Searching for the Oldest Houses in Wales

With over 306,000 hits on the website in the last twelve months and more than a hundred members signing up since Easter the DATING OLD WELSH HOUSES GROUP is already making an impact in communities across north west Wales. “Our programme of events is very popular, with waiting lists for our guided visits to old houses and our Study Tour to St Fagans and Cosmeston Medieval village” says Margaret Dunn, Group Secretary. She has recently been made a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London for her work running the successful Dating Old Welsh Houses Project and will shortly be giving a lecture on the Project to that Society in London.

Margaret added “we are excited to announce that with our partners, the Royal Commission on Ancient & Historic Monuments of Wales, we will be publishing a book titled Discovering Historic Homes in North-West Wales.”

The Project spent over £250,000, including the time given by around 200 volunteers, to date, record and research around eighty Tudor houses across the region. This was only possible with grant aid from around twenty five organisations led by the HLF. Over a hundred people attended the Annual Public Lecture held this year in Conwy.

“Searching for the Oldest Houses in Wales” has been selected as the topic for the Annual Lectures of both the Caernarfonshire and Merioneth county history societies.

Richard Suggett, of the RCAHMW, will be the speaker giving an emphasis on local buildings on each occasion. The Merioneth Historical & Record Society AGM & Lecture will be held on 6^th October at 2.00 p.m. in Llanelltyd Village Hall, and that for the Carnarfonshire Historical Society will be held on 20^th October at 2.30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Caernarfon. All are welcome. 

Margaret commented “Another development is the newly revised bilingual website: www.datingoldwelshhouses.co.uk  which contains an increasing amount of information about the project and the Group”.   Anyone interested can join the Group via the website or contact Margaret on 01766 890550.

Festival No. 6

Bleary eyed festival goers were in good spirit on the morning of the third day. Down in The Village, the re-enactment of Checkmate, by The Six of One (Prisoner appreciation society), brought back distant memories for those of us who’d watched 1960s TV. Words like ‘groovy’ come to mind?

This was followed by Osadia, a colourful duo from Barcelona performing elaborate hair transformations to willing volunteers. 

Everyone seemed to be having a good time; posh people were staying at the hotels, others in camper vans but the majority were in tents. The mix of acts, which ranged from big name groups to folk singers, poets, artists and stand up comics, worked well – an eclectic cocktail that worked in a surreal setting.

For many people this was their first visit not only to Portmeirion but to Wales. They knew they were in Wales that Sunday evening when the Brythoniaid took to the stage and gave them a male voice choir rendition of a New Order number. This is what it sounded like in rehearsal: