49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 Page 1 BRYCHEINIOG VOLUME XXXVIII 2006 Edited by E. G. PARRY Published by THE BRECKNOCK SOCIETY and MUSEUM FRIENDS 49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 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 C. Jones Honorary Editor Mr E. G. Parry Honorary Assistant Editor Mr P. Jenkins Curator of Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery Ms Kate Hebbditch 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, Yr Efail, Aberhafesp, Newtown, Powys SY16 3HN © The copyright of material published in Brycheiniog is vested in the Brecknock Society & Museum Friends 49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 Page 3 CONTENTS Officers of the Society 2 Notes on the Contributors 4 Editorial 5 Reports: Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery Kate Hebbditch 7 The Royal Regiment of Wales Museum, Brecon Alison Hembrow 11 Powys Archives Office Catherine Richards 17 Fferig – the Lost Kingdom Brynach Parri 23 Giraldus de Barri: An Early Ambassador for Wales Herbert Hughes 35 Ystrad Yw, 1208: a Haven for Arwystli Exiles? David Stephenson 49 An English Incursion into Breconshire – the Camdens Tony Bell 55 On the Home Front: Rural Life in Breconshire during the Second World War R. J. Moore-Colyer 85 Building a Significant Regional Art Collection: the Visual Arts at Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery, 1992–205 David Moore 103 49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 Page 4 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS Brynach Parri was born in Brecon and works as a court interpretor on the Wales and Chester circuit. He is currently doing further research on the early history of Breconshire. The Rev. Herbert Hughes retired to Llanddew where Giraldus Cambrensis lived as Archdeacon of Brecon; his latest book, on Howell Harris, was published (in Welsh) in 2006. David Stephenson is Honorary Research Fellow in Welsh History at the University of Wales, Bangor; he is currently writing on the medieval kingdoms and lordships of Powys and Arwystli. After a career in educational administration Tony Bell retired as Assistant Director of Education for Powys in 1993. He has been involved with the Brecknock Society for many years and is currently Treasurer. Richard Moore-Colyer is Emeritus Professor of Agrarian History at the University of Wales and the author of many books and articles; he is currently working on a biography of Henry Rolf Gardiner, poet, landowner and early environmentalist. David Moore was Curator of the Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery from 1992 to 2006; he is now working as an independent researcher and consultant in the visual arts with a particular interest in Wales. 49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 Page 5 EDITORIAL The Sir John Lloyd Memorial lecture lived up to the high expectations we now assume for this annual event; Richard Moore-Colyer gave the large audience many insights into how the Second World War affected the lives of men, women and children in the county. I am grateful to him for making the text of the lecture available for publication. The end of the war saw the sale of the remaining parts of the Camden estates in Breconshire; Tony Bell has made extensive use of the voluminous Camden papers at Maidstone to explain the significant role played by the family in the history of the area over two hundred and fifty years. The medieval history of Breconshire is the subject of three very different articles. Brynach Parri investigates the ‘lost’ border kingdom of Fferig in those murky centuries which saw the emergence of Brycheiniog; the use of placenames helps to fill the gaps left by the absence of written evidence. Giraldus Cambrensis’s Breconshire connections are well known but Herbert Hughes provides a wider context for the resident of Llanddew and places him in the Europe of kings and popes. David Stephenson’s close reading of an early thirteenth century charter from Arwystli sheds a fascinating light on the contemporary political infighting between Marcher lords, Welsh princes and English kings. The combined title of Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery reflects the work of David Moore as Curator; the promotion of Welsh art by a programme of exhibitions and purchases is described in his illustrated article. The reports from Powys Archives and the two Brecon museums reflect the extent and range of resources available to those investigating local history; the new curator of the Brecknock Museum and Art Gallery, Kate Hebditch, provides the first of what we hope will be many such reports. This volume of Brycheiniog was supported by grants from Powys County Council, Brecon Town Council and the Brecknock Museum Art Trust for which the Society is very grateful. 49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 Page 6 49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 Page 7 BRECKNOCK MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY CURATOR’S REPORT The Museum Development In 2004 Powys County Council was awarded a Project Planning Grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund and employed consultants to carry out an Audience Development Plan and a Conservation Management Plan for the Museum. At the turn of 2005/2006 the consultants (John Marjoram and Halahan Associates) presented their reports, which give a sound basis for planning the future developments. The Conservation Management Plan gives much useful information on the state of the museum buildings and the collections and their historical value, and stresses the need for considerable investment in building restoration. The Audience Development Plan looks at the Museum’s current audience and how that might be broadened. An Access Audit was also carried out. It is hoped that the County Council will soon progress with a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, although there is a pause in the project at present while the Council considers all its property assets in Brecon and elsewhere in Powys. Collections Work has progressed with the conversion of the lower floor of the Old Police Station in Captain’s Walk into stores and offices. The art collections have been transferred into new stores in the old cells there, which is an improvement on their environmental conditions. Thanks to the generosity of the Brecknock Society and Museum Friends, we have been able to purchase new storage cabinets. These are being used for some of the archaeology and textile collections and are a huge improvement on the previous storage. Annette Lewis (formerly Zimmerman) continues to make improvements to the storage and to catalogue the collection onto the MODES database. About 80% of the collection is now on the database. Objects accessioned into the collections during 2006 are listed at the end of this report. Public services The large exhibition gallery was out of action throughout part of 2006, due to a severe leak in the roof. A secondary roof has been put in above the void which 49550_Brycheiniog_2006:44036_Brycheiniog_2005 28/4/16 08:11 Page 8 8 Brycheiniog was causing the problem, and the gallery re-opened on 29 July. Three successful exhibitions were held in the latter part of 2006; Wire and Wool, a group exhibition by Lynn Walters, Jean Roberts and Pat Johnson, Smocks, Smocking, Smocked, a touring exhibition from Hereford Museum and Art Gallery which included some of our own material, and Carbon Cycle, paintings by Tim Rossiter which explored the relationship between the life forms of our world and the star dust of which we are all made. The small exhibition gallery has not suffered from the same roof problems and was in use throughout the year. Exhibitions held were Thank You for Your Help, an exhibition of works purchased with the help of grant giving bodies such as the V & A Purchase Fund and the Brecknock Society, the Story of Story-telling, Breconshire Photographed – 150 Years, which showed many of the photographs in the collection, an exhibition for National Archaeology Week, Topographical Prints of Breconshire, ‘A Busy Bee’ – sewing for the household, and a craft exhibition. The exhibition of Breconshire photographs proved enormously popular and resulted in additional information and gifts of photographs for the collections. The ‘Busy Bee’ exhibition was included in the Times’ list of ‘top five exhibitions’ in October. Events held included a Family History Surgery in conjunction with the Powys Archives Service, a Finds ID day held during National Archaeology week, the Big Draw and the launch of the new Powys branch of the Art Fund. Tim Rossiter spent a week in the gallery during his exhibition, creating a new work and talking to visitors. The Museum continues to be popular with schools. It is hoped that education work will be developed substantially in 2007. As usual, the staff of the Museum identified a considerable number of objects brought in by members of the public and answered a huge number of enquiries on local subjects. Staffing We were sad to see Ann Blake retire as full-time attendant, but pleased to see her back again working on Saturdays. Hannah Goodall has been appointed as the new full-time attendant. The grant from CyMAL for Annette Lewis’s full-time post as Collections Manager came to an end, but Powys County Council continued to fund her post for three days a week. Kate Hebditch was appointed as Senior Curator and took up the post in August. We are grateful to Kevin Harding and Nina Hely-Hutchinson who worked until August as Acting Manger and Acting Curator respectively. Nina is continuing for one day a week on a temporary contract as Exhibitions Officer.