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Pencoed Castle

20 May, 2012 in Places

Set in something over 350 acres of South Monmouthshire farmland and located approximately one kilometre from the village of Llandevaud stands Pencoed Castle: Pencoed is pronounced “Pen-koyd” and loosely translates to chief wood, so we can assume the castle once overlooked wooded land.

Pencoed Castle

Pencoed Castle

The castle is a fortified Tudor manor house built by Sir Thomas Morgan during the first quarter of the 16th Century on the site of a moated Norman castle erected in 1270 by Sir Richard de la More and held in 1306 by Maurice and Walter de Kemeys. The manor house appears to incorporate parts of the earlier castle.

In 1485 the Battle of Bosworth had ended the Wars of the Roses and in general the Welsh had backed the winning side. It became possible at this time to build large family homes without having to worry too much about arrow slits or gun ports and Pencoed was a fine example. In its heyday Pencoed reflected a peaceful (and for some) a prosperous period in Welsh affairs.

The Morgans, a branch of the powerful Monmouthshire family, settled at Pencoed for some time. Nearby Llanmartin Church once boasted a carefully wrought chapel with carved effigies of an ancient Morgan knight and his wife but a later owner of the manor stripped the lead from the chapel roof and time and decay laid low this memorial.

The castle’s history was uneventful, and it changed hands several times and was neglected from 1751 until it was bought just before the First World War by Lord Rhondda. He intended to restore it and started work with the architect G.H. Kitchen, but work stopped at the outbreak of war to be resumed by Lady Rhondda and her daughter in 1919, this time with architect Eric Francis. However, work was again abandoned and in 1931 the Rhonddas sold the castle since when it has been neglected.

In recent years Pencoed hit the news when plans for the construction of a theme-park were lodged with the authorities. The proposal split the local communities and the proposers eventually withdrew. The castle remains in a state of dereliction, but not yet beyond repair and restoration. What does the future hold for Pencoed I wonder?

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Two out of three ain’t bad

30 July, 2011 in Politics

Not too far from my home in Monmouthshire is the once hugely important village of Trelleck, or Trellech; depends whether you’re English or Welsh. While Trellech was an important centre in medieval times the history of the village goes back much, much further. Even the name of the settlement is rooted in the Neolithic… Trellech translates as tri=three, llech=flat stone and refers to the three standing stones known as Harold’s Stones.

Harold's Stones

Harold's Stones

These are two of the three stones, known locally as Harold’s Stones and supposedly erected by Harold, last of the Saxon kings, in commemoration of his victory over the Britons in 1063. Of course, Harold’s Stones were erected many centuries before Harold was even a glint in his father’s eye. The stones pre-date Harold by a couple of thousand years.

Another legend states the mighty giant Jack O Kent threw a huge stone javelin there from a dozen miles away in a competition with the devil. The javelin broke into three parts when it landed and thereafter the village became known as the City of the Stones. The reference to Trellech as a city may not be as strange as it sounds since in medieval times Trellech was the largest town in the county.

Despite the fact the stones pictured above appear to be joined, they really are individual… and to kind of prove the point, here’s the third stone.

Harold's Stones

Harold's Stones

I do have pictures featuring all three stones, but have never been happy with them… the stones are too far spread to make a really interesting image, while photographed separately or in pairs I find them more pleasing to the eye.

The alignment of the stones run NE-SW and it is one of few in this part of Wales with such an alignment. Formed of a concretion of siliceous pebbles in a calcareous bed known as puddingstone, the stones lean at different angles. The largest of the three stones is the southernmost. The central stone has two large cup marks on its south side which looked towards the midwinter sunset.

The true purpose and erection date of Harold’s Stones is currently unknown, however they probably date from the Middle to Late Neolithic.

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More on Welsh grassland fires

7 May, 2011 in Flora, Places

Open Moorland

Open Moorland

Sadly this moor is no more… or at least, it looks very different since some arse set it alight and burned it! Thankfully the weather has changed and we’ve had rain the last couple of days, which has certainly helped the authorities to kill off the grass fires.

An “important” wildlife habitat has been “wiped out” by fire in the Brecon Beacons National Park and will take years to restore, say officials.

Park managers said 2,000 acres, along with hundreds of eggs from nesting birds, had been destroyed in the worst grass fire for 30 years.

Red grouse, voles, hares, moles and hen harriers also perished in the flames.

Meanwhile, South Wales fire chiefs are urging the public to report people who start fires deliberately… shoot the bastards!
Shout

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All that glisters?

3 May, 2011 in Places

There are lots of shiny things in this life…

Fools Gold

Fools Gold!

…such a shame most of them are fake! 

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If only Wordsworth were alive today…

3 May, 2011 in Art, Flora

Rape Field

Golden Rape Seed

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, a Golden Rape Seed field;
All o’er the ground, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Oh yes, how different school poetry classes would have been had Wordsworth been born some 200 years later.

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Enigma Variations anyone?

30 April, 2011 in Photoshop, Places

Panoramic image of south east Gwent

Variations in Natural Light

A question often asked by budding photographers is, ‘How do I compensate for variations in natural lighting when setting up a shot?’ It’s an excellent question, but one to which there is no easy answer; every photographer uses light differently to capture the image he sees in his mind when composing his shot. Some photographers love the harsh contrasts achieved from strong sunlight, others prefer the subtler tones you get from overcast conditions. Consideration has to be given to the time of day; longer shadows are generated by a low sun so images taken in the early morning and evening will look very different from images taken at midday, no matter how bright the light. It is something of an enigma for many people.

The panoramic image above (click the image to enlarge it) was taken on one of those days when we experience a range of different light levels; conditions are brighter to both east and west, while a band of rain makes its way through the centre of the image. For those interested in such things the panorama is stitched from seven individual images shot in the RAW format and ‘developed’ in Photoshop using identical settings. I was drawn to take the images by the variation in cloud and light, so the sky is really more important to me than the foreground. That said I attempted to expose my shots to ensure the the foreground would not be completely lost. Given the ‘dullness’ of my position I mounted the camera on a tripod and used quite long exposures; these ranged from 1/8s to 1/30s at f11.

Artistically I dislike the resulting image; I consider I failed to adequately achieve my intentions. I use it to remind myself that it is easy to get things wrong when playing with natural light. The one saving grace of this panorama is the way it demonstrates how light can vary so dramatically at any given instant; hence my tribute to Elgar and his Enigma Variations.

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