53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 1 BRYCHEINIOG VOLUME XXXIX 2007 Edited by E. G. PARRY Published by THE BRECKNOCK SOCIETY and MUSEUM FRIENDS 53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 2 THE BRECKNOCK SOCIETY and MUSEUM FRIENDS CYMDEITHAS BRYCHEINIOG a CHYFEILLION YR AMGUEDDFA OFFICERS President Sr Bonaventure Kelleher Chairman Mr K. Jones Honorary Secretary Miss H. Guichard Membership Secretary Mrs S. Fawcett-Gandy Honorary Treasurer Mr A. J. Bell Honorary Auditor Mr B. Jones Honorary Editor Mr E. G. Parry Honorary Assistant Editor Mr P. Jenkins Curator of Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery Back numbers of Brycheiniog can be obtained from the Assistant Editor, 9 Camden Crescent, Brecon LD3 7BY Articles and books for review should be sent to the Editor, The Lodge, Tregunter, Llanfilo, Brecon, Powys LD3 0RA © The copyright of material published in Brycheiniog is vested in the Brecknock Society & Museum Friends 53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 3 CONTENTS Officers of the Society 2 Notes on the Contributors 4 Editorial 5 Reports: The Royal Regiment of Wales Museum, Brecon Alison Hembrow 7 Powys Archives Office Catherine Richards 13 The Roland Mathias Prize 2007 Sam Adams 19 Prehistoric Funerary and Ritual Monuments in Breconshire Nigel Jones 23 Some Problematic Place-names in Breconshire Brynach Parri 47 Captain John Lloyd and Breconshire, 1796–1818 Ken Jones 61 Sites and Performances in Brecon Theatrical Historiography Sister Bonaventure Kelleher 113 Frances Hoggan – Doctor of Medicine, Pioneer Physician, Patriot and Philanthropist Neil McIntyre 127 The Duke of Clarence’s Visit to Breconshire in 1890 Pamela Redwood 147 53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 4 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS Sam Adams is a poet and critic who is a member of the Roland Mathias Prize Committee. He edited the Collected Poems of Roland Mathias which was published in 2002. Nigel Jones has worked for the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust for twenty years and since 1998 he has been the Senior Project Archaeologist supervising the survey of funerary and ritual monuments in the area. Brynach Parri’s interest in linguistics and local history is again demonstrated in his article analysing some enigmatic local placenames. In 2008 Brynach takes over as the Honorary Editor of Brychieniog. As Chairman from 1996 Ken Jones has guided the Society through some difficult times with great energy and determination. It is his enthusiasm that has made the annual Sir John Lloyd Memorial lecture and the presentation of the Victor Jones Junior School History Prizes a notable event in the local history calendar. Sister Bonaventure has been pursuing the story of Brecon’s long and important links with the theatre for many years and is now working towards a Ph.D. at Oxford Brookes university on aspects of theatre studies. A native of Ferndale in the Rhondda Fach Neil McIntyre is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Royal Free and University College School of Medicine. He is currently president of the History of Medicine Society of Wales and also a member of the Council of the Cymmrodorion Society. During the past twenty years Pamela Redwood has explored many aspects of the history of the area around Crickhowell where she has helped to establish the Resources and Information Centre. 53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 5 EDITORIAL The Roland Mathias Memorial Prize was awarded for the second time this year; the report of the occasion reflects both the quality of the entries and the prestige which this competition has already achieved. Later in the year Roland Mathias died aged ninety-one and the tributes which appeared in the national press – Sam Adams wrote The Guardian obituary – testified to the high regard in which he was held for his contributions to Anglo-Welsh literature. This year’s Sir John Lloyd Memorial lecturer explored the career and private life of Frances Hoggan a pioneering woman doctor born in Brecon; Professor McIntyre kindly agreed to provide the article based on that paper. The work that the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust does in uncovering our past is represented by the survey of funerary and ritual monuments written by Nigel Jones. The other four articles are by officers or members of the Society who have made many previous contributions to the journal during the past fifteen years. The President outlines the chronology and location of theatrical performances in Brecon over two hundred and fifty years while the Chairman concludes his comprehensive biography of Captain John Lloyd. My successor as Hon. Editor – Brynach Parri – shows what can be gleaned from the study of some rather intractable placenames in Breconshire. Finally Pamela Redwood makes her ninth contribution to the journal with an account of the visit of the Duke of Clarence to the county in 1890. The Society has received a generous legacy from the late Mr Tony Elston whose family has played an important part in many aspects of Brecon life over the past hundred years. The Society is very grateful for the continuing support of Powys County Council and Brecon Town Council towards the publication of Brycheiniog. 53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 6 53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 7 THE REGIMENTAL MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL WELSH, BRECON (The Royal Regiment of Wales Museum Trust) The Regimental Museum’s official name is now the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh (Brecon). This follows the formation in 2006 of the new regiment, The Royal Welsh, which united the regular and cadet battalions of The Royal Welch Fusiliers and The Royal Regiment of Wales plus the volunteers of The Royal Welsh Regiment. The Regimental Museum continues to represent all the forbears of the local regiment. Currently the bulk of the collection and displays predominantly reflect the long years as Dering’s Regiment, the 24th Regiment, and the South Wales Borderers. Indeed, many in the local community refer to the museum as “The Borderers’ Museum”. As our collection evolves and as resources permit, the more recent history of our soldiers will also be represented and remembered. Curator Martin Everett has already contributed much to the new regiment, helping produce a paper on the design of new Colours and co- authoring A Short History of The Royal Welsh with Richard Sinnett of Llanfrynach. David Rattray of Fugitives’ Drift Lodge in Kwa-Zulu Natal was a great ambassador for and supporter of the Regimental Museum and his murder in January 2007 was a tragic loss. Martin Everett, a close friend and colleague, attended his funeral. David had just completed his extraordinary book, A Soldier- Artist in the Anglo-Zulu War: WW Lloyd 1/24th. This matches the 1879 watercolours and sketches of William Whitelocke Lloyd with David’s photographs of the same places and tells the parallel stories of the Zulu War and Lloyd’s travels with his regiment. It includes biographical notes by Martin Everett on characters mentioned plus a foreword by HRH Prince Charles. David’s memory will live on in this book and in the work he did for the Zulu community. A member of that community, Joseph Ndima, visited Brecon in September. Joseph had been trained by David Rattray as a guide to the battlefields of the Zulu Wars. His visit included a reception at the Guildhall, hosted by the Mayor and Town Clerk of Brecon, and a tour of the Regimental Chapel in Brecon Cathedral. The museum displays and archives made a great impact on Joseph. He was particularly delighted to see the Colours which were carried in 1879 – the efforts of Lieutenants Melvill and Coghill to save the Queen’s Colour and their deaths at Fugitives’ Drift feature prominently in his battlefield tours. We receive many visitors from South Africa who have toured the Zulu battlefields and comment on the value of seeing the conflict from more than one perspective. All the Colours which are usually hung in the Regimental Chapel have been in the Regimental Museum while redecoration has taken place in the Cathedral. Most are in store in environmentally monitored conditions in containers constructed by the conservation and storage experts Framework. The 1958 Colours are being worked on by a conservator in Hereford. The Colours carried 53548_Brycheiniog_39:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 27/4/16 15:59 Page 8 8 Brycheiniog in the Zulu Wars are on public display in the Regimental Museum on a custom- built plinth, attracting much positive comment from visitors. The aim is to return all the Colours to the Cathedral once works there are completed and the Regimental Chapel, such an important focus for the regimental community, is ready to receive them. The community of veterans, their families and descendants for whom the museum is also an important focus has suffered several notable losses this year. Public focus has been on Sir Tasker Watkins VC, described by Rhodri Morgan as “One of the outstanding Welshmen of the twentieth century” who died in September. Local losses include Brigadier John Davey, Mrs Peggy Cresswell, Bert Perrett, and two long-serving museum volunteers who had been supporters of the Regimental Museum for many years. Yvonne Callaghan, widow of Sgt Paddy Callaghan 1/SWB and still a regular volunteer, died suddenly in March. SWB veteran Frank Wheeler died in October aged 96 after a long illness which he bore with characteristic dignity and good humour. Many donations to the collection are received from veterans, their families and others,