Welsh Journals

GOWER 1950 1950 has seen many changes in rural Gower; with the sale of most of the Penrice, Clyne and Parc-le-breos estates, many of the holdings have passed to the tenants. One fortunate result of these changes is that Oxwich Castle-which this Society has done its utmost to preserve-together with Oxwich Wood and Oxwich Point, has been purchased by Lady Apsley, a kinswoman of Lady Blytheswood, for preservation. Gower lovers, everywhere, will always be grateful to Lady Apsley for preserving one of the most beautiful places in our world. It is appropriate that we should again pay tribute to all that Lady Blytheswood and the family of Penrice Castle have done, along the generations, in keeping Gower's unique character intact. It should also be put on record, that members of the Bevan family (which occupied Oxwich Castle from 1698 to 1917) made concrete proposals to assist the Society in acquiring the property, had not Lady Apsley come to the rescue on the occasion of her visit to the Gower Show in August. In the third year of its existence, the membership of this Society has passed the five-hundred-mark with a comfortable margin, and our influence has kept pace with that increase. The table of solid achievement accomplished by the Society and its various sections, is now so long as almost to be boring. That scores of members are very active is a sign of excellent health. If we take pride in nurturing a new generation of antiquarians and local-historians, we can also take pride in having contributed to the Gower consciousness which now prevails Do you see that church-yard ? Why half my family lies buried there "-comments the modern traveller, from the top deck of the red bus. With our younger members treading ancient footpaths and probing the pages of this incomparable history-book which is Gower, it is also gratifying to see members with long-memories writing down their record of times past. Recently, our oldest member completed for the Royal Institution, a catalogue of the famous Mackworth Papers-a monumental task which took over three years. At 88, Mr. Thomas Baker Jones seeks fresh fields of service On September 16th-his birthday-many of us walked with him to Penlle'r Castell, the highest point in the hills of East Gower. With all good Gowermen, we would do well to reflect whether we are going old too young, by failing to follow his pattern of the full life.