Welsh Journals

Search over 450 titles and 1.2 million pages

Book Reviews Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales: Glamorgan, Vol. IV, Part 1 The Greater Houses. H.M.S.O., 1981. 492 pages, 80 plates, 108 figures, 24 maps. £ 45. This magnificent and weighty tome is a splendid addition to the gradually growing number of books on the architecture of Wales. As the Introductory Survey says Glamorgan is in its historical archi- tecture "among the richer counties of Wales". Indeed such is the quantity of monuments in the historic county that each volume of the inventory will only deal with buildings of a particular class and period. Volume IV deals with Domestic Architecture from the Reform- ation to the Industrial Revolution and is divided into two parts. Part 1 is concerned in detail with forty-two of the largest and best known houses. A further forty-eight houses "known to have been of import- ance in the period which have been either destroyed or altered so much that little is now recoverable" are dealt with briefly. In add- ition there are brief notes regarding seventeen medieval castles and castellated houses occupied during the period. By comparison Part 2 of Volume IV is expected, when it is published, to contain descrip- tions of nine hundred homes of the lesser landowners and yeomen. Although Glamorgan is architecturally rich in comparison to other Welsh counties surprisingly few of the houses described in this book are known outside the county. Very few have been described in detail elsewhere and most are not associated with any named archi- tect. Of course, there are many well known works of architecture in Glamorgan, but as these are mostly associated with castle-building (medieval and nineteenth century) they are outside the scope of this book. Similarly much of the better Renaissance work in the county does not find a place here because it is in buildings of medieval origin. All the more reason therefore to welcome this book which describes the buildings within its period in such minute detail. Unlike previous Inventories of other Welsh counties the Glam- organ Inventory treats the historic county rather than individual