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Presenting Wales from A to Y. The People, the Places, the Traditions An Alphabetical Guide To A Nation's Heritage

by Peter N. Williams Ph.D

297 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-1197; ISBN 1-55395-482-3; US$23.95, C$31.00, EUR20.15, £15.00

all you need to know about the people and places of wales is contained in this indispensible book.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book The people who have contributed to the history of Wales, both home and abroad and the most important places of Wales arranged alphabetically from a through z. Just about everyone important in the history, culture and political and industrial development of this small nation are inlcuded as well as places of cultural and historical importance.

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About the Author Peter N. Williams was born in Mancot, a little village in Flintshire, North Wales, just inside the border with England. Brought up in the industrial town of Flint, he was educated at King's School, Chester and at the University College, Swansea, South Wales. After arriving in the United States in l957, Peter served with the US Army in Germany with an artillery unit. Following his military service, he taught high school in Delaware for a number of years before completing his Ph.D. at the University of Delaware. He then taught English at the University before becoming chairman of the English Department at Delaware Technical and Community College. He is now the editor of Celticinfo.com. Founder of the Welsh Society of Delaware, and a director of the National Welsh American Foundation, Peter was honored for his work on behalf of Wales and Welsh Americans by being made a member of the Gorsedd at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1999. Peter is the author of The Sacred Places of Wales; From Wales to the Lehigh, the David Thomas Story; and the editor of 38 Hymns in Welsh and English.

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Sample Excerpts

Presenting Wales from A to Y
The People, the Places the Traditions

Preface

While every effort has been made to ascertain the correctness of the information provided in this book, some of the dates, especially those of the medieval period, may be approximate. Birth dates and places of birth are included for contemporary Welsh men and women when provided. Regrettably, it is impossible to include every person who has contributed in some way to Wales, nor every place or tradition, but in well over 2,000 entries you will find the most important listed here (as well as some included for their unusual character or special interest). Subjects are generally listed in order of the Welsh alphabet so that those beginning with Ff follow those beginning with F; Ll follows L, Rh follows R, and Th follows T (the exceptions are words beginning with Ch and Ph, which are included under C and P, respectively).

A

The first letter of the Welsh Alphabet (pronounced as in the English word "cat," never as in "late."

A Oes Heddwch? (Is there Peace?) The stirring three-time cry of the archdruid of Wales at the annual ceremony of the Gorsedd and on the National Eisteddfod stage, answered by "Heddwch" (Peace).

Abaty Cwm Hir (Abbey of the Long Valley): near Rhayader, Radnorshire, a former important Cistercian Abbey where the body of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was laid to rest in 1282.

Aberaeron, Ceredigion: a fishing village that became a center of shipbuilding in the l9th Century. John Nash may have designed some of the pastel-colored houses here.

Aberavon (S. Wales West Electoral Region): the parliamentary constituency that sent Ramsey MacDonald to Westminster in 1922 (he became P.M. in l924). A Labour stronghold: 11.1 Welsh speaking. It is a popular seaside resort with its Afan Lido.

Aberconway, Lord (l914-2003): an industrialist with ship building interests; president of the Royal Horticultural Society I96l-84, he gave his gardens at Bodnant to the National Trust in l948. In l939 he met Rudolph Hess in an attempt to avert war.

Aberconwy, Treaty of (1277): harsh legislation that followed the victorious campaign of Edward 1st. Its terms meant that Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was forced to surrender territory east of the River Conwy, and his people were forced to endure harsh conditions that soon led to rebellion.

Aberdare, Mid-Glamorgan: after the decline of the coal and iron industry, the town of over 40,000 has become the chief shopping and service center for the Cynon Valley. The Dare Valley Country Park occupies the site of former mines and iron works.

Aberdare Committee (1881): under Gladstone's government, chaired by Lord Aberdare, its report created university colleges at Bangor and Cardiff.

Aberdare, Henry, 1st Baron (1815-1895): Liberal M.P. for Merthyr. As Home Secretary, he was responsible for passage of the Liquor Licensing Act of 1872 that alienated brewers and publicans and led to the defeat of his party.

Aberdaron, Gwynedd: at the tip of the Llyn Peninsula, for centuries the gathering place for pilgrims on their way to Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island) "the island of 20,00 saints." Modern pilgrims stop at Y Gegin Fawr (the big kitchen).

Aberdyfi (Aberdovey) Gwynedd: resort made famous by the "The Bells of Aberdovey" that tells of the drowning of the town by an incoming tide.

Aberfan (Aber Van), Merthyr: on the 21st of October 1966, a mountain of coal waste, weakened by heavy rains, slid down onto the village school at Pant Glas, killing l44 children and adults. The tragedy shook the whole nation and spurred efforts to clean up the coal tips in the Valleys left after more than a century of mining.

Aberffraw, Anglesey: the chief court of the princes of Gwynedd that may have been founded by Cunedda, and where Branwen, daughter of Llyr of Britain, married the son of the King of Ireland.

Abergavenny (Y Fenni), Monmouthshire: named for the Celtic god of smiths, Gofannon. Strategically situated between the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons, it was settled by Romans, then Normans; now the market town for the area and a dormitory for Newport and Cardiff. Nazi leader Rudolph Hess was imprisoned at nearby Maindiff Court in W.W.11.

Abergele, Denbighshire: a former resort town with a pebbly beach and a wonderful l6th century church. The imposing stone edifice seen poking out of the woods is rapidly-decaying Gwrych Castle, a Victorian creation once a resort and training ground for British boxers.

Abergele Martyrs: in July l969, William Jones and George Taylor were killed on the railway lines at Abergele by accidental detonation of explosives they were carrying to disrupt the Investiture ceremonies of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon.

Abergwaun, Pembrokeshire (head of the Gwaun Valley): the Welsh name for Fishguard (see entry).

Abergwili, Carmarthenshire: the Carmarthen County Museum, displays the region's archeology, history and daily life in a former Bishop's residence.

Aberteifi (see Cardigan).

Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: principal center of Welsh culture, home to a medieval castle, the National Library of Wales, a University College, part of which is housed in a former hotel on the sea front; and a Theological College. A Camera Obscura on Constitution Hill, reached by a 19th Century electric cliff railway, is a rare survivor of Victorian Britain. The National Library of Wales on Penglais Hill holds the medieval Black Book of Carmarthen, the Laws of Hywel Dda, the Book of Taliesin and the earliest complete text of the Mabinogion. The Ceredigion Museum is worth a visit.

Aberystwyth: a popular hymn tune of Dr. Joseph Parry, sung in English to the words of Charles Wesley, beginning with "Jesus, lover of my soul."

Abraham, William (Mabon, l842-l922): influential miners' leader who supported adoption of the sliding scale gaining some concessions and a holiday on the first Monday of each month, "Mabon's Monday." Lib-Lab M.P. for Rhondda in l885, he was not radical enough for many workers.

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Catalogue Information

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