GGAT 130: First World War Scoping Study Glamorgan and Gwent March 2014 A report for Cadw GGAT report no. 2014/025 by Johnny Crawford BSc MA PIfA Project no. GGAT 130 The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd Heathfield House Heathfield Swansea SA1 6EL GGAT 130 First World War Scoping Report: Glamorgan and Gwent Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 2. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Sources................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 2.3 Range, content and value and significance of sources .................................................................................................... 7 3. RESULTS ................................................................................................................................ 9 3.1 Total number of sites and condition ........................................................................................................................................ 9 3.2 Selected surviving sites .............................................................................................................................................................. 11 3.3 Tabular presentation of key findings .................................................................................................................................... 16 3.4 Emergent key themes ................................................................................................................................................................. 25 4. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................... 26 5. RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................... 27 5.1 Documentary research ............................................................................................................................................................... 27 5.2 Fieldwork ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 5.3 Dissemination ................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 5.4 Site specific recommendations ............................................................................................................................................... 27 5.4 General recommendations........................................................................................................................................................ 28 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES............................................................................ 30 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 32 1 GGAT 130 First World War Scoping Report: Glamorgan and Gwent Plates Page Plate 1 View of the slipways (GWSC288/10692g) at National Shipyard No.1, constructed in August 1917 (GWSC01/415173) ....................................................................................... 11 Plate 2 View of part of Hardwick Village, Chepstow, a garden city constructed for workers at National Shipyard No.1 in 1917/1918 (GWSC136/10620g) .............................................. 12 Plate 3 Interior of the Taylor and Son Engineering works in 1917. The works produced 18lbr high explosive shells and elements of the buildings may survive (GWSC298/07318w, West Glamorgan Archives TAY/PLA 7-11) ........................................................................ 13 Plate 4 The Munitions Crèche, Newport (GWSC181/10274g) on the day of its opening December 4th 1917 (Newport Past) ................................................................................... 14 Plate 5 Contemporary view of the Munitions Crèche (GWSC181/10274g), February 2014. ... 14 Plate 6 Partially buried foundations of a First World War era structure at the original Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers Vauxhall Camp, Monmouth (GWSC309/09381g) ....... 15 Tables Table 1 Sites identified through trawl of HER and RCAHMW records .................................... 16 Table 2 Intact or near intact sites................................................................................................ 18 Table 3 Damaged and near destroyed sites ................................................................................ 22 Table 4 Archaeologically significant sites whose condition has not been ascertained. ............. 24 Figures Figure 1: Spot distribution map of identified sites within the Glamorgan-Gwent area. ............. 10 2 GGAT 130 First World War Scoping Report: Glamorgan and Gwent Summary With the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War approaching, a scoping study has been carried out to assess the quantity and variety of surviving physical remains associated with the home front in Glamorgan and Gwent during this period. This study has conducted a rapid appraisal of information already held within the regional HERs and more crucially, has undertaken an extensive search of primary and secondary sources to gather together the most comprehensive data base of First World War home front sites in South Wales that has yet been compiled. A number of future subjects for projects have been identified and recommendations have been made for specific sites and general themes to be studied. Acknowledgements The project was commissioned by Cadw and undertaken by the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (GGAT) in its remit as the regional archaeological body responsible for the understanding and preservation of the archaeological resource in southeast Wales. The Author would like to thank the staff of the National Monuments Record (NMR), RCAHMW, Aberystwyth, Oliver Blackmore of Newport Museum, the staff of the Gwent, Glamorgan and West Glamorgan Archives, the staff of Porthcawl Museum, Lt Col Eric Gruber von Arni, Mr Eric Old of the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers, Mabey Bridge Ltd. The report has been researched and prepared by Johnny Crawford BSc MA PIfA of GGAT Projects. The photography for the project was undertaken by Johnny Crawford. Any mistakes or omissions are the authors own. Copyright Notice The copyright of this report is held by Cadw and the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust Ltd. The maps are based on Ordnance Survey mapping provided by the Welsh Government with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence No: 100017916 (2014). 3 GGAT 130 First World War Scoping Report: Glamorgan and Gwent 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Background Introduction 2014 is the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, one of the seminal events of modern world history. A great many projects and initiatives are being undertaken in order to mark this event, the majority of which have an historical focus rather than an archaeological one. Indeed, although the First World War has been the subject of archaeological interest for a number of years, the majority of previous work has focussed on battlefield archaeology in France and Belgium (e.g. Saunders 2009, Brown and Osgood 2009). The physical impact of the First World War on the home front, and therefore the archaeological legacy, has been relatively neglected in terms of information available to the Historic Environment Record, which may in some ways be regarded as the ‘official’ list of sites of historical and archaeological interest. This appears to be particularly true for the Welsh counties of Glamorgan and Gwent (the focus for this present report). As an unscientific illustration, a very basic search of the online Historic Environment Record using the search term ‘First World War’ produced a single reference to a war memorial (Welsh National War Memorial, Cathays Park, Cardiff (GWSC192/PRN00957s/NPRN32845). In order to address the lack of visibility regarding the archaeology of the First World War, and to establish base line information for the number and variety of potential surviving sites, Cadw commissioned the four Welsh Archaeological Trusts to undertake scoping reports within their geographical areas to assess the remains from this crucial period of British history. This current report presents the results of the scoping undertaken by the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust. Project Aims and Objectives This scoping study seeks to redress the balance in our understanding of the archaeological resource relating to the First World War by: A rapid appraisal of information relating to the First World War within the HER A rapid appraisal of sites relating to the First World War from other information sources in order to produce a target list