Just in from the Windy City

Who won the contralto solo at the Chicago World's Fair Eisteddfod in 1893? Why none other than Bessie Evans of Radnor House, Builth Wells.

The daughter of local musical legend Llew Buallt, Miss Evans was a soloist with Madame Clara Novello Davies's all-conqueing Welsh Ladies Choir.

A lively lass Bessie, she was 19 at the time of the Fair, was showered with offers to stay in America. She did indeed return on a number of occasions, even singing for President McKinley at the WhiteHouse. She had already sung for Queen Victoria.

In 1903 Bessie married a Radnorian, Joseph Duggan and eventually moved to Edmonton, Alberta where she died, mourned by the local musical community in 1938.

Now the likes of Bessie didn't suddenly spring out of nowhere. Indeed there was something of a musical scene in the Builth/Llandrindod area in the late Victorian period, one that found success on a national scale. I'll return to it in a future post.

Meanwhile enjoy the cartoon of Dame Wales and this photo of the Ladies choir in 1897. Clichéd, certainly, but an important factor in maintaining a sense of national awareness during a period when the only state recognition of a separate Welsh identity came from the US Immigration Service.

A Correction

Misled by the Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales I've always believed that Builth born writer Thomas Prichard authored the very first Welsh novel, The Adventures and Vagaries of Twm Shon Catti, which was published in 1828.

Now it seems that Radnorian Edward Davies of Llanfaredd's epistolary novel Elisa Powell beat the Breconian by a generation, hitting the streets in 1795.

Wyesiders will realise how much I hate to do this, but the truth must be told.

The Bells of Rhymney

You'd be hard put to find a more comprehensive website than this, celebrating the life and times of Fochriw, a hill village between Merthyr and the Rhymney valley.

I'm interested in Fochriw because my grandmother, who was born at the old Clywedog Arms in Gwystre, spent her childhood and early adulthood in the village. Just one of the thousands of Radnorians who found a new life in the South Wales coalfield.

It's interesting to note that in 1901 over 90% of the population of Fochriw spoke Welsh, making it a more "Welsh" place than anywhere in present day Gwynedd. Yet within the space of a few years the language was to virtually disappear amongst the younger generation. Such is the impact of language shift.

There's an interesting little verse on the site, written in the style of Idris Davies, which says a lot about the process of language shift:

Betty Evans knew her Welsh
And so did I at four,
Until I played with friends outside
And children from next door.

Something similar must have happened in the villages of Radnorshire, with a certain amount of Welsh spoken here and there behind closed doors, while the public arena was given over to English. There's a little evidence for this when we examine the amount of Welsh spoken by those Radnorshire migrants to the coalfield.

Taking a sample of 272 Radnorshire born folk aged over 55 and living in Glamorgan at the time of the 1891 census, we find that 38% can speak Welsh, a much higher figure than that for the stay at homes. Of course the obvious conclusion would be that these folk had picked up their Welsh in the South, but if that was the case then we would expect to see similar percentages from parishes across the county. Infact this is not the case. For those born west of the Ithon the figure of Welsh speakers is 66%, while for those from the Wyeside parishes from Diserth down to Clyro the figure is 33%. For the rest of the county the figure drops to 12%.

What I think this shows is that a certain amount of Welsh continued to be used in families in parishes such as Nantmel, Llanyre and Diserth during the Nineteenth Century. When such folk moved to areas where Welsh was more widely used as a community language, their "hidden" Welsh came into the open. The figures also provide some evidence to show that F G Payne was correct when he dismissed the view that the Wye valley was a major conduit for the anglicization of Radnorshire, a view that is still the norm in academic circles.

Votes For Women

Although women could not vote in Parliamentary elections until 1918, they had been able to both vote and stand in local elections for nearly a quarter of a century before that date. Here's an example from 1900 where we find Elizabeth Maria Priscilla Duffield losing her seat on the Llandrindod UDC.

Miss Duffield was the Monmouthshire born manager of the Pump House, the largest hotel in Wales. Miss Duffield died in 1916, aged 64.

Attitudes to Radnorshire in the 19C, part two

The Welsh language is, of course, one of the markers of Welshness, but it is not the only one.

You only have to look at the position of Ireland to see that a sense of national identity does not depend on a vigorous national language alone. Indeed the very strength of Welsh, still spoken by perhaps a quarter of the population, to an extent weakens the national self-confidence of the 75% who do not.

Although Radnorshire was the first county in Wales to be anglicised in language terms, in other respects it was one of the most traditional of all the Welsh counties. Rebeccaism, tai un nos, the traditions of ceffyl pren are all examples of this. The following is an extract of an 1861 article translated from the newspaper Baner ac Amserau Cymru. Although to modern ears the description of the traditional parish wake in Aberedw seems laudable enough - an example of Hen Gymru Llawen (Merrie Old Wales) - to the author of the article and his readers it was something to be condemned.

The other day I was in Aberedw, to see the ruins of the castle and Llywelyn’s cave. Aberedw is a place on the Radnorshire side (of the Wye). We went to sit for a while in a house that was known to one of our company. The niece of the man of the house happened be there on a visit.

“When are you going home?” someone asked.
“I’m not going home” replied the young girl, “ until after the feast.”
“When is the feast?”
“Next Sunday”
“What feast is that” I asked.
“Aberedw Feast” said the girl.
“What sort of feast is that?”

But the young lady could not give an explanation, other than it was Aberedw feast, a little amazed that I should enquire about a subject of which everyone was aware.

“Gwlabsant” explained her uncle “that’s the feast.”
“Perhaps.” he said “you don’t know what gwlabsant is?”

I knew a little from history, but only from history. I had never before been in a district where the gwyl y mabsant, the feast of the patron saint was still alive.

“What will happen next Sunday that is different from any other Sunday?”
“Oh the feast is not as big as it was years ago. Then it lasted a week, feasting and drinking, singing and dancing, fighting and so on. But now there’s just a little feasting, killing fowls, baking cakes, puddings, pasties and meeting to spend the day eating and socialising with each other."

Even the very mention of a saint’s feast has died out long ago in every other part of Wales. There’s barely one in a thousand who even knows the meaning of the word. The Sunday schools have extinguished virtually all of the old country customs except in Radnorshire. Here they have a refuge and a burial place.

Damned Lies and Statistics

The statistician E G Ravenstein possibly underestimated the number of Radnorians speaking Welsh, but his map - compiled in the mid 1870s - probably provides an accurate record of the linguistic position on the ground.

Ravenstein compiled the map by sending out questionaires to local clergymen. Where they failed to reply he contacted local innkeepers - probably a better option in any case.

Taking the Waters

Someone really should republish this charming little book, which describes a journey to Llandrindod Wells in 1744.

Of particular interest to me are the descriptions of the linguistic position in Radnorshire at the time. In Knighton there was little Welsh spoken but by Bleddfa an old man could speak no English. Between there and Llanfihangel Rhydithon there was little Engish except for an innkeeper who spoke the language "indifferent good". A visit to Builth market heard only the occasional word of English on the bustling streets, and was followed by colourful descriptions of country dances held at the parish wakes of Diserth and Aberedw. Again everywhere was Welsh but with examples of the bilingualism which would be the forerunner of later language shift.

A witty book in which even the occasional anti-Welsh comment seems penned to reflect more on English prejudice rather than native vice.

Squatters Rights

This cutting dates from 1838, and celebrates Presteigne solicitor Cecil Parsons' victory on behalf of 201 families occupying tai un nos on Radnorshire commons. 201 families would probably have accounted for 5% of the county's population.

Although the article, from a London paper, attacks the Whig government, the local MP Wilkins who supported Parsons was a Whig himself. Infact this case seems to have set the traditional gentry class in Radnorshire against newcomers intent on enclosure and evictions.

Attitudes to Radnorshire in the 19C, part one

The government's 1847 report on education in Wales has long been notorious for blaming all the country's supposed social ills - deceitfulness, illiteracy, illegitimacy, drunkenness - on the Welsh language. Of course these criticisms proved intolerable to the Welsh speaking chapel based intelligentsia, who sought to counter the libels against the nation.

Now the county in Wales, indeed Britain, with the highest level of illegitimacy was Radnorshire, a county notorious for Rebeccaism and for the drunkenness associated with its fairs and, heaven forbid, parish wakes. With something like 90% of the households in the county speaking the English language around the hearth, Radnorshire was an easy target for the 19C Welsh language press in their efforts to prove that Welsh was not the cause of civic backwardness.

In language that matched the 1847 report at its most prejudiced, the supposed depravity said to be typical of Radnorshire was laid at the door of the county's recent anglicisation, here is a typical example:

"What for example has Radnorshire gained from that? ..... it is one of the darkest and most backward parts of the whole kingdom in terms of morality and learning. It is as if the human mind has disappeared from view as regards the population in general. Only the animal aspect of humanity can be seen living there." - Baner Cymru 19/5/1858

These attitudes towards Radnorshire persisted into the 20C and are well illustrated by the Montgomeryshire born Iorwerth Peate writing in 1933. For him Radnorians were "a deracine people, a people fallen between two stools a community of half-things." Even today such prejudices can be seen in the perfunctory and ill-informed treatment of Radnorshire topics by some historians coming from the Welsh-speaking, non-conformist tradition.

A Grim Discovery

In 1856 Mrs Smith, the wife of the new tenant of Llanbachowey, Llanbedr Painscastle lifted the stone lid of a recently discovered walled-up water closet. Perhaps she was hoping to find some treasure hidden by a previous occupant. Instead Mrs Smith found the remains of four dead infants.

A surgeon who examined the find speculated that the corpses had been deposited over a period of time, perhaps 20 or 30 years previously, and that they had been sprinkled with quick lime in an attempt to hide any smell. Enquiries of former servants at the farm led nowhere and the coroner had no choice but to record a verdict of wilful murder by a person or persons unknown.

An Annivesary

I've posted before about the great flood of 9th July 1853, which saw Howey Brook rise 15 feet in three hours, sweeping away cottages and drowning two people. Another died in Newbridge and across the Wye in Llandewi'r Cwm a country house called Dolfach was completely swept away by the Duhonw brook. The bodies of its six residents being recovered downstream near Hay, although their beds only travelled as far as Boughrood.

Contrary to the alarmist reports on the television news programmes, extreme weather was not invented in 2005.

The Sad Case of Miriam Jones

The court reporters described 17 year old Miriam Jones as a girl of medium height, tolerably good looking with a fresh complexion and fashionably pinned up hair. They also noted the Radnorshire patois when she spoke, admitting the attempted murder of her infant daughter Mary Jane.

Miriam, a servant girl in Llanbister, had fallen pregnant at the age of 15. The father of the child, who she had unsuccessfully sought to summons for maintenance on three occasions, being her employer, a 25 year old married farmer.

For the last seven months Miriam had paid a local child minder two shillings a week, from her paltry wage of £7 a year, to care for the infant. Now in May 1887 she collected Mary Jane, informing the elderly carer, Miss Elton, that she was taking the 17 month old child to her own mother in Merthyr Tydfil.

Instead, when Miriam arrived in Troedyrhiw she hurried with the infant to an old mine shaft, dropping her in. By pure chance Mary Jane was discovered crying later that night, lying, unharmed, at a depth of 54 feet on the body of a dead sheep. Miriam had already taken the train back to Penybont for the Mop Hiring Fair, where, failing to find a new place, she walked the 14 miles back to the farm where she was currently employed. However, Miriam was known in Troedyrhiw and a witness had seen her walking towards the shaft with the child. The Merthyr police soon arrived in Llanbister to take the girl back to a town that was seething for her blood.

Although Miriam admitted that she had wanted to kill the child, sympathy for her had grown as details of her plight became known. The judge at her trial refused to accept her plea and appointed a lawyer who argued that Miriam had merely left the child to be discovered; although this was hard to credit given the depth of the shaft and its distance from the path. The jury found her guilty but recommended mercy. Miriam was given 8 years in jail, yet so much had the public mood swung behind her that a protest meeting was held in Merthyr condemning the harshness of the sentence.

What happened to Miriam on her release? She seems to have found employment in the house of a Gloucestershire vicar. Little Mary Jane was cared for by a Merthyr couple, although the Merthyr Guardians were adamant that Radnorshire should foot the bill.

Punch Line

It seems that Yahoo are closing their free Geocities websites in the autumn so I'm busy saving my Innes Ireland site before it disappears into the ether like Michael Jackson's ghost. Anyway it does mean re-reading stuff I haven't seen for two or three years, like this extract from Ireland's obituary in The Independent:

"Ireland's ability behind the wheel was illustrated to perfection to a group of us in Budapest back in 1989, as he drove us to the Hungaroring circuit. Ron Dennis the McLaren team chief, pulled alongside at traffic lights in his brand new Honda, and the challenge was simply too much for Innes to resist. A high speed dice ensued, in which his right foot remained firmly pressed to the floor, even as he wove in and out of the early morning traffic. With artful precision he took on and beat Dennis, and then proceeded to do the same to the racing driver Martin Brundle in his Volvo 760. Brundle had seen the odd journalistic face peering at him from the car, and on arriving at the circuit his relief was all too evident at discovering Ireland had been the chauffeur. Being beaten by him was respectable, even if the vehicle he had been conducting with indecent haste was only a battered Lada."

Kippers By Post

In the first half of 2009 the Blog received 2641 visits from 70 different countries. This is a decline of 12% on the same period last year. Not sure who to blame, Gordon Brown or just the result of fewer old-time motor sport posts? I guess there can't be a huge audience for Radnorian trivia and it would be nice to get a bit of feedback from anyone who is interested.

My Duffy discography caused a number of hits from people searching for obscure pre-Rockferry tracks and, surprisingly, they spent a fair amount of time on the site, ok, maybe that's because they're slow readers. Kippers by Post wins the prize for the most interesting search term, er, there's no actual prize by the way.

Musical Interlude

According to Ray Connolly, Michael Jackson inspired "the following generation of rock stars to consider their music as part of a whole theatrical experience of dance, acting and costume. Without him, the captivating stage performances of singers such as Madonna and Beyonce wouldn't have been the same."

Now I figure Mr Connolly is saying that as if it were a good thing, er, thanks a million Michael. For those who prefer soul to mere razzle dazzle, here's Bettye Lavette.

Art Students ... eh.

Here's Radnorian Percy Jones playing bass guitar in the 1960's poetry band Liverpool Scene and no, they were never going to make the charts. It gets a lot better when Adrian Henri shuts up, around the 2.10 mark. I've got the Liverpool Scene book somewhere, wonder how much it would make on ebay?

Innes Ireland Bibliography

BOOKS BY INNES

Motor Racing Today, Arthur Baker Ltd., 1961
All Arms and Elbows, Pelham Books, 1967
Marathon in the Dust, William Kimber, 1970
Sideways to Sydney, Morrow and Company, 1971 - US version of Marathon in the Dust
Pied a la Planche, Marabout, 1970 - French Language version of All Arms and Elbows
All Arms and Elbows (with some minor updates), Transport Bookman Publications, 1994
All Arms and Elbows, Thilo Figaj's German Language translation
All Arms and Elbows, Third Edition, 2005, Mercian Manuals
Innes Ireland Remembers, 2008, Mercian Manuals (collection of Ireland's magazine articles)

BOOKS WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM INNES

Competitive Driving, Peter Roberts (editor), Stanley Paul, 1964
My Greatest Race, Adrian Ball (editor), Hart Davis, 1974

BOOKS CONTAINING INTERVIEWS WITH INNES

Vrooom!!, Peter Manso, Funk and Wagnells, 1969 and Pitman Publishing, 1970
The Day I Died, Mark Kahn, Gentry Books, 1974

MAGAZINE ARTICLES BY INNES

Sports Car and Lotus Owner, November 1958, Lotus Training
News from the Mews, 1958 Season Highspots ( very short article by Innes)
Motor Racing, July 1962, Ferrari Face to Face, driving the 156 at Silverstone
Weekend Telegraph Magazine, 15th July 1966, British Grand Prix preview
Car Life, September 1966, Snow-Trac Mk II
Aston Martin Magazine, 1979, Vol 11, No 37, V8 Long term assessment
Classic and Sports Car, December 1982, Halcyon Daze, recalling early Sixties GP racing
Classic Cars, February 1983, Colin Chapman
Classic Cars, July 1984, Innes at Le Mans
Autocar, 1st May 1985, Old-Time Playboys, Moss and Ireland in America for the Playboy series
Classic Cars, July 1985, Cold but Content, the 1958 Le Mans Lotus 11
Classic Cars, September 1986, Ireland in Italy, Coppa d'Italia
Classic Cars, October 1986, Days Gone By, Remembering the Goodwood TT of 1962
Classic Cars, November 1986, Little Black Bentley, Innes's 1926 3 litre Red Label
Classic Cars, March 1987, Sopwith's 1957 F2 Cooper-Climax
Classic Cars, June 1987, Four Wheel Drift, Aston Martin DB4GT
Classic Cars, September 1987, GTO birthday
Classic Cars, October 1987, Aston Memories
Modern Motor, May 1988, Recalls first visit to Australia
Classic Cars, September 1988, Riley Racer, Innes's Brooklands Riley Nine
Classic Cars, December 1988, Modenese Memories
Classic Cars, January 1989, Chequered History, Tojeiro-Jaguar
Performance Car, January 1990, Love 40 - GT replica
Classic Cars, February 1990, Driving a Vanwall
Classic Cars, May 1990, E Type Jaguar
Classic Cars, January 1991, Ferrari GTO, 3589GT
Ferrari World, March/April 1997,The Day at Goodwood

MAJOR MAGAZINE ARTICLES ABOUT INNES

Sports Car and Lotus Owner, July 1957, Innes Ireland Lotuseer
Today, June 11th 1960, The Lazy Man who lives for Speed by Peter Jackson
Autosport, October 21 1960, Profile by Christopher Nixon
Motor Revue, Spring 1961, Portrait von Innes Ireland by Richard von Frankenberg (in German)
Car and Driver, February 1962, Tough Guy in a Tender Torpedo, Innes Ireland profile
Sporting Motorist, May 1962, Men and Cars - Innes Ireland
Car Illustrated, December 1962, Motor racing Today serialisation
Autocar, 8/11/1963, Racing Scotsmen
Classic Car, May 1974, Profile by Eric Dymock
Motor Sport, January 1976, Looking Back with Innes Ireland by Alan Henry
Motor Sport, December 1993, A Very Fine Fellow - 4 page obituary
Classic Cars, January 1994, Innes Ireland, Celebrating his life
Classic cars, February 1997, photo spread covering Ireland's career
Motor Sport, April 1997, Legends by Nigel Roebuck
Motor Sport, July 2002, A Sense of Injustice by Andrew Frankel
Sunday Herald, March 19 2007, The Scot called Ireland who was born in England and lived in Wales

ROAD AND TRACK FEATURE ARTICLES, BY AND ABOUT INNES

01/62, Innes Ireland profile
05/62, Short profile, GP Drivers of 1962
11/77, Innes Ireland profile
11/77, Introduction as R&T's new GP reporter
04/79, The Race of Giants, running the Macao GP in a Ford Escort
10/81, Longest Day at Nelson, the 24 Hour race in a Saab
11/81, Sentimental Journies, experiences with Ferraris
09/82, Longest Day 1982, 24 Hour enduro race in a Ford Mustang Turbo
10/82, Baja 1000 Wilderness Ramblings, running the Mexican off-road race
06/82, F1 cars in the year 2000
01/83, Lincoln Continental Givenchy, driving impressions
05/83, Ferrari 250GTO anniversary party
10/83, Nelson Ledges Longest Day, 24 Hour enduro race in a Mitsubishi Turbo
11/83, Travels with Stirling, with Moss in Europe
04/84, Kenworth W900 Aerodyne, road testing a semi-tractor rig, recording lap times in GP racing
05/84, Driving Trans AM Firebird
06/84, 12 Hours of Daytona, racing a Porsche 924 Turbo in the 24 Hour event
09/84, The Cannonball One Lap of America, driving the event in a Lincoln
11/84, Nelson Ledges Longest Day, 24 Hour enduro race in a Bertone X1/9
04/85, Looking Back at Nassau, racing in the Bahamas in 1962
05/85, Truck Stop, childhood escapade driving a "stolen" American army truck
05/85, Driving Impressions, Junior Johnson Chevy Stocker and De Atley Corvette
07/85, 1961 US Grand Prix Revisted, the story of Innes's victory, Porsche 944 test for Playboy series
07/85, The Playboys Prepare for Playboy, Moss and Ireland prepare for SCCA event in a Porsche 944
09/85, Fastest Cars in America, Ireland and Phil Hill test for Thomas Bryant's article
09/85, Free Spiriting Across America, cross-country in a Porsche 944
10/85, Highland History, Highways and Hideouts, tour of Scotland in a Mercedes G-Wagen
01/86, The Dark Side of the Road, reflections on fate and friends lost
04/86, Classic Confrontation, Ireland, Phil Hill and Bob Holbert drive Testa Rossa, D-type and RSK, Pete Egan writes it up.
05/86, First Solo, learning to drive
06/86, Grand Prix Charity Shoot, clay pigeon shooting with JYS and others
07/86, Ford Sierra 4x4, Extended Use Report
01/87, Bentley Turbo R and Ford Siera XR 4x4 reports
02/87, California Gold Rush Country, travel article
02/87, Cooper-Climax F2, historical Salon article
03/87, Benetton-BMW B186 Formula One, track test
05/87, To Race for Love or Money, stock car racing at Daytona in 1967
03/89, Reims Remembered, story of races Innes ran there
02/90, Silver Ghost, story in the form of a letter to his father about an old family car
07/91, Innes and His Rosebud Lady, experiences with Ferrari GTO #3589
01/94, Innes Ireland 1930-1993, Tribute by Stirling Moss
03/94, Remembering Innes by Pete Egan
12/94, An Enthusiast's English Summer by Dennis Simanaitis, includes a visit to the Innes Ireland Memorial Rally
--/98, Ferrari Le Passion No 14 - profile
06/01, Innes Ireland and Watkins Glen

Innes also penned many Grand Prix reports for Road and Track from the late 70s through the 80s


AUTOCAR ARTICLES BY INNES - far from complete!


1/5/1964, Controlling a spinning car
29/4/1966, Road-going Ford GT40 test
27/4/1967, Driving in the Daytona 500
20/7/1967, A Breath of Fresh Air, Interview with Fangio
27/7/1967, Indy turbine cars
26/10/1967, London Motor Show
30/11/1967, Driving a Cooper- Maserati
25/4/1968, Dream Along, Innes drives the exotics - road testing high performance cars
2/5/1968, Indy Lotus Turbine
20/6/1968, Jack Sears Interview - London-Sydeney recce
15/8/1968, Aston Martin DB6, long term assessment
5/9/1968, Lancia Fulvia, Marathon de la Route
19/9/1968, W O Bentley's 80th Birthday
26/11/1968, Racing driving techniques
12/12/1968, Drives Le Mans winning GT40
21/11/1968, London-Sydney, introducing his Mercedes
2/1/1969, Sydney Bound (part 1), the London-Sydney Marathon
9/1/1969, Sydney Bound (part 2)
30/1/1969, Happiness is Blue and Brabham Shaped
17/4/1969, £7700 Carrot - Audi100 LS & M-B 300 SEL 6.3
8/5/1969, Florida Frolic
21/8/1969, Crashing a Mercedes
10/1/1969, Driving the Williams Brabham-Ford
5/6/1969, Driving a Lancia in the Sebring 12 Hour Race
3/7/1969, Lotus Concept of Four-Wheel Drive
17/7/1969, The Men Behind the Glamour, A week with BRM
11/9/1969, Driving a C111
2/10/1969, Aquatic Marathon - Marathon de la Route report
16/10/1969, Aston Martin DBS - Long Term Assessment
26/2/1970, The State of GP racing
23/4/1970, Driving a 1959 Aston-Martin F1 car
1/5/1985, Driving With Moss in the Playboy series
11/09/1991, Diary - bumpy times at Spa

Innes also penned a column "The Sport" and contributed race reports during his time as Sports Editor in the late 60s. I've also only recently found out that Innes contributed articles to "Formula 1 News" magazine in the early 90s.

Innes had a column in the UK monthly Cars Illustrated circa 1963

The Last Radnorshire Election, Part One

It's something of a coincidence that while Radnorian Clem Edwards was representing Denbigh Boroughs at Westminster, his fellow Liberal MP, the Denbighshire born Frank Edwards, sat for Radnorshire.

Although it was a marginal, Frank Edwards represented the county for twenty of the twenty six years before the seat was combined with that of Breconshire at the 1918 Election. The Tories having snatched Radnor between 1895 and 1900 and during the short lived Parliament between January and December 1910.

That December 1910 election, which Edwards won with 2224 votes against 2182 for Tory Venables-Llewelyn, was the last Radnorshire election. The seat being subsequently abolished in favour of a new Welsh Universities seat, this being a time when graduates, like businessmen, were granted the privilege of two votes.

As far as I know UKIP and their newly elected MEP are not calling for the reintroduction of double votes for businessmen, athough much of their programme does seem to involve turning back the clock. While Radnorian can sympathise with opposition to the centralising of power in Brussels, the call to abolish the Assembly smacks of the Little Englander attitudes which drove Ireland out of the Union and which, no doubt, will do the same for Scotland should UKIP ever come to power. Home Rule and the call for a federal Britain were burning issues in the Westminster of Frank Edwards' day, UKIP seem determined to reinstate English domination of the other nations of what remains of the United Kingdom.

A Forgotten Radnorian - Clement Edwards

The barrister, radical journalist and politician, Allen Clement Edwards (1869-1938) was born in Knighton, the son of local auctioneer George Benjamin Edwards and his Llangynllo born school teacher wife Sarah Tudge.

Edwards was the Liberal MP for Denbigh Boroughs between 1906 and 1910. Defeated in the first election of that year, Edwards fought and won the East Glamorganshire constituency for the Liberals in the December 1910 election. A founder of the National Democratic and Labour Party - a Lloyd George supporting socialist grouping - he fought and won East Ham South for the party in 1918, serving until 1922.

As a young man Clem Edwards was a close associate of Tom Mann and Ben Tillet in the Dockers' Union. As secretary of the Federation of Riverside and Carrying Trades he advocated a General Strike which would "dislocate the entire trade of the country and place the whole of the implements of production and industry in the hands of the workers." Edwards later turned his back on these syndicalist views and was an early opponent of the Leninists.

In 1891 Edwards organised a great march of 30000 laundresses to Hyde Park calling for them to be included within the terms of the Factories Act. As a barrister Edwards represented the Dockers Union at the Titanic Inquiry where he condemned the actions of another Radnorian, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon. Edwards also represented the rail workers union in the famous Taff Vale case.

Clement Edwards was eager to stand up for his native county at Westminster. When the Tories sought to exclude New Radnor from the benefits of church disestablishment because of the supposed English sympathies of its inhabitants, Edwards could call on his knowledge of the area to reply:

"The hon. Member laid down a general principle, however, to which from personal knowledge of New Radnor I will bring its case to the test. He said that it would be well for the Bill, and for future peace in Wales, that only those parishes should be Disestablished where there was a preponderance of Welsh feeling, sentiment, and sympathy. I have no hesitation whatever in saying that the parish of New Radnor which is in Radnorshire, possesses Welsh sympathy and sentiment which is quite preponderating. Applying the general test I should pick out New Radnor as one of the parishes of Radnorshire which has become least Anglicised, except perhaps certain parishes on the Cardiganshire and Breckonshire borders."

Welsh in Nantmel Parish

The more one looks at the rapidity of language shift in Radnorshire, the more one is reminded of Ireland. Research there shows that it took around 50 years for Irish districts to move from a situation where 100% of children grew up as Irish speakers to one where the figure had fallen to zero, and perhaps a 100 years for the language to disappear altogether.

Something similar certainly seems to have happened in the large Radnorshire parish of Nantmel. Writing around 1818 Jonathan Willaims remarked that the inhabitants spoke both Welsh and English but that "the use of the aboriginal tongue is rapidly declining." Similarly a letter writer spoke, no doubt exaggeratedly, of a place between Llandrindod and Rhayader where there was no English at the start of a particular cleric's ministry but no Welsh by 1845. According to Ffransis Payne, Dolau Baptist chapel ceased it's Welsh services around 1840 and the denomination's historian John Jones writing in 1895 reported that the majority of chapel goers in Nantmel and Newbridge-on-Wye spoke Welsh in his youth but that now it was "not understood in these places except by a few aged people."

There is some census evidence for this rapid abandonment of the Nantmelians' native tongue. If we look at the languages spoken by folk born and still living in Nantmel parish at the time of the 1891 Census, we find 100% of those aged over 80 speaking both Welsh and English - the sample is very low however. For those in their 70s the figure declines to 21%, while for those in their 60s just 7% and less than 3% for those in their 50s. There is only one person under the age of 50 and born in the parish who can speak Welsh, Gertrude Price, the 16 year old daughter of the Breconshire born Baptist minister at Dolau chapel.

These figures suggest that the anecdotal evidence is correct, parents began speaking English to their children in the first decade or so of the nineteenth century and by the middle of the century the language had all but disappeared from the hearths of the parish. Something similar must surely have happened in parishes further east a little earlier and which subsequently remain untraceable in the 1891 census.

Why did this rapid shift happen? Let us turn to Ireland and the opinion of one John Moylan of Rathkeale who lived through the language shift in West Limerick. He cited a growing public feeling that Irish was a dying language, a mark of a degraded people who were not "decent."

A farmer, Stephen Evans, who died in 1914, might be considered the last Nantmel native to speak the traditional Radnorian Welsh learnt in Nantmel at his mother's knee, although, no doubt, one or two others who had moved away from the parish may have lived on later than this.