Welsh Journals

Monmouthshire Medley Vol. 4. Some Rare Antiquarian Views in the County. Reginald Nichols. 52pp 60 pls 6 maps. Published by Village Publishing, Cwmbran (1985) £ 3.50 paperback. This fourth volume in Mr Nichols's distinctive 'Medley' series offers a change from the previous format, reproducing a variety of pictures mainly from the author's own collection. Ownership seems to have been the main criterion in selecting the illustrations, which in true medley style present a flit round the area. Sources for the pictures include Coxe, Williams, Bradney, Fox and Raglan (Monmouthshire Houses) and the Illustrated London News. The use of 'rare' in the sub-title hardly seems justified on that basis, but one entry in the source list which does excite interest is the 'Commonplace Book of W H Greene'. Greene died in 1893, having worked as a journalist, latterly on the 'Pontypool Free Press and Herald of The Hills'. Local historians will have come across his enthusiasm for the subject as recorded in published society journals or the occasional detailed annotated sketch, but Mr Nichols has custody of Greene's scrap-book containing over one hundred drawings. Nine are reproduced here (with no attempt at analysis of eight) on the basis that they may be 'the only pictorial representations remaining of spectacles in this county a century ago'. This is not true of the view of Monmouth Gaol, but Greene's work is no less interesting for that. We can look forward to Mr Nichols's promised further publication of Greene's works — let me make a plea for it to be comprehensive and not a 'medley'. There are signs that the book has been put together in haste the lack of an index or list of illustrations; the inclusion of the wrong picture in the piece on Clytha House, and the late addition of half of one of the articles. Several of the prints are un-attributed. The standard of reproduction is as reasonable as the price. A.H. The Moss Rose Press by Ivor Waters, with illustrations, maps, covers and jackets by Mercedes Waters, Linda Waters and Bryan Woodfield. Published by The Moss Rose Press, 41 Hardwick Avenue, Chepstow, Gwent in 1985. ISBN 0 906134 33 1. A limited edition of 150 copies. Hardback, price £ 10.50. In 1948 Ivor Waters proposed the formation of a local history society in Chepstow. The Society would arrange lectures and excursions, "the preservation of books, pictures, old records, and objects of local interest with the ultimate object of setting up a Chepstow Museum and Archives"; it would also "publish brief monographs on particular aspects of Chepstow history or customs". A meeting was arranged in a room at the Tudor Cafe in Beaufort Square, Chepstow, for March 12th. Ten people attended the meeting, and the Chepstow Society was formed. Within the year the Society had published Chepstow Lords and Commons, Chepstow Town Gate and Museum, and A Chepstow and Tintern Anthology. The