Cy m r u W l e d i g
Rural Wales
Crëwyr y tirweddau
Creators of landscapes
Hydref 2013 Autumn
Michael Brace
June 1924 – August 2013
M
ichael’s enduring legacy to
CPRW is his fascinating
History of the organisation,
charting its progress from
its formation in the 1920’s to 2003. In
some ways his death brings to an end an
era where CPRW was a branch-strong
body of people with intense
competition to become
Executive members at local
and national level. I have
used Michael’s History to
illustrate our past activities,
and have found listeners
delighted to be reminded
of campaigns they recalled
from childhood; and others
oblivious of its importance.
Michael did a great service to
CPRW by searching out and
piecing together its progress
through the campaigns it ran
and the decisions it took.
But Michael was not just a chronicler
and commentator: he was an active and
continuing part of CPRW’s history at
Branch and national level. Right up to
the last, he was raising issues of local
importance while seeing the wider, even
national, implications. He had a long and
distinguished life devoted to serving the
best interests of rural Wales, and
especially Pembrokeshire and its
communities.
Following active war time service,
Michael and his wife Daphne
went into farming, and together
with their sons ran a successful
enterprise at Begelly, branching
into contracting. He was active
in various voluntary bodies,
particularly CPRW where he
served as Secretary and Treasurer
to the Pembrokeshire Branch and in later
years as its President. At national level he
was on CPRW’s Council and Executive for
many years and its Treasurer from 1975 to
1978, and Chairman from 1982 to 1985.
He formed a close working relationship
with Simon Meade, CPRW’s Joint Director
and Hon Secretary from 1963
and 1972, and maintained a
lifelong friendship with him.
He always paid tribute to
the HQ staff at Welshpool,
especially Jenny Smith,
Assistant Director, for her
unstinting response to
requests for assistance.
Michael was dedicated to
the cause of protecting rural
Wales from unnecessary
and avoidable damage by
unthinking and short term
decisions. But he was also a pragmatist,
and where alternatives were impossible
urged realistic mitigation to avoid
damaging people and the environments
they cherished. His was a gentle but
considerable approach from which he
never wavered. The Pembrokeshire Branch
will miss his expert advice on CPRW’s
Constitutional matters in particular.
He was a man of great integrity:
trustworthy, loyal and with a
well-developed sense of humour.
Following retirement from farming he
spent time on the many other interests
at which he excelled - photography,
landscape painting, wood turning, and
gardening. He also devoted time to his
much loved and cherished family especially
to his grandchildren. We will miss him.
Mary Sinclair
Chair: Pembrokeshire Branch CPRW
Editorial
M
ost people will probably
know someone who
could turn their hand to
almost anything. These artisans and
country folk would shape and craft
a masterpiece from whatever was
available.
Surrounded by the tools of their
trade, and the colour and smell
of shelves of wood, they would
turn bowls, make tools or where
necessity dictated, make tables,
chairs, gates or even wooden wheels
for carts. Joints were clean and
tight, blocks of masonry would
be amazingly hewn and perfectly
shaped, or reed would be turned
into exquisitely shaped thatch. For
them as the words of the calypso say… ”It ain’t what you do,
it’s the way that you do”.
Although sadly not common today, these traditional crafts
and skills are making a well-earned comeback. This edition of
Rural Wales therefore salutes the “creators” of landscapes past
and present who are breathing sense of individuality back into
the character of the Welsh countryside. Thanks
to the creativity and commitment of these craftspeople, rural
Wales is recovering those strong blushes of
distinctiveness which were once so common. In the
world of instantaneous high definition computergenerated images and quick fixes, I’m sure the
time, knowledge and skill these people are
investing in their professions
will no doubt be more
enduring.
Peter Ogden
Director
Golygyddol
M
ae’n debyg fod y rhan
fwyaf o bobl yn adnabod
rhywun sy’n gallu troi
eu llaw at unrhywbeth bron.
Byddai’r crefftwyr a’r gwladwyr
hyn yn creu campwaith o beth
bynnag oedd ar gael.
Ynghanol eu hoffer, a lliw ac arogl
silffoedd pren, bydden yn gweithio
dysglau, yn gwneud eu hoffer eu
hunain neu, pan oedd angen, yn
gwneud byrddau, cadeiriau, gatiau
neu hyd yn oed olwynion pren ar
gyfer trol. Roedd yr uniadau’n lân a
thynn, byddai darnau o faen yn cael
eu naddu’n rhyfeddol a’u siapio’n
berffaith, neu byddai brwyn yn cael
eu troi’n doeon gwellt.
Er nad ydyn nhw, gwaetha’r modd, yn gyffredin heddiw,
mae’r crefftau a’r sgiliau traddodiadol hyn, yn haeddiannol
iawn, yn cael eu hadfer. Felly mae’r rhifyn hwn o Cymru
Wledig yn rhoi clod i ‘grewyr’ tirweddau ddoe a heddiw sy’n
rhoi ysbryd unigolyddol yn ôl yng nghymeriad cefn gwlad
Cymru.
Diolch i greadigrwydd ac ymrwymiad y bobl grefftus hyn,
mae’r Gymru wledig unwaith eto’n dangos yr arlliw cryf o
unigolyddiaeth a oedd mor gyffredin ar un adeg. Mewn byd
llawn o ddelweddau cyfrifiadurol, eglur iawn, ar-amrantiad,
ac atebion sydyn, dw i’n siŵr y bydd yr
amser, yr wybodaeth a’r gallu y mae’r bobl
hyn yn eu buddsoddi yn eu gwaith yn
para’n llawer hwy.
Peter Ogden
Cyfarwyddwr
Cymru Wledig yw cylchgrawn swyddogol YDCW. Mae’n cael ei gyhoeddi bob pedwar mis a’i ddosbarthu i
aelodau yn rhad ac am ddim. Gofynnwch os hoffech chi gael unrhyw erthyglau mewn fformat print mwy.
Rural Wales is the official magazine of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, distributed free to its members.
Please ask if you would like the text of any articles in a larger print format.
NID 2
YW BARN CYFRANWYR O ANGENRHEIDRWYDD YN ADLEWYRCHU POLISI YDCW
2
VIEWS OF CONTRIBUTORS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE POLICY OF CPRW
Front Cover photo: Afon Conwy, Snowdonia © Pierino Algieri
3
Our ultimate landscape makers
Peter Ogden
Director
In 1194 Giraldus Cambrensis
described Wales as
“very strongly wooded, defended by
high mountains, deep valleys and
extensive woods, rivers and marshes.
The Welsh neither inhabit towns,
villages nor castles, but lead a
solitary life in woods, on the border
of which they content themselves
with small huts made of the boughs
of trees twisted together, constructed
with little labour and expense and
sufficient to endure throughout the
year”
Despite this, woodlands were
recognised in Welsh laws
as “rhandir” being the legal
definition for the tribal unit of
land consisting of 312 acres,
of which 300 acres were for
arable, grazing and fuelwood
and 12 acres for the building of
a settlement.
At this time, an oak tree
would have been worth 120
pence, twice the value of a standard
cow. Pannage in “preserved wood”
(Coed cadw) was reserved for the
animals of authorised persons during
a defined season in Autumn and early
winter. Not surprisingly woodland was
strictly guarded, the penalty for trespass
being that every tenth swine was killed
up to a maximum of nine !!
Multiple use of forest and woods was
the way of life in the Middle Ages. They
were also places of mystery and magic,
where people like Dayfdd ap Gwilym
(1340-1370) the famous Welsh forest
poet, gained his inspiration by using
woodland motifs and images. Since
Wooded island in Llyn
Cregennen, Islaw’r Dref,
Dolgellau
4
Medieval times that traditional
folk knowledge has for the
most part been lost. Today, the
true significance of woods in
poem, tales and tradition has
virtually vanished.
In Medieval times, forests
had three crucial roles: for
Military purposes, for hunting
and falconry and in Monastic
life
The felling of forests formed
a vital part of military strategy
because military campaigns
basically flattened huge areas
of woodland to avoid ambush.
Indeed the first “forest policy”
which amounted to wholesale
and permanent clearance of
woodland was one imposed by
the conquerors. Edward the 1st
fiercely guarded his axe men
as his armies felled their way
around the flanks of Wales.
Forests then took on a
different role, as places for
hunting and falconry. The
largest and most important
area being the “Forest of
Snowdon” covering much of
Caernarfonshire and North
Merioneth and existing as a legal entity
until 17th century. Then forests once
more became important sources of
income and, apart from game, the main
products were large timbers and logging
debris, bark, charcoal, fruits, berries and
nuts, mast, herbage, honey and wax,
hawks, wood ash and dyestuffs.
The third great influence were the
Monastic estates. “Assarting”, the
clearing of forests for agriculture
became common as land was granted
to the Cistercians. By the 15th century
the depletion of woodlands had become
so widespread that for the first time the
conservation of the remaining forest
resources became a matter of concern
indeed the birth of the concept of
forest stewardship. By the 16th century
woodlands covered 10% or less of
Wales. For long periods in the Middle
Ages these remaining woods were
however still used to satisfy the needs
of the rural peasant economy, with the
common people fairly claiming that “the
greater part of their subsistence was
derived from the woods”.
This dependency continued until the
Barking
Party,
Dolgellau
1890
Industrial Revolution, which catapulted
the role and importance of woodland
to the forefront again, for four reasons
Charcoal, Shipbuilding, Tanbark and
Pitwood.
As the iron masters became
more powerful so was the demand
for charcoal. By the 18 thC however
home grown Welsh wood became
an important source of naval oak.
Subsequently oak woodlands became
hugely important as the demand for
oak bark for tanning, to turn skins and
rawhides into leather, grew.
As mining operations expanded,
substantial amounts of wood for
charcoal making, for roof and wall
supports and for mine buildings, ramps
and sluices were needed. Following the
decline of charcoal making, the growth
in coal, mining and the use of coal a
compensatory expansion
in the demand for pitwood
was prompted.
Eventually the role of
trees and woods again
started to change as
they became a means
of “creating variety in
landscapes”, and used
by the great landscape
designers of the second
half of the 18 thC to create
grand new landscapes
which carried with them
a feeling of age and
continuity. Old trees were
used to create “instant
Parks”, perhaps their means
of showing disdain for
the removal of so many trees from the
landscape in the past.
Exotic conifers were increasingly
planted as ornamental trees, many of
which remain characteristic features
in the Welsh landscape. Sequoias
were planted by country houses, or
sycamores planted for shelter on
upland farmsteads many of which still
stand as evidence of the location of
homes that have themselves long since
disappeared.
The surviving woodland remnants
continued to provide a resource and
livelihood for substantial numbers
of traditional rural craftsmen –
turners, coopers, cloggers, hoopers,
woodcutters, wheelwrights, boat and
ship builders, pit sawyers, muleteers,
hurdle makers, wagonners, faggot
makers, carpenters, cartwrights, pig
pannagers, fuel wood gathers, fellers,
corders, charcoal burners, bark strippers
and bark choppers.
Their numbers would however
eventually dwindle drastically during
the 19 th Century under the pressures
of economic and technological
change. With rural depopulation and
an increasingly urbanised industrial
population, only a faint folk memory
now remains of the activity of these
woodland craftsmen.
By the time the Forestry Commission
was established in 1919,
the forest area of Wales had
been reduced from 90% to
approximately 4-5% of the
land area in the space of a
few millennia. The natural
vegetation of Wales had
been radically altered by
human activity. By 1924,
24.5 % of Wales’ woodland
was classified as “felled
or devastated” As Linnard
noted “A profound transformation had taken place in the
space of a few centuries in
the woodland vegetation, in
the pattern of life and in the
way of thinking about forests
in Wales.”
With this loss of substantial areas
of woodland went not only a way of
life but also woodland animals- first
the predators and later the herbivore
game animals, especially deer. Indeed
the Industrial revolution changed
our whole attitude to woodlands and
wood. Woodlands and Ancient forests,
previously viewed as a resource
used and managed in a sustainable
manner, became a commodity to fuel
the economic needs of an expanding
economy.
So how do we view woodlands
today? Dishearteningly, studies in
urban areas still reveal that most people
don’t consider woodlands relevant to
their life, except as place to escape from
the pressures of everyday life.
Thankfully however, the tide is turning
and woodlands are again landscape
makers contributing significantly to
public wellbeing. In our manic society
they offer places for recreation and a
means of improving the quality of our
home surroundings. They contribute to
our own and our children’s education,
and provide us with opportunities to
live a healthier life. They absorb harmful
greenhouse gases and at the same
time add colourful pleasure to many of
our best-loved landscapes, as well as
providing habitats for a wide variety of
animal and plant species. In fact the total
aggregate annual and capitalised values
of the social and economic benefits of
woodland in the UK now amounts to
£1.0 billion and £29.2 billion per annum
respectively
For all these reasons, decision makers
and managers of our landscapes must
understand the true importance of
woodland. The challenge we face in
the years to come is surely to ensure
the woodlands once again become a
meeting ground for nature and people
in ways which create distinctive and
vibrant places and create a true sense of
local identity for our rural landscapes.
5
From Manhattan
to the Moluccas
Global Influences on
the Landscape of Wales
Rob Thomas
Head of Development: Pennaeth Datblygu
National Botanic Garden of Wales
A
s I write, Robert
Peston is on the radio
reminding me that it’s
the fifth anniversary of the
Lehman Brothers crash and
it brings to mind that what
I’m setting down is a tale
which, if not exactly as world
changing as those events of
2008, is, nonetheless, one of
international influences and
global forces, of fortunes won
and lost and storm-tossed
fates.
It is a tale of happy
coincidences, too, and
journeys of discovery that
have helped, if only in some
small way, to understand how
the world has shaped Wales
and the effect that Wales, and
those who have made it their
home have had on the world. It
tells of the creating, nurturing
and sustaining of what is
today one of the most iconic
landscapes of Wales.
I was in a New York cab,
heading downtown as the
Lehman disaster unfolded on
the flickering news screen in
front of me – on my way to
meet John Heyman, President
of World Pictures, to discuss
an “Eddie the Eagle” biopic
as a tie-in to the Canadian
Winter Olympics. Over lunch,
John was gloomy. Little did I
know then how true his dire
derivatives predictions were
to be or the effect they were to
have on my life.
Fast forward two and a half
years and I’m up to my knees
in mud in a rainy Carmarthen-
6
shire field – a world away
in time and distance from
that Manhattan skyline. The
journey from there to here
was unremarkable in the
way that the unfolding of
so many fates was in those,
otherwise remarkable, times.
What I and others were up
to, however, that rainy day
was to be revelatory for the
understanding of the history
and evolution of one of Wales’s
best known landmarks and a
national institution.
That the site of the National
Botanic Garden of Wales
should always have been
called Middleton Hall was a
mystery to me from the time
I was seconded there from
Welsh Government. So it was
to everyone else, it seemed,
as no-one could answer the
question “why” or “what’s
in a name”. So we resolved
to start digging, literally and
figuratively to unearth those
mysterious Middletons and
to measure what they meant
to us. Hence the muddy field,
and what we discovered there
and elsewhere has shone a
light on the Garden’s past and
provided a beacon for the
future.
Christopher Middleton was
made vicar of Llanarthney in
February 1584 and by 1609
had a local landholding of
about 600 acres – coincidentally just about the same size
as today’s Garden estate. How
had he done this and how, at
the same time, had the funds
© National Botanic Garden
been found to build one of the
biggest mansion houses in
south west Wales (paying tax
on 17 hearths in 1676)? The
answer lies in the name, and is
a product of the times.
The Middletons of Chirk
and Chester were the original
petitioners for, stakeholders
in, directors of and merchant
adventurers on behalf of the
fledgling East India Company
(EIC), and Christopher’s three
brothers were directors,
generals and commanders
of all the early voyages.
John, Henry and David, the
seamen of Chester, swarthy
and bejewelled, were all
present alongside their more
pasty- faced Chirk cousins,
Sir Thomas, Sir Hugh and
Robert, Aldermen of London,
prominent guildsmen and
traders when, at Founders Hall
in Lothbury Street London on
24th September 1599, the East
India Company resolution was
passed. The rest, as they say,
is history, with the brothers,
Henry and David especially,
being prime movers in the
high stakes speculation that
was the Spice Wars so brutally
fought out in the still largely
uncharted waters of the East
Indies.
John had died of disease
on the first expedition, which
was led by the aptly named
Red Dragon, a 600 tonner
and one of the finest ships
of the age. Henry (later Sir
Henry in recognition of his
exploits) and David fared much
better financially, but only
comparatively so in terms of
longevity, and by 1615 both
had died in the service of
the Company, either through
illness or shipwreck. Their wills
find them immensely cash
rich and it is their accumulated
wealth, garnered through trade
in cloves, pepper, nutmeg and
mace that was ploughed into
the creation of the country
estate that so much marked
the aspirations of an emerging
class. It even bore the family
name. And it is the Middletons
that dominated this corner of
Carmarthenshire for more than
170 years until we enter much
better charted lands with the
arrival of Sir William Paxton.
Paxton acquired the estate
in 1785. He returned to Britain
from East India Company
service a very wealthy man
indeed and the Middleton
resonances would not
have been lost on him. He
even counted surviving EIC
Middletons as private clients
and, a self-made man, working
his way up from midshipman
at the age of 14, would have
known of David and Henry
Middleton, immortalised in
Fuller’s “Worthies of England”
as the famed “seamen of
Chester”. The Llanarthne
estate would have been
irresistible to him.
Paxton was not slow in
setting about his business
and, in a matter of years,
had effectively covered over
the Middleton traces and
reconfigured the landscape in
the manner of the times. The
revamped estate, at the hands
of the keenest minds of the
generation, became one of the
finest Regency water parks
and boasted one of the most
impressive private houses in
Wales. Sir Samuel Pepys-Cockerell was its architect, James
Grier the engineer who created
the elaborate necklace of lakes,
cascades and waterfalls that
adorned the park, and Samuel
Lapidge, inheritor of Capability
Brown’s mantle, was chief
garden designer and creator.
Paxton’s achievement was to
mark the heyday of Middleton
Hall, before a period of steady
decline which was only halted
and partially restored with the
creation of today’s botanic
garden.
Finding earlier pieces of
this chronological jigsaw has
transformed the Garden’s
understanding of its origins
and underpins its key
concerns and missions. The
Garden plays for Wales on
the world stage and owing
its origins to some prime
movers in development of
the British Empire (for good
or ill) provides a powerful
7
An 85th Cherry for Prince George
Jenny Pritchard-Jones
CPRW Anglesey
A
© National Botanic Garden
international story to tell that
goes beyond the bounds of
the parochial. The discovery
that the Garden, despite being
the youngest national one
of its type in the world, has
been a site of formal planting
for more than 400 years,
reflecting the changes from
the formal, late Elizabethan
tradition to the modern, via
periods of Landscape and
Picturesque sensibilities, adds
to its horticultural prestige.
This is further strengthened
in that the estate’s genesis
lies in the vast profits that
were made in the early trade
in plants for health, especially
nutmeg, for so long viewed
as effective against the
returning bouts of plague.
This is directly relevant to
ancient, local medicinal
legend and practice, to the
Garden’s interpretation of past
herbal and other plant-based
remedies and to its research
and conservation work today
which is uncovering new
healing potential.
There is more to this, too,
though, and the Garden’s
heritage is shaping its future.
The discoveries of the
past couple of years have
served to embed the historic
landscape in its strategic
plan for the next decade.
An ambitious project to
restore the stunning Regency
landscape, its lakes, cascades,
falls, dams and carefully
designed plantings is under
way and this restoration
will act as the backdrop
against which new archaeological work can take place.
8
It seems likely that the estate
has existed as undisturbed
parkland for almost half a
millennium and that human
influence on the landscape
will be found to have
significantly pre-dated the
Middletons. The work will also
create a new, living landscape
that is faithful to the past
and that offers a range of
exciting new opportunities
for volunteering, training
and employment especially
in traditional, rural skills
and technologies. One such
example is in woodland
management. It is clear from
records that the Middletons
were harvesting and selling
estate-grown timber in the
early 1700s. The Garden
has created a Diamond
Wood of more than 20,000
trees in the last 12 months,
which will, in years to come,
provide a renewable and
sustainable resource. The
vision for the future, then,
is to provide a destination
that combines a return to the
outstanding beauty that was
Sir William Paxton’s designed
landscape for the benefit and
enjoyment of the visitor with
an active management of that
landscape for the advantage
of the local community.
At the height of the Spice
Wars, the tiny island of Run
became a fiercely contested
piece of land. There, nutmeg
was so abundant that this
otherwise insignificant
outcrop in the East Indies,
could be smelled before it
could be seen. As tension
between the British and the
Dutch reached breaking point,
a compromise was reached
and a land swap arranged.
Conceding Run to the Dutch,
the British were to receive in
return what was to become a
much more valuable piece of
real estate – Manhattan, which
is, I think, where I began.
s part of CPRW’s 85th
Anniversary celebrations, and
with monies donated through
the Waitrose ‘Community Matters’
scheme, the Anglesey Branch organised
a commemorative tree-planting
event on Friday 4th October 2013 in
Beaumaris. The Branch donated
a Malus ‘Red Sentinel’ tree to the
community. It is a native, ornamental
crab apple, having showy flowers in
spring and clusters of red fruits in the
autumn.
The tree was planted at the Queen
Elizabeth II Play Area at Thomas Close,
by the Head Boy and Head Girl, on
behalf of the pupils of Ysgol Gynradd,
Beaumaris. As an outdoor leisure area,
enjoyed by generations of local children,
its status as a recreational space has been
protected for 99 years through the QEII
‘Fields in Trust’ project established in the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year. The tree
was planted to commemorate the birth
of HRH Prince George of Cambridge in
CPRW’s 85th anniversary year.
The ‘Royal Park’ offers an inclusive,
safe environment for children to
indulge their sense of adventure and
imagination. It is a special place in
the landscape for local families, being
situated on an elevated site near to the
primary school, which is a Grade II
listed building. Over the years, the play
area fell into neglect and disrepair but
thanks to a group of dedicated local
people and strong community
spirit, funds were collected
to refurbish it. There is now
an all-weather pitch, youth
shelter, play equipment
and natural, grassy areas.
The schoolchildren participated
in the ceremony, which began in the
school hall with speeches by invited
guests and solo brass performances
from several pupils, before walking in
procession to the play area. The local
vicar blessed the tree and read out a
poem especially composed by Dr. Chas
Parry-Jones – a member of CPRW’s
Anglesey Branch.
© Honer Paintings
School tree planting in Anglesey
© Honer Paintings
9
© David Lintern
Going wild in
the Rhinogydd
Dr Will Williams
Trustee : John Muir Trust
This month wild land charity the
John Muir Trust, launches an appeal
to secure an area of outstanding wild
land in the Rhinogydd area of
Snowdonia – an exciting development
that sees the Trust build on its work in
Wales. Will Williams explains.
F
ounded in 1983, the John Muir
Trust is a UK conservation charity
dedicated to protecting wild
places. It owns and cares for some
of the UK’s finest wild landscapes
including the UK’s highest peak
Ben Nevis, Sandwood Bay in the far
north-west of Sutherland, part of the
Cuillin on Skye and 3,000 acres on the
remote Knoydart peninsula in western
Scotland.
The Trust takes its inspiration from
John Muir, the founder of the modern
conservation movement. A household
name in the United States, Muir’s
passion for wild places led to a life-long
quest to protect them. His activism
saved Yosemite Valley in California
and helped create the world’s first
national park system. His prolific
writings helped people understand
the importance of wildness. Muir
understood the great interconnectedness of all living things, famously
writing: ‘When we try to pick out
anything by itself, we find it hitched to
everything else in the universe.’
Like Muir, the Trust believes in
protecting wild land for its own sake,
and because it believes wild places are
essential for people and wildlife. Based
in Highland Perthshire in Scotland,
the Trust draws its 10,000-strong
membership from across the UK and internationally and has worked for years
across Scotland, Wales and England
through its educational initiative, the
John Muir Award, as well as engaging
with UK policy makers on issues
concerning wild land.
Increasing its activity in Wales
makes sense for the Trust, particularly
10
given the beauty and wildness of the
Rhinogydd, Wales’ most wild and
least-visited mountain landscape. The
property that the Trust intends to buy,
Carreg y Saeth Isaf, is of modest size
but of significant ecological value:
a 105-hectare parcel of land by the
entrance to Cwm Bychan, at the head
of the Artro Valley. Carreg y Saeth
Isaf is located in a Site of Special
Scientific Interest, while the wider
area is recognised as a Special Area of
Conservation and a Biogenetic Reserve.
The current owner and his family,
who will continue to farm the adjacent
lower ground, have long managed
the whole farm with nature in mind.
Consequently, the owner is keen
for it to remain that way under the
guardianship of the Trust. It’s a
wonderful opportunity – one that does
not come along very often.
“Carreg y Saeth Isaf is a beautiful
wild gem in the Rhinogydd,” says
Stuart Brooks, Chief Executive of the
Trust. “It truly represents the wild and
rugged heart of Wales, and is just the
sort of wild place that the John Muir
Trust exists to care for over the long
term. We’re delighted to have the
opportunity to continue managing it for
the benefit of people and wildlife.”
Carreg y Saeth Isaf
© David Lintern
years through the John Muir Award
and the more recent support for
opposing wind farms in the Cambrians
that would damage wild landscapes.
In a sense, the Trust has been here
before. A decade or so ago, it began
negotiations to purchase two parcels
of land in Wales, including one in the
Rhinogydd. Neither was concluded,
with one being sold on the open market
and the other withdrawn for family
reasons.
Now in a much stronger position,
the Trust has been able to rekindle
negotiations in the Rhinogydd – a truly
special area of wild land. With the
largest expanse of mountain heath
outside of Scotland, it is the home
of peregrine, merlin, hen harrier and
raven, while the valleys hold important
areas of species-rich oakwoods with
their distinctive moss- and lichen-dominated ground flora. For geologists, this
is the celebrated Harlech Dome – the
greatest extent of Cambrian rock in
the UK – its ancient and unusual rock
formations thrusting proud of the
surrounding land in jagged crags and
cliffs.
Why here, why now?
Working together
The decision to acquire wild land in
Wales is in line with the long-term
thinking of the Trust – and a natural
next step following several significant
moves towards developing a greater
UK-wide presence. In September 2011,
the Board of Trustees approved the
further expansion of the John Muir
Award in England, while the following
year saw the appointment of an
Advocacy officer based in London.
And so to the here and now, and
this particular initiative in Wales – one
driven by a belief that each nation
should have an opportunity to protect
its best areas of wild land, not only for
nature but also for the way it speaks
of cultural heritage and community
identity. The move builds upon the
Trust’s work in Wales over the last 10
It is not so much the size of the land
being bought as its habitat quality
that presents such an important
opportunity. In time, there will be
significant potential to work closely
with others in the Rhinogydd, such as
Snowdonia National Park Authority,
Natural Resources Wales, CPRW, the
Snowdonia Society, Woodland Trust,
National Trust and North Wales Wildlife
Trust, plus private landowners and
local communities. This may take
time but our commitment is strong
to respect how wild land is integral
for the future of nature and culture in
Wales. The Trust will bring its 30 years
of experience in wild land management
to contribute to the dialogue in Wales.
The recruitment of the Development
Officer in Wales, with an understanding
of nature, culture, communities and
institutions in Wales, is a fundamental
part of this.
And it is precisely because the
habitat is in good condition that
the Trust will be able to focus its
attention on this wider partnership
and community work. Together with
the existing John Muir Award officer,
based in Llangollen in Denbighshire,
acquiring this property will give the
Trust a much stronger presence in
Wales.
“This is an important strategic
decision for the John Muir Trust, one
that recognises the importance of wild
land the length and breadth of the UK,”
says John Hutchison, chair of the Trust.
“We hope we can begin to play a role
in Wales, working with other others, to
ensure that wild land is protected and
enhanced for generations to come.”
The Rhinogydd is a land steeped
in history, with early settlers, Welsh
warriors that fought with kings, and,
more recently, poets and artists all
shaped and inspired by its rugged
landscape. Meirion Williams, the
famous local hymn writer, probably had
these very mountains in mind when he
wrote ‘Aros mae’r mynyddoedd mawr,
rhio drostynt mae y gwynt’ ( the great
mountains remain and the wind roars
across them).
We hope the Trust will soon be able
to make its own positive contribution to
this remarkable landscape.
Dr Will Williams is a Trustee of the
John Muir Trust. He can be contacted
at Will.llwynbedw@googlemail.com
The Trust needs help to raise funds
to purchase Carreg y Saeth Isaf. If
you would like to support the appeal
please see the leaflet enclosed with this
edition of Rural Wales or visit www.
jmt.org/wales. The Trust is offering free
membership for a year if you donate £30
or more.
11
‘The Long Forest’
... a big community
hedgerow
Rachel Palmer
Project Officer: South Powys
Keep Wales Tidy
‘A really good hedge:
a bee can’t get through it!’
(Farmer, Welsh border)
T
here is great interest in Wales
in the revival of rural crafts and
a new appreciation of the role
of traditional skills in the conservation
of landscape features and cultural
traditions, reducing the loss of wildlife
species and improving the management
of public green spaces.
The ‘Long Forest’ community
hedgerow project gives free training in
the craft of hedge-laying: a particularly
important and useful skill at a time when
wildlife habitats are becoming divided
and isolated through development
and other changes in land use.
Well-managed hedgerows are very
attractive in the landscape and are
valuable as shelter for farm livestock,
as green corridors and food sources for
wildlife, and they can also help to combat
flood or drought and maintain air quality.
Hedgerows are an absolutely ideal
subject for a community project. They
are readily identifiable even to the
novice, present in almost all locations
and can be managed without the use of
heavy machinery or livestock grazing
programmes. Alongside training in
traditional hedge-laying in community
settings, the Long Forest project also
offers complementary activities (suitable
12
for younger or less active volunteers)
such as hedge-planting, hedgerow
mapping and surveying, wildlife identification and recording, hand-trimming and
hedge-line litter-picking.
A skilled hedge-layer cuts partly
through the stem of suitable woody
plants in a hedgerow so that, whilst
remaining alive and growing, they
become flexible and can be interwoven
with neighbouring plants. There are
characteristic regional styles, but in every
case hedge-laying creates a dense, livestock-proof barrier which continues to
sprout leaves, flowers and fruit with the
passing seasons. Laying a hedge usually
extends the lifespan of the tree plants
within it; regularly pruned, physically
supported and protected from wind,
woody hedgerow plants tend to live
beyond the normal span for their species.
Good long-term management can result
in hedgerows of great antiquity.
A fine and satisfying craft,
hedge-laying is labour-intensive work so
it’s fortunate that a hedgerow only needs
to be laid every 30 years or so. The
Long Forest project promotes ‘relaxed’
interim hedge management that allows
a hedgerow modest annual growth to
maintain its condition and density, to
go through its natural cycle of flowering
and fruiting and to be of real value to the
farm, to local wildlife populations and
to human communities. This approach
allows agricultural, wayside and garden
hedges to be kept healthy and of
manageable size for long periods of time.
The Long Forest project offers
Gappy hedge Waun
fach Cwmdu
Hedging
hook used by
Monmouthshire
farmer
Hedgelaying Training, Cwmdu
2-day non-residential hedge-laying
courses which are free of charge to
participants and are primarily promoted
to communities in the immediate area
to minimise travel. Training together,
neighbouring individuals and members
of local community groups make
new contacts and friendships. These
can offer opportunities for future
co-operative working and the sharing
of specialist tools, expertise and even
storage spaces. One smallholder
hosted a training course, learning how
to lay his hedgerows, and getting some
much-needed help in return for providing
free facilities for the other trainees (and
a barn for lunchtime shelter on a wild
winter’s day).
We have also given training in the
use and care of hand tools, an indoor
venue provided by a local Garden Centre
as an in-kind donation to the project.
High-quality training of this kind within a
friendly and supportive group makes the
project very accessible and appealing.
Besides offering much-appreciated
training to members of community
woodland management groups, we
have actively encouraged participation
by those who have never done an
environmental project before. The
Long Forest is training people with
varied backgrounds and special needs,
and also groups and individuals often
excluded from community projects
such as businesses, farmers and
smallholders, self-employed people,
graduate students, Local Authority
staff & contractors and staff from other
voluntary sector organisations.
With training from us and the
specialists with whom we collaborate,
a diverse group of people of different
ages are developing a real taste for this
skilled outdoor work. Taking their skills
home and sharing them, volunteers’ local
activity is producing cumulative results
of great significance.
While it’s true that hedgerow health
and longevity can be compromised by
neglect, a common threat to hedgerows
is actually over-management. Most
hedge plants flower and fruit on last
year’s growth, so when a hedge is
trimmed annually at exactly the same
height all this new growth is removed
and the hedge is unable to go through its
natural cycle. Over the years tight annual
trimming makes a hedge lose condition:
it thins, develops gaps and distorts,
reducing its ability to shelter livestock,
to sustain wildlife and to mop up excess
water in the fields.
Less frequent & less tight trimming is
good for the health of the hedge and its
wildlife and also a cheaper management
Newly layed hedge, Powys
option at a time when many farmers,
landowners and Local Authorities need
to economise. The chance to work
with private landowners can extend the
range of volunteers managing adjacent
community green spaces. Volunteers may
support small family farms with additional
manpower – for example doing strategic
hand trimming so that flail-mowing of
hedgerows can be carried out only every
2 or 3 years instead of annually.
The project is issuing Hedgelink UK’s
excellent guidance pack for farmers and
landowners on planting and trimming
hedgerows as a revised, bilingual
publication for Wales. We also have
guidance on maintaining town and
garden hedges at an appropriate size as
these are currently disappearing more
quickly than agricultural counterparts.
‘Really enjoyed the training!
I went home and started laying one
of my hedges the very next day!’
(Part-time farmer)
The Long Forest complements other
habitat enhancements and contributes
to biodiversity records, community skills
development, Eco-Schools programmes
and sustainable woodland management.
As well as hedge-laying activity with
axes and billhooks, project participants
have been exploring the habitat value
and connectivity of hedgerows with
a variety of regional and national
conservation organisations, especially
enjoying using bat detectors with the
Vincent Wildlife Trust and footprint
tunnels with The Mammal Society.
Staff and volunteers are adding to the
surprisingly few records of location and
condition of species-rich hedgerows, and
the distribution of species like believed to
be in decline.
We have used some project funding to
buy traditional billhooks of local patterns,
slashers, mattocks and axes from ‘Tools
for Self Reliance Cymru’ a charity which
refurbishes used hand-tools to assist
farmers in Tanzania and sells surplus stock
in the UK to raise funds. This re-use of
materials is great for the environment and
many old forged steel tools are greatly
superior to modern equivalents.
Keep Wales Tidy, well-known for its
community litter clean-ups but less
for its other environmental work with
volunteers, schools and other partners,
is again demonstrating the power of
practical environmental activities to
bring individuals together and to foster
positive community care for the local
environment.
The current 21-month phase of The
Long Forest project covers the Brecon
Beacons National Park and its catchment
area with £120,000 provided jointly
by the Brecon Beacons Trust and the
Sustainable Development Fund.
Keep Wales Tidy, in partnership with The
Woodland Trust, is in discussion with
current and potential funders regarding the
continuation and development of The Long
Forest in its present location and other parts
of Wales.
For further details contact Rachel at rachel.
palmer@keepwalestidy.org or Keep Wales
Tidy at www.keepwalestidy.org
13
e
n
i
l
n
e
l
l
o
o
W
e
h
T
Pictures: © Pip Woolf
Pip Woolf
O
n March 27th 2010 the first
Woollenline was drawn across
Pen Trumau in the Black
Mountains. Since then more than 800
people have participated; giving advice,
funding, technical and administrative
support, physically creating the lines
and developing the work. Woollenline
could be thought of in many ways:
a piece of ‘land art’, a ‘community
artwork’, a conservation project or
‘eco-art’. For me it is a drawing.
During the hot summer of 1976, in the
heart of the Brecon Beacons National
Park, fires destroyed an area of blanket
bog on Pen Trumau. The loss of bog
vegetation left a raw, black, wound on
this unique landscape. Graham Cowden,
then BBNPA Ecologist with huge
experience in landscape restoration,
first showed me the scar. I remember
feeling both moved and shocked, then
14
wondering as an artist, if the whiteness of
wool and the blackness of peat could be
‘mixed’ to return the mountain to green?
Wool is a material that has remarkable
properties: it can both absorb and then
re-release moisture, the individual fibres
when seen under magnification have
scales which when wet will open. If the
wet fibres are then roughly rubbed the
scales lock together to form what was
the first ever non-woven textile, felt.
Potentially wool has much to
recommend it as a conservation textile,
not least that it is a local resource
unlike jute, a material imported from
across the world and currently most
frequently used for control of landscape
erosion. Belly and tail wool has little or
no economic value for upland farmers;
however, its use as a conservation
textile might help change this situation
and at the same time offer a potentially
more sustainable solution to aspects of
landscape repair.
In the summer of 2009 I had
discussed my idea with the British Wool
Marketing Board who agreed to help
me with a pilot study by giving me a
bale of 350kilos of scoured (washed)
grey wool. I then set about getting
all the different permissions needed
from the landowner, the farms grazing
the hill and the Countryside Council
for Wales. Working with volunteers
through the winter I made this wool
into felt and also created simple
wooden pegs with which to secure it.
Then in the spring, with the help of 30
volunteers we carried both felts and
pegs up on to the mountain to install the
first ‘Woollenline’.
In the years since I first conceived
Woollenline, a great deal has happened
(www.woollenline.wordpress.
com). With huge help of volunteers,
pack ponies and professionals we have
laid over 3000 metres of felt, installed
several hundred wool ‘sausages’,
planted lines of cotton-grass plugs and
sown wavy hair grass seed harvested
from the adjacent hill farm. We have
also had two major art exhibitions
inspired by the peat scar.
I am often asked ‘is it working?’ The
answer depends on who you are and
what you consider success. That so
many more people have some notion of
the issues around upland management
seems success. That people in
institutions who found it difficult to
engage with one another are now
beginning to talk is another possible
result. That the first line of wool is still in
place means that the peat it is covering
is still there too. That algae and mosses
are starting to grow on the surface of
the wool and that there is a 50% survival
of cotton grass plugs planted alongside
one of the lines in November 2011 is
remarkable. That we are able to find
a use for unwanted wool from farms
grazing this hill is yet another small
success and finally, asking questions at
all has to be important!
After three years the plugs and
grass are growing, the wool is still in
place, and so it seems the exposed
peat surface of Pen Trumau is finally
beginning to stabilize. Perhaps, even
more importantly Woollenline
has become the drawing
I conceived, joining
people, material
and possibility.
It has taken a serious situation and
playfully engaged people to make
their mark, slowly drawing them into
a ‘Woollenline’ community. What
began as an observational drawing
of a fire damaged peat bog became
a guide for other lines to follow. It
linked people through effort, created
threads of research and uncovered
new opportunity inspiring responses to
the landscape, developing connections
between conflicting interests and
exploring personal and community responsibility in relation to place.
On 17th April 2013 Woollenline won
the Campaign for National Parks Park
Protector Award, the same day an
article was published about it in the
Guardian on-line and Radio 4 rang to
explore the possibility of doing a piece
about it for the PM program. Despite
extensive explanations, the reporter
asked several times ‘why does it matter
if the peat disappears’? I find myself
increasingly unable to answer these
questions but ever more inspired to
provoke them.
15
Wor k i n g with heads , hearts a n d ha n ds – the f u t u re?
Working with heads, hearts
and hands – the future?
Joyce Gervis
Managing Director
Ty^ Mawr Lime
T
oday some 86,000 people work
in the traditional building sector
in England and Wales, yet there
are some 4.9 million traditional buildings
(defined as being built before 1919) –
more than one third of the Welsh building
stock is pre-1919.
Research over the last few years has
demonstrated time and again that the
specialist skills needed to preserve these
buildings are declining. The ten main
specialist skills that are most likely to
be used on these buildings have been
identified as bricklaying, carpentry
and joinery, lead working, painting and
decorating, plastering, roof slating and
tiling, steeplejacking and stone masonry.
16
So with calls for re-skilling within the
building industry and laments of long lost
crafts, it is heartening to know that within
Wales there are a plethora of skilled
craftsmen and women actively getting on
with it.
T]-Mawr Lime in Brecon has been
teaching and celebrating traditional skills
in a ‘progressive’ way for almost twenty
years; learning from the past and making
skills relevant to the materials as well as the
environmental challenges we face today.
During this time, they have watched
and even helped to shape a new
generation of builders, builders who
are making their living, enjoying their
work whilst caring ‘appropriately’ for
vernacular buildings, being sensitive
about the use of resources and their own
impact on the environment.
Nigel Gervis, Technical Director
at T]-Mawr and recipient of the
prestigious ‘Trainer of the Year in
Traditional Building Skills’ award in
2012, said “one of the most satisfying
aspects of what we do is seeing the
level of skills gathering momentum
in Wales; real expertise, craftsmen
building on what we have learnt from
the past and sharing our philosophy
of making it relevant to the future. We
do not see the crafts that we teach
as simple ‘traditional’, we consider
them to be a valid solution, relevant
to today’s world and providing some
of the answers to future construction.
It is an exciting time for those in this
industry.
We are privileged to be supported
by a range of passionate and talented
craftsmen who give of their time every
year to join us in various shows, events
and courses helping to inspire those
currently responsible for our buildings
and possibly the next generation of
craftsmen and women”.
Wor k i n g with heads , hearts a n d ha n ds – the f u t u re?
Tom Jones and his business
partner Finn Fraser …
share this philosophy. By laboring
from a young age at T]-Mawr, they
both discovered a love of materials
and a passion for traditional buildings.
They now run their own successful
restoration business (Jones and
Fraser Ltd) and have worked on many
private repair projects as well as
prestigious restoration projects such as
Abergavenny Castle, Dore Abbey and
Blaenavon Iron Works.
Tom says, “having worked with
traditional buildings for 10 years, I still
find them as interesting today as I did
on my first encounter with them. Every
building has its own story to tell, and
one differs greatly from the next. I think
this ever-changing work environment,
keeps me constantly challenged and
ultimately fulfilled”.
They believe that we cannot just
impose ‘ourselves’ or ‘modern
materials/disciplines’ on buildings, we
have to understand what is there and
only then can we understand how to
repair it appropriately. Their success
is based on their enthusiasm to learn,
to take the time to turn their hands to
new skills through a combination of
working alongside skilled craftsmen and
attending formal training courses. Their
range of expertise is now extremely
broad; they undertake a wide range of
crafts including stonemasonry, lime
and timber-work. One of their passions
is roofing, with its rich variety of roof
styles, shapes and mediums. Just within
mid Wales, they have worked with
Welsh slate, shingles and stone tiles,
with the associated timber skills, as well
as leadwork and iron guttering which
are all an integral part of the discipline.
Tom continues “For me the allure of
roofing comes from having an inquisitive
nature; wanting to understand the
hidden ‘ins and outs’ and mechanics of
what keeps a structure standing. Roofs
are an elemental and integral aspect of
all buildings and repairing them gives
great satisfaction.
Working outside is a big part of my
job. Nothing feels better than being high
up on a beautiful building, sun shining
with a group of like-minded people,
restoring and leaving your mark beside
other craftsmen’s who have been before.
I feel greatly encouraged by the recent
upsurge in the training of craftsmen to
work in the traditional building sector
as I believe protecting and maintaining
our built heritage is beneficial to all.
It enables small businesses to thrive
through supporting the production of
locally sourced materials, and employs
skilled men and women in their
application. The growth of this element
of the construction industry also keeps
a long developed skill-set alive so
that it can evolve to meet our present
and future needs. Traditional building
skills have stood the test of time and in
doing so have proved themselves to be
an environmentally sensitive form of
construction. This is something we can
all continue to learn from”.
17
Wor k i n g with heads , hearts a n d ha n ds – the f u t u re?
Working with heads, hearts
a n d ha n ds – the f u t u re?
Gareth Irwin is a self-taught
practising Green
Woodworker...
Alister McGowan is an
Abergavenny-based
stonemason.
Originally trained at Tudor Rose
Masons in Dorset in early 90s, more
recently Tom has worked extensively
on projects throughout mid and
south Wales including carving stone,
conservation and cleaning and
repair of damaged and worn stone
on private homes and historically
important buildings such as Margam
castle.
“Although I have tried other work,
it is the rural and craft-based life
that puts me in touch with people,
environment and sustaining rhythms,
which has turned out to be the most
fulfilling. My rural stonemasonry work
is now a part of who I am; creating
enduring structures in a living and
traditional landscape satisfies my
18
daily need to work on things with
hands head and heart.
Working in stone puts me in direct
relationship with a rich and evolving
material through an artisan approach
– assessing a task, observing and
understanding that need in its
environment, judging and selecting
an appropriate material, shaping the
stone to suit the built forms around
it and sympathetic to tradition, the
engineering and aesthetics of the
present needs, and the creation of
enduring legacy.
This is my day’s and lifetime’s work;
interleaving problem-finding and
solving, leaving something settled for
present and future communities.
Standing back, to eye completed
work at the end of a day, brings
a wholeness through treading
reassuring cycles of craftsmanship
and seasons. To finish the day
refreshed, with tools put away,
brings a kind of health and vitality”.
based near Brecon. Green woodwork is
an ancient craft using carpentry skills,
hand tools (Gareth uses no electricity)
and an understanding of trees. Working
this way enables items and structures
to be created from unseasoned wood,
wood that still has some natural
moisture and softness, making it
possible to work with unpowered hand
tools. The seasoning of the wood
happens after the items are made,
allowing them to change shape and
move but not split. Without knowledge
of tree species and how they grow, this
would not be possible.
“Since pre-history wood was
fashioned in this way without powertools, saw-mills and the ability to move
large amounts of timber around. It
made good sense to build and make
goods for the community locally from
trees growing nearby with efficient
timber conversion and accurate tree
selection.
When I demonstrate my craft or teach
people some of the techniques involved,
I encounter a response of surprise and
disbelief that parts of a tree can be
efficiently converted by hand. Along
with the ecological benefits of using
sustainable materials with virtually zero
energy use, there comes satisfaction.
Practising ancient skills that are still
valued, not as historic curiosity but as
genuine craft and a valuable trade, is
very rewarding. There is a real feeling of
identity and place”.
19
Wor k i n g with heads , hearts a n d ha n ds – the f u t u re?
Wor k i n g with heads , hearts a n d ha n ds – the f u t u re?
Huw Francis came to traditional building ...
later in the day. He is now a lime
plasterer based in Blackwood,
currently working at T]-Mawr on the
Heritage Bursary Scheme.
Jointing-tools, busks, small tools,
horse hair, hessian, derby’s, riven lath,
are words that for most people have
little meaning, but are words used
in the building restoration sector, in
particular by plasterers. Modern day
plasterers would be unlikely to know
their derby’s from their jointing tools,
and probably never seen either. It is
an all too common experience for me
to meet plasterers on site, who cannot
‘split’ the plaster from the hawk to
the trowel correctly. The ‘split’ was
always the first thing that a plasterer
was taught, spending many hours
or even days standing at a spot and
repeating over and over, until the split
was perfected. I remember feeling
like my arms had been stretched to
the floor after my first day of this. It is
a fundamental element of plastering,
the ability to simultaneously control
the hawk and the trowel, allowing the
plasterer to accurately and cleanly put
the required amount from the hawk
to the trowel. I am sure that the old
school plasterers would be turning in
their graves.
It is a clear fact that the previous
generations, knew so much more
about their craft, moulding, cornice
work, embellishments, columns, even
the basics such as the different grades
of lime and sand and the correct
combination of the varying grades. It
is also a clear fact, that my generation
know more than the generation after
me; as many younger plasterers do
little more than skimming, or only do
polymer renders, and while very good
at this element of plastering, it is clear
that this is only one element, within
a whole range of skill elements to be
acquired.
“My training as a plasterer began
thirty years ago, where skills were
concentrated on the application of
cement and sand renders or gypsum
plaster onto thistle board. The training
provided allowed me to quickly move
20
to site and start to earn money. During
this period, the total amount of time
allocated to what could be labeled
“heritage training” was one week,
fibrous plasterwork to be specific.
After training, my work was mostly
constructing multi-storey concrete
framed buildings, fixing lightweight
metal frame systems for internal
partitions, fixing plasterboard and
then skimming the boards, acre
after acre, floor after floor, five, ten,
fifteen, twenty, twenty five floors of
identical, nondescript, lifeless soulless
apartments.
Compare that to the heritage sector,
working in real crafts, solid walls, not
sealed, not air tight, non-regimented,
non-uniform - each building unique, a
real sense personal achievement.
I also worked as an NVQ assessor
on projects in the super prime areas of
London; our brief was to rip out all that
could be allowed in a conservation
area, which amounted to everything
except the façade of the building,
and then to dig down to make a
two- storey basement into which
would go the ubiquitous swimming
pool, the shooting range, the home
cinema, the precision controlled wine
cellar etc. Some of the work was
certainly visually impressive, yet I
had a marked and distinct uneasiness
created by each of these projects;
what was the cause of my unease
in the midst of this marble and
general shininess? My unease was
caused by this; what a waste, what
a waste of a perfectly good building
that was previously there, what a
waste of the skills and heritage that
was contained within the existing
building, what a waste of the
materials, to just demolish and rip out
as much as possible! What a waste
to then use up so much more, of the
finite materials that we have been
gifted with! For me this amounts to
cultural and material vandalism.
Compare that to the heritage
sector, working in real crafts, solid
walls, not sealed, not air tight, nonregimented, non-uniform each
building unique, a real sense personal
achievement.
I recently had the joy to meet two
‘old school plasterers’ working and
teaching in the heritage and plastering
sector, twin brothers actually, in their
late sixties, and both still enjoying their
work, both in teaching heritage skills
and working on site. It was a pleasure
to listen and generally spend time with
these men. Since I became directly
involved in heritage work, I have
thankfully come to find out that there
are many more similar people about.
My youngest daughter regularly
‘chides’ me for looking at building
details such as internal angles, ceiling
lines etc., and guess what, I am now
speaking to people to whom exactly
the same thing happens. I am meeting
likeminded people, proud of what they
do - “Can I recommend this?”; yes I
can, so bring your small tools and your
busks and join the heritage building
gang, we are a friendly crowd.
The economic climate, the loss of
specialist conservation companies
over the last few years, have all
contributed to the huge gap in
traditional skills. Schemes like the
Heritage Bursary scheme are making
a difference, providing a structure to
develop the craftsmen and women of
the future.
Recent research shows that it is
better environmentally to repair and
upgrade traditional buildings rather
than to build new, offering yet more
motivation for people to train/re-train
in these skills.
It is not just about preserving the
past any more, taking a ‘gentler more
thoughtful approach to buildings’, it
is now also about tackling the real
issues we face today in terms of
climate change, energy efficiency,
diminishing resources; it is about the
future.
Traditional skills, local, sustainable
materials, understanding structures,
working with one’s head, heart
and hands gives people a sense of
fulfillment; taken together, many see
this as an important way forward for
our homes, our buildings, our cultural
heritage and our environment.
21
Wor k i n g with heads , hearts
a n d ha n ds – the f u t u re?
Ty-Mawr Lime have been running specialist courses in
sustainable and ecological building for over 17 years.
The company are UK leaders in
the provision and development of
practical conservation- led courses.
Their varied course programme has
been developed to be an accessible
route for conservation professionals,
architects, local authorities, contractors
and homeowners to get hands-on
and learn about the sustainable future
of our built environment. T]-Mawr’s
philosophy in education is firmly
based on best-working practice,
embracing modern materials and
technologies working in synthesis
with vernacular buildings. Attending
a course at T]-Mawr will not give you
all the answers, but will open your
horizons and get you thinking differently
about construction – respecting the past
– embracing the future.
T]-Mawr is recognised by National
Heritage bodies for its work within the
sector; Training Director Nigel Gervis has
won the prestigious Marsh Award 2012
for training excellence, and his assembled
In CPRW’s 85th Anniversary year, much has happened but likewise not much seems to have changed.
Today wind farms and motor cycle circuits threaten the Welsh landscapes. In those days it was HEP
schemes in the uplands, as this article from the Times amply demonstrates
Hydro schemes in North Wales
team of dedicated and skilled craftsmen
and women from throughout the UK
deliver consistently innovative courses. T]-Mawr’s core courses take
delegates through the maze of building
folklore to provide a sound grounding
in the use of lime in building, from
construction to plastering, rendering
and painting. These courses focus on
‘how buildings work’, conservation
philosophy, and the green agenda, as
well as providing a balanced practical
programme. In-line with T]-Mawr’s
commitment to conservation of
buildings, the annual colour course
looking at environmental colour choice
and the use of colour in the landscape
is complimented by the practical
understanding of paints. Other
‘traditional’ crafts are catered for, with
thatching and drystone walling courses.
For further details of Tŷ Mawr products
and training events see www.lime.org.uk
P i e r i n o’ s Sn ow d o n ia
For many years Pierino Algieri
has kindly allowed CPRW to
use a range of his wonderful
landscape photographs to
illustrate the many themes we
have highlighted on the pages of
our Rural Wales magazine. This
summer he published his first
book which combines his love of
Snowdonia with his passion for
photography.
One thing is certain: luck has
nothing to do with the power
and inspiration which makes
this portrayal of the landscapes
and heritage of his home area of
Snowdonia so compelling.
In capturing its ever changing
moods and the intimacy of its
towering mountains, sculptured
valleys and dramatic coastlines,
it is clear there is nothing more
compelling for Pierino than
spending many, many, indeed
countless hours in special
places, waiting to capture that
one memorable moment in
time, but never knowing when
or if it will ever come.
22
Intensely proud of his
“Cymreictod” (his Welshness)
and having a passion for both
those special and everyday
places he clearly cares for, this
journey through Snowdonia’s
landscapes successfully captures
those illusive and tantalisingly
magical moments subsequently
lost forever.
Though impossible to
reproduce, his images remind
us of our individual Sense
of Place… our Cynefin and
the enduring Hiraeth which
feeds our souls and warms
our individual and collective
sense of national pride. Such
is the fascinating mystery and
captivating drama that this
pictorial expedition conveys.
Indeed the showcase of visual
metaphors this unassuming
photographic master craftsman
has compiled not only represents
the hall-mark of his skills but
bring to life the incredible
diversity and depth of our
heritage; surviving and forgotten.
Pierino’s window into the soul
of Wales makes us realise just
how blessed we are to live in such
a beautiful country. His interpretation of them should provide
us all with a sense of pride and
inspiration to ensure that all
landscapes of Wales continue
to be cared for, so they can be
enjoyed by young and old for
many years to come.
Pierino’s book is available at
www.algieri-images.co.uk/
news.asp?pid=18
Thank goodness CPRW
was as strong and
active in 1949!
Have things changed
in the last 50 years?
23
Royal Mail
Privatisation
Stuart Simpson,
Operations Director,
West Region,
Royal Mail
T
he recent announcement by the
UK Government that it will soon be
offering shares to both investors
and our employees is truly an important
step for us. It is also important for
our customers, both individuals and
businesses.
We have made significant strides in
becoming a successful commercial
company in recent years. Last year,
in contrast to three years ago, we
reported profits in our core UK
business rather than losses and we
generated cash rather than having to
borrow. The transformation of Royal
Mail is underway; but it’s by no means
complete.
To understand why now is the right
time for Royal Mail to move into private
ownership, it is important to understand
the way the postal market has changed.
While letter volumes are in decline,
Britain’s online retailing boom is driving
strong growth in the parcels market.
Around half of Royal Mail’s revenues
now come from our expanding UK
and international parcels businesses.
Alongside this, many of our competitors
are successful, privately-owned global
players who have been able to invest to
modernise their operations and capture
growth in high-growth markets such as
parcels.
The UK Government has
acknowledged it has not been a good
owner of large businesses. Private
ownership will enable Royal Mail to
become more flexible and fleet of foot
in the fiercely competitive markets in
which we operate, and to seize the
opportunities available to us. Some of
our competitors are privately owned
and can invest when they need to. Like
them, we need access to long-term
capital from time to time to invest in
24
our business. The UK Government has
made clear it doesn’t have the money to
allocate to Royal Mail ahead of schools
and hospitals.
I have heard some people say that the
service we provide for rural communities
will reduce. I want to assure all our
customers that the six-day-a-week,
one-price-goes-anywhere, affordable
universal postal service will remain
unchanged. I also want to offer this
reassurance to our small and large
business customers. We make commerce
happen by connecting companies,
customers and communities across the
UK; our aim is to continue this through
our universal service. It is also protected
by law – enshrined in the Postal Services
Act 2011. Any change would have to be
passed through an affirmative vote in
both Houses of Parliament.
We believe we can combine the best
of the public and private sectors. Our
customer service will be a competitive
advantage in the private sector. The
Quality of Service regime that applies
to Royal Mail under public ownership
will continue to apply under private
ownership. Ofcom has already
specified the minimum standards under
regulation.
Royal Mail offers good value for
money. That will not change. UK stamp
prices are among the best value in
the EU. In five of the six weight steps
for First Class and Second Class mail,
the cost of UK stamps is ranked in the
bottom half of prices when compared
with other European countries.
Affordable prices are protected in
legislation and regulation.
Our people are at the heart of Royal
Mail. The current position is that all
terms and conditions that apply to Royal
Mail employees now would remain
in place, on the same basis, were the
company to be sold. To provide further
reassurance, we will create a legallybinding and enforceable contract with
the Communication Workers Union. Pay
and protections could not be changed
for the period of the contract without
CWU agreement.
The Company will continue to have a
predominantly full-time workforce on an
overall national basis, as per our current
agreements with the CWU.
Our existing enhanced voluntary
redundancy terms have been extended
for the life of our modernisation
programme. Our commitment to
managing change without recourse to
compulsory redundancy will remain in
place.
In addition, approximately 150,000
eligible UK employees, including
employees working in Parcelforce
Worldwide, will receive free shares,
giving them a combined 10 per cent
stake in the business. This is the largest
free stake of any major UK privatisation
for nearly 30 years.
The Government intends to award the
Free Shares under a tax-advantaged
Share Incentive Plan. Eligible employees
will automatically receive an equal
number of shares, irrespective of their
grade. There will be a pro-rata allocation
for part-time employees.
Many previously Government-owned
companies - like Rolls Royce and British
Airways - have flourished under private
ownership. We believe privatisation will
equip Royal Mail for similar success.
25
Gwobrau Cymru Wledig
Rural Wales Awards
Marquess
of Anglesey
(1923 - 2013)
Lord Anglesey died this summer after a life filled with
private achievements including his acclaimed history
of the British cavalry, and with public service. His
important roles with almost every significant cultural
organisation in Wales have been listed in obituaries
elsewhere.
His service as Chairman of the Anglesey Branch
during the late 1960s and early 1970s was unstinting, and
his most notable campaign during those years was his
involvement with the Shell Oil Terminal. I was Branch
Secretary at that time and remember long meetings
beneath the Whistler mural at Plas Newydd, but most of
all his skilful guidance of that campaign and his fun and
friendship.
Frances Llewellyn
Radnorshire
The Branch held a Wales Rural Award
presentation in the delightful village
of Old Radnor in June. On a perfect
summer’s evening, members were
first welcomed to the glorious church
of St Stephen where, under the expert
guidance of church architect Richard
Lamb, we saw the very fine mediaeval
fittings of this lovely building, including
a remarkable organ case and a glorious
timber roof with impressive bosses.
We then moved to the pub opposite
where we enjoyed good food, good beer
and the highlight of the evening – the
presentation of the Award to Andrew
Foster. The threat to the beauty of the
Radnorshire countryside at Pentre
Tump, near New Radnor, stirred the
local community to fight the planning
application for a 103 meter height
triple wind turbine installation. The
perseverance and leadership of the late
Janie Foster and her husband, Andrew,
were instrumental in the eventual
Caernarfonshire
Oriel Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, Llanbedrog
Oriel Plas Glyn-y-Weddw is a long-established
centre of the arts, culture and tourism in a
delightful coastal setting in the village of
Llanbedrog on the Llŷn Peninsula. The art
gallery is housed in a gothic-style mansion
originally built in 1857 as a Dower house for
Lady Elizabeth Jones Parry of the Madryn
Estate. It was opened to the public in 1896 by
the Cardiff entrepreneur, Solomon Andrews.
The Plas experienced varying fortunes over the
next century and was saved from impending dereliction by
Dafydd and Gwyneth ap Tomos, who worked to restore the
mansion during the last quarter of the 20 th century.
In 1996 the Friends of the Gallery purchased the building,
with lottery and Friends’ funding, and it is now owned and run
by an independent Charitable Trust. In 2008 the adjacent 12
26
refusal of the application by the local
Planning Authority. Janie, who passed
away a year ago, and Andrew, together
meticulously researched the planning
policies and motivated local opposition.
They were able to demonstrate the
weakness of the applicant’s case and
this was further reinforced by the
planning officer’s recommendation
to refuse the application, which was
endorsed by the Powys County Council
planning committee.
acre woodland, a steep area bordering Mynydd
Tir y Cwmwd known as the Winllan, was
bought back into the estate with funding from
the Ll]n Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,
and other contributors.
This Award is given to the Plas in recognition of
the successful development of the Winllan Project
which comprises the reclamation of the historic
woodland and the reopening of long-abandoned
nature trails, with the main trail becoming a
re-routed part of the All Wales Coastal Path.
The construction of an open air amphitheatre
incorporating a multi-function room and interpretation centre beneath and the provision of much
needed but well concealed new car parking capacity.
The Award acknowledges the sustained effort of the
Director, Friends, Volunteers and Donors in supporting the
Plas, and developing its activities and facilities to provide
a cultural and social hub of increased excellence to both
residents and visitors.
Thank you ... but please keep helping
The Mid Wales Wind Inquiry
is now in its third phase and, thanks to the
sterling efforts of numerous local people, the
Alliance, of which CPRW is a key member,
is putting up determined opposition to
the five massively damaging wind farm
proposals. With at least another six months
to go before the Inquiry is completed the
need to raise enough funds to continue the
fight is real. Although almost £100,000
has already been raised, more is needed if
the fighting fund target of £175,000 is to
be reached. We need your help more than
ever now to do this.
With your help we will fight to keep out
those who would despoil the landscapes
of Montgomeryshire and Northern
Radnorshire.
If you can help, please send your
donation large or small made out to
CPRW and address it to the CPRW
Fighting Fund Appeal, CPRW Head
Office, Tŷ Gwyn, 31 High Street,
Welshpool, Powys,
SY21 7YD
Views of proposed major wind farm sites
from the summit of Cader Idris
es in and
Everyone who liv
dscapes
values these lan
grateful
will be eternally
The Editor sincerely and unreservedly apologises for the mistake
in the last edition of Rural Wales when the article written by the
artist Jantien Powell, Chapel Cottage Studio was mistakenly
attributed to Tiz Snook. For further details of Jantien’s work
see www.chapelcottagestudio.co.uk/jantien-powell/
Wedi ei argraffu trwy ddulliau caredig at yr amgylchedd ar bapur o ffynonellau cynaladwy
Printed by environmentally friendly methods on paper from sustainable sources
Back cover:
27
Stone wallers creating the next generation
of landscapes
T] Gwyn
31 Stryd Fawr 31 High Street
Y Trallwng Welshpool, Powys
SY21 7YD
01938 552525/556212
01938 552741
www.cprw.org.uk
£3
Rhif Elusen Gofrestredig 239899
Registered Charity No.
CYMRU WLEDIG yw cylchgrawn
swyddogol YDCW.
RURAL WALES is the official
magazine of CPRW.
ISSN 1473-8198
This edition of Rural Wales
has been published with
financial support from
Natural Resources Wales