Across The Pond - Wales - St Fagans

July 5, 2012

Time for a brief historical tour of architecture and human history in Wales. Today we took a short trip out to St. Fagans National History Museum to have a look at some historical buildings, relocated here piece by piece, stone by stone, board by board, from locations all over the country. It's amazing to think that all of these historical structures were taken apart, stones/boards numbered and then put back together exactly as the original. St. Fagans opened in 1948 and has become the most visited heritage attraction in Wales. The museum shows how the people of Wales have lived, worked and spent their leisure time.

Kennixton Farmhouse -  The oldest part of this farmhouse from the Gower peninsula (south coast) was built in 1610. The red color of the walls, and the berries of the rowan tree in the garden were thought to protect the house from evil spirits. But it could be that the color of the walls merely showed that the owners could afford to put pigment in the whitewash. The house is decorated as it would have been in the late 18th century.

Uncle Bob and dad (David)

This is a stone pig house. The stones are stacked, without mortar, to create this structure. Pretty cool.

You can tell here that Rowan takes after her father :o)

This is a working corn mill. The machinery in the mill is still powered by the water wheel.

The Celtic Village - This village is an archaeological experiment. Here is shown how people might have lived during the Iron Age, some 2000 years ago. The form of each house is based on archaeological evidence: the stone walled house from a hill fort near Conderton, Worcestershire; the largest house from a farmstead at Moel y Gerddi, Harlech, Gwynedd; and the smallest from Moel y Gaer hillfort, Rhosesmor, Flintshire. It all sounds very 'Lord of the Rings', and it is!

Evidence suggests that most people during this period lived in small settlements and farmsteads similar to this.

Check out the fabulous thatched roof.

Inside the houses there are replicas of everyday domestic items such as a loom, a cauldron and a grinding stone, and also weapons: spears, shields and a sword. A wood fire pit is in the center of the floor.

An inside look at the roof structure

St. Teilo's Church - This church used to stand 50 miles from St. Fagans, near the river Llwchwr (can I buy a vowel please! :o), near Pontarddulais. It had served the community there for over 700 years. It ceased to be the parish church in 1850 and by 1973 was no longer a place of worship. Threatened by vandalism, subsidence and theft, it was decided to move the church to St. Fagans. As the building was taken down, a staggering discovery was made. Under layers of limewash, 500 year old wall paintings were found. This is why they have rebuilt the church as it may have looked in 1520, when it would have been Roman Catholic. Most worshippers then could not read and would have used the images to inspire meditation and prayer. The murals have been copied using medieval techniques.

The brightly painted wood screens are hand carved using traditional methods and designs and would have been found all over Europe in the middle ages. The church is named after Teilo, a 6th century Welsh saint and contemporary of St. David.

I was especially interested in how all of the wood joinery in the church was done using wooden pegs. This is a photo from the beam work on the ceiling.

Here is one of the fabulous hand carved & painted wood screens

Taking a little rest from our history lesson

Gwalia Stores - This grocery shop from Ogmore Vale was opened by William Llewelyn in 1880 and became known as "The Harrods of the Valleys". It finally closed in 1973. It is shown here as it was in the 1920's, with mahogany shelving and counters.

This poster hung in the window of the store. We laughed as we thought about the young girls being pickled and bottled. Would there have been jars of pickled fingers and toes? :o)

The Smithy - In 1868 Andrew Humphreys was the blacksmith at Llawr-y-glyn. At this time horses were a vital part of the rural economy. The bustling smithy was an important place for members of the community to meet. 

My great-great grandfather was a blacksmith, so I was really interested in this smithy shop. It is very similar to the smithy barn he had (and is still standing with tools intact on the family's century farm in Kansas).

The first room you enter, called the pentice, is where horses were brought to be shod.

Here is the main room of the smithy shop. A really fantastic array of old metal tools, plough parts, iron tires for carts, candlesticks, door knockers, etc. Everything iron or metal that the smithy made.

I want this vice in my own shop! A beautiful piece.

The floor in the shop is made out of simple stones. An example of using the materials you have around you.

A simple sheep barn made from stones that are at least a foot think. No wonder it is still standing after hundreds of years.

The happy black faced sheep peeking at me from inside :o)

St. Fagans Castle - The building has stood here since 1580, long before the museum was opened here. This is one of the finest Elizabethan manor houses in Wales. The castle belonged to the Earl of Plymouth and his family until 1946, when it was given to the museum.

The gardens around the castle

Esgair-moel Woollen Mill - Woollen mills like this used to be a common sight in rural Wales. Keeping sheep was the only type of farming suitable to the west Welsh hills. By the 1800's, making woollen goods had become an important industry in Wales. This mill was built in 1760. From 1880 until 1932 the mill produced blankets, shawls, flannel for making clothes and yarns for knitting socks. Local farmers would bring their fleeces to the mill to be turned into cloth or blankets for their families. At this mill, the raw, greasy wool had to be dyed, combed and spun before weaving. These processes are still carried out today in this same mill. It takes the museum weaver twenty hours of preparation and two hours of weaving to make a shawl.

The mill machines are powered by water and a water wheel.

Here is where the water enters the building. The water wheel is in the basement.

Dyed wool drying in the afternoon sun

The wool being processed into yarn

The hand looms that date from the mid 18th century. The looms themselves are amazing works of art.

A day well spent learning some history about the people of Wales.
A little bit more from South Wales in my next post and then we move on to North Wales.

Across The Pond - More Crickhowell

July 4, 2012

Here are some more photos from in and around Crickhowell.

Topiary (fancy hedge cutting) is a big thing here in the UK. This one is pretty cool. The wall is as tall as a person, so these hedges are really big. You go under them when walking through the front gate. Pretty creative.

We came across this really cool tool guy. He takes in donated old hand tools, fixes them up and then ships them to Third World Countries for others to use to help improve their lives. Another really cool thing. Here is the sign outside his shop. Cymru is the Welsh word for Wales.

The local candy shop where Rowan has been going since she was a child. It has been run by the same family for three generations.

They sell all sorts of candies out of jars. Here, Rowan is getting a sack full of Jelly Babies, one of her favorites since she was a little one.

Our first meal at our cottage in Llangattock. Roast chicken (and this one came from a farmer's field around the corner. Tastes completely different from those production farm birds), boiled new potatoes, fresh peas from the pod, field carrots and gravy. YUM!!!

The next day, Rowan's good friend Maggie (one of her friends from Cardiff University) came up to spend the day with us in Crickhowell. She is a hoot with a capital H!

Gooseberries from Uncle Bob's backyard

I have to share with you a bit about Wales and the language here. All of the signs for everything are printed in Welsh and English. The Welsh people are trying to keep their ancient language alive, so for quite some time, they have been teaching it as a first language again here in the schools. The language is just CRAZY. First off, vowels are very scarce. You have to wonder how the heck to say most words in this language. I will be offering tidbits on how the language works throughout my posts while we are here. As you will see, Rowan's dad and uncle are helping me with this.

The main street down to the River Usk. 

I can't believe we even found an Occupy poster here in this tiny town up in the middle of the Black Mountains in Wales. The movement is taking the world by storm!

A grave yard that is again older than my own country.

The River Usk

Table Mountain, just above Crickhowell. We have hiked up there on previous trips to Wales.

Uncle Bob's house looking up from down on the Usk.

I just love the artistry that is applied to everything here. The gate latch is a beautiful example of Celtic design in iron work.

Here is Dad climbing over a fence stile on our walk across the fields (these are found going over fences and stone walls everywhere). Here in the UK, most fields in the countryside are open as public foot paths. It has been this way for centuries as this is how folks would get from village to village in the countryside. It's really cool because you can meet all sorts of sheep, horses, pigs, people, etc. out on your walk.

The Brecon Beacons. Photos taken during our walk.

This is what remains of Crickhowell Castle. It stands in the little park in the middle of Crickhowell. The castle was built in 1272 by Sir Grimbald Paunce-fote. Soon after 1402 Owain Glyndwr (the last native Welsh man to hold the title Prince of Wales) attacked the castle and left it in ruins.

The round bit is called the Keep. This is where the fortified residences were in a castle. These spaces were used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary. Obviously, this castle did :o)

This is what the whole thing looked like when it was still in one piece.

Another beautiful shot of Table Mountain over the rooftops of Crickhowell

Happy 4th of July to us Americans, even here in Crick!

Dinner at The Bear Pub. LAMB SHANKS!!!!! When coming to Wales, one must eat lamb. Wales and New Zealand hold the crown when it comes to lamb. This is by far one of my favorite cuts of the beast. Here with mash and gravy, carrots and peas. YUM!!!!!

Rowan had lambs liver, bacon, onions and gravy on mash. YUM AGAIN!!!

Dessert was vanilla ice cream, biscuits and mint.

We passed out from our meat coma under a spectacular full moon .........

More coming............