Excellent site with information about Monmouthshire including
County record offices
Family history society websites
General family history links
Monmouthshire Family History links
Monmouthshire transcriptions
other county transcriptions
Saturday, December 20, 2003
Raglan Baptisms 1725 - 1801
This rootsweb site has lots of information on monmouthshire families. Included are many of the villages in Monmouthshire including pictures of churches and parish registers.
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Gathering the Jewels
Raglan Castle engraving from JT Barber's 'Tour of South Wales', 1803 Barber describes his arrival at Raglan Castle as follows:
'The approach led up a gentle eminence; but a screen of high elms and thick underwood, issuing from the moat, intervened between us and the castle, which remained concealed, until, penetrating the thicket, a display of the ruin burst upon us, elegantly beautiful! Sweetly picturesque! No theatrical scene was ever designed in happier taste, or unfolded itself to admiring beholders with a more sudden and impressive effect.'
Sunday, February 23, 2003
FSA prosecutes abattoir for its help in emergency
During the 1990s, when Britain's abattoirs were forced out of business in droves by the crippling expense of complying with our government's fanatical enforcement of European Union "meat hygiene" directives (which even the government eventually admitted had little to do with hygiene), the only slaughterhouse in Monmouthshire which survived was that in Raglan, run by William James and his family.
There was no way they could afford to pay #63 an hour for a government vet to hang around all day contributing nothing to food safety. To stay in business they had to opt for a "low throughput" licence, restricting them to only 20 "EU livestock units" a week (they had previously been killing up to 1,000).
But under Bill James's son Neil, they showed the kind of enterprise which has enabled others to survive, by concentrating on quality meat from rare breeds and organic farms which has built up a flourishing new business with local butchers and farmers' markets.
When the foot and mouth epidemic erupted in 2001, Monmouthshire's farmers and vets were only too grateful that the Raglan abattoir had survived. Animal movement restrictions had faced them with a welfare crisis. The only place to which healthy animals could be moved was a slaughterhouse and, to the delight of ministry officials, the Jameses came to the rescue.
After spending thousands of pounds on equipment necessary to comply with biosecurity rules, they were soon working flat out to meet the crisis, even though this sometimes meant slightly exceeding their weekly limit. But everyone was happy, including the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), part of Sir John Krebs's Food Standards Agency (FSA), which stamped the meat as fit to eat.
More than a year after the crisis was over, however, Bill James was astonished to be summoned on a string of criminal charges. He was to be prosecuted by the FSA for having several times during the crisis killed a few more animals than his licence allowed - even though he had only done so with full official support, including that of Wales's rural affairs minister, Carwyn Jones, and the MHS's own inspectors. Apparently the FSA hierarchy was now afraid that it might face legal action from the EU's Food and Veterinary Office for not having strictly enforced the terms of Mr James's licence.
Last month, when Mr James explained to Newport magistrates why he had exceeded his limit, they gave him a conditional discharge, and ordered him to pay only #250 of the #2,268 costs demanded by the FSA's barrister, Ian Thomas. Mr Thomas pompously observed that the laws that Mr James had broken were only there to ensure that hygiene standards were not endangered; scarcely relevant since the MHS had certified all the meat as perfectly safe to eat.
So, at 74, Mr James has a criminal record for committing a technical offence, which could only be seen as such by some frightened bureaucrat, and which he had only committed to help the community in a way which had the approval of all the officials involved.
During the 1990s, when Britain's abattoirs were forced out of business in droves by the crippling expense of complying with our government's fanatical enforcement of European Union "meat hygiene" directives (which even the government eventually admitted had little to do with hygiene), the only slaughterhouse in Monmouthshire which survived was that in Raglan, run by William James and his family.
There was no way they could afford to pay #63 an hour for a government vet to hang around all day contributing nothing to food safety. To stay in business they had to opt for a "low throughput" licence, restricting them to only 20 "EU livestock units" a week (they had previously been killing up to 1,000).
But under Bill James's son Neil, they showed the kind of enterprise which has enabled others to survive, by concentrating on quality meat from rare breeds and organic farms which has built up a flourishing new business with local butchers and farmers' markets.
When the foot and mouth epidemic erupted in 2001, Monmouthshire's farmers and vets were only too grateful that the Raglan abattoir had survived. Animal movement restrictions had faced them with a welfare crisis. The only place to which healthy animals could be moved was a slaughterhouse and, to the delight of ministry officials, the Jameses came to the rescue.
After spending thousands of pounds on equipment necessary to comply with biosecurity rules, they were soon working flat out to meet the crisis, even though this sometimes meant slightly exceeding their weekly limit. But everyone was happy, including the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), part of Sir John Krebs's Food Standards Agency (FSA), which stamped the meat as fit to eat.
More than a year after the crisis was over, however, Bill James was astonished to be summoned on a string of criminal charges. He was to be prosecuted by the FSA for having several times during the crisis killed a few more animals than his licence allowed - even though he had only done so with full official support, including that of Wales's rural affairs minister, Carwyn Jones, and the MHS's own inspectors. Apparently the FSA hierarchy was now afraid that it might face legal action from the EU's Food and Veterinary Office for not having strictly enforced the terms of Mr James's licence.
Last month, when Mr James explained to Newport magistrates why he had exceeded his limit, they gave him a conditional discharge, and ordered him to pay only #250 of the #2,268 costs demanded by the FSA's barrister, Ian Thomas. Mr Thomas pompously observed that the laws that Mr James had broken were only there to ensure that hygiene standards were not endangered; scarcely relevant since the MHS had certified all the meat as perfectly safe to eat.
So, at 74, Mr James has a criminal record for committing a technical offence, which could only be seen as such by some frightened bureaucrat, and which he had only committed to help the community in a way which had the approval of all the officials involved.
J JONES, Robert (Reg. NO. 656)
Private 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment (later South Wales Borderers
London Gazetted on 2nd May 1879
Born on 19th August 1857 at Raglan, Monmouthshire.
Died on 6th September 1898 of gunshot wounds* at Madley, Herefordshire.
Memorial at grave* at St Peter's Church, Peterchurch, Herefordshire.
Citation reads
On 22nd and 23rd January 1879 at Rorke's Drift, Natal, South Africa, in a ward, of the hospital. facing the hill, Private Robert Jones and Private William Jones (Reg. NO.659) defended the ward to the last, until six out of the seven patients had been removed. The seventh, Sergeant Robert Maxfield of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, was delirious and although they managed to get him dressed, they could not induce him to move and when they returned to carry him away he was being stabbed to death, by Zulus in his bed.
Additional information: Private Robert Jones S/No 716 enlisted in the 24th Regt. Around August 1875. He joined the 2nd Battn. at Dover on 10th January,1876. After the Zulu War he went with the Regiment to India. He left the Army as a reservist
He got employment as a farm labourer, marrying Elizabeth Hopkins in 1885 and having five children.On the 6th September 1898, he had borrowed his employers gun and gone off to shoot crows. He was found dead from shot-gun wounds.
The coroners verdict was suicide as he had been complaining of headaches. He had suffered from nightmares since Rorke's Drift and taking this into consideration the Coroner returned a verdict of suicide. His family disputed this verdict.
At his funeral,he was allowed to be buried in the churchyard of St Peter's, Peterchurch but only after the coffin had been passed over the wall. His gravestone,because he was a suicide, his tombstone faces the opposite direction to the others interred there.
(For more details on Robert Jones, visit www.rorkesdriftvc.com)
Private 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment (later South Wales Borderers
London Gazetted on 2nd May 1879
Born on 19th August 1857 at Raglan, Monmouthshire.
Died on 6th September 1898 of gunshot wounds* at Madley, Herefordshire.
Memorial at grave* at St Peter's Church, Peterchurch, Herefordshire.
Citation reads
On 22nd and 23rd January 1879 at Rorke's Drift, Natal, South Africa, in a ward, of the hospital. facing the hill, Private Robert Jones and Private William Jones (Reg. NO.659) defended the ward to the last, until six out of the seven patients had been removed. The seventh, Sergeant Robert Maxfield of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment, was delirious and although they managed to get him dressed, they could not induce him to move and when they returned to carry him away he was being stabbed to death, by Zulus in his bed.
Additional information: Private Robert Jones S/No 716 enlisted in the 24th Regt. Around August 1875. He joined the 2nd Battn. at Dover on 10th January,1876. After the Zulu War he went with the Regiment to India. He left the Army as a reservist
He got employment as a farm labourer, marrying Elizabeth Hopkins in 1885 and having five children.On the 6th September 1898, he had borrowed his employers gun and gone off to shoot crows. He was found dead from shot-gun wounds.
The coroners verdict was suicide as he had been complaining of headaches. He had suffered from nightmares since Rorke's Drift and taking this into consideration the Coroner returned a verdict of suicide. His family disputed this verdict.
At his funeral,he was allowed to be buried in the churchyard of St Peter's, Peterchurch but only after the coffin had been passed over the wall. His gravestone,because he was a suicide, his tombstone faces the opposite direction to the others interred there.
(For more details on Robert Jones, visit www.rorkesdriftvc.com)
Saturday, February 22, 2003
GENUKI: Dissent in the Counties of Glamorgan and Monmouth Raglan.
1813, February 12; Particular Baptist; the house of Phillip Lewis; Micah Thomas, Evan Herbert, John Rowland, J. Wyke; No. 606. (Endorsed: Registered 1813, February 19.)
Undated (endorsed: Registered 1813, March 1); Particular Baptist; the house of Thomas Evans; Thomas Lewis, James Edmunds, the said Thomas Evans; No. 607.
1817, April 3; Protestant (endorsed: Baptist); the dwelling-house of William Williams, freeholder; the said William Williams, John Probyn, Thomas Evans; No. 608. (Endorsed: Received 1817, May 5.)
1820, October 28; Baptist; a new chapel called Ebenezer; W. Jones, Thomas Thomas, Evan Llewellyn; No. 609. (Endorsed: 1820, November 3.)
1813, February 12; Particular Baptist; the house of Phillip Lewis; Micah Thomas, Evan Herbert, John Rowland, J. Wyke; No. 606. (Endorsed: Registered 1813, February 19.)
Undated (endorsed: Registered 1813, March 1); Particular Baptist; the house of Thomas Evans; Thomas Lewis, James Edmunds, the said Thomas Evans; No. 607.
1817, April 3; Protestant (endorsed: Baptist); the dwelling-house of William Williams, freeholder; the said William Williams, John Probyn, Thomas Evans; No. 608. (Endorsed: Received 1817, May 5.)
1820, October 28; Baptist; a new chapel called Ebenezer; W. Jones, Thomas Thomas, Evan Llewellyn; No. 609. (Endorsed: 1820, November 3.)
GWENT COUNTY HISTORY ASSOCIATION at UWCN
The Gwent Local History Council has established the County History Association to promote and publish a new county history in five volumes. The general editor is the eminent Welsh historian Professor Ralph Griffiths of Swansea. A team of editors for individual volumes has been drawn from the universities and record offices of south Wales. All the volumes have been planned out in detail, contributors have been agreed for individual chapters and sections, and the first volume (Gwent in Prehistory and Early History) is now in the hands of the editors.
We see what we are doing as an essential part of the writing of any community’s history. What we want to do is to provide a framework which integrates existing research on all the local communities of Gwent and puts them into a broader perspective. This will then provide a context for future detailed studies, which may confirm or challenge our conclusions. We want to be both academic and inclusive. What we write has to combine the most up-to-date research and thinking with accessibility to the widest possible audience. It has to encourage further research. The writing of the county history is not the end of the process: in many ways, it is the beginning.
source: http://gcha.newport.ac.uk/index.html
The Gwent Local History Council has established the County History Association to promote and publish a new county history in five volumes. The general editor is the eminent Welsh historian Professor Ralph Griffiths of Swansea. A team of editors for individual volumes has been drawn from the universities and record offices of south Wales. All the volumes have been planned out in detail, contributors have been agreed for individual chapters and sections, and the first volume (Gwent in Prehistory and Early History) is now in the hands of the editors.
We see what we are doing as an essential part of the writing of any community’s history. What we want to do is to provide a framework which integrates existing research on all the local communities of Gwent and puts them into a broader perspective. This will then provide a context for future detailed studies, which may confirm or challenge our conclusions. We want to be both academic and inclusive. What we write has to combine the most up-to-date research and thinking with accessibility to the widest possible audience. It has to encourage further research. The writing of the county history is not the end of the process: in many ways, it is the beginning.
source: http://gcha.newport.ac.uk/index.html
Raglan School
Statement, written in 1860 about Schools established … by the Trustees of … Edward Goff (AL21/1)
Raglan at that time was a small village in Monmouthshire. Despite its long history Raglan had only one place of worship, the parish church, until the establishment in September 1817 of the school by the Trustees of Goff’s Charity. They rented a house for the purpose until 1821. The first Agent employed at the school was C Passmore who remained only six months before being transferred to Tenbury. His successor, Thomas Harris remained 15 years and he was succeeded by his brother John Harris who remained for 9_ years. Both brothers received warm appreciation of their work but for Christopher Passmore there was no comment.
Edward Goff
Edward Goff was born near Huntingdon in Herefordshire in 1739. He was an illegitimate child of a poor woman and an unknown father. He started work as an agricultural labourer but when still only a lad he disagreed with his master, left and went to London. There he found employment with a coal merchant who, recognising his abilities, probably helped him to set up on his own in the coal trade. There he was successful and stayed in the business till his death.
He also began to build speculatively in Brighton just at the time when that place was becoming fashionable, being under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, later George IV. He made a lot of money.
Obviously he was aware of the deficiencies of his education and began to read voraciously. His mode of living remained simple and he abhorred great luxury. He was closely connected with the Society of Friends.
By his will dated 24th April 1813 (proved in PCC 22nd June 1813) left a large portion of his considerable estate in trust to be sold and the proceeds to be used to support two free schools already established by him at the Hay and at Huntingdon. The remainder was to establish further free schools for the education of poor children in or adjacent to Herefordshire. One of the Trustees was a Thomas Boyce of Budleigh in Devon, a Baptist preacher.
Accordingly the Trustees established nine Free Schools, five in Herefordshire, two in Shropshire, one in Raglan in Monmouthshire and one in Tenbury in Worcestershire.
In each case a schoolhouse and a residence for a schoolmaster was provided, either by the Trustees or by the inhabitants of the parish in which the school was situated. All buildings were kept in repair by the Trustees. All schoolmasters were to be Baptists. Each was paid a salary of £50 per year with free accommodation. They had no other income.
The schools were open to all poor children without distinction and without limitation to the particular parish. Children were taught reading, writing and “the first four rules of arithmetic”. Instruction was entirely free of charge, the only payments made by the scholars were very trifling ones for “for firing during the winter months”.
Attendance varied with the seasons being lower in summer & autumn when children were engaged in gathering apples, picking hops, etc.
In October 1836 attendance at Raglan was 45 (49 on the books) and at Tenbury was 30 (50 on the books)
A Sunday school was attached to each establishment at which attendance was voluntary. Each Sunday the schoolmaster conducts two services and the children attend as they please. They are also at liberty to attend the Established Church if they so wish or indeed any other place of worship that the parents may prefer.
EDWARD GOFF’S FREE SCHOOLS
References in Hereford Record Office
Report of the Charity Commissioners (ref H361)
Statement, written in 1860 about Schools established … by the Trustees of … Edward Goff (AL21/1)
Accounts of the late Mr Goffs Estate (AL21/2)
http://www.faulkner-history.fsnet.co.uk/Passmore_Files/09%20Meeting%20Houses%20Herefs-Staffs-Goff.doc.
Statement, written in 1860 about Schools established … by the Trustees of … Edward Goff (AL21/1)
Raglan at that time was a small village in Monmouthshire. Despite its long history Raglan had only one place of worship, the parish church, until the establishment in September 1817 of the school by the Trustees of Goff’s Charity. They rented a house for the purpose until 1821. The first Agent employed at the school was C Passmore who remained only six months before being transferred to Tenbury. His successor, Thomas Harris remained 15 years and he was succeeded by his brother John Harris who remained for 9_ years. Both brothers received warm appreciation of their work but for Christopher Passmore there was no comment.
Edward Goff
Edward Goff was born near Huntingdon in Herefordshire in 1739. He was an illegitimate child of a poor woman and an unknown father. He started work as an agricultural labourer but when still only a lad he disagreed with his master, left and went to London. There he found employment with a coal merchant who, recognising his abilities, probably helped him to set up on his own in the coal trade. There he was successful and stayed in the business till his death.
He also began to build speculatively in Brighton just at the time when that place was becoming fashionable, being under the patronage of the Prince of Wales, later George IV. He made a lot of money.
Obviously he was aware of the deficiencies of his education and began to read voraciously. His mode of living remained simple and he abhorred great luxury. He was closely connected with the Society of Friends.
By his will dated 24th April 1813 (proved in PCC 22nd June 1813) left a large portion of his considerable estate in trust to be sold and the proceeds to be used to support two free schools already established by him at the Hay and at Huntingdon. The remainder was to establish further free schools for the education of poor children in or adjacent to Herefordshire. One of the Trustees was a Thomas Boyce of Budleigh in Devon, a Baptist preacher.
Accordingly the Trustees established nine Free Schools, five in Herefordshire, two in Shropshire, one in Raglan in Monmouthshire and one in Tenbury in Worcestershire.
In each case a schoolhouse and a residence for a schoolmaster was provided, either by the Trustees or by the inhabitants of the parish in which the school was situated. All buildings were kept in repair by the Trustees. All schoolmasters were to be Baptists. Each was paid a salary of £50 per year with free accommodation. They had no other income.
The schools were open to all poor children without distinction and without limitation to the particular parish. Children were taught reading, writing and “the first four rules of arithmetic”. Instruction was entirely free of charge, the only payments made by the scholars were very trifling ones for “for firing during the winter months”.
Attendance varied with the seasons being lower in summer & autumn when children were engaged in gathering apples, picking hops, etc.
In October 1836 attendance at Raglan was 45 (49 on the books) and at Tenbury was 30 (50 on the books)
A Sunday school was attached to each establishment at which attendance was voluntary. Each Sunday the schoolmaster conducts two services and the children attend as they please. They are also at liberty to attend the Established Church if they so wish or indeed any other place of worship that the parents may prefer.
EDWARD GOFF’S FREE SCHOOLS
References in Hereford Record Office
Report of the Charity Commissioners (ref H361)
Statement, written in 1860 about Schools established … by the Trustees of … Edward Goff (AL21/1)
Accounts of the late Mr Goffs Estate (AL21/2)
http://www.faulkner-history.fsnet.co.uk/Passmore_Files/09%20Meeting%20Houses%20Herefs-Staffs-Goff.doc.
Raglan
Castle well (S0 4144 0835)
In addition to the obligatory siege-proof well, the castle once boasted innovative gardens enhanced by a fountain and pool. The pleasure grounds are recalled in a l6th century poem;
'Not farre from thence, a famous castle fine
That Raggland hight, stands moted almost round....
The stately tower, that looks ore pond and poole,
The fountaine trim, that runs both day and night,
Doth yeeld in showe, a rare and noble sight.'
Raglan Town Pump (SO 4144 0835) Appropriately enough the town pump and well are directly in front of the Ship Inn.
Castle well (S0 4144 0835)
In addition to the obligatory siege-proof well, the castle once boasted innovative gardens enhanced by a fountain and pool. The pleasure grounds are recalled in a l6th century poem;
'Not farre from thence, a famous castle fine
That Raggland hight, stands moted almost round....
The stately tower, that looks ore pond and poole,
The fountaine trim, that runs both day and night,
Doth yeeld in showe, a rare and noble sight.'
Raglan Town Pump (SO 4144 0835) Appropriately enough the town pump and well are directly in front of the Ship Inn.
Raglan Castle movie - 1970's
The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales
Title No: 1288
Title: Raglan Castle
Date: 1970's
Form: Advertising
Advertising film, to promote the castle as visitor attraction. There are interior and exterior shots of Raglan Castle, with a brief enactment, by several men in Royalist attire, of the castle's handing over to the Parliamentarians in 1646, it being one of the last Royalist strongholds. The commentary comprises quotations from contemporary accounts, particularly extracts from correspondence between Sir Thomas Fairfax (for the Parlimentarians) and the Marquis of Worceter. A treaty was eventually agreed and the present day visitor is exhorted by the narrator "to remember...that summer of 1646" and to "spare a thought for the Marquis of Worcester defeated and banished for ever from his family home."
Run time: 5 min
Sound: Sound
Colour: Colour
The National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales
Title No: 1288
Title: Raglan Castle
Date: 1970's
Form: Advertising
Advertising film, to promote the castle as visitor attraction. There are interior and exterior shots of Raglan Castle, with a brief enactment, by several men in Royalist attire, of the castle's handing over to the Parliamentarians in 1646, it being one of the last Royalist strongholds. The commentary comprises quotations from contemporary accounts, particularly extracts from correspondence between Sir Thomas Fairfax (for the Parlimentarians) and the Marquis of Worceter. A treaty was eventually agreed and the present day visitor is exhorted by the narrator "to remember...that summer of 1646" and to "spare a thought for the Marquis of Worcester defeated and banished for ever from his family home."
Run time: 5 min
Sound: Sound
Colour: Colour
Raglan Station Master - 1935
Titles read: "Caught By The Camera".
At Raglan Road Crossing in Monmouthshire we see a one-woman station. A woman comes out of a building and opens the level crossing gates. She is the Station Master for this tiny station and also the signal woman, level crossing keeper, booking clerk and porter. A one-carriage train pulls into the station; a woman holding a child waits on the platform.
British Pathe News. 22/10/34
See British Pathe website to download your copy of this film
At Raglan Road Crossing in Monmouthshire we see a one-woman station. A woman comes out of a building and opens the level crossing gates. She is the Station Master for this tiny station and also the signal woman, level crossing keeper, booking clerk and porter. A one-carriage train pulls into the station; a woman holding a child waits on the platform.
British Pathe News. 22/10/34
See British Pathe website to download your copy of this film
Mrs Jenkins was 99 years old on 14 February. She had her picture in the Free Press once again
The Raglan History Society held their annual tea and talk at Raglan Golf Club today. The talk was on the Newport Boat -- we were amazed to learn of the many boats (and fragments) in storage. We really need a boat museum in Newport
The Raglan History Society held their annual tea and talk at Raglan Golf Club today. The talk was on the Newport Boat -- we were amazed to learn of the many boats (and fragments) in storage. We really need a boat museum in Newport
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
