Georgian Patchwork coverlet on ebay

Every post needs a picture, so to fill that need I will show you my 2011 year mug and say a premature goodbye to this year and be first to wish to you a Good New Year in 2012.

 However, the subject of this post is a quilt on eBay (click here for details) which a friend has just drawn to my attention. I would have liked to have included pictures instead of redirecting you but I can't seem to download eBay pictures successfully. 

I had to fan myself at the astonishing price.  The seller obviously thinks that they have something very special and I wish them well, but I can't really think that anyone would actually pay that price!  

As you know I am a terrific fan of Georgian patchwork and I am interested in seeing the format of these now rare quilts.  The fabrics too are interesting and worth studying but when I sent these details to Bridget Long (an expert on British quilts of this period) she was doubtful of the claimed date of 1810.  Though she was studying pictures and not the actual quilt, she thought that some of the fabrics were perhaps made later and as you know a quilt is dated by its youngest fabric!

Changing the subject, I am on the waiting list for Pinterest but as yet have not been invited to join.  Do any of you participate and would be kind enough to send me an invitation?

Merry Christmas everyone!  
 

Thank you for reading my blog and I'm sorry about the glitch in proceedings.  Hopefully normal service will be soon?

Short and sweet and EB

I have been suffering from some sort of virus this last week and feeling very under the weather, not Christmassy at all.  I have been confined to the house, done no shopping, missed several pre Christmas celebrations and completely lost the will to sew or write.   So the only way to keep this this blog going is to feature some of my favourite EB images -

A wonderful collection in Boston

Does the name Elizabeth Day McCormick mean anything to you?  Well perhaps if you are a fan of wonderful samplers it might well do, because the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston now holds her collection of over 4,000 textiles and what a collection it is!

At one time you could see the samplers on line but for some reason I can only find two now!  Here I go again moaning about museums giving textiles such a low priority, but they do infuriate me so. Why go to the bother of photographing and producing a catalogue, putting everything online for a short while and then drop it? Grrrr.  However, you can still buy the catalogue which will at least give you a taster click here for the link.

I save images as I trawl the net and then of course I have no idea where I found them - no matter, our luck is in because here is a close up of a section of my very favourite band sampler from this fabulous collection -

The colours in this image aren't quite right (for some reason what should be pale pink has come out turquoise) but oh isn't it wonderful? I only wish I had an image of the whole sampler to show you but this is the best band and the one I would love to be able to sew!

The sampler is English mid 1600's and made by Hannah Thornbush -  isn't that a lovely name?  It is approximately 33 inches long and 7 wide and worked in all the popular stitches found on these samplers - couching, cross, detached buttonhole, double running, eyelet, long armed cross, Montenegrin, running and satin.  It is so crunchy, I just love it!

I have been trying to find out about Elizabeth Day McCormick and if possible a picture, but again I can't find much but this -

Born into a wealthy Chicago family, Elizabeth Day McCormick (1873-1957) dedicated her life and considerable means to collecting textiles, focusing on European needlework, costumes, and costume accessories from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. Between 1943 and 1953, she donated approximately 6,000 objects to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). Gertrude Townsend (1893-1979), the museum's first textiles curator, worked closely with McCormick to encourage her patronage, manage the donation, and research and interpret objects in the collection. McCormick and the MFA serve as a case study for exploring the relationship between collectors and museums, and what happens when a collection is transferred from private to public ownership and an individual's taste becomes institutional fact. The relationship of McCormick and Townsend also highlights how female networks of collectors, professionals, philanthropists, and enthusiasts influenced museum development, particularly in relation to textile and costume collections. Overall, the conviction that museums reflect intellectual and social priorities of their time drives this thesis, and this case study begins to dissect the institutional authority cultivated by museums.

Isn't it a shame that we can't see this collection online?   Writing to museums doesn't work, if you get a reply you are lucky and nothing much changes. You just have to hope that they get around to textiles eventually when they have spent money on all the other boring exhibits!
 

Baskets on quilts

Baskets have long been an ornamental element in decoration particularly in the 18th century, being found on carvings, embroideries, china etc., eventually finding their way on to quilts both in applique form, then as a quilting pattern and eventually as pieced patterns.

I am working on a basket design at the moment, which I found on an English quilt dated 1799, a time when basket decoration was at it's height.  Then of course there is this quilt, which was all over the Internet a while back -

It is now known as the "English Basket Quilt" and I think it is fairly early - around 1800 maybe?  If anyone has more dating information on it I would be very pleased to know?

This is an adapted pattern of it designed by Corliss Searcey at Threadbear Designs

  
which is being reproduced all over the world, though I suspect not many here in the UK.  We tend to be out of love with hexagons because they used to be considered the only form of patchwork here and many of us have awful unfinished projects tucked away in deep drawers!.

I like this adaptation very much indeed. It concentrates on the baskets and omits the mass of hexagons and stars which dominate the original.  There are so many of them that the border of baskets, which is easily the most attractive aspect of the quilt is almost overlooked. Corliss has put that right and the basket in now centre stage. 

However, if I was working this reproduction, I would be greatly tempted to have the corner Ohio/Variable Star blocks of the original.  They look so American don't they and slightly incongruous?  That is why I would include them, because though Corliss's choice of linked hearts is more in keeping and better design, the fact that these patterns were worked on a British quilt around 1800 means that we did them first - along with the Dutch of course!

Who do you think this is?

You are probably aware by now that I love portraits and if they have a mystery attached to them, all the better and if the BBC are doing a documentary exploring that mystery, that's my kind of programme!

Well who do you think this is -

I know that many of you reading this are fans so prepare to be amazed  - it is said to be a recently discovered portrait of Jane Austen?

On Monday it was all over the British media starting with the "Today" program on Radio 4 and picked up by the national newspapers who are of course sceptical and think that it maybe the owner has an ulterior motive.

For Dr Paula Byrne who owns it is a well known biographer and Austen scholar, who is presently writing a new biography of Jane to be published in 2013 on the 200th anniversary of "Pride and Prejudice"  She is convinced it is Jane and said that as soon as she saw it she recognised it as the real Jane as she had never really been convinced by the only other portrait done by Jane's sister Cassandra, after Jane's death.

The portrait drawing, in graphite on vellum, had been in a private collection for years, and was being auctioned as an "imaginary portrait" of Austen, with "Miss Jane Austin" written on the back.  Dr Byrne said  -

"When my husband bought it he thought it was a reasonable portrait of a nice lady writer, but I instantly had a visceral reaction to it. I thought it looks like her family. I recognised the Austen nose, to be honest, I thought it was so striking, so familiar. The idea that it was an imaginary portrait – that seemed to me to be a crazy theory. That genre doesn't exist, and this looks too specific, too like the rest of her family, to have been drawn from imagination."

If you would like to compare the likeness to the rest of her family do visit Austenonly which does a really wonderful job for all of us Jane Austen fans.

Well I for one am looking forward to the programme which is going out on 26th December, a little treat for Boxing Day!  Sorry to those of you not in the UK but if you are interested you could watch it on-line on the BBC website? 

Another piece of information re Jane is that Professor Amanda Vickery,  who did that wonderful series "At Home with the Georgians" has a programme coming out on 23rd December entitled "The Many Lovers of Jane Austen".  This is a deliberately provocative title, but then sexing up everything is what the media do now, they even try it on Jane Austen! 

It looks like being a Jane Austen Christmas - yippee!

An early 19th century Cot Quilt

Again I am most grateful to the Needleprint blog which regularly features interesting textile items coming up for auction.  This quilt caught my eye -

According to the catalogue it's a George III Child's cot patchwork coverlet measuring 84 x 98 cms.  The  central hexagon is embroidered with "May thou be blessed sweetest babe 1808"   It has some staining but it's considered by the auction house to be in good condition for its age and is estimated at  £100-£150.

I love so many things about Georgian patchwork, the colours which are not so bright as Victorian, the interesting patterned fabrics and the traditional forms of stars, hexagons, etc. combined with applique.  I feel that it is truly British and I do wish that we did more of it here and weren't so taken up with blocks and quick techniques.  We have such a strong tradition to draw on but we seem obsessed with international trends and ignore our own.  I'm on my hobby horse again I know, but some ones got to say it!

This little quilt would be a perfect project for someone beginning patchwork and quilting and if I were still teaching I would re-design it slightly to make it a bit more interesting.  I think one of the borders could either have more stars and/or hexagons added or even be re-designed in another simple border pattern - I would consult Averil Colby for ideas. Then of course I would quilt it, as that would make it come alive!

A project like this one wouldn't be too intimidating for a beginner and would be a combination of hand piecing and some simple machining.  If I wasn't so bogged down with quilts that need finishing, I would be up and running!  Just think what a wonderful family heirloom it would make for a new baby?

Tartanware

Continuing on the theme of boxes and wooden things, as it is St. Andrew's today I thought I would talk about Tartanware, a type of Mauchlinware.

 
I have a similar collection to the one above, in fact I have just been dusting it which is always a bit of a bind, not because it was St. Andrew's Day, but because the sun was shining in on it and I was shamed into it!

Long before I lived in Scotland I loved tartan, but when I lived there, unless you were wearing your own clan tartan, it wasn't really the thing to indulge in.  That was the prerogative of tourists!  However, tourism was what Tartanware was made for.  When the railways brought tourists to the more isolated areas of the country, they of course wanted to buy souvenirs and in Mauchline in Ayrshire they manufactured small wooden items for this market.  They were decorated in different ways and some were tartan - hence Tartanware!

I found the picture above online and am not sure what "A Great Highland Fling" means - please ignore!  It was probably taken from a magazine illustration which as usual, can't differentiate one part of Scotland from another!

Happy St. Andrew's Day to all Scots wherever you are - have a wee dram for me!  

Very special boxes - Coffor bach from Gower

As I write this, on the table beside me, is a wooden box  made for me when I was a child and given to me when I started in big school, to hold pencils, pens, compass, protractor etc.  It still holds those things and has travelled with me wherever I have lived up and down this country and abroad.  It is simple, sturdy and useful and I treasure it, but it is only valuable to me.

Boxes have served this useful purpose to millions of us through the centuries. Sometimes they were the only private space that their owner could claim.  Most are like mine, simple and sturdy and of little value, but others are elaborate, decorative and valuable and they take many forms. 

I want to share with you some special boxes that were made in Wales in the mid 18th Century.

Coffor Bach, is Welsh for "little coffer" (a coffer another name for a storage chest) and it seems to have been a tradition on the Gower peninsular in South Wales to make and decorate small coffers to celebrate a marriage, with the initials of the bride carved upon them.  What a wonderful way to commemorate a wedding?  It's both romantic and practical and would safely hold the most precious things the bride would bring to her new home and was perhaps the only place she would have had of her own.

My friends Christine and Philip Havard own this box, they can claim the "H" but as yet there is no "M".  Oh I do wish the letters were MJ or MW but even if they were, I don't think they would part with it because it is very special.  When Philip spotted it in an auction catalogue, it was listed as "Dutch, made of Walnut"  but actually is is Welsh, made of Oak!

Chris and Philip are antique dealers and their business Havard & Havard have a current exhibition entitled "Chairs, Coffers and Cockerels" and here is similar coffer which is for sale -

I just love this decoration, it is pure folk art and to the uninformed it has tulips, so it must be Dutch, or Pennsylvanian Dutch!  But tulips were a popular decoration in many countries, and why not?  They have a very distinctive form and are also easy to draw, which is an excellent reason to use them to decorate objects, be it china, wood or textiles.

When I look at the urn filled with tulips, paisleys and roses - it could also be a Welsh quilting pattern, with the very same ingredients as the pattern on this Pembrokeshire quilt in the Jen Jones collection!

Welsh Kerchief Quilts

Wearing a patterned kerchief around the neck, as a head scarf, or to keep a hat in place, is a feature of peasant costume in many countries, not just in Wales - but we used them in our quilts too.  Did other countries do this, or was it just us I wonder?

The patchwork has been dated 1890 but the backing fabric (therefore the quilting) is about 50 years later.

The two pictures below are both sides of  a wonderfully quilted one.  Not sure which one you would treat as the reverse?

Believed to have been made by Bariah Adams Lewis of Penybach,  Llanboidy or one of her associates. c.1885

Wouldn't it be lovely to have either of these glowing on your bed over this winter season?  Not that I would of course, even if I owned them, as both are  far too precious for constant use - maybe on a guest room bed?  They are part of the Jen Jones Collection and featured in her second exhibition at her Quilt Centre in Lampeter.

This poster gives you a close-up of the wonderful quilting on the second quilt

Here's another - an early 19th century one -

This is another favourite of mine from Jen's collection.  There is just something about it that appeals, probably the glorious chintzy fabrics and the fact that it's yet another lovely one made in God's own county, Pembrokeshire!

I made a my version using some of my treasured vintage Laura Ashley fabrics to try and capture the rich patterning of the original quilt. 

Because it was so much smaller, I had to cheat a bit to get the right sized kerchief.  I cut down a table napkin which had been printed in India - it so difficult to source this very bright bluey pink now and this napkin was a find.  Then, as on the original quilt, I  appliqued a rose motif at the centre. There are instructions for making this little quilt in my new e-book "Little Welsh Quilts" - see the sidebar for more details.

Somewhere in my stash, I have a Liberty of London fancy hankie together with a selection of fabrics which I would like to turn into another little quilt.  For one fleeting moment I thought that I might include a picture, then I realised that finding them would be a day's work, so sadly no picture for the moment!

Kerchief quilts are very dear to my heart as I own one which was made at the end of the 19th century by my Great Great Aunt, Elizabeth John, who lived in our home village in Pembrokeshire. The quilt had left the family's possession, but on hearing of my interest in patchwork, the family friend who then owned it, returned it to me.  It is a humble quilt, as most kerchief quilts were.  They were not intended for best but for everyday wear and because of this, few have survived.  Unless of course, as is the case of those in Jen's collection, they have stupendous quilting which puts them above average!

For my friends in the USA, an Emma Bridgewater Turkey Platter to wish them a 

Very Happy Thanksgiving

 

Continuing the Jerusalem theme

When I wrote my last post I intended to talk a little bit about William Blake who wrote "Jerusalem" and Amanda White, an artist whose work I admire.

William Blake was an engraver, as well as a poet and in 1800 he and his wife were lent this cottage in West Sussex.

 
The intention was to get away from the dirt and bustle of London and gain some peace and inspiration, as well as doing illustrating work for a patron who owned the cottage.  It didn't entirely work out as these situations rarely do. Though very pretty, the cottage was damp and after enduring it for three years, they returned to London - I'm sure that you can imagine the complaining that went on there?  However, those years of country living did make an impression on William. because afterwards he wrote of "England's green and pleasant land", in his poem "Jerusalem".

This is William's engraving of his temporary home -

and this is Amanda White's paper collage -

 I have recently discovered Amanda and I love her work.  She has done a series of Writers' Houses all of which I like because they are quirky and patchworky!

Before I did patchwork I used to make house portrait collages using different types of fabrics and had great fun embellishing them with bits of lace and braid to achieve architectural details.  Though I enjoyed the making when patchwork took over my life, fabric collage ceased but I still admire it as a craft, though it makes for an even messier workroom.

As I am rather obsessed with houses, I can't resist mentioning that a thatched cottage in West Sussex is an "Escape to the Country" dream.  Click here if you would like a tour of one on the market now in the lovely village of Amerberley.
 
It's an area of great beauty with delightful towns and villages with lovely and varied architecture and not far from London.  This makes the William Blake's cottage in Felpham a very desirable place to live, with a correspondingly high price tag. Let's hope that the damp problem, which so irked Mrs. Blake, has now been solved with a good damp course!

The Welsh National Anthem and "Jerusalem".

England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, may have unofficial anthems, but Wales is the only country in the United Kingdom to have it's own official National Anthem -  "Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau"  (Land of My Fathers), but always sung in Welsh!  Even those of us who don't speak Welsh make a bold attempt at it!

It's a jolly good anthem and to use popular parlance, you can give it plenty of welly!  Here it is on You Tube  -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtCOprRDUm8    

I love this rendering so much that, after selecting it, I have played it four times already.  My goodness we can sing in Wales and you can imagine how it would feel singing it in rugby stadium with thousands of others?

I'm also very fond of Catatonia singing "Every day when I wake up I thank The Lord I'm Welsh", so let's include that too!  It has some lovely views of Wales to look at while listening, which will give you a taste of our varied scenery!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwyR-ir9XX4

I didn't intend this post to go in such a musical nor indeed a national direction, because I was going to talk about William Blake who wrote "Jerusalem".  I will save that until next time - it's won't be as boring as it sounds - honestly!

The link to all of this is "National Anthem", because though we in Wales have our own, we also share with the other countries of the UK "God Save the Queen"   Now this can sound a bit dreary and though we wouldn't of course drop it, many feel that England should have something more uplifting as an anthem, such as "Jerusalem".

Well - in for a penny in for a pound - here it is too!  Hope you are all singing along?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8VH0sbEU20

 

Sissinghurst

I first visited Sissinghurst one boiling hot day at the end of May, many years ago now and was bowled over by it.

The Tower in Summer

I absolutely detest hot weather and usually avoid going out in it, but we were on holiday so I had to make the best of it.  It says a lot for Sissinghurst that neither the heat, nor the fact that the garden was full of visitors, stopped me from dashing around it like a woman possessed.  My husband took a more leisurely approach and refused to climb the tower, but I did along with 24 others (only 25 are allowed up at a time) and the view and seeing Vita's writing room was worth negotiating the rather precarious steps.

Vita's Writing Room the Tower

The Cottage Garden

This garden is very famous and of course I had heard reports from friends and seen it on television, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the beauty of it. After one visit I couldn't wait to return and so we travelled back in the August. Now August isn't the best time in gardens here, but Sissinghurst is one of those gardens that always pleases and never looks past it's best.  There is always something to see and marvel at and pick up ideas from.

One of the lovely brick walls and a distant view of the Lutyens bench

The Lime Walk in Spring - fabulous to visit when the rest of the garden is sleeping

More of the wonderful Spring Border

View through archways to the Tower

View from the Tower looking down at the White Garden

In the White Garden

The Tower from the White Garden

Though it is a difficult journey from Wales, since that first memorable visit and my second follow up visit, I have been again and again and still love it - it is just magical.  Those of you who haven't been, put it on your list of places to visit.  I am an avid garden visitor and I can't think of a better one - what other garden has a fairytale Tudor tower in it?

Since Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson died it has been in the care of the National Trust who maintain it extremely well and I hope these pictures give you a flavour of its magic.  I didn't take these wonderful pictures - they are from a  presentation by Dave Parker - if you would like to see lots more the link is -http://www.invectis.co.uk/sissing/sstwrl.htm 

Wall of little Welsh quilts?

This image is from a Mary Emmerling book on American Folk Art, which is so often seen online it is obviously an inspiration to those of us who aspire to wall of little doll quilts.  I would love a wall of little Welsh Doll Quilts!

Inspiring as this idea is, there are problems which I am sure you will share?  The first being - do I have a suitable free wall on which to hang them and the second, even more crucial, where and when do I have the time to either make or acquire a collection?   

I have other problems too - do I really want a permanent wall of quilts?  Wouldn't it be more of a seasonal thing and if so what would be the best way of hanging them? 

All I have done so far is spread out what I have on my spare bed, some are finished and others are in various stages -

These are the finished ones -

and these are in various stages, some ready for quilting and others may well not make it!

Like all females I can multi-task, but I do have difficulty when it comes to quilting projects, especially when engaged in such a demanding project as my Cottage Orne Quilt (see other blog).  Now when I look at these unfinished projects I itch to start on them! 

I have seen a few Welsh Cot Quilts, though they are quite rare, but I haven't yet come across any Welsh Doll Quilts.  This doesn't mean that they weren't made, but were most probably either worn out or thrown out.  Remember, we didn't used to rate our large bed quilts, so a doll quilt wouldn't have stood much chance of survival!

The ones I have made are based on the designs of the larger Welsh Quilts and you can find some of them in my new book "Little Welsh Quilts" (see side panel for details).

Those of you who do not have or use an iPad look away now, but it you do there is now an Ap for Adobe Reader so you will now be able to read it on your iPad.  At the moment the video content won't work on the Ap, but there will most probably be an update on this soon, as it has been requested. 

I am also doing a two day workshop on a Welsh Doll Quilt at the Jen Jones Quilt Centre next April, entitled "Little Welsh Treasure".  If you are interested details will be announced soon? 

Patchwork with Pots

Collecting Emma Bridgewater is addictive.  Over the 25 years of manufacturing, hundreds of different patterns have been made.  There has been long runs and trial runs, sample pieces and "specials" and there are some very avid collectors out there, all keeping a more than eagle eye on eBay and prepared to pay high prices for the current "must have" shape or pattern.  

Actually "avid" is a mild word to describe them, perhaps obsessive or just plain bonkers is nearer the mark.  If I told you of the recent "Mince Pie Plate" saga, you would scarcely believe it!  I think a social historian or psychologist would have a field day if they tuned in!

I follow this all on the EB Facebook page and enjoy it  immensely, but though I laugh and tut tut about the antics, the virus spreads and my Emma Bridgewater collection is growing steadily.  Here's some of it -

and here are some I would love to own but never will because they are rare and would break the budget.

Why do I like them so much?  Well it's as the title says - its "Patchwork with Pots"!

Pat Albeck - another heroine

Not "All Washed Up" - the title of her exhibition, but I'm glad to say, still going strong! 

 

 I have been collecting the work of Pat Albeck for decades and I am sure many of you have her wonderfully designed products too - even if you don't know it?  My house has Pat Albeck everywhere and perhaps it is just as well that she isn't as prolific as she once was.

Her designs are instantly recognisable and (my friends can vouch for this) I can recognise them at sixty paces!  The ones below are typical - Pat has done lots of cats!  Her book "A Cat's Guide to England" is a favourite of mine and it can still be bought online - Amazon uk has it for 1p plus postage!  It's just wonderful and makes a lovely present for a child or a cat lover or both!   Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of it online but I recommend it!

I have these egg cosies in my kitchen

and quite a few of these too!

 At the age of 81 she is still working and occasionally designs Emma Bridgewater products and as you can see from the first picture and the video link below, she uses them in her home!

As far as I know, there has never been an exhibition of her work but there is to be now.

The exhibition celebrates six decades of Pat Albeck's involvement in tea towel design, though of course she designs lots of other things too.  Pat has selected fifty designs from a collection of 300, and the exhibition includes a new tea towel specially commissioned for Norwich Cathedral.

Born in 1930, Pat attended Hull School of Art and continued her training as a textile designer at the Royal College of Art from which she graduated in 1953.  She married a fellow student, Peter Rice, the theatre designer and lived in London for many years until they retired to Norfolk to be nearer their son and his family.  Pat and Peter have obviously passed their talent on because their son, Matthew, who is married to Emma Bridgewater and now runs Bridgewater (Emma is taking some time out), is multi talented and a noted artist and designer.

The National Trust asked Pat to design her first tea towels in 1967 and she has designed a calendar tea towel for them every year since then. I have quite a few of them, along with trays, tea cosies, pot holders, boxes etc. etc. Of course I never dry dishes with them, they are kept for posterity!  Hope posterity appreciates this?

Sadly, because Norwich is extremely awkward to get to from Wales,  I won't be able to visit but I am delighted that her work is being recognised at last.  She really is the Queen of Tea towels, as well as other household stuff and has certainly brightened up our lives.  Long may she continue!


Here is a link to a short video about Pat -
http://www.itv.com/anglia/terrific-tea-towels74321/

Darowen again

About three years ago I did some research on the Darowen patchwork coverlet which is in the collection at St. Fagan's and wrote a piece on it which was published in Winter 2009 edition of "The Quilter".

It has always been my intention to visit the village and particularly the Church which is portrayed on the coverlet.  Well last Friday I made it!

I rarely drive into the heart of Wales (more fool me because it is so beautiful) and though Darowen is just a few miles off the main A470 North/South Wales trunk road, it is a good 3 hour drive. Sonia and I were travelling to the BQSG Symposium at Gregynog and though Darowen was a bit further north, we decided that it was do-able. We weren't disappointed as when you turn at the small white signpost saying "Darowen", the narrow road climbs into another world of wonderfully varied country with beautiful vistas on every side which can't have changed much since the patchwork was made.

Sonia was with me when we first viewed the coverlet at the museum and shares my feeling for it, so we both found being in Darowen, seeing the Vicarage and visiting the Church quite an emotional experience.  We walked the same lane from the church to the vicarage as the sisters who made the patchwork must have done so long ago - it was strange doing this!.  

I now feel enthused to do more research.  There is one obstacle, however, I don't speak Welsh and much of the information is in Welsh.   Well I'm not going to let put me off, I will just have to ask for help from my Welsh speaking friends.