Welsh Journals

Maeslough to celebrate W.W.'s birthday. Aetat. 86! (Thomas Price may have been the attorney of Builth. who had for long been the legal adviser of the Pencerrig family). 25. Off to Merthyr with Thomas and Jane and the ponies with £ 50 in silver for Merthyr Bank. This is an intriguing item. Why should F.-a private person-be transporting such a large sum- and in silver coins presumably-to Merthyr Bank and, one must assume, a branch of Brecon (Wilkins & Co.) Bank. which also had a branch in Cardiff. (It is worth noting, too. that Crawshay and Sons, founded in 1810. the year in which Richard, the first Welsh Crawshay died. a Cyfartha & Hirwain Bank. which though it 'ceased' in 1830, seems to have been revived in 1837 as the Crawshay. Bailey & Co. Bank) Part of the same diary entry was a Memo: 'Merthyr has grown an amazing large town with elegant shops. a good Church. etc.. since I was last there in 1797 when it was but a large village.' 26. F. stayed at the Castle Arms. Cardiff. and having sent off his servant to Church. read the Bible in his room! 27. Off for Cardiff. Dined and slept at The Arms. Sent a note to Evan Thomas. esqr. at Sully by the sea-side. (Evan Thomas. esqr.. was a Thomas of Llwynmadog. Breconshire. He later adopted 'Evan-Thomas' as his surname). 29. At Sully, promenade in the garden and plantations. and after dinner fine music. 30. Revd Coneybeare. the vicar. joined us-papers. books. conversation. etc December 1. Chess with Conevbeare and little Charles indoors; storms. high tide & surf outside. 3. Family at Church. 4. Set off via Cardiff & Newport to Abergavenny. Snow on all hills. 5. Heavy rain storms all day. Home for dinner by 4 p.m. in Brecon. 8. Brewed 21/2 bushels. (Of what. one wonders?) 16. The 3 Dyffrins called on me. 22. Dr Lawrence. Revd Beavan and Mr E. Jones dined with me. 25. Read from 'Abbe Dubois'. (Probably the great work of Jean Antoine Dubois (1765-1848) called 'Hindu Manners, Customs & Ceremonies' F. was always interested in everything to do with India after having served for several years in the E. India Co.'s Army) 31. 'Deo optimo maximo sit Gloria in sempiterno'. (F.'s thankful words for surviving through the year 1826!) 1827 January 1. Unusually for him. F. began his diary for this year with the French phrase 'Esperance en Dieu'. (This was the French form of the Jones of Pencerrig motto. 'Hope in God'. which F. placed at the foot of the family coat-of-arms in the Latin form 'In Deo Spes', below the marble wall memorial in Caebach Chapel.) He spent the New Year's Day quietly at home. starting the diary with words, 'Ablutions, etc. as usual!' 2. With the weather intensely cold at three or four degrees below freezing. F. was surprised but delighted to welcome his old friend W. Wilkins. M.P.. on a brief call. 11. Court mourning for the late Duke of York, who was to be succeeded as Commander-in-Chief of the Army by the Duke of Wellington. 20. Duke of York's funeral Windsor. 24. Visited by Revd Rowlands. Skethrog. bringing a Twelfth Cake present; F. gave him a gift of apples in return. (If this was a Twelfth night cake, it was overdue!) 25. Tom Edwards from Llwynbarried with rents and a letter. (The rents would have been for the farms F. owned in the Nantmel district, and the letter from the Evans family for whom Tom Edwards acted as bailiff). In return, F. sent a cake and oranges for the Llwynbarried youngsters. February 2. Miss Ann Vaughan to Miss Smith's Boarding School. (Ann