Category: Community Groups

Cefn Mably and Ruperra Castle / Ystradowen

 

Cefn Mably and Ruperra Castle

We were lucky, there had been snow overnight; in Cardiff and the Vale the snow was light but further north there were heavy falls. Starting at the drive to Cefn Mably, near the farm, we walked towards the house and passed in front of it.

We turned west walking across farmland which was rather wet underfoot. Entering a large field, a herd of cows and a bull moved towards us. They split us into 2 groups most of us remaining in the open, but a couple apparently pinned at the edge of the field. Soon we could hear a tractor engine and the farmer arrived with feed – the cattle had heard the engine before we did and had no interest in us.

Approaching a river, we turned northwest towards Cefn Mably woods, keeping them on our left and then heading across open land. A house had an apple tree which had dropped its fruit and was now festooned with Christmas baubles. Surrounded by a light sprinkling of snow it looked very festive.

As we climbed higher more of the fields were snow covered and dark trees were edged in white. A branch of a tree, with a large chunk of wood as its base, was an attractive garden bird table.

We arrived at Coed Craig Ruperra, managed by Ruperra Conservation Trust, a notice offered logs for sale. Skirting the edge of the wood we arrived at Ruperra castle:

Ruperra Castle was built in 1626 by Sir Thomas Morgan, who was knighted by King James 1st. It was a typical Jacobean courtier’s house. King Charles 1st stayed here in 1645, visiting in an attempt to raise support for the royalist cause in the civil wars. However following defeat by the parliamentarians at the battle of Naseby, the Glamorgan gentry, realising the Royalists were about to lose the war, refused to help out. During the 19th Century the eldest son of the Tredegar family lived at Ruperra, which saw its heyday as a great Victorian country estate. Destroyed by fire in 1941 and still in a state of disrepair, it is now a Grade11 listed building supported by the Ruperra Conservation Trust.

Close to Ruperra Castle are banks and ditches formerly part of an Iron Age Hill fort and a large motte, probably constructed by the Normans around 1100. With its superb and commanding views over the surrounding countryside, it would certainly have provided a strong defensive lookout point.

As the weather was clear we took a diversion to the motte. The views from the motte were excellent, improved by the dusting of snow. We sat down leaning against its walls to gain shelter from the cold and eat our lunch.

Descending we saw a few fellow walkers – the first of the day. We came across a long stretch of laid hedging, the craftsmanship that had created it was clear in the skeletal ribs evident in the winter.

Leaving the Coed Craig Ruperra area we walked through a farm with a barn full of old crates and huge logs. Going under a power line we spotted a heron stood in the middle of a field, it didn’t appear to move a muscle as we passed.

Now we could see a road-bridge over the river Rhymney and within a few minutes we stepped onto the road, walking a short distance to the cars.

The walk was 7miles and 700ft climb. Map 151.Thanks to Ross Thomas for the historical information.

Ystradowen

Parking in Ystradowen we crossed the main road to a footpath. Setting off across farmland, towards Mynydd y Fforest, it was typically wet underfoot – so wet a pond had formed.

Some pigs wallowed in a particularly mucky area and later we saw more in an open field attended by a farmer.

On reaching Mynydd y Fforest we made our way through the small but pretty wood and generally southwest towards Llansannor. Emerging onto the road and looking north, the village ‘City’ stood above the area. Turning south we came to Llansannor church and spotted our 1st snowdrops of the year with white buds showing. We continued past Llansannor Court and farm.

Crossing a few more fields we stopped to eat our lunch. We could hear dogs yapping and as we made our way to the road for Trebettyn, we found the source of the noise, a number of small dogs penned in a garden. Unusually the house had gargoyles on its low perimeter wall.

Now we headed east towards Maendy and Prisk, mostly by road, and passed the entrance to Caeau farm. At Prisk we turned north passing Castell Tal y Fan farm and the remains of the castle wall. The track passed a field containing cows and a bull.

As we made our way back to Ystradowen the ground was muddy. Some of the stiles had been overgrown, some with missing or unsteady treads and others a bit high for some of us. Despite the mud in places it had been surprisingly firm underfoot for the Vale of Glamorgan and we had enjoyed the walk unspoiled by rain which had threatened throughout the day. The walk was 7 miles and 700ft. Map 151.

A map of any of the walks featured in this column is available as a pdf file from Ian .at ianmoody029@gmail.com

 

 

A Turbulent Time

STEPPING BACK TO A TURBULENT TIME

 

North-west of Tredegar, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, our local walking group came across the famous Chartist Cave. In the autumn of 1839 this remote cave was reputedly used by Chartist rebels to plan, make and stockpile weapons in advance of their famous protest march on Newport in November of that year.

At that time, in stark contrast to the iron masters and coal owners, the wages, living and working conditions of industrial labourers were appalling. The aim of the Chartists was to gain reforms by securing political rights and influence. The Chartists presented three petitions to Parliament – in 1839, 1842 and 1848 – but each of these was rejected. The first in 1839 claimed to have some 1.3 million signatures but like the others contained many forgeries.

 

CHARTIST DEMANDS

1. a vote for all men (over 21)

2. the secret ballot

3. no property qualification to become an MP

4. payment for MPs

5. electoral districts of equal size

6. annual elections for Parliament

 

 

Chartists attack the Westgate Hotel

The march on Newport took place on 4 November 1839. Chartists marching from Blackwood, Nantyglo and Pontypool were delayed by a storm, giving the authorities ample time to prepare an armed response. When the Chartists eventually converged on the Westgate Hotel, a bloody battle ensued. Within half an hour, 22 protesters lay dead or dying and upwards of 50 had been injured. An eyewitness report spoke of one man, wounded with gunshot, lying on the ground, pleading for help until he died an hour later. Bullet holes remain in the masonry of the hotel entrance porch to this day. The Chartist leaders John Frost, Zephaniah Williams and William Jones were found guilty of high treason, becoming the last men in Britain to be sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. However, following a huge public outcry the sentences were commuted to transportation for life.

 

Some historians doubt that the cave was ever used by the Chartists. Many a local iron works would have been far more accessible and suitable for forging weapons and it seems unlikely that such an out of the way place would have been chosen to store them. Even so, for many the cave still has symbolic significance. A plaque at the entrance commemorates the role of the Chartists in helping to secure democratic rights. Five of the six Chartist demands were realised, with only annual elections for Parliament not eventually adopted.

We are often reminded of the events of the Newport Rising. In the recent ITV series Victoria, Queen Victoria is depicted as ordering the drawing and quartering of the ringleaders to be commuted to deportation, after learning that one of the men is the nephew of a member of her household staff.

 

 


 

 

 

 

The Muse by Jessie Burton

The Muse

by Jessie Burton

The Muse is a follow up novel to Jessie Burton’s very successful first novel The Miniaturist, which has previously been reviewed by the Page Turners.

The story is told in two timelines and centres on two creatively gifted young women, Olive Schloss an artist in Spain in the l930’s at the time of the Civil War and Odelle Bastien, a writer and immigrant from Trinidad in London in the l960’s. The timelines are linked by, and woven around, an intriguing painting of a lion and a girl holding the severed head of another girl. It incorporates elements of a love story, a drama, a historical fiction and a mystery.

The majority of the Page Turners agreed that this was a most enjoyable read, well written with strong characters the portrayal of who brought them clearly into the imagination. The transition between the two timelines worked well and the story is gripping but has plenty of twists and turns which keep the reader guessing right to the end.

The author has researched the effects of the Spanish Civil War on the population with care and accuracy and paints a clear picture of the hardships suffered, which proved both interesting and informative.

Several of the Page Turners agreed that the book was more enjoyable when read over a short period of time rather than in small sections, which could make the story appear disjointed. Also one Page Turner who listened to the audio book found this appeared disjointed and would not recommend it.

The overall opinion was that The Muse is a definite Page Turner to be recommended with the scores ranging from 6 to 8.5 and averaging a final 7.5.

Our hostess, Lynne, treated us to festive Mulled Wine, Bucks Fizz , delicious homemade mince pies and other lovely goodies. We raised a toast to a Happy Christmas and the Page Turners wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.

 

 

December Meeting Report

 

At our December meeting members were delighted by the return of Betty and to see Maureen. A reminder was given of the carol service at St. Mary’s and of the Link carol service at Dinas Powys.

Work on our banner is ongoing and we hope it will be completed by our 25th celebration on 1st March when we meet.

Madeleine was honoured to have placed a wreath on our behalf at the village Cenotaph on Armistice Sunday.

We received a letter from Patricia Coulthard, thanking the branch for our donation to the local branch of the National Autistic Society. Our charity for 2018 is Wales Air Ambulance.

The latter part of the evening was in party mood with Madeleine and Janet providing entertainment and we heard “Whatever happened to Christmas, (printed in What’s On some years ago.) And we once again related and agreed with its contents. Pam supplied a quiz and we enjoyed searching for the answers while enjoying our party buffet

Our first meeting of the New Year is on January 4th in the church hall when we will be voting on our resolutions and subs of £41,00 for the calendar year are due. It would be an advantage to our treasurer if members could put money or cheques payable to Wenvoe. The subject is to be “How will I fold my scarf” and members are asked to bring along a scarf to join in. Visitors will be welcome.

 

The president and committee wish all members and their families good health for the coming year

 

 

Pre-Christmas Events

 

On November 22nd we held a quiz with a Christmas theme ,followed on the 29th by retired actress Debra John, who dressed for the part of the lady of the manor in the 1800’s. All the traditions of making mince pies, which were made with different meats in those days and cakes puddings to serve with mulled wine to the poor She also had a nosy neighbour who counted the Christmas cards through the window to be sure she had the most.

Thanks to Mavis and her husband we had Christmas music to enjoy while we tucked into mince pies on December 6th, our last meeting for this year

Wishing all our members a Happy New Year.

 

 

December Raffle Results

The Village Hall Management Committee would like to thank everyone who kindly donated prizes to this raffle and also to the people who support us by buying and selling of the tickets. All money raised through the raffle contributes to the on-going insurance, maintenance and daily running costs of the Hall which is primarily for the use of the villagers.

We thank you all and wish you Good Health and a Happy and Prosperous New Year

Tracing your Heritage

Tracing your Heritage

We were delighted to welcome Heulwen Davies to talk to us about tracing your heritage. Heulwen obviously has a real passion for not only tracing her own family but helping others to get started with looking at their ancestry. Every Tuesday morning Heulwen is available in the library where one can take advantage of her expertise.

It was stressed that one had to start with oneself by writing your own biography. One should work backwards and include anything you can remember that might be of importance especially ones nearest relatives.

These days one can use the internet to search the widely available free of charges sources to help with tracking down your family. These include census records from England, Wales and Scotland 1841-1911, Births, Marriages and Deaths records, Parish records and newspaper records.

After getting as much information from ones immediate family remembering to look for letters, bibles, diaries and photos that might all hold valuable clues about family members one can look at the extended family. It is important to bear in mind ethical considerations when interviewing people and if you want to use information consent should always be sought to use the information.

Heulwen was able to give us some interesting examples of facts she had found out about her own family many of whom were farmers and tended to spend all their lives living in the same locality. By visiting locations where ones family was located and capturing images of graves etc Heulwen has written about her family and these scripts will be able to be read by her family.

Tracing ones ancestry is obviously something that once you have started becomes addictive and you need to learn more. With the advent of relatively inexpensive DNA testing one can with accuracy trace one’s own roots and hopefully glean important information.

Anyone interested in this subject should come along to the library where Heulwen will do her best to get you started tracing your roots.

Our final event of the year was our Christmas Meal which was at the Beech Tree. Once again this venue didn’t disappoint and I am sure that everyone who went had an enjoyable evening.

New members are always welcome so if there is anything of interest in next years programme please come along – you will be assured of a warm welcome.

 

 

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