Number 16 March 2019 Price £6.00 Welcome to the 16th edition of the Welsh Stone Forum May 11th: C12th-C19th stonework of the lower Teifi Newsletter. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to Valley this edition of the Newsletter, to the 2018 field programme, Leader: Tim Palmer and the planning of the 2019 programme. Meet:Meet 11.00am, Llandygwydd. (SN 240 436), off the A484 between Newcastle Emlyn and Cardigan Subscriptions We will examine a variety of local and foreign stones, If you have not paid your subscription for 2019, please not all of which are understood. The first stop will be the forward payment to Andrew Haycock (andrew.haycock@ demolished church (with standing font) at the meeting museumwales.ac.uk). If you are able to do this via a bank point. We will then move to the Friends of Friendless transfer then this is very helpful. Churches church at Manordeifi (SN 229 432), assuming repairs following this winter’s flooding have been Data Protection completed. Lunch will be at St Dogmael’s cafe and Museum (SN 164 459), including a trip to a nearby farm to Last year we asked you to complete a form to update see the substantial collection of medieval stonework from the information that we hold about you. This is so we the mid C20th excavations which have not previously comply with data protection legislation (GDPR, General been on show. The final stop will be the C19th church Data Protection Regulations). If any of your details (e.g. with incorporated medieval doorway at Meline (SN 118 address or e-mail) have changed please contact us so we 387), a new Friends of Friendless Churches listing. can update our files. June 15th: Building stone resources along the PROGRAMME 2019 Montgomery canal Leader: Andrew Jenkinson 2019 AGM & Anual Lecture Meet: 11.00 am, Llyn Coed y Dinas Nature Reserve Car Park, Welshpool. The car park entrance is at OS grid ref The 2019 AGM will be held on Saturday 27th April, at SJ 223 052; post code SY21 8RP; off the east side of the 11.00 am at the National Museum Cardiff in the Augustus A458 (into Welshpool town centre), 130 yds north of the & Gwen John Room (Level 0, behind the restaurant). roundabout at the south end of the Welshpool Bypass Coffee will be available from 10.30. Any items for the (A483). We can park cars here before sharing if possible AGM agenda should be sent to the Chairman, Dr John for the rest of the day. Davies ([email protected]). The Museum car We will look at buildings and quarries, including Powis park will be open and tokens can be purchased in the Castle and several in Welshpool, that take us northwards Museum shop. to Llanymynech with its well exposed Carboniferous The AGM will be followed at 11.45am by the Annual Limestone quarries and visitor centre, then, time Lecture. This will be given by Professor Maurice Tucker, permitting, the southern part of the Oswestry coalfield, Visiting Professor, Bristol University. He will talk about which relied for transport on the Montgomery Canal. his research into identification of specific sources of Although today regarded as an ‘agricultural canal’, the Roman Bath Stone. most important trade was carrying limestone and coal to canal-side kilns for the limestone-burning industry to Non-members are welcome to attend the lecture. Please supply the “industry” of farming. Time permitting we make sure that the Secretary (jana.horak@museumwales. will return to Welshpool on the eastern side of the Severn ac.uk) is notified of all who will be attending. Valley, looking at quarries on the Breidden Hills and at Buttington from which stone was taken down to the canal for use further afield. We will stop in the vicinity of October 5th or 12th t.b.c. a suitable hostelry at lunchtime for those who prefer it. At the time of printing this fieldtrip is yet to be confirmed. Otherwise bring a picnic for a stop on a canal-side wharf. If anyone has any suggestions for the October trip, please We aim to return to the starting point at 4.30pm contact Mike Statham (Field Secretary) Insurance July 13th: Grosmont & surrounding area The Forum holds indemnity insurance for members Leaders: Eric Evans & John Shipton attending field meetings. To ensure that everyone present is Meet: 11.00 at Saint Nicholas’ church, Grosmont (SO covered, it is essential that you inform the Field Secretary 395 243, sat nav NP7 8EP) (Michael Statham, [email protected]) in We will begin this short tour of miscellaneous buildings advance that you plan to attend any of the meetings. in the north-east of Monmouthshire at Saint Nicholas’, Members may bring guests to the meeting provided we an exceptionally grand cruciform church, mainly to look have prior notification, there is a fee for guest to cover at the contrast between the C13th nave and the C19th insurance. You will be asked to sign the attendance list reconstructed crossing and rebuilt chancel of Seddon’s on the day. restoration, but also to inspect some of the monuments. A more recent restoration (early C21st) has also been undertaken. This church, as with the following buildings, is mainly constructed with the local Old Red Sandstone. Obituary We will then move on for a brief stop to look at the Cross Ash Well House, recently restored by a local Building Richard (Rick) Turner Preservation Trust (one of two projects we will look at undertaken by the Village Alive Trust, in this area, www. villagealivetrust.org.uk) before lunch. It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Rick Turner in June 2018. Rick was a We will also visit Saint Teilo’s church at Llantilio retired Cadw Inspector of Ancient Monuments but Crossenny, another impressively large cruciform church was probably best known as the archaeologist who (C13th) with interesting architectural details, and from recovered Lindow Man in 1984. His work with there to White Castle (known as Llantilio Castle in Cadw in the conservation of ancient monuments C12th), the largest and most solitary of the Three Castles. led to an interest in building stone, how and where Originally an early Norman earthwork castle, it was it was quarried and how it degraded, all things that extended and strengthened in stone probably in the face helped inform him on the best conservation methods of threat posed by Llewelyn ap Gruffudd, who attacked to employ. He was a man of many talents but he gave Abergavenny in 1263. (The castle is under the care of time to listen to the views of others and he valued Cadw, so bring your membershiup card). From the castle the conservation skills of craftsmen. we move downhill to Croft Barn, (the second of our Village Alive Trust buildings). This is a remarkable C16th Rick was a good friend of the Welsh Stone Forum original corn barn, previously part of the Great Tre-Rhiw and in April 2010 was instrumental in persuading farm estate, immediately west. Great Tre-Rhiw has been Cadw management to host the forum’s AGM at researched and is probably be the farm (mill, granary, Caerphilly Castle. Following the AGM he gave a etc.) sustaining the garrison at the castle at that time. S brief history of the castle and an informative talk on recent activity there. In 2016 he was writing a paper with Stephen Priestley on the building of the great September 21st & 22nd: Slate & building stone of NW gatehouse at Kidwelly and he contacted the Forum Wales Leader: Jana Horak to ask for assistance in matching the stone described Meet: details to follow within historic documents (written in 1402) with possible sources that might exist around Kidwelly. The details of this trip are yet to be confirmed. If you are The information gained at the ensuing visits was of interested in joining the trip please let the Field Secretary great benefit to both Rick and the Forum. Those of (Mike Statham) know. If you are interested in examining us that knew Rick will miss his dry wit and the great particular building stones in the area, then please contact knowledge that he possessed and was happy to share Jana. We can then attempt to accommodate requests prior with others. to organising the final itinerary. It is likely that we will John Shipton stay in Cricciedd, and venture eastward to look at slate and westwards along the south coast of Llŷn. Building stones in churches across Wales: places and frequently includes pebbles derived from it. Part 7 – Vale of Glamorgan The Brownstones comprise the remaining Lower Old Red Sandstone succession. These consist of maroon John Davies sandstones, which are used as building stones and which appear very locally in buildings in the middle Ely valley The methodology of collecting the data for this series of and south-eastwards to Michaelstone-le-Pit. Yellow county church surveys has been described in previous sandstones from the Upper Old Red Sandstone occur issues of the Newsletter. Due to the size and number of in the same general area, whilst the overlying Quartz communities in Glamorgan, it was practical to divide Conglomerates are found in drystone walls and some the county into its two main medieval units; Upland buildings from Stalling Down and Aberthin in the west to Glamorgan [Morgannwg], which was published in Radyr, Cardiff, in the east. Newsletter No.6, and the Vale of Glamorgan [Glamorgan], which is published here. A survey of the churches of The overlying Carboniferous Limestone outcrops around Gower and Swansea is published elsewhere in this issue, the rim of an E/W trending anticline.