings you see here were produced by R.V. Bayliss and I. Payne.  Copyright on these images is reserved, please contact RCAHMW for details.

Look up the database entry for the Melingriffith Water Pump on Coflein.


Measured drawing showing the south elevation and a black and white image of the waterpump produced by R.V. Bayliss and I. Payne, undated. Copyright reserved: contact RCAHMW for details.

Measured drawing showing the north elevation and two black and white images of the waterpump produced by R.V. Bayliss and I. Payne, undated. Copyright reserved: contact RCAHMW for details. 

Measured drawing showing the west elevation and three black and white images of the waterpump produced by R.V. Bayliss and I. Payne, undated. Copyright reserved: contact RCAHMW for details. 

 Measured drawing showing plan and five black and white images of the waterpump produced by R.V. Bayliss and I. Payne, undated. Copyright reserved: contact RCAHMW for details.

Measured drawing showing the east elevation and three black and white images of the waterpump produced by R.V. Bayliss and I. Payne, undated. Copyright reserved: contact RCAHMW for details.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Llangollen Canal

Nick has sent a link to a website featuring a guide to the Llangollen Canal and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct - it looks very interesting and useful. Thanks Nick.

Return of Hidden Histories

The return of the highly popluar TV series looking at our Hidden Histories through the work of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.
BBC Four from January 26 2010.
Watch the episode on the BBC iplayer

Are you following the debate concerning the bluestones? You can read about the issues in British Archaeology and see a review of the latest book, which discusses their place of origin.

Aerofilms Collection Project News

The Aerofilms Collection contains lots of early aerial photographs of Britian. Many of these historic images are facinating and I'm looking forward to creating some great web pages using the images to compare places in Wales across time. These images will spark many memories I'm sure.

The Royal Commission is developing a project with English Heritage and RCAHMS to make the Aerofilms Collection of aerial photography accessible by conserving it, cataloguing it and putting the images online. If you would you like to be kept up-to-date with this project, please send an e-mail to aerofilms@english-heritage.org.uk asking to join the mailing list and we will occasionally send you news and information by e-mail. Your e-mail address given in this way won't be used for any other purpose.

A colleague has shown me some facinating images of a huge ordnance factory just outside Bridgend that were taken just after the war, and a series of images of Cardiff Arms Park at different points in its life. I have chosen a couple of Aerofilm images to upload here to give you a flavour of the collection.

The first is Cardiff Docks, taken in 1925. Here you can see part of Bute Town (bottom left), including Bute Cresent, George Street and Louisa Street. The oval shaped basin is Bute West Dock Basin, connected to Bute West Dock via a lock. Bute East Dock Basin is more rectangular in shape and connected to East Bute Dock, again via a lock.

 
The second is an image of Gresford Colliery, Wrexham. This photograph was taken just a month after the terrible disaster at the mine in September 1934 when an explosion and subsequent fire killed 266 miners.



Prydain o’r Awyr - Awyrluniau Prin a Bregus o Gasgliad Aerofilms Wedi’u Diogelu
25/06/12 Mae’r wefan www.britainfromabove.org.uk/cy ar gael i’w defnyddio am ddim yn awr, felly mewngofnodwch i weld beth y gallwch ei ddarganfod.

Britain From Above - Rare and Fragile Aerial Photos from Aerofims Collection Conserved
25/06/2012 The website www.britainfromabove.org.uk is free and available to use now, so log in and see what you can discover. 

Digital Past 2010: Conference At National Museum Wales

Preparations for Digital Past 2010 are now in full swing. This years’ conference is being hosted by the National Museum Wales at its St Fagans site, near Cardiff. Papers, seminars and practical training sessions covering the latest technical survey and interpretation techniques are on offer to those working in the archaeology, museum and heritage interpretation sectors. To see a list of confirmed papers and seminars check the Events Diary on the Royal Commission website and to register for the conference visit the see3d website.

These 2 images are stills from the reconstruction animations created from the digital surveys of the Chirk and Pontcysyllte Aqueducts. The animations were built by Commission investigators and See3D to support the World Heritage Site status bid for the Llangollen Canal.

The videos below were made to accompany the Hidden Histories II TV series.

Reconstruction Animations from Hidden Histories II

1. The Bridge, a sculpture by Jonah Jones - an animated reconstruction.




2. A virtual tour of Vivan Slate Quarry.

Hidden Histories II

The Commission has again been caught up in the excitement of another Hidden Histories television series. This second series focuses on recent work of the Commission and the items on the origins of the Stonehenge bluestones and the recently discovered site in Ceredigion, possibly a Roman villa, have aroused much interest and debate. This is great: research and debate is what the study of the past is all about. If you haven't yet seen any of the new episodes you can watch them on the BBC iplayer .

Recently some Commission staff attended a conference in Bath hosted by English Heritage. We discussed ways of improving our public and specialist services in the chilly climate of tighter budgets. I was interested to hear about Scotland's Rural Past, a project launched in 2006 which is hosted by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS). The project works with local communities to research, record and promote the vanishing settlements and landscapes of Scotland's rural past. If you are interested in setting up a project to explore the history of where you live, take a look at the project website and be inspired.

Swansea City Centre In The 1970s

A colleague has just passed me this newly digitised image of Swansea city centre taken in 1970. It shows the then newly-constructed subway and roundabout, which have recently been filled in as part of the redevelopment of the city centre. The image comes from the Central Office of Information Collection in the NMRW. This image collection is being digitised at the moment.

Underpass as Roman amphitheatre with a clinical twist.

Here is a link to the online exhibiton celebrating Swansea's 40th birthday as a city. Thanks for the comment letting us know about this.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal

There are many fantastic images of the aqueduct on Coflein, the Royal Commission's online database of archaeological and architectural sites in Wales. Take a look.

Photograph of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal

Aerial View of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct World Heritage Site | Heritage of Wales News

It was party time at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct last Saturday 3rd October. Representatives from partner organisations, including Wrexham Council, British Waterways and the Royal Commission were invited to join local people in a ...

 

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal: Nomination as a World Heritage Site ...

Mae Traphont Ddwr Pontcysyllte yn eicon o Chwyldro Diwydiannol cyntaf y byd ac am ddau gan mlynedd hi oedd y draphont uchaf ar unrhyw gamlas yn y byd. Cafodd dwy draphont ddwr arloesol Pontcysyllte a'r Waun eu ...

 

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal - Historical Background | Heritage of ...

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal - Historical Background. The Llangollen Canal, formerly the Ellesmere Canal, originated in a scheme to link the rivers Mersey and Severn, which would also access the iron and coal fields ...

 

 

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct World Heritage Site

It was party time at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct last Saturday 3rd October. Representatives from partner organisations, including Wrexham Council, British Waterways and the Royal Commission were invited to join local people in a fun-packed celebration of the award of World Heritage Site status. The Prince of Wales sent a special message, which was read out on the day:

"I am very sorry not to be with you today to join in such a special celebration. However, I could not let the occassion pass without sending my heartfelt congratulations to all who have worked tirelessly to bring about theis wonderful success... The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal, the third World Heritage Site in Wales, now takes its rightful place among the world's elite cultural sites... As someone who has an abiding interest in protecting and promoting enjoyment of this county's rich architectural and industrial heritage, I beleive it is essential that this great legacy is passed on by our generation to the next, through educating young people to learn respect for, and take pride in, the unique heritage they inherit."

The partners had worked hard to produce the nomination bid that won World Heritage Status for the aqueduct and canal. Commission staff surveyed and recorded both the aqueduct and canal and helped to produce the detailed gazetter of the features, which was a major contribution to the nomination document. Commission staff also produced a 3D computer-generated model of the aqueduct and working in partnership with See3D at Aberystwyth University, animated the model to demonstrate the stages in the construction of the aqueduct. You can view this animation by on the Royal Commission website, where you can also read a detailed account of the aqueduct and canal.

Monnow Bridge in Monmouthshire, Wales.

The BBC Wales Big Picture features digital images of bridges in Wales at the moment. I've searched Coflein for interesting images of bridges across Wales - and found this fantastic black and white image of the Monnow Bridge and gateway. The date and origin of this image isn't known but we have a copy in the National Monuments Record of Wales site files. If you are interested in a particular bridge in Wales you could try searching Coflein for any information we may hold - or contact our free public enquiry service.

I haven't forgotten that I've been asked to post more great images of Cardiff - will get onto it soon.

Remembering the Beddgelert Meteorite strike!

Beddgelert isn't only famous for the resting place of the faithful hound - apparently 60 years ago this month a meteorite fell through the roof of the Prince Llewelyn Hotel in Beddgelert, fortunately no-one was sleeping in the room where the rock struck - but the meteorite smashed through the roof leaving a round hole. The bright light and the sound of the meteorite breaking the sound barrier as it entered earth's atmosphere were seen and heard across north Wales.

I am wondering if the meteorite was hot - and if so, why didn't it start a fire at the hotel? Perhaps someone will let me know.
Meanwhile another excellent aerial photograph for you - this time of Beddgelert.