Category Archives: Exhibtions and workshops

Thinking about the Wrexham “Roman Wales Conference” (#ArCC2026, 2nd-4th October 2026)

In many ways I was very surprised to find myself attending a conference dedicated to Roman Wales, and in commenting on the #ArCC2026 conference feel that I should be completely transparent about my lack of qualifications in Roman studies. My research focus at undergraduate and postgraduate levels back in the mid-80s was earlier prehistory, although I did serve as trowel fodder at three Roman sites as well as several prehistoric ones. Some decades later my PhD research at UCL focused on prehistoric risk management during the last period of aridification in the eastern Sahara. I attended the conference because I am knee-deep in creating a detailed gazetteer of lowland Late Bronze Age to Iron Age settlements and find-spots from the Cheshire Plain to the Welsh foothills and the Wirral. I was interested in any current research that might be investigating the relationship between Iron Age and subsequent Roman occupation, as well as any assessments of the relationship between the rural indigenous population and the expanding Roman military and economic infrastructure in the 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. I expected to feel very much like a fish out of water 🐟, but the tone of the conference was one of mutual assistance and co-operation, an enjoyable and very useful experience.

It is the nature of conferences and that we all take away something different, relevant to our particular interests, but even with this important caveat it seems worth bringing together some of the themes that most struck me over the three days of the conference. I left my notes at the conference, so this is a free-wheeling and partial account, with apologies for any serious omissions. I have not included lecture titles but you can open my own (very battered) PDF copy of the final agenda and speaker abstracts for the #ArCC2026 conference here. Please do give me a yell if you have any corrections.

Day 1 – The Roman Research Framework for Wales and a tour of the re-opened Museum

The lead ingot of Governor Marcus Trebellius on display in the Wrexham Museum. It was found in 2019 by Rob Jones, detectorist and consultant on archaeological sites, who immediately informed PAS of his discovery, without attempting to remove it from its context.

Day 1 began at 12 noon and carried on until 9pm. On arrival at the museum in the afternoon, all delegates were ushered into a large meeting room in the Wrexham Museum, where the topic was the development of the latest of the Research Frameworks for Roman Wales. In the early 2000s a project was inaugurated to develop a full set of regional Research Frameworks to create a strategic direction in order to secure the future of archaeological investigation of all types from the Palaeolithic up to and including the Roman period. These research frameworks, developed with the input of all interested parties, professional and independent, have helped to provide strategic guidance for all archaeological endeavours in Britain, providing a much better basis for understanding regional variations in terms of a number of different themes. You can see some of the British Frameworks and the ideas underlying them on the Research Frameworks website here. The Frameworks underscore all archaeological investigation and updating them every few years has therefore been critical, and this is again underway at the moment for Roman Wales. It was therefore particularly satisfying to spend the first day at the conference both learning about how the new Research Framework for the Roman period in Wales is being developed, and having the opportunity to contribute to it.

A Research Framework for the Archaeology of Wales home page

Leah Reynolds talked us through the key components of the new Research Framework, under seven headings: 1) Chronology; 2) Western Frontier; 3) Settlement and Land Use; 4) Ritual, Religion and Ceremony; 5) Material Culture; 6) Mobility and Migration; 7) Presenting the Roman Past. Within these categories, key themes, key sites and key published resources are being assembled, and good progress has already been made. All sections are under development, and the purpose of the late afternoon session was to ask the participants to contribute their knowledge and ideas to the mix. The objective was to make good use of the diverse range of interests and skills at the conference to obtain input into the new edition of the Research Framework. This was done in three steps, overseen by Caroline Pudney. First, a brainstorming session at each table produced individual and collective research ideas and goals, all noted in bright colours on A1 pages. Second, each table was asked to nominate a spokesperson to offer one key piece of information and one research question, both of which resulted in some very useful discussions. Finally, all of the pages were photographed so that the full range of ideas were captured digitally for potential inclusion into the Research Framework. As well as offering insights into the widely different concerns and interests of the mixture of people in the room, it was a lot of fun.

A section of one of the interpretation boards at the Prestatyn bath-house site showing how the site was used. This is the sort of site-specific explanatory material that is potentially relevant to Research Framework heading number 7: “Presenting the Roman Past.”

There was a two hour break in the agenda at 4pm, and I could not attend when it resumed at 6pm, but I understand from those who did attend that the keynote lecture by Dr Sam Moorhead and Graham Barker (delivered by the latter) was excellent. A visit to the museum galleries followed. The museum, which used to be dedicated to local archaeology and history, reopened on 25th September after three years of reinvention as The Football Museum of Wales and Wrexham Museum. I look forward to seeing it.

Day 1 (p.m. – keynote), Day 2 (all day) and Day 3 (a.m.)
A programme of lectures at the University of Wrexham

The University of Wrexham

The second day shifted from the museum to the University of Wrexham’s lecture theatre. If you were unable to take advantage of the opportunity to attend in person, all of the lectures, including Day 1’s keynote, will be available shortly on the Heneb YouTube channel. No attempt will therefore be made to summarize any of the specific lectures here, but some general observations about the conference and its themes are discussed.

First, it was good to see a wide age-range amongst the presenters, including a confident presentation from a second-year student from the University of Liverpool (Rachel Tynan speaking at her first conference, discussing the Roman recycling of glass, which is also the subject of her first paper – and she earned a massive round of applause).

Rome in Wales: military installations c.AD70-80. Source: Arnold, C.J. and Davies, J.L. 2002. Roman and Early Medieval Wales. Sutton Publishing

The opening lecture was important in setting the scene for the rest of the lectures. Roger White (University of Birmingham) argued that the public perception of Wales is that the Romans met with continual resistance from indigenous populations, and that Rome made very little headway into the Welsh nation. Plenty of evidence was presented to challenge this idea, suggesting that however the Romans were perceived in Wales, they succeeded in holding on to much of the country as part of the Empire, with military sites forming an impressive network. It was argued that an impact of Roman influence is visible in the post-Roman period when Welsh communities promoted their identity and legitimacy by reference to the Roman past. This set the scene for discussing both Rome’s presence and ongoing indigenous Welsh livelihoods during the period of Roman occupation.

Copper alloy and enamel Wirral brooch from Flintshire.

Copper alloy and enamel Wirral type brooch from Flintshire. LVPL-21B179 on the PAS database.

One important theme of the conference was the use of material remains to reveal specific aspects of beyond-the-site archaeology in the Roman period. As funding issues continue to be a problem for excavating, the potential and actual use of existing data for desk-based research has become more important, making use of resources like the PAS database, physical museum archives and grey literature will become increasingly important. Topics based on object groupings included: the types of objects that may be found in the PAS database for Roman Wales with a particular focus on fibulae, figurines and fastenings (Sally Worrell); what might be learned from the distribution of single coins (Matthew Ball); an exploration of the Wirral brooches in the context of the national distribution of Roman brooch types, also considering how colour choices may have served as indications of regional preference (Dr Frances MacIntosh); the role of recycled glass in Roman Britain as a means of handling poor access to luxury goods (Rachel Tynan); and the distribution of Anglesey copper ingots or “cakes” that are apparently unique to Anglesey and the immediately neighbouring area (Kelly Parry). The developing role of horses from the Iron Age into the Roman period was raised a couple of times during the conference, and the presence of horse fittings found in excavations and by detectorists, has provided a sense of their importance, countering the frequent absence of animal remains in many Welsh contexts.

Two excavations produced objects that presented challenges in terms of interpretation. Robert Philpott’s discussion of a cremation burial in a jar near Buckley in northeast Wales required an assessment of the broader landscape context in order to determine why the burial was located in that particular location, suggesting that natural and social boundaries may have played in important part in such decisions. During the 2010 Caerleon Priory Field excavations Mark Lewis found a partial carving on a slab of sandstone, followed by the subsequent discovery of a more ambiguous piece that was eventually found to belong to the same carving. The partial carvings required extensive research into comparative material to determine what they originally depicted, particularly as there were conflicting opinions about the subject matter. In both excavations, the importance of extrapolating from a single object to the broader significance of the site was clearly demonstrated.

Portable Antiquities Scheme home page

Given how important these material culture studies are becoming, it was good to hear that Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) database, with the evocative tagline “your finds, our history,” is being upgraded all the time, not only to improve the accessibility of its data but also to enable those who find new objects to submit them for analysis much more easily. At the same time the PAS database provides the raw data for statistical analysis of object types and their geographical and topographical distribution. Due to the work of metal detectorists it is particularly strong on metallic (including non-ferrous) objects, whilst field-walking projects and alert hikers also continue to use their powers of recognition to contribute important data about non-metal objects found in the landscape.

It was one of the many positive aspects of the conference that not only were archaeologists applauding those detectorists who contribute to archaeological activities, but that detectorists were volunteering both practical and technological assistance to archaeologists. It is very positive that the official organizations representing detectorists at both national and regional levels are working hand in hand with archaeological organizations. There will always be detectorists who break the law in the interests of personal gain, but that could equally be said of society as a whole. The establishment of PAS in 1997, initially as a pilot scheme, has been the lynch-pin for this mutual co-operation to help increase knowledge of all periods.

Rossett Villa, faint remains of the west wing in 2026. Photo taken a the Open Day in 2026

Although funding is a challenge, some excavations are still taking place. Two have already been mentioned above. Another example is the Rossett Villa, a few miles from the river Dee to its east, discovered following metal detectorist Rob Jones’s discovery of an important lead ingot nearby. Steve Grenter (formerly of Wrexham County Borough Council) and Caroline Pudney (University of Chester) described how, following their initial excavation in 2021, a second season was carried out earlier in 2026. It was very interesting to hear how a crowdsourcing model had been introduced by commercial archaeology company DigVentures, whose team worked with the original excavators at the site, and whose funding model offers the possibility of future seasons. The excavation not only establishes how the building developed over time, but suggests that other Roman sites, including roads, must be present in the area. It is also hoped that a wider landscape approach can be undertaken to assess the use of the area in prehistoric and Roman periods, including the range of farming activities that must have been carried out in the immediate area.

Excavations at Greenfield Valley. Source: Heneb

Chris Matthews of Heneb has been excavating at two sites in the northeast Wales coastal area, at Greenfield Valley (in the vicinity of Basingwerk Abbey) and at Mancot. Together the sites have produced extensive evidence of settlement and craft activity. Mancot (or Mancott in the earlier spelling), a centre of Roman brooch production, tied in nicely with the presentation by Frances McIntosh about Wirral brooches and regional fashions for different types of brooch. As well as data about Roman and post-Roman periods, the Greenfield Valley excavation has also produced data about the Iron Age occupation of the site. Together, these two sites are very important for expanding the understanding of the development of Roman activities of different types in coastal northeast Wales. In an area rich in primary raw materials, the expansion of archaeological investigation has considerable potential for expanding knowledge about manufacturing, trade and how agricultural activities support other specializations.

The Prestatyn Bath House as it was found when Newstead excavated it, associated with workshops at the foot of Halkyn Mountain, and probably associated with lead working. Subsequent excavator Kevin Blockley suggests that there must have been a port nearby in the Fforddisa area of Prestatyn (1989), but this has never been located. Image source: Newstead, Robert 1937. The Roman Station, Prestatyn. First Interim Report. Archaeologia Cambrensis vol.92), p.208-32

Whilst both site specific and object-orientated archaeological approaches were discussed, another interesting aspect of the conference was the problem of “missing” sites. For example, the lack of known Roman port sites impedes a rounded understanding Roman and Romano-British trade communication and trade, not just within Wales but along the entire Atlantic coastline and along key estuaries. The lead working community at Prestatyn was mentioned, but this is several miles inland and an accompanying port has been discussed but never located, and this was probably one of the closest ports to the known port of Meols on the end of the Wirral. Likewise, although Roman period roads are known in Wales, there must have been many more that remain to be located. The nature of transport links was also touched upon in Rachael Tynan’s presentation about recycled Roman glass, underscoring the need at some settlement sites to re-use materials rather than replacing objects when they may be remote from the supply of luxury goods. The identification of only two villa-style buildings in Wales was also highlighted, and the reasons for this were discussed in terms of contrasting economic opportunities and traditions associated with different types of landscape and topography. The density of hillforts in south-west Wales, highlighted by Ralph Häussler, was an indication of the presence of significant population in the Iron Age; but the contemporaneity (or otherwise) of these sites is poorly understood, and what these periods of occupation indicate for the relationship between upland and elusive lowland communities in southern Wales in the early Roman period needs more investigation.

Excerpt from the slide showing the location of features at the Rossett Villa showing a possible prehistoric enclosure at far left. Slide shown in the presentation by Steve Grenter and Caroline Pudney, with thanks to Helen Anderson for sending me her photograph of the slide

Finally, the questions about the relationship between Iron Age and Roman sites ties in well with the discovery of a potentially prehistoric findings from the Rossett Villa and Greenland Valley sites. A possible prehistoric enclosure was identified during geophysical survey to the west of the villa next to the Poulton Brook, whilst postholes and related data found underneath the villa, suggest earlier Late Bronze Age, Iron Age or Romano-British occupation pre-dating the villa. Assuming that the villa was at the core of a farming operation, the presence of a prior lowland enclosure would not be unexpected, with occupants of both periods finding the location attractive for the same reasons. This topic was also address at the conference by recent discoveries presented by Chris Matthews from Heneb and his team at the Greenfields (Basingwerk Abbey) site on the North Wales coast, where excavations revealed Middle Iron Age material, and the connection, if any, between Iron Age and early Roman periods is being explored, bearing in mind possible contemporaneity of some phases with the initial construction of Deva Vitrix (Chester) in around AD74. These finds echo discoveries of other Iron Age structures beneath Roman sites.

Period plans showing the location of major features at the Prestatyn bath house site. Source: Blockley, Kevin. 1989. Prestatyn 1984-5. An Iron Age Farmstead and Romano-British Industrial Settlement in North Wales. BAR British Series 210

For example, in 1989 Kevin Blockley published his findings at the Roman bath house at Prestatyn in north Wales, showing the Period I Iron Age structures that preceded the Roman site. In 2018 Tony Wilmott and Dan Garner published their work at the Chester Amphitheatre that produced a roundhouse, a four-poster and two phases of field system underlying the earliest amphitheatre structure. These sites all demonstrate the benefits of geophysical survey for identifying potential sites and landscape features, ideally followed by excavation, for improving an understanding of the multi-period character not only of sites but of the wider settings in which they sit.

The conference provided details and discussion about many more topics than those described briefly above, and offered a considerable insight into the many challenges and achievements of Roman archaeology in Wales. It is an exciting time.

Day 3 p.m. – Organized visits

The 1818 “Old No.1” furnace on the Brymbo visit. Photograph and copyright Helen Anderson

With sincere thanks to the conference organizers for offering a choice of two afternoon trips – to Park in the Past in Hope, or to Stori Brymbo, neither of which I had managed to get around to visiting under my own steam, although both were on my to-do list. I chose the Stori Brymbo option and found it superb. The Brymbo site includes both the ongoing excavation at the 314 million year old tropical forest within its custom-made protective building, and the venerable remains of the old steelworks. Both are remarkable in their own unique ways, and were visually very striking. With many thanks to geologist Tom Hughes and palaeontologist Tim Astrop from the Brymbo Heritage Trust for their excellent talks about all phases of the site’s complex history, and to Heneb’s Zoë Arthurs for ensuring that we all got onto the coach both there and, more importantly, back again. I will write up the visit on the blog in the next couple of weeks when I have sorted out the photos. I look forward to hearing what the Park in the Past was like. What a lovely way to end a very rewarding conference.

Palaeontologist Tim Astrop talking to visitors on the viewing platform about the fossilized plants being painstakingly excavated below under the protective cover of the dedicated building in which we were all standing

Final Comments

The conference was notable for the spirit of co-operation, the exchange of knowledge and a commitment to sharing resources, as well as the common interest in creating a viable strategy for the future of archaeological investigation in Roman and Romano-British Wales. Although a common thread was funding difficulties, albeit only lightly touched upon as everyone knows that this is a problem common to all, a considerable amount of realistic thinking is going into how to address research concerns in the face of such critical shortages. The mixture of ages and specializations at the conference hopefully bodes well for the future of professional archaeology.

Graffiti amage to the city walls in Chester. Source: BBC News

Graffiti damage to the city walls in Chester. Source: BBC News

I would also like to mention the Cheshire Heritage Crime Prevention team. I chatted on one break with Steve Gluning, a representative from the team who was attending the conference and, like me, was using coffee as a medicinal remedy for lack of sleep. We only touched on the topic, but we did manage to talk about both illicit metal detecting and vandalism. It was particularly interesting that the illicit metal detecting was divided into at least two categories. The first was the most obvious act of metal-detecting illegally, including night-hawking, by those who are completely aware of the criminality of their activities; but the other guilty parties are those who pursue an uninformed and opportunistic approach to detecting along public footpaths, in public parks and in other areas where the newbie detectorist who has not joined a responsible club might think that because the land is not in private ownership, it is fair game. Vandalism is also along a gradient from the blatant theft of historical materials to be sold for profit, to defacement of historical sites. This defacement includes malicious intentional damage, but also includes far more casual, unheeding acts of graffiti by both local residents and tourists. There are a number of methods by which these crimes were approached and solved both as they occurred. I suspect that better awareness of these and other problems, together with how archaeologists, detectorists and the public can support police activities in these areas would be very useful.

This helpful Gwynedd Archaeological Trust reconstruction of Cefn Caer superimposes an interpretation over what is today an empty field in Pennal (you can see the field on Coflein), which was on the GAT website and which I used on my blog with a link back to the GAT page. Since the incorporation of GAT into Heneb, the image is no longer available, and I cannot locate it anywhere other than on my 2019 blog post (I had to remove the broken link recently).

Going back to the Research Framework on Day 1, it was interesting to see that all seven boxes had been ticked by the speakers by the end of the conference. One of the ongoing challenges is clearly item 7 on the list, “Presenting the Roman Past,” which addresses how to present often minimal material on the ground to the public, and how to engage with wider audiences to provide real value to potential visitors. I spent much of my career in website development, and one of my greatest frustrations with the use of this very rich and relatively inexpensive medium for communicating archaeological ideas to the general public is the frequent disappearance of really useful resources from the Internet. Although websites are comparatively inexpensive to build and maintain, the investment in resources that can subsequently vanish runs a real risk of both wasting money and generating ill-will when people find themselves following broken links that have been provided by other sites. One of the real advantages of a web presence for marketing and branding is the ability for other people to link back to an online resource, generating traffic and interest. As a hypothetical example, an online Roman Wales trail might be a lot of fun, emulating other well known trails (such as pilgrim routes, the Offa’s Dyke Path and coastline trails) and is the sort of resource to which other website owners would link. But this would require investment not only in the design of the walk, the artwork and the design of the web page, but in committent to the ongoing maintenance of the page with a permanent web address. As soon as root addresses change (for example when one company buys another or when organizations amalgamate under a new name) web page addresses are often relocated or lost entirely. Website resources need to be protected as part of an ongoing heritage management strategy.

Aerial reconnaissance in Wales was mentioned during the conference. It has been of notable success for capturing hillfort images, but once the data has been evaluated, it will be interesting assess its value during periods of drought for discovering Later Iron Age and Romano-British lowland sites, not only in Wales and along the Marches, but to encourage similar programmes in other areas.

Between-lectures doodle

Sincere thanks to Susie White (PAS Cymru) and Zoë Arthurs (Heneb) for all their hard work to organize the conference, the evening entertainments and the visits. Thanks too to everyone who presented and attended and those who did such a good job of clearing up after us. It should also be mentioned that we all appreciated the Saturday lunchtime buffet with the scrumptious hot bites – there was a rumble of sincere appreciation throughout the room. I managed to leave my notebook computer behind, so many, many thanks to Rachael Tynan, Zoë Arthurs and Susie White for joining forces to identify me and hang on to it for me to collect – much appreciated.

As I hope that the above very partial account has suggested, the inaugural conference was a success with a wide range of presentations from different perspectives, using different types of dataset to improve understanding of Roman Wales. It is very good news that the conference will now be an annual event, and next year it will move to south Wales and will be held in Swansea in mid-October 2027, with dates and agenda to be confirmed. The initial stages of organization are already underway.

The Rossett Villa east wing under excavation in 2021. Photo taken at the Open Day in the same year.

The Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Liverpool

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On an unplanned day-trip to Liverpool I walked up from Central Station to the Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, which is conveniently opposite the Catholic Cathedral, which I also visited on the same day (gorgeous). Visiting details for the Victoria are at the end of this post.

The museum is owned by the University of Liverpool, and was originally designed to be used for university activities, with lecture theatres, teaching rooms, staff offices, commons rooms and a library. It was the first building to be commissioned by the university, and is thought to be the origin of the term “red brick universities.” It was converted into a museum and art gallery in 2008. Like most university collections the Victoria has a diverse mixture of objects collected by university academics and contributed by donors. As well as art works including paintings and sculpture, there are examples of the decorative arts, including furniture and ceramics, as well as typical 19th century zoological, botanical and geological specimens, and scientific equipment. It is not every university collection that is able to boast possession of one of Turner’s most admired works, but it is the variety and range of items that really characterizes the collection.

The museum building is a treat in its own right, both outside and in, a marvellous Victorian extravaganza, reflecting all the prosperity, self-confidence and extravagant creativity of 19th century Liverpool. It belongs to a trend that saw investment in national public collections of fine and decorative arts, a philanthropic urge to invest in cultural resources and make them available to a wide range of people. The Grade -2 listed building was built in 1892, designed by no less a personage than Alfred Waterhouse, whose most famous building is probably the Natural History Museum in London. It is built in a mixture of red brick and darker conventional brick, creating attractive contrasts in both colour and and it features towers, turrets, Gothic-inspired windows and doorways, and some great chimneys. The interior is magnificently over-the-top, with extensive use of glazed tiles, terracotta and Burmantofts faience, many moulded into sculpted shapes, in a variety of bright, glossy colours. The cafe on the ground floor is located in the middle of this remarkable mixture of colours and textures, but it also extends up the staircases.

The first floor contains both permanent and temporary exhibitions. When I was there, one of the temporary exhibitions was Seeing Green: “The artists featured in this display each had their reasons for exploring greenery in their work. John Nash, for instance, turned to landscape painting as a form of therapy to heal from trauma. Caroline Emily Gray Hill found inspiration in the flowers near her home, continuing to paint well into later life. Meanwhile, Jim Russell, an environmentalist, expressed his values by creating art on recycled materials.” These paintings were arranged around a curving corridor, all very well illuminated and very effective against the red background.

Adrian Berg. “Gloucester Lodge, Regent’s Park, London” 1981

“Flowers and Foliage” by Lady Caroline Emily Gray Hill, c.1920. Oil on Board

Greenbank House. John Baum 1972.

Off this corridor there are a series of galleries displaying other items from the collection from a variety of time periods. The following are just a few examples, admittedly picking out the ones that most appealed to me.

Dame Elizabeth Frink’s 1967 “Gogglehead”

Halima Cassell’s 2013 “Noir Rhythm”

“Centurions” by Arthur Dooley, 1967. More examples of Dooley’s work can be seen in the Catholic Cathedral opposite the museum

Mitzi Solomon Cunliffe. Loosestrife, 1951

One of the original fireplaces in the Victoria Building

Seacombe slip plate c.1830, transfer-painted. Herculaneum Pottery. Based on a drawing by Samuel Austin and showing the River Mersey in the early 1800s. The spire at the rear was the tallest building in Liverpool at the time

A Hispano-Moresque tin-glazed earthenware dish with lustre. Spain, c.1600. The technique was introduced by Moorish Arabs from northwest Africa, but the IHS abbreviation in the centre is Christian

Retracing your steps past the stairwell, small galleries off another tiled corridor (looking rather as though it has been influenced by the Mezquita at Córdoba). These display more paintings, again a large variety of styles and types, with one gallery devoted to the original plans for the Victoria Building itself.

J.M.W. Turner 1815. The eruption of the Soufriere Mountains on the Island of St Vincent in 1912. Oils on canvas

Artist and Model 1974 by David Hockney, showing an imagined encounter between Pablo Picasso and Hockney. Picasso had died the year before, and the two actually never met. Etching.

Yinka Shonibare: “Unstructured Icons – King” 2018. Woodblock print with fabric collage. One of a series of six prints showing historical Western figures

Egyptian landscape by Dorothea Wright, c.1973. Lithograph

Stephen Conroy. “Head Studies (2)” 1992. Etching

The Rape of the Sabines 1. By Leon Kossoff 1998. Etching and drypoint

“End of Meeting” by John Heritage 1990. I loved this painting at first sight, because it perfectly reflects just how I feel at the end of a long, tedious and probably unnecessary meeting. Let me sleep or beam me up. It is a shame that the reflections in the glass, showing the glazed brickwork and floor, have made it impossible to photograph well, but this is a really great, humorous piece. You can see it on ArtUK here.

Head of an Irishman. By Lucian Freud 1999. Etching

One of Alfred Waterhouse’s plans of the Victoria Building in the 1830s

On the top floor, The Tate gallery space is named for sugar magnate Henry Tate and was the original library. It is an architectural spectacle in its own right, soaring upwards to an impressive roof space. This gallery is dedicated to scientific discovery and innovation. It includes specimens from the natural world, including fossils, geological samples, scientific equipment and objects that demonstrate the newly discovered Enlightenment and subsequent interest in how new ideas and technology was and should be employed.

Stenter ASSt 1-1 rocket engine for missile propulsion. Bristol Siddley Engines Ltd

Cast of Albert Einstein by Jacob Epstein, 1993

Gorgeous Predynastic Egyptian pottery. On the left a stone vessel made of porphyry. On the right, a pottery vessel made to look like a stone vessel (a skeuomorph). Professional archaeological investigations in Egypt followed on from treasure-hunting and helped to establish an academic understanding of Egypt, both Pharaonic and prehistoric.

“We asked members of the public to tell us about great ideas they’ve had. Not all them turned out to be that great.”

Cunard letterhead describing how collisions were avoided by restricting the Transatlatic fleet to specified routes.

Linda Stein’s “Knight Adagio” 2006. “Stein makes a visual world where men wear dresses and women where armour and where lines of gender become blurred into androgyny.”

The green quadrangle, viewed from one of the windows on a rainy day.

Visiting

The Tate Gallery

The museum is located on the corner of Brownlow Hill and Ashton Street, with its entrance on Ashton street at What3Words ///tribes.winks.cage. It is opposite the rear entrance to the Catholic Cathedral, which is very much worth a visit in its own right. The museum’s website, which contains details of opening times and special exhibitions, can be found at https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/victoria-gallery-and-museum/. Entry is free (although do check for special exhibitions) and there are lifts to all floors. The museum has a café on the ground floor. I had an excellent latte, and the food being delivered to surrounding tables looked very tempting. You do have to be careful with the café’s opening hours, which at the time of writing are limited.

From my home south of Chester I have driven into Liverpool a couple of times before, and have parked at Liverpool One, but on the whole I have found it more convenient to drive to Hooton Station on the Wirral, abandon the car in the huge car park, and take the train in. With a day ticket it is a much drier option on a wet day, using the circular train route to get closer to places to visit. Like London, Liverpool is awfully grey and rather dismal on a rainy day.

May Morris exhibition at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Wirral, until 1st November 2026

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May Morris (born 1862), the daughter of well known interior decorator and artist William Morris and his wife Jane Burden, was a talented artist in her own right, initially specializing in textiles. She was also a committed socialist and a promoter of the role of women in the production of crafts. The exhibition “May Morris: Crafting a Legacy,” developed in partnership with The William Morris Society, examines her art work both during her work at Morris and Co, the interior decoration company set up by her father, and as an independent artist. It also looks at her contribution to the employment of women and the improvement of working conditions for the working class women that she employed. The exhibition runs until 1st November 2026 at the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight on the Wirral.

The photographs below represent a very small sample of the total items on display. All photographs were taken with my smartphone, and are mainly of very poor quality, but should give an idea of some of the exhibition’s content. As usual there are also problems with the reflection of lighting on glass.

After a childhood spent between family homes on the Thames at Hammersmith and in rural Oxfordshire, and exposed to the ideas of her parents and their friends, at the age of 16 May Morris attended the National Art Training School in London, where she studied embroidery, a skill that she had learned from her mother and aunt. She went to work at her father’s company and i 1885 became manager of Morris and Co’s embroider workshop, a position she continued to hold after her marriage in 1890. A committed socialist, she provided opportunities for working class girls, providing training, pay and sensible working hours. The workshop mainly produced items for the home, from table cloths to wall hangings. After William Morris died in 1996 she left the company and made great progress as a freelance artist adding additional skills such as metalwork, tapestry and weaving to produce work for private commissions. She also lectured in both the UK and North America, edited and wrote a number of publications, and founded the Women’s Guild of Arts in 1907, whilst also helping to organize international exhibitions. She died in 1938.

Westward Ho! designed by May Morris and embroidered by her mother Jane, early 1880s. Silks on unbleached linen.

“Decorative Needlework” as written by May Morris and published in 1993. 125 copies with this special cover were produced. Apologies for the blurred photograph.

Two designs by May Morris for Morris and Co. 1885-1890

Arcadia wallpaper. Designed by May Morris c.1886. Made with 12 woodblocks.

Design by May Morris 1921

“Horn Poppy” design by May Morris c.1885, using one of her favourite floral motifs

Gauntlets designed by Charles de Sousy Rickets and embroidered by May Morris 1899

Dress designed and probably embroidered by May Morris c.1905

The exhibition has a mixture of May Morris’s own works and those by artists whose work is thought to have influenced her. It demonstrates the richness of her work, which certainly owes a great debt to her father’s ideas but also demonstrates her own approach to the decorative arts.

Plas Newydd in Llangollen #6 – The wood carvings

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Plas Newydd showing the exterior wood carvings with the porch, scene of the porch-warming party, at centre; and the canopies and carvings around the gothic-styled windows. Source: RCAHMW

Introduction

Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby moved into an unassuming Welsh cottage on a hill a short distance from the centre of Llangollen in 1780, having abandoned their respective homes in Ireland to find a new life free from family pressures. They soon began to transform the cottage and its gardens, and in the early 1800s added an extravagant porch and matching window canopies outside, composed of ornamental wood carvings. This continued in the interior, where walls, doors, lintels and patches of ceiling, and even stair bannisters and stair treads, were covered with ornamental wooden panels. The majority of the carvings date to the 17th century and display all the exuberance that characterize the decorative arts of that period. In 1876, four decades after the deaths of the ladies in 1829 and 1831, the house was purchased by General John Yorke who not only maintained the house, but added a new wing and continued to develop the cottage along the lines envisioned by the ladies. Although the new wing was demolished due to dry rot, his additions to the cottage survive, primarily the Oak Room where the kitchen had been located and which became a richly decorated drawing room. Subsequent owners also made changes, but preserved the wood carvings and other decorative features in the original cottage.

Th entrance hall, looking through to the Oak Room

The sheer amount of ornamental carving used as wall coverings in a chaotic patchwork throughout the place is remarkable. Although it is nearly all unprovenanced, it is an extraordinary survival of period pieces, having escaped woodworm, damp or dry rot, and it is beyond fortunate that a series of owners continued to appreciate and care for this very rare resource.

This post is the 6th in a series about Plas Newydd and looks only at the wood carvings at the house. It follows on from five other posts about Plas Newydd.

Part 1: The introduction to Plas Newydd, introducing Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby and their lives, tracing what happened to Plas Newydd following the death of Sarah in 1831, and how General John Yorke purchased the house in 1876 and continued to build on the ideas of the two ladies.
Part 2 talks about the patchworks of stained glass at Plas Newydd
Part 3 discusses the Delftware tiles, gilt leather wall hangings and intricate moulded ceilings
Part 4 focuses on the Gorsedd circle in the garden of Plas Newydd, and the Eisteddfod of 1907-8
Part 5 is a short piece looking at the possible links, in material terms, between Brynkinalt and Plas Newydd

Twin amphisbaena (mythical creatures with a head at each end)

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Lady Eleanor’s journal and various letters describe how the ladies pursued their new obsession with enthusiasm in a period of changing tastes. This sort of elaborate carving at Plas Newydd, often showing scantily clad figures and strange creatures, was thought to be antithetical to the newly celebrated neoclassical style. Much of the now unfashionable furniture and wainscotting (panelling) was stripped out and lost forever. The remarkable collection, assembled in the years prior to around 1814, preceded the revival of interest in what Philip Larkin called “the Jacobethan” by some years, meaning that the cost of salvaged wood from the period was probably still comparatively low. The result is somewhat astonishing and the sheer quantity can be baffling. It is a real patchwork with pieces from many different sources, most of them unrelated, all jammed together to form a single new identity. It will not be to everyone’s taste but I find it irresistible.

Many of the carvings consist of deconstructed furniture – chair backs, bedsteads, bed posts, cupboard sides, table legs, church chests and pews, roof bosses canopies and more, as well as original pieces of wainscotting, all reassembled into a brand new customized kaleidoscope decorative arts. A local carpenter was employed to fix the assembled panels to the walls, stairs and ceilings. Most of it was carved in oak, the most popular material of the Jacobean period when most of these pieces were probably crafted. It is probable that some Victorian imitations were also thrown in for good measure by General Yorke, suggested by inferior carving in lighter wood that was often associated with the leather wall coverings that he installed, but these too contribute to the sense of a grand medley of different themes, styles and textures.

Background: Historic carved wood and the grotesque

The unpublished 2001 analysis of the carved wood at Plas Newydd by specialist David Bostwick is available to view at Plas Newydd in a file of useful material in the room known as the library. It is not yet available online but has been summarized on the Early Tourists in Wales website on the Plas Newydd Wood Carving page by the website’s owner Michael Freeman. David Bostwick dates the majority of the carvings to the 17th century, corresponding to the late Tudor and Stuart reigns, but he also found examples of earlier 15th and 16th century carvings as well as 19th century pieces that were mainly used to frame older work. The only period apparently completely unrepresented by the carvings is the 18th century. The main material used was oak although there is a very small minority of other woods employed. Two items composed of inlay were also identified. Bostwick’s assessment was that although some pieces were made by skilled craftsmen, others were the mass-produced output of inferior workshops. Unsurprisingly, he commented that there were clearly multiple sources for most the carvings, although he was able to identify that a small number of pieces had been produced by a single unidentified workshop.

Grotesque composition c.1500-1512. V&A Museum no. E.180-1885. Source: Wikimedia

In spite of the eclectic mix of dates and sources, there is a cohesion to the entire collection, that it might be expected to lack given its blatantly patchwork quality. It coalesces around what has become known as the “grotesque,” a term referring to an artistic style that emanated from Italy and the discovery in 1485 of the Roman paintings in the Domus Aurea (golden palace) in Rome itself, lost after Nero’s suicide and subsequently built over by Trajan’s bath-house. The 15^th century term “grottesca” (plural grotteschi) derived from the idea that the Domus was “grotto-esque” due to the cave-like conditions in which it was found, and the term “grotesque” has since been used retrospectively to refer to any form of art, whether carved, moulded, painted, stitched or otherwise, that focuses on subjects that are in some ways fantastic or exotic, sometimes fearsome, sometimes funny, frequently bizarre and always imaginative.

This popular new style arrived in England particularly via prints from the Flemish lowlands and fused with the earlier but still ever-present Gothic grotesque, developing in secular rather than ecclesiastical contexts, helping country home owners to express their status and sense of their own achievements and grandeur.

It is intriguing how these two strands, the Italian grotesque and the Gothic, carried through so strongly into Elizabethan and Jacobean Britain, and how a lot of these themes dispersed into rural areas and were re-interpreted in vernacular terms, with new and distinctive styles emerging. It is this fusing of grotesque traditions in the 17^th century, re-interpreted with regional inflections, that found its way in such profusion into Plas Newydd. Whilst by no means all of the Plas Newydd carvings fall into the category of the grotesque, they are conspicuous throughout the house. At the same time, as the new styles spread throughout England and Wales, Classical motifs were re-interpreted in a vernacular style, with a panache that would undoubtedly have startled the Romans.

The examples at Plas Newydd represent most of the full range of various shapes, themes and subjects produced in the Jacobean period, and include a wide panoply of characters that were much-loved in medieval imagery and survived well into the Jacobean period, including dragons and wyverns, wildmen, Green men, mythological and fantastical beings, as well as Old Testament, Christian and Chivalric topics.

The Jacobean had its own sell-by date, and as the Baroque, Roccocco and Neoclassical styles replaced it, the darkness of oak panelling and furnishings, and the dominance of ornamental carvings that featured on every available architectural feature and item of furniture seemed clunky, ungainly and and over-ornate. A new craving for elegance and light saw churches and manor houses being stripped of their wood and reinvented in the new fashionable, lighter styles. This stripping of religious and secular buildings continued well into the Georgian and Victorian periods, and some collectors took advantage of the intermittent availability of this suddenly unfashionable decorative artwork. It is of course best when a building survives in tact with all of its architectural and decorative features in situ, but it is also a treat when a museum or private collection preserves the decorative artwork of the 17th century. Plas Newydd is a superb example of an ex situ home for late Elizabethan, Jacobean, and both derivative and similar styles of decorative arts.

Lady Eleanor and Miss Ponsonby seem to have had a really good feel for just that continuum of the bizarre, the humorous, the striking and the fantastic, without being too fussed about either time period or provenance, and a great many carvings that fit within the broad definition of the grotesque are to be found at Plas Newydd, and their lead was followed most capably by General John Yorke.

The Plas Newydd Carvings

Installation of the Plas Newydd Carvings

A number of documents indicate that the collection of the carved wood began sometime in the first decade of the 1800s, when Elizabeth Mavor reports that Sarah had written that their collecting had become a “mania.” The work, both inside and out, required that the ladies temporarily move all their furniture and other possessions from the ground floor to the upper storeys. This implies that they had been accumulating the carved wood for some time and had it installed in one hit. It must have been chaos!

The squirrel carving at the base of the bannister

Mavor refers to an October 1814 porch-warming party to celebrate every installation of the carving-rich porch as this was the last major piece of the work that they envisaged. In August 1816 Lady Maria Josepha Stanley wrote in a letter that “[t]he entrance to the cottage, a Gothic porch, the inner entrance, staircase and kitchen are just fitted up with old carvings of wood.” In the same year 1816 Captain Henry Hanmer and his wife Sarah described that as well as the staircase and banisters indoors and the carvings around the door outside, the windows had also been done by this time. That the ladies continued to collect after this date is suggested by references in Eleanor’s journal where she reports on pieces of carving being presented for consideration by various tradesmen in the region.

Both internal and external woodwork was varnished, and the exterior woodwork seems to have been given particularly thick layers of black paint both for decorative reasons and, presumably, to protect it from the Welsh weather.

Plas Newydd exterior today

More chaos must have ensued when General Yorke moved in, built a new wing and remodelled some of the original cottage, including replacing the kitchen with a drawing room called the Oak Room, and adding more carving as well as 17th century leather wall hangings. In so far as the indoor carvings are concerned, although it is clear that the ladies installed most of the carvings, sometimes it is impossible to know for sure where the installations of the ladies ends and those of the General begins, except for the obvious case of the Oak Room. The General had a major impact on the exterior, adding the decorative themes to the exterior walls and many of the motifs at the west end of the building.

What motivated the collection of woodwork chosen for Plas Newydd?

Gothic style lancet-shaped windows at Plas Newydd

When tourist Anna Lister met Lady Eleanor at Plas Newydd in Tuesday 23 July in 1822 Eleanor told her that “it had been their humble endeavour to make their place as old as they could,” a clear statement of intent. The ladies seem to have been attracted at first as much by the gothic as by the Jacobean, with their adoption of gothic features like lancet windows and lancet-shaped book cases and their exterior wood porch and canopies. It was later that they began their collection of elaborately carved wood. The tastes of the ladies were informed both by their education and by ongoing voracious reading, but there is no reason to believe that there interests were in any way confined by a preference for any one period. The ladies were also collecting stained glass and beautiful objects, and do not seem to have been unduly influenced by the age of an architectural or artistic style, focusing instead on colour, texture and perhaps subject matter.

Bear moulding at Plas Mawr, Conwy

The ladies may have been influenced by their travels. They had certainly encountered the Elizabethan-Jacobean style in Conwy at the 16th century Plas Mawr, then in a very poor state, when they visited on their travels before settling at Llangollen. Plas Mawr was described by Sarah in her travel diary in 1778 (copied on the Curious Travellers website), including her comment that “The Whole House is built & Floord (sic) with Oak.” A carved bear at Plas Newydd closely resembles one at Plas Mawr, and there are other similarities due to the fashion for popular themes. The ladies also saw St Deiniol’s Cathedral in Bangor, where Sarah was impressed by the “Roses &c. of Carved Wood.” They visited Chirk Castle, the Grade-1 listed Halston Hall, built in around 1690, and Wynnstay Hall in Ruabon, part of which was built in the 16th century, although it is not clear what sort of decorative paradigms were in place at the time of the visits.

Bear carving at Plas Newydd

Brynkinalt from the rear, showing some of the lancet windows installed in around 1808

A house with which the ladies were very familiar with was their friend Lady Dungannon’s Brynkinalt, completed in 1612. This underwent seriously remodelling in 1808, and it seems as though this was both inside and out, with most of the earlier decorative scheme replaced by the more fashionable neoclassical, but the ladies may have seen it before the remodelling was started, and they may have been impressed by the Gothic features that were added during the remodel. At least one small pane of stained glass at Plas Newydd seems to have come from Brynkinalt, as an almost identical light remains in situ at the house.

A wyvern in a stained glass patchwork at Plas Newydd, mirroring one at Brynkinalt, from where it may have been sourced

Detail of St Collen’s Church roof over the nave, Llangollen

One example that was (and remains) very close at hand, and which crosses the boundaries between the medieval period and the English and Welsh Renaissance by having much in common with both periods, is the roof of St Collen’s Church in Llangollen. This contains a rich and fascinating mixture of religious and pagan motifs, much like the subject matter shown on Romanesque capitals and medieval misericords. Although much of the church underwent serious modification in the Victorian period, the ladies would probably have visited it before the alterations, and would certainly have seen the roof.

Nothing really leaps out to explain why, in 1814 when Eleanor was 75 years old and Sarah 59, and 34 years after they had moved in to Plas Newydd, they were suddenly “seized” with a “mania” for collecting carved oak in the Elizabethan-Jacobean style, much of it featuring a wide variety of grotesques and fantastic creatures. I thought that it might have something to do with purchasing the house, which they formerly rented, but that did not happen until 1819, five years after the peak of their collection “mania.” Perhaps it was something as simple as a single first purchase that grew into a desire to source more of the same that grew into a passion for collecting.

Themes in the Plas Newydd carvings

All sculptural elements in the medieval period acted as symbols and emblems that could be read and understood, and by the later 16th century ornamental country house carvings and plasterwork usually formed a connected series of ideas and messages that needed to be decoded. Although the message and themes might be relatively obvious, quite often the decoding was often deliberately enigmatic, requiring a good education, creativity and a willingness to bend the intellect towards deciphering hidden meanings. In this sense they could be like visual riddles and acrostics. Once a collection was split up and sold off in parts, the intended message of the combined visual clues would have been lost. The lack of context, meaning that there is no provenance, no narrative context to explain meaning, and a complete absence of chronological integrity means that the Plas Newydd carvings cannot be understood as a coherent assemblage of meaning. However, although the broader subtleties and grander narratives may be lost, some of the general themes can be identified. David Bostwick picks out a list of specific items represented in the carvings. This includes a mixture of secular and religious themes, including:

Human faces
Armorial shields
Birds
Animals
Flowers and other plants
Dragons, wyverns, amphisbaena and other mythological creatures
Male atlantes and female caryatids (human figures supporting architectural components)
Green Men
Symmetrical patterns
Ecclesiastical themes

David Bostwick observes that there are comparatively few geometric patterns, very popular in the period, with only 4 linenfold panels, although these should have been quite widely available at the time that the ladies began collecting. At Plas Newydd the 44 dragons identified by Bostwick are clear indicators that the grotesque was a major feature of the wood carving at Plas Newydd, but there are an incredible variety of other characters, including 103 atlantes and caryatids (figures supporting architectural elements). Ecclesiastical themes are mainly confined to the porch doorway, but there are others in the building, and the doorway at the west end shows religious themes. Bostwick suggests that some of the Biblical scenes represented at Plas Newydd were Flemish imports. This would not be at all unexpected, as a lot of art work and furniture was being imported from the Netherlands and the Lowe Countries at this time.

This suggests that the ladies made choices both in terms of the themes selected, rather than collecting whatever was available, and in the placement of their collection.

The quality of the carvings

Plas Newydd door with poor quality carvings

Plas Newydd door with inferior quality carvings

The quality of the carving is very variable. In this section of the door into the spare bedroom, two botanical arrangements flank the startled looking woman in the centre. The two botanical arrangements should in theory be identical, but the clumsiness of the execution has lead to flattened curves in the example on the left, and a failure to create a mirrored pattern. It looks like a practice exercise rather than something that would be sold to a happy customer. Beneath the lady is a more accomplished, although still not perfect, attempt at mirroring on two sides of a central motif.

Most of the carvings come from items of furniture, and are very variable in quality, but some show great skill. A few examples show quite complex scenes, and demonstrate the versatility of wood as a medium for expression.

As much as anything else, this great variability of skill and quality of craftsmanship demonstrates the wide variety of sources from which the carvings must have been sourced.

Sources for the Plas Newydd carvings

The 2001 survey by David Bostwick states that the Plas Newydd carvings were clearly sourced from multiple locations, although he detected the work of a single workshop amongst some of the pieces, suggesting that these at least came from the same place, whether that was a single building or a geographical area. None of the sources for their carvings were recorded by the ladies or Richard Yorke themselves in the surviving documentation. This may be because they saw no value in recording where where any of it was sourced from, seeing it as purely decorative rather than historical, but it may equally be that a separate record was maintained by each owner and that these have now been lost along with a lot of other paperwork. Provenance is therefore a general problem with the Plas Newydd carvings, and it does not seem as though this is going to be resolved in the near future.

All of the carvings, whether installed by the ladies or General Yorke represent salvage – materials that were carved for somewhere else and have been brought here to be incorporated into an entirely new, patchwork-type arrangement. Some of the carvings chosen for the exterior have more religious themes than in the interior, suggesting an ecclesiastical origin, whereas those in the interior look as though they were more likely to have been in secular contexts.

Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby

In some cases Eleanor’s journal provides the name of the people who supplied or offered pieces but not where the pieces themselves came from. For example on 16th February 1819 Eleanor records that the vicar of Ruthin the Reverend Richard Newcombe sent them the gift of a “a beautiful Lion couchant carved in oak – some centuries old.” Sir Foster Cunliffe of Acton Park (near Wrexham) provided an “old carved oak head,” mentioned on 27th February 1819. On 12th April 1819 she wrote that “The so long expected hamper sent by Miss Dorothy Wilmot Sitwell to Liverpool was brought this morning from Chester . . . it contained fine old oak carving the most ancient & curious of all we possess.” In none of these cases is it mentioned which locations had supplied the offerings.

An exception is the identification in the journal on 4th April 1819 in which she says that a Captain and Mrs Hanmer had sent them “some fine carvings of Gibbons from the old stalls of the Knights of the Garter in St Georges Chappel [sic].” The owner of the Early Tourists in Wales site contacted the Archivist and Chapter Librarian of St George’s Chapel in Windsor, who informed him that an altar rail in the chapel was paid for by a Mir Gibbons in 1681 but that no other work connected with the name is known to be there. Eleanor may have thought that the work was that of Grinling Gibbons, the famous wood carver, but there is no evidence to support this.

Several of Eleanor’s journal entries indicate that local people were aware of their interest in carved wood and contacted them to offer any examples that might interest them. There are 24 references to carvings acquired in 1819 and 4 in the 1821 journal. As mentioned above, these are the only two journals surviving after 1807, so the record is extremely incomplete, but they do demonstrate that local people were supplying them with odds and ends: Roberts the Glazier, John Davis the Shoemaker, Roberts the Shrewsbury Gardener, Thomas Davies the Glazier, J.Gill the upholsterer, Edward the Marble Mason, and Brace the Carrier, as well as “a poor woman from Glynn.” The ladies were obviously able to use their tradesmen’s presence in many buildings in the area to source items of interest. The implication is that they were purchased, although Eleanor only makes this explicit once when she says that they “purchased some fine old oak carving from a woman near Corwen.” One journal entry mentions that some of their stained glass came a dealer and perhaps some of the carvings that were not supplied by visitors or local tradesmen were sourced in the same way, although no purchases are listed in the accounts so diligently kept by Sarah Ponsonby.

Two of the third party comments about sources of carvings were made whilst the ladies were still alive, and the information may or may not have been imparted by one or other of the ladies. In 1819, for example, Philadelphia Cotton’s Tour Through North Wales mentioned that “a large piece from Speke hall Lancashire” had been taken there by Colonel Norris “plunderer of Stirling Castle after the battle of Flodden.” In 1827 traveller Eliza Rand recorded that she had been told that the Duchess of St Albans had provided the ladies “with a great deal of the carving.” Neither, however mention where this information originated from or whether it had been verified in any way. It is said that Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) supplied the two lions that still help to hold up the porch.

In General John Yorke’s 1882 publication Plas Newydd as it was and as it is; with A Catalogue of its contents; and a few reminiscences of Lady Eleanor Butler and the Hon Sarah Ponsonby by one who received their welcome in his younger days, he says that “All statesmen and nobles paid tribute and homage at Plas Newydd, and none ventured a second visit without bringing a contribution of carved oak which was the regular passport,” a comment that is unverified by anything that the ladies themselves wrote in the surviving journals, accounts or letters, but which has been repeated by writers ever since. An oak pew installed in a recess in the Oak Room was said to have been used by the ladies in Llangollen Church until it was transferred to the house.

Other items that General Yorke identifies are a portal door which he says is composed of oak from both Llangollen and Llantysilio churches, the latter also said to have provided the doorway below the west gable. Llantysilio church did undergo the addition of a new transept in 1718, but that was a century before the ladies started collecting. The Victorian alterations did not begin until 1869. It is difficult to see how, unless repairs were made that lead bits of furniture or panelling to be rejected, the ladies could have acquired carvings from the church. It was, however, conveniently local. The claims that some of the carvings came from St Collen’s in Llangollen do not seem too far-fetched given the splendid roof carvings in the church, and the fact that the church underwent many modifications in the 19th century. The General also identifies a number of other sources, from as far afield as London, but these are unverified.

Wherever they came from, 17th century carvings had gone out of fashion in the 18th century and it was not until the second quarter of the 19th century that the revival of what John Betjemen referred to as the “Jacobethan” became popular. This may mean that there was only a very limited market for the type of ornately decorated carving collected by the ladies, and that this was not outrageously expensive, meaning both that they could afford to purchase locally unwanted salvage, and that it made for an inexpensive gift from others. Much carved woodwork with family arms and motifs would be retained by families even when they upgraded their decorative schemes, and this would be less likely to be circulated, which would account for why there is so little of this at Plas Newydd.

General Yorke

General Yorke bought Plas Newydd in 1876. Although he had mentioned various sources for carvings collected by the ladies, interestingly and disappointingly there is nothing to indicate where General Yorke himself sourced his antique purchases. Perhaps his papers were lost or were disposed of at the time of his death. By the time he bought the house in 1876 the trade in architectural salvage was in full swing, with the area around Oxford Street and Wardour Street in London becoming the English locus for dealing in architectural imports that could be broken down into cargo-sized components. Italy and Germany provided some supplies, but London’s imports were mainly from France and the Low Countries, and mainly from ecclesiastical buildings. John Harris’s work on the subject provides an eye-opening insight into the sheer scale of the trade, which soon moved beyond exporting to Britain and began to export to the United States.

General Yorke’s Oak Room in 1905. Source: People’s Collection Wales

When he arrived at Plas Newydd with many more financial resources available to him than the two ladies could have realistically dreamed of, he may have looked to a very wide network of dealers for his acquisitions. It would certainly not be difficult for General Yorke to have made arrangements with both London and more local centres to acquire sufficient carvings, painted leather and plaster to furnish not only the remaining gaps in the cottage but also in his ambitious new wing. His main innovation at the original cottage was the Oak Room, with its richly carved oak features and its painted and leather wall hangings, which he introduced elsewhere in the cottage as well. Built in what was the kitchen when the ladies were alive, the oak room became both a drawing room and another display area for his collections. An article dated to 1890 in The Builder, vol.59, suggested that in the Oak Room an elaborate chairs, which it refers to as The Confessional Throne, came from a Spanish monastery. The article states that the second chair, almost as elaborate, was made out of an oak tree from Sulgrave in Northamptonshire. The reference to Sulgrave in particular is very specific, but again there is nothing in the article to suggest how the its author obtained this information and whether there is any substance to it.

There remains one of many puzzles. A reference on the Coflein website states unambiguously that part of the oak roof of St Derfel’s Church in Llandderfel was brought to Plas Newydd after a fire. The Coflein account is quite comprehensive, fairly well cited, and seems convincing: “The oak roof was damaged by fire in 1758. A small portion of it was made into a chair, presently situated in the sanctuary, but most of it was removed to Plas Newydd, Llangollen.” But 1758 was 22 years before the ladies arrived, so either the date is wrong, because there is no reason why the owners of the cottage would have wanted bits of a wooden roof before the arrival of the ladies, or the roof was stored elsewhere before being moved to Plas Newydd two decades later, which seems very improbable. Alternatively, the reference to Plas Newydd was presumably incorrect. Thoughts anyone?

Future research

Oriental carving

The carvings are thoroughly enjoyable in their own right, but they also present a number of puzzles, and there is considerable potential for future research.

Although at first glance it is difficult to see that some of the items are related, some of the pieces dotted around the house are clearly parts of the same piece of furniture, which may help to consolidate carvings into batches to reduce the sense of it being an unrelated mixture of pieces. This may help to approach the as-yet unanswered questions about which workshops and which individuals were responsible for the carvings. David Bostwick has suggested that idiosyncrasies associated with certain workshops are visible in the style and the motifs selected. Certain styles of distinctive motif, such as types of dragon, wyvern, amphisbaena and other dragon-like creatures, caryatids and atlantes (male caryatids), and natural animal life may belong to vernacular traditions of certain regions, which may help in this task. Investigations of the records of local church and large nearby houses such as Brynkinalt, particularly those known to have undergone renovation or restyling in the 18th century may shed some light on some sources of more skilled pieces of carving.

The house is generally seen as a reflection of the work of Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, but there are questions to ask around this. General Yorke, for example, was responsible for converting the cottage kitchen into the Oak Room, and added various pieces of carved woodwork elsewhere inside and outside the house. It is also possible that subsequent owners also had made repairs and minor changes. The way in which Plas Newydd evolved under different owners is not well understood and it would be useful to improve this knowledge of the chronology of the house and all of its decorative arts.

Final comments

There are more questions than there are answers about the collection of wood panelling, pieces of furniture and panels made of furniture, as well as some of the more splendid sculptural items at Plas Newydd.

The probability is that the majority of the carvings at Plas Newydd were originally components of furniture and wainscotting, mainly from residential buildings and some ecclesiastical buildings that were either re-envisioned, stripping out old woodwork to be replaced by new ideas of interior decoration, or demolished. Most of it dates to the 17^th century, but there are examples from earlier periods as well as 19^th century pieces. Wealthy country homes and churches were both contenders for providing the carvings. Churches were often simply remodelled rather than demolished, stripped out but saved, but some of the grand country houses of the Tudor-Stuart periods required expensive maintenance and often suffered terminal neglect as owners found themselves unable to keep up with costs. The number of late Elizabethan and Jacobean buildings that survive are few and far between, but furnishings and decorative features have experienced a better survival rate simply by virtue of their portability. An extreme example is Emral Hall in West Cheshire, near Worthenbury, where the ballroom, complete with its marvellous ceiling, was removed just before demolition in the mid-1930s and was reinstalled in Portmeirion’s Town Hall.

Some individual pieces are quite extraordinary, harking back to ideas derived from the Italian Grotteschi and the use of grotesque motifs in the western European Romanesque and the British Gothic. Some later pieces may have been commissioned in the 19^th century in order to piece the patchwork together. However there is almost no specific provenance for any of it, and there is no indication why, in or just before 1814, Lady Eleanor and Miss Ponsonby suddenly began to collect it. In spite of these puzzles, it remains a splendid collection of diverse pieces featuring figurative and natural themes, fantastical animals, geometrical patterns, and the occasional line of text. Although it makes a stunning collective impression, it is also rewards taking your time to introduce yourself to as many of the individual pieces as you have time to view. Together with all the other decorative arts in the house, the impact is quite astonishing and very memorable.

With thanks

Early Tourists in Wales – The Plas Newydd Carved Wood page

With sincere thanks to Michael Freeman’s for his Plas Newydd pages on the Early Tourists in Wales website, where all the principal sources for information on Plas Newydd carvings have been collated and made accessible online, some of them not otherwise available either in published or digitized form. I was very kindly given carte blanche to use that information in my own research into the history of Plas Newydd. A very useful summary of DavidBostwick’s findings can be found on the Early Tourists in Wales website on the Plas Newydd Wood Carving page, which is particularly useful as Bostwick’s paper is not currently available online (although it is available to peruse as a hard copy at Plas Newydd).

Sources

See part 1 for a general introduction to Plas Newydd, including visiting details and a general bibliography. The sources mentioned below are specific to this post.

Online catalogues, National Library of Wales archives and Plas Newydd on-site information

There are records at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth that have not yet been digitized and are therefore not available online. I have not had the chance to go to Aberystwyth in person, so these have not been consulted for this post. Much of it has been expertly summarized on the Early Tourists in Wales website.

The 1792 catalogue of the titles in the Plas Newydd library belonging to Lady Eleanor and Miss Ponsonby includes volumes in English, French and Italian. They also, but possibly at a later date as they are not recorded in the catalogue, owned titles in Spanish. This is available on the National Library of Wales website at https://viewer.library.wales/6043853#?xywh=-2808%2C-244%2C9066%2C4877

The 1832 auction catalogue that sold off the portable contents of Plas Newydd following the death of Sarah Ponsonby, two years after Eleanor Butler’s own death, has been very usefully précised on the Early Tourists in Wales website at https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/ownership/auction-catalogues-1832/

In addition, Plas Newydd has information in loose-leaf folders that can be leafed through on a visit. As well as samples from Lady Eleanor’s journals, these include David Bostwick’s paper about the carvings.

Books, booklets and papers

d’Alembert, Jean Le Rond 1751. Melanges de litterature, d’histoire, et de philosophie.
https://ia802207.us.archive.org/1/items/MelangesDArcheologieDHistoireEt2/Melanges_d_archeologie_d_histoire_et_2.pdf

Andrews, John 1989. British Antique Furniture. Price Guide and Reasons for Values. Antique Collectors’ Club

Aymonino A, and M. Guerci 2016. The Architectural Transformation of Northumberland House under the 7th Duke of Somerset and the1st Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, 1748–86. The Antiquaries Journal, p.315–361

Bebb, Richard 2007 . Welsh Furniture 1240-1950. Volume 1. Saer Books

Bebb, Richard 2007. Welsh Furniture 1240-1950. Volume 2. Saer Books

Brewer, J.J. 1825. The Beauties of Ireland. Being original delineations, topographical, historical, and biographical, of each county. Sherwood, Jones and Co.
https://archive.org/details/b29350505_0001/page/416/mode/2up?q=kilkenny

Ching, Francis D.K. 1995. A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. John Wiley and Sons

Chinnery, Victor 1979, 2016 (Revised Edition). Oak Furniture. The British Tradition. Antique Collectors’ Club.

Edwards, Ralph 1964. The Shorter Dictionary of English Furniture. Country Life

Fiske, John and Lisa Freeman 2005. Living with Early Oak. The Belmont Press

Fleming, John and Hugh Honour 1989 (2nd edition). Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts. Viking.

Harris, John. 2007. Moving Rooms. The Trade in Architectural Salvages. Yale University Press

Hearn, Karen (ed.) 1995. Dynasties: painting in Tudor and Jacobean England, 1530-1630. Introduction, p.9-10. Rizzoli International Publications

Hopkins, Owen 2012. Reading Architecture, A Visual Lexicon. Laurence King Publishing

Hubbard, Edward and Pevsner, N. 1986. The Buildings of Wales. Clwyd (Denbighshire and Flintshire). Penguin Books

Lupu, Mircea-Ioan 2013. Grotesque as Aesthetic Identity: From Medieval Illumination to Contemporary Art. EIRP Proceedings, Volume 8, Number 1, 2013, pp. 263-278(16)
https://www.academia.edu/46975596/Grotesque_as_Aesthetic_Identity_From_Medieval_Illumination_to_Contemporary_Art

Mavor, Elizabeth , 2011 (previously published 1971, 1979). The Ladies of Llangollen. A Study in Romantic Friendship. Moonrise Press. (Mavor does not always cite her sources for particular comments cited, attributed to the ladies and others, and often widely quoted by other authors)

Mavor, Elizabeth 1984. Life with the Ladies of Llangollen. Viking (hardback). N.B. This was published, word for word and page for page, image for image, in Penguin in 1986 in paperback as A Year with the Ladies of Llangollen. Do not make my mistake of buying the same book twice just because the titles are different!
The format is rather strange, in that the books list first by month and then by year, so all the journal entries for January in any given year are listed in the first chapter, and then February and so on. I suppose it gives a sense of how each month in a year passed, but it gives no sense of the cumulative passing of time over the lives of the ladies.

Mowl, Timothy 1993. Elizabethan and Jacobean Style. Phaidon Press.

Ogle, George 1737. Antiquities explained. Being a collection of figured gems illustrated by similar descriptions taken from the classics.
https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_antiquities-explained-b_ogle-george_1737/mode/2up

Osborne, Harold (ed.) 1970. The Oxford Companion to Art. Clarendon Press

Osborne, Harold (ed.) 1975. The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts. Clarendon Press

Squire, Michael 2012. “Fantasies so varied and bizarre”: The Domus Aurea, the Renaissance, and the “grotesque”’, in (eds.) M. Dinter and E. Buckley, The Blackwell Companion to the Age of Nero Wiley-Blackwell, p.444–464

Sinclaire, Catherine 1838. Hill and Valley, or Hours in England and Wales, 1833 (a second edition was released in 1839).

Singleton, Esther 1907. Dutch and Flemish Furniture. The McClure Company
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54552/54552-h/54552-h.htm

Turner, Rick 2008 (revised edition, first published 1997). Plas Mawr, Conwy. Cadw

Wells-Cole, Anthony 1997. Art and Decoration in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art / Yale University Press

Veysey, A. Geoffrey and David Freeman 1988. Plas Newydd and the Ladies of Llangollen. Glyndwr District Council. (Based on the booklet by Veysey, County Archivist for Clwyd County Council, published in 1980. Two sections were substantially updated by Freeman in 1988 – the Oak Room and the Ladies’ Bedchamber).

Wainwright, Clive 1989. The Romantic Interior – The British Collector at Home 1750–1850. Yale Center for British Art -Studies in British Art, Yale University Press

Wither, George 1635. A collection of emblemes, ancient and moderne. London
https://archive.org/details/collectionofembl00withe/page/n11/mode/2up

Zamperini, Alessandra. 2008. Ornament and the Grotesque. Fantastical Decoration from Antiquity to Art Nouveau’, Thames and Hudson, London and New York—

Websites

Based In Churton
Grotesques and Misericords. By Andie Byrnes, various dates. Series of posts looking at mainly medieval Grotesques and misericords in the Chester-Wrexham area, plus one example from Tong in Shropshire.
https://basedinchurton.co.uk/category/grotesques-and-misericords/

Building
From the archives: The demolition of Northumberland House, 1874. By Tom Lowe, 3rd February 2023
https://www.building.co.uk/our-history-180-years-of-building/from-the-archives-the-demolition-of-northumberland-house-1874/5121589.article

Cadw
Plas Mawr
https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/plas-mawr
Rug Chapel
https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/rug-chapel

Coflein
St Derfel’s Church, Llandderfel
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/43870
Emral Hall, Worthenbury
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/35805/
Town Hall, Portmeirion
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/407060/

Curious Travellers
Anne Lister’s diary, tour of North Wales 11-27 July 1822
https://editions.curioustravellers.ac.uk/doc/0023?ref=pe0954#footnoteref53
Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, Account of a Journey in Wales; Perform’d in May 1778 By Two Fugitive Ladies. Edited with an introduction by Elizabeth Edwards in Curious Travellers
https://editions.curioustravellers.ac.uk/pages/show.html?document=0004.xml

Early Tourists in Wales
Plas Newydd home page
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/
Plas Newydd – Carved Wood
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/plas-newydd-the-house/plas-newydd-carved-wood/
Plas Newydd – Illustrations
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/plas-newydd-the-house/plas-newydd-illustrations/

English Heritage
Stokesay Castle
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stokesay-castle/things-to-do/

Historic England
Interior view of the Solar at Stokesay Castle, showing a fireplace with carved wooden panelling above the mantle and a table in the foreground with drawings and plans of the castle
https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/photos/item/UXC01/01/01/0065/32

Kilkenny Castle
http://www.kilkennycastle.ie
Explore the Castle
https://www.kilkennycastle.ie/about/explore-the-castle-new/
Audio Guide
https://www.kilkennycastle.ie/audio-guide/
Visitor’s Guide leaflet
https://www.kilkennycastle.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Visitors-Leaflet-English_compressed.pdf

The National Archives
The Ladies of Llangollen. By Hanna Griffiths. Tuesday 8th February 2022
https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/the-ladies-of-llangollen/

The National Library of Wales
Plasnewydd Library Catalogue 1792
https://viewer.library.wales/6043853#?xywh=-2355%2C-1%2C8159%2C4390&cv=

The Open University – UK Reading Experience Database
Lady Eleanor Butler
https://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/browse_reader_readings.php?s=Butler&f=Lady+Eleanor

Ornapedia Decorative Arts Glossary
https://www.ornapedia.org/glossary

The Public Domain Review
Flemish Mask Designs in the Grotesque Style (1555)
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/flemish-mask-designs-in-the-grotesque-style-1555/

smarthistory
The rediscovery and impact of the Domus Aurea, in Smarthistory, by Jessica Mingoia, May 14, 2023
https://smarthistory.org/rediscovery-domus-aurea-renaissance-grotesque/.

Plas Newydd after 1814. Source: People’s Collection Wales

Georgia O’Keefe, Small Wonders and three other temporary exhibitions at the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead

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I’ll start with a time alert. Very sorry for the ridiculously short notice, but if you want to see the Georgia O’Keefe exhibition, a touring exhibition from the Hayward Gallery in London’s South Bank complex you will need to take a trip to Birkenhead before the exhibition closes next Saturday, the 25th July. Make haste! The O’Keefe exhibition is part of the Small Wonders. Reimagining British Art exhibition, also curated by the Hayward Gallery, and also on until Saturday 25th. The three in-house exhibitions are The Garden As A Muse also on until the 25th, Beyond the Brotherhood: The Legacies of the Pre-Raphaelites, on until 7th November, and Echoes of the Floating World on until 6th February 2027. All the exhibitions are free of charge and all are very well worth visiting.

If a Georgia O’Keefe exhibition comes to a local gallery it is a matter for celebration, and the Memories of Drawing exhibition offers 21 small pieces drawn by O’Keefe between 1915 and 1963 and prepared for publication with her agent and friend Doris Bry. Photogravures are images created by a sophisticated and highly accurate printing process. They are a complete delight, like fabulous little sound-bites, and it is wonderful to see them all together in one room. O’Keefe is best known for large, delicately rendered paintings and drawings of flowers, seashells, animal skulls and desert landscapes, which are so inherently vital and dramatic that they often appear to be in the process of metamorphosing into something much less easy to define. The photogravures display the concentrated essence of O’Keefe’s work, containing all the gorgeous draughtsmanship, the organic, the semi-abstract and sometimes wholly abstract, and each one is all the more fascinating for being so small and minimalist. All but two are in graded shades and textures of black and grey, and all share the sense that at any second they might shape-shift in tiny, imperceptible ways.

Georgia O’Keefe’s Drawing No.9 (1915)

O’Keefe’s work is always dynamic and frequently seems to be alive; the photogravures capture that beautifully. The depth of O’Keefe’s dedication to the development of her artwork is demonstrated by “Blue Lines” (1916) of which she commented “It was in the fall of 1915 that I decided not to use any colour until I couldn’t get along without it and I believe it was June before I needed blue.” Her humour comes across vividly in “Drawing No.9” (1915 – shown right) about which she said “Well, I had the headache, why not do something with it?” From the barely-present representation of a seashell, “Drawing No.40” (1934) to the spiky, stark lines of a New York skyline “The City – New York Rooftops” (1930s), she is able, with real elegance and understated drama, to convey the complexity of both natural and unnatural worlds. My photos do absolutely no justice to the detail and texture in each image. You just need to see them for yourself. The exhibition is a treat – don’t miss it!

As if Georgia O’Keefe on her own was not enough, there is another visiting exhibition and three temporary mini-exhibitions drawn from the Williamson’s own collections.

The Echoes of the Floating World exhibition, in one room focused on Ukiyo-e was a particularly lovely surprise. As the Williamson website says, “[t]heir motifs of flat perspectives, high vantage points, and bold colour distinctions, were a radical influence across European art” and the premise of the exhibition is to show the 19th century woodblock works juxtaposed against artworks that were influenced by the Japanese art. It was interesting to see the more modern artworks, with the surprising range of ways in which composition, colour and subject-matter were adopted and transformed.

Of course the real stars were the Japanese works, with some very contrasting pieces chosen for the display. From almost monochrome examples, to highly coloured pieces, the exhibition managed, in a confined space, to give a very good sense of range of the style and expression produced by the woodblock artists. The oldest example of Ukiyo-e in the Williamson’s collections is a lovely depiction of a man and woman coloured only in mid-blue and black, dating to before the wider palette of colours became available. Images in full colour included rich and vibrant pigments, which complemented scenes that were full of motion and narrative intensity, as well as those that captured intimate moments of everyday life in subtle and delicate shades. A lot of people, right now in all this California-type weather, will relate to the splendid row of ladies with their parasols standing on a bridge over a river to help them cool down.

The Garden As a Muse exhibition “traces how artists across time have interpreted gardens not merely as physical spaces, but as symbols of creativity and solace. From delicate, nostalgic studies to immersive and grand paintings, these pieces reveal how gardens can function both as sanctuaries and laboratories of artistic experimentation.” As a thoroughly committed gardener I very much enjoyed this insight into different perceptions of what gardens can or should be. Sentiment was unsurprisingly present, but there was a thorough mix of styles and there were some very unexpected pieces too. I was particularly amused to find myself staring at Tolstoy who seemed improbably relaxed, although very dour. The two Arthur Lee textile designs, produced at their Birkenhead factory and mapped out with precision on graph paper were fascinating to see, ready to be converted into tapestry, embroidery and even printed fabrics. Sian Martin’s fabric-based abstract representations of such contrasting horticultural arrangements as seed beds and vegetable patches were incredibly effective. The entire ensemble of images was both witty and engaging, and nicely drew attention to the British fascination with garden places.

The Beyond the Brotherhood: The Legacies of the Pre-Raphaelites exhibition presents some of the original works produced by the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood but also introduces some of their followers, who built on their legacy to create works of their own in the same broad style. This included examples from the so-called Liverpool School of landscape painters as well as elaborate pieces by the sculptors of Birkenhead’s Della Robbia Pottery Company, some locally produced stained glass, and it was delightful to find some William de Morgan tiles on display.

The Small Wonders exhibition was the most difficult to describe, mainly because I found so little about it relatable, which is unusual for me. It is a travelling exhibition curated by London’s Hayward Gallery, and brings together work by fifty artists, to provide a snapshot of British art over the last 45 years. I have been visiting and enjoying modern and contemporary art for decades, but although there are always some pieces that leave me cold, I found this was more frustrating than usual. Before I go on, I should say that I may be alone in my response to what is clearly a popular exhibtion.

One piece, which for me was engaging thought-provoking, was a video with a voice-over, but the rest were all static, framed artworks, although most of the artists, according to their biographical data, work in various forms of media including including 3-D installations and cinematic work. Perhaps the artists are better understood in other media but for me most of the artworks failed to engage me either emotionally or intellectually. I could see that there is technical skill and creativity, and found some of it visually attractive, but a lot of it was very derivative of previous styles and although the multicultural mix was a positive element, I found none of it deeply gripping. Apart from Saskia Olde Wolber’s video artwork “Centrifuge,” which was compelling for both its narrative and its constantly evolving organic semi-abstract imagery, there was nothing with sufficient depth for me to sink my teeth into, and I came away longing to have had a teachable moment, something from which I could have learned, or which had at the very least moved me to empathy, laughter, annoyance or simple admiration. But of course, to each their own. Having said all of that, I am sincerely grateful for being given the chance to see a London exhibition without having to travel to London to do it.

The Williamson is a splendid resource to have for the Wirral and so near to Chester. I very much admire their policy of retaining part of the museum for their permanent collection and the other, larger part for temporary exhibitions. It means that local people can always expect to come in and find something new to see, whilst those of us driving from elsewhere find that the trip is more worthwhile when there are new artworks to see from the Williamson’s own stores. You can find out more about the Williamson’s events on their web pages. I signed up for their newsletter after my first visit and that is an excellent prompt not to miss anything. You can sign up for it at the end of every page.

On my previous post about the Williamson’s permanent and temporary collections I mentioned the café. It is comfortable and spacious, with excellent coffee and some good-looking lunches being produced in large numbers, and as you imbibe you can enjoy more art because the walls of the café are used as additional hanging space for art works, and these too had changed since our last visit. And don’t forget to visit the model ships, which are stunning. Who wouldn’t want to cross the Mersey on a ridiculously curvaceous Art Deco ferry like this one? Bliss.

Because of that big yellow sun and the vast acres of blue sky, we opted for The Harp Inn at Ness, parking at Denhall Quay, both of which I posted about last week, and here too there was much loveliness to be enjoyed across the acres of green marshes reaching towards the Welsh foothills and Moel Fammau, with a fabulous breeze coming off the estuary. We were both ravenous, so ordered one haddock and chips with garden peas and one cheese and ham ploughman’s (the latter, mine, was absolutely huge and truly heavenly). It was a really super way to round off a superbly satisfying morning.

Chester Amphitheatre – the Grosvenor Museum exhibition and the University of Chester’s upcoming VR experience

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After a successful expedition in to Chester, which included an excellent coffee break with 3-D artist Julian Baum (Take27), I went to see the Grosvenor Museum’s Chester Amphitheatre – An 8000 year story exhibition, running until 12th July, in which one of Julian’s reconstruction images is included. Julian has also been working on the Our City, Our Story: Deva Victrix project under the auspices of the University of Chester, run by Dr Caroline Pudney (Senior Lecturer in Archaeology), which explores how Virtual Reality (VR) and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can contribute to an interactive experience of the amphitheatre. This project was showcased in Chester on Saturday 23rd May. I mention Julian Baum’s work not merely to give him a shameless (although well-deserved) plug, but because the work he contributed to last year’s Gladiators of Britain, the current Chester Amphitheatre exhibition and the upcoming Our City, Our Story VR and AI project are examples of how the trend from static and video reconstruction towards more interactive experiences can complement traditional approaches to provide richer visitor experiences, discussed further below.

The “Chester Amphitheatre” exhibition

The Chester Amphitheatre exhibition is a stand-alone exhibition, complete in its own right, but for those who attended Gladiators of Britain (about which I posted, with a description of the amphitheatre on the blog here), the continuity of themes between the two exhibitions works very nicely, although as the name of the current exhibition indicates, this is not just about the Roman period. This multi-period approach to the amphitheatre is the exhibition’s major strength, providing an excellent sense of how the same chunk of land has been used from the post-glacial period until the present day. Apologies for the poor photographs. I accidentally left my camera at home and they were taken with my elderly iPhone. As anyone who follows the blog will know, I am rubbish with the thing!

The exhibition space, in Gallery 1 on the ground floor, is well thought out and very elegantly laid out, with a combination of interpretation boards on the walls, artefacts displayed in well-lit cabinets and clear labelling to identify individual objects. It begins with details of the excavations, from which an understanding of the site was obtained, and then follows a chronological path, beginning with the Mesolithic (meaning Middle Stone Age, the period that starts in the post-glacial period).

The site was first explored in the early 1930s by Professor Robert Newstead, curator of the Grosvenor Museum at the time, and Dr J.P. Droop. Although it had been assumed, on the basis of other legionary sites in England, that an amphitheatre had existed at Deva, its location was unknown, and it was not until a new road was laid out in 1929 that Roman remains were found and the amphitheatre was identified. The road would have sliced across the top half of the amphitheatre, but following the discovery of Roman remains was thankfully re-routed to run around it instead of across it, allowing the site to be preserved and enabling further excavations to take place. The most recent of those was the excavation project established by English Heritage and the former Chester City Council, lead by Tony Wilmott and Dan Garner between 2004 and 2006, published in 2018. These excavations resulted in a re-evaluation of the Roman amphitheatre and its phases, and provided invaluable information about both its pre-Roman and post-Roman periods.

It is one of the interesting aspects of work into the later prehistory of West Cheshire, that wherever an archaeologist happens to poke a trowel, at both hillfort and lowland sites, earlier prehistoric material is likely to be found. The type of material often found is epitomized by the finds at the amphitheatre. The Mesolithic was characterized by very small stone tools called microliths, and a selection of these were found on the amphitheatre site, together with waste products from the manufacturing process, showing that the tools had been made on the spot. Neolithic and/or Early Bronze Age tools, again made of stone, are also represented and these too are found all over the Cheshire area.

One of the most exciting discoveries of the excavation was the previously unsuspected presence an Iron Age settlement, made up of round houses and rectangular buildings, as well as portions of a cord-rig field system, very like medieval ridge-and-furrow. Two photographs show details of one of the foundation features of one of the round-houses and a section of cord-rig as they were found during the excavation. There is a particularly nice sherd of specialist pottery on display, known as VCP (Very Coarse Pottery), that was used for producing and transporting salt. A highly corroded spear tip was also discovered, one of the few pieces of Iron Age metalwork to survive in the area due to the highly acidic soil. Both are shown to the left.
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Photograph of the excavation showing a section of Iron Age field system

Chester Amphitheatre exhibition

The Roman amphitheatre is inevitably the main focus of the exhibition, which is unsurprising given its scale and duration. Now understood to consist of two main phases, having been expanded in its second phase, it was in use from c.AD 74/75. It is estimated that the second phase of the amphitheatre could have accommodated up to between 7500-8000 spectators and it is to this phase that two of the larger objects in the exhibition belong: the tethering stone to which wild animals would have been tied, and a coping stone (rounded stone topping for a wall) that contains the inscription “SERANO LOCUS,” roughly meaning “Serano’s Place,” possibly an attempt to lay claim to a particular seat that sat behind the low wall. The many other Roman artefacts on display include ornaments, gaming pieces, pottery (samian ware, grey ware, orange ware etc) and other items made of metals and glass.

Capstone engraved SERANO LOCUS

Saxo-Norman artefacts

A display of Saxon-Norman objects demonstrates that there may be some degree of continued use of the amphitheatre’s space after the Roman abandonment of the site, albeit for a completely different purpose.

The excavations have also helped to clarify some of the medieval structures associated with the Romanesque St John the Baptist’s Church (at one point Chester’s cathedral) and how its churchyard encroached on the original amphitheatre during the Middle Ages. The other side of the churchyard’s footprint, extending into the Grosvenor Park, is currently under excavation by West Cheshire Museums and the University of Chester.

Medieval jug

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Post-medieval finds demonstrate how, as the amphitheatre was gradually lost due to stone robbing for other buildings, the accumulation of debris and ongoing building works as Chester continued to expand beyond the walls, the former amphitheatre site continued to be occupied, and broken objects continued to be abandoned, as they are today. A particularly nice find was a pit dug in Tudor times, containing a fascinating array of broken, discarded items. Civil War finds included lead gun shot and the remains of gunpowder holders. There is even a fabulous packet for a loaf of bread with a pre-decimalization price printed on it, with bright, happy colours, a splendidly cheery tiger and the strapline “The Swinging New Bread.” Very 60s! See below.

Detail of John McGahey’s 1852 painting of Chester from an air balloon (with my rough indicator of location of amphitheatre in red show how completely the amphitheatre area was covered over).

The Chester amphitheatre’s tethering stone

Brilliant bread packet, pre-decimalization (which was implemented in 1971)

The amphitheatre through the ages, an excellent illustration covering an entire wall of the exhibition, demonstrating how different periods are captured in the vertical stratigraphy of the site. By India Hackett

The amphitheatre through the ages, an excellent illustration by India Hackett covering an entire wall of the exhibition, demonstrating how different periods are captured in the vertical stratigraphy of the site, including a Civil War canon, the tethering stone on the Roman level, flanked by gladiators, and the Iron Age roundhouse and fields being ploughed beneath.

The Chester Amphitheatre exhibition at the Grosvenor Museum runs until 12th July 2026. Access to the exhibition is free of charge. For the Grosvenor Museum’s opening times, see their website for information here: https://grosvenormuseum.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk/

The University of Chester’s Virtual Reality approach to the same amphitheatre site during the Roman period (Our City, Our Story: Deva Victrix in VR), was showcased for the first time on Saturday 23rd May, 11am – 4pm in Exchange Square (Northgate St). Julian Baum and other key members of the project team, were all on hand to provide insights into how visitors of the very near future will be able to interact directly with virtual Romans in a reconstruction of their original setting. Feedback is seen as part of the project design and when people filled in the feedback forms, was very welcome.

Image from the “Our City, Our Story: Deva Victrix in VR” project.

Accuracy has been of great importance to the project. The VR model of the amphitheatre itself, for example, is derived directly from the data unearthed in the excavations that are the subject of the museum’s exhibition and was developed by Julian in conjunction with Tony Wilmott, one of the site’s excavation directors. The animated Roman residents of Deva Victrix, developed by VR company Imito, help to bring the amphitheatre to life, allowing visitors to participate and interact with Roman soldiers and other characters.

Although the museum exhibition and the VR project are separate entities, run by the museum and the university respectively, the two approaches, traditional and virtual, have the potential to work in tandem and to complement each other very well. The current museum exhibition presents the physical and tactile raw data (artefacts and architectural components) and uses interpretation boards to create an empirical understanding of how data is translated into knowledge about the amphitheatre. Nothing can replace artefacts as evocative components of the past, but the information derived from them can be handled in a number of different ways. Although running as a separate project, the VR approach demonstrates the potential for a more interactive and immersive exposure to a vision of the past that allows a relationship with history to be formed, however briefly. The combination of artefacts and displays of the information they impart, supported by immersive experiences, may provide a glimpse of the future of how history could be communicated and how people may begin to explore their past in a variety of different ways.

Julian Baum’s reconstruction of the fortress at Chester and the outer buildings in the mid 3rd Century.

Exhibition: The light and bright “Print International” at Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham

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Currently on display in Wrexham’s Tŷ Pawb art venue is the Print International exhibition that ends on 24th January. Print is not something that I know anything about. Combining art and craft in a creative marriage of aesthetic refinement and technical skills, it has always seemed even more out of reach, physically as well as conceptually, than the more direct relationship between the artist and her/his brush and pencil on paper. All the teaching in traditional art history that I received back in the Jurassic seems to have left me more than somewhat ill-equipped to assess what print is all about. All the more reason to go and see a selection of different techniques and a variety of aesthetic concepts and approaches in a single exhibition.

The gallery at Tŷ Pawb has been organized beautifully to display all the pieces to advantage, open and light-filled. Whether you are very familiar with print as a medium, or a complete novice like me, the Print International exhibition offers the opportunity to engage with an enjoyable and appealing series of bright, light, clean, art works, happily counteracting some of the more greyscale and muddy aspects of winter’s usual offering.

Andrew Wilson. Broken Clock. Copper photogravure

The exhibition was not about explaining print as an art form. The information boards described the different workshops and artists represented (see list at end), but chose to let the art works speak for themselves, which allows the viewer to assess each piece on its own visual merits, but does not help to demystify how the effects were achieved or why print may be just as powerful as a medium of expression as the more traditional and conventional forms of artistic output. Divorcing print from other types of artistic medium, however, concentrates the mind wonderfully on what this medium has to offer.

As the Wrexham-Chester area tips more firmly into winter, what was striking was how light-filled and bright the exhibition was, the perfect anecdote to seasonal murk and mire. It was the lightness of touch that struck me most in the prints on display, including the careful colouring, delicate and gentle in one corner of the room, bold planes of attention-grabbing colour in another, with plenty of stark and arresting monochrome to balance the brighter, lighter shades. Multiple textures were also on display, with flat surfaces of colour, heavy linearity, spidery filigree, tactile surfaces and subtle washes. Topics included the representational, pure pattern and pure abstract, and every combination in between. Very attractive experiments were made with text as an art form, as well as more conventional text- and icon-based posters. If you are familiar with printing techniques, there are plenty of different approaches of these on display too.

The photos below were taken on my smartphone, so are a bit feeble (it and I don’t seem to have a particularly empathetic relationship), and the reflections don’t do them many favours with my shadowy image in some of them, but hopefully give a sense of what’s on show. See more, with different prints from those below shown, on the Tŷ Pawb website, which also has details of opening times etc.

Martine Baldwin. Shelter. Woodcut

Paul Hogg. City. Screenprint

Tara Dean. New Growth (top) and From Here (bottom). Screenprint

Thomas Gravemaker. Typographic Posters. Letterpress

Michelle Woodward. Erddig. Lino print

Inga Eicaite. B-04. Etching

Matt Martin. Get Thee Behind Me Satan. Screen print and mixed media

Lee Nutland. Skeletons I, Pentre Ifan. Copper photogravure

Nicola Scott. A touch of Eva n3a. Callagraph with watercolour

David Armes. Between Sun Turns. Letterpress

Aafke Metens. Deidad. Risograph

An enjoyable visit to the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead

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The Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead. Source: Wikimedia Commons

When the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum opened in 1928, Birkenhead was still reaping the rewards of the economic industrial expansion created by the ship building industry. The gallery was funded by philanthropists John Williamson and his son Patrick Williamson. John Williamson was a shop owner and merchant who became a director of Cunard when it formed as a public company, serving until 1902. He was also on the board of Standard Marine Insurance and served on the Merseyside Docks and Harbours Board. His son does not appear to have had a career but co-operated with his father on philanthropic activities. The museum’s design is a simple brick-built square, with a prominent facade that references Classical features. The steps dominate in the above photo, but there is a ramp at the side for easy access. The gallery is all on one floor, so this too provides ease of access.

Nicholas Eames, The Dancer (1983) with two textile works by Anna Sutton behind it

I visited with my friend Julian in December 2025. We drove guided by the SatNav, which was needed as the Williamson is surrounded by something of a residential rabbit warren (with some very attractive Victorian terracing if you keep an eye open). There is a free car park on Mather Road that had plenty of spaces. Full visiting details, both for drivers and those using public transport, are at https://williamsonartgallery.org/visit/. Apologies for the quality of the photos inside the gallery, taken on my smartphone. As always in galleries there is reflection from protective glass in many of the photos, but hopefully they will give a good idea of the exhibits.

The gallery is all on a single storey, arranged in a square of linked galleries around what is now the café (with artworks on the walls) and a sculpture garden. A pre-visit inspection of the site plan indicated that around half of it is used for permanent collections, whilst the rest is home to temporary exhibitions. The twin focal points are, in the main, 19th and early 20th century and modern, including furnishings, ceramics, paintings, textiles, sculptures and, on this occasion, a modern video installation. The inclusion of temporary exhibitions is probably very attractive to local people who have reason to visit on repeat occasions.

The first of the galleries that we visited was a temporary exhibition showing the results of the 31st exhibition of the annual Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize (2025). The exhibition “celebrates the role and value of drawing with creative practice and provides a forum to test, evaluate and share current drawing practice.” There is a wide variety of styles and subjects along a continuum from representational to abstract. The skill on display was impressive, and some of the pieces were visually stunning. The mainly monochrome entries drew attention to different combinations of line and texture, with the analytical, humorous and occasionally alarming all demonstrating the versatility of the medium.

For me, the highlight of the permanent collection was the Maritime room, which is filled with models of ships built locally, as well as the actual fittings from some of the ships depicted by the models. A model of the Birkenhead Docks is really evocative of the size and scale of the operation (shown at the end of the post). The models of Mersey ferries are truly splendid, including a deliciously curvaceous Art Deco-flavoured example. It was a genuine delight to see a model of the S.S. Mauretania, as well as objects that furnished her, because my grandad was quartermaster and helmsman on the ship. It turns out that my friend Julian’s grandfather was a marine engineer, so there was a particular sense of connection for both of us with these beautifully crafted insights into Birkenhead and Mersey shipping. The whole room is redolent of local maritime history. Given that the Liverpool Maritime Museum is disappointingly closed indefinitely whilst funding is being sought, this gallery in the Williamson offers the best available local insight into Mersey shipbuilding and shipping.

Models of some of the Mersey ferries

The ship’s bell from the Mauretania

Side lever paddle steam engine, representing an engine of about 1840

Birkenhead Corporation Ferries poster

The C.S.S. Alabama, built Camell Laird’s shipyard, in theoretical violation of official Government neutrality in the American Civil War, is represented at the Williamson by both an oil painting and a model (the latter shown at the very end of this post).

Oil painting of the CSS Alabama by Samuel Walters (1811-1882), painted after 1862

Piece of furniture, a sideboard, from Arrowe park. None of the Arrowe Park furniture can be ascribed to a particular carver or workshop. Diana is at centre, possibly an earlier French panel. The cupid-like boys flanking her represent food and drink.

Entirely in step with this growth of maritime industry and the rise of commerce, was Arrowe Hall. The name is now associated with as a hospital, it was originally built in 1935 for John Ralph Nicholson Shaw, who inherited Arrowe Park from his uncle John Shaw, Liverpool Mayor and slave trader. A small gallery is devoted to reconstructing one of the Arrowe Hall rooms, with some truly astonishing, beautifully crafted, enormous and aesthetically rather appalling pieces of furniture and ornamentation, a mish-mash of medieval, Tudor and Jacobean styles executed with enthusiastic Victorian panache. The information board says that most of the pieces of furniture date to the 1880s, but were carved with earlier dates: “This deceit, and staining the oak very dark, was meant to give the owner a heritage and respectability that they didn’t really have.” The detail in the fireplace overmantel below shows considerable skill imitating earlier Renaissance style friezes. At the time of writing, the house is now a home for adults with learning difficulties.

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Pieces from the Della Robbia Pottery, Birkenhead

Similarly, the Della Robbia Pottery room is bound to split aesthetic opinion. Della Robbia Pottery, taking the name from Luca Della Robbia (1400-1481), and on whose style it is loosely based, was a remarkably successful Birkenhead enterprise for a short period of time between 1894 and 1906. It was established by Harold Rathbone (1858-1929), who worked with professional designers but also hired young people locally who he trained up. It is lavish, ornate, brightly coloured, glossy, often with multiple textures and sculptural components. Rathbone strained at the Slade School of Art and became a pupil of Ford Madox Brown, and the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites is clear in many of his pieces. Many of the themes of pieces produced by the pottery feature angels, cupids and mythological figures, as well as elaborate and complex patterns.

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Another small room focuses on ceramics that were either made and used in Merseyside or were imports, brought back to the Mersey docks from the far east to meet the demand of local consumers. Chinese ceramicists cottoned on very quickly to the types of decorative themes that were popular in the west, and produced specific types of design, including specific types of shape, for the European market. The mix is diverse, but there are one or two pieces that directly reference the maritime. The influence of Chinese ceramics is very clear, made either locally or imported, in some of the examples, but there are more localized themes as well. There were seven different sites in Liverpool that were making porcelain, all operating between the mid and late 1700s. Unfortunately, none of the factories used manufacturing marks so it is difficult to determine which factory produced which pieces.

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Maria Prymachenko – Autumn is Riding on Horeseback

Paintings by Ukrainian children, produced since the start of the war, from the Sunflower Dreams Project were on display during our visit, alongside paintings by Maria Prymachenko. The exhibitions produced by Sunflower Dreams are displayed in Britain, North America and Europe. Although the Sunflower Dreams Project exhibition at the Williamson ended in December 2025, at the time of writing you can still find full details about the project, with samples of the paintings produced by this admirable initiative on https://sunflowerdreamsproject.org/. Maria Prymachenko (1909-1977) specialized in Ukrainian folklore and was awarded a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937 for her wonderful, brightly imagined paintings. She was largely forgotten after the Second World War, but there was a resurgence of interest in her work in the 1960s and she is now featured in a number of international museums.

Philip Wilson Steer. A Girl at her Toilet, 1892-3

The painting collection on display during our visit strongly featured the landscape and seascape artist Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942), who was born in Birkenhead, although grew up elsewhere. He had spent time in Paris and was strongly influenced by the Impressionists and other contemporary artists. In his A Girl at Her Toilet of 1992-3, the theme of women engaging in personal behind-the-doors activities, so popular with Impressionist painters, is given a more dramatic overlay of contrasting colours, clearly inspired by Éduard Manet. the label says that the “intimate or even voyeuristic” tone of his painting was “ridiculed by English critics partly for the perceived indecency of his choices of subject matter.” By complete contrast, his Seascape off Walmer of 1930 was painted as he began to lose his eyesight, retaining only peripheral vision by 1935 when he moved almost completely over to watercolour. The entire composition is made up of thin washes of pale blue that create a delicate, almost abstract seascape with a single small boat in the distance, creating the only sense of depth.

Seascale off Walmer, 1930 by Philip Wilson Steer, 1860-1942

There were a set of paintings by Albert Richards (1919-1945), who has the sad distinction of being the youngest official War Artist to be killed in action in the Second World War, just two months before VE Day when the jeep in which he was travelling ran over a landmine. He was born in Liverpool but moved to Wallasey when young, training at the Wallasey School of Art.

Albert Richards – Della, c.1938. Painted when the artist was attending Wallasey School of Art. Gouache on paper.

Many of the other paintings on display by other artists from the period, both watercolours and oils, are obviously influenced by more accomplished Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, but are interesting as examples of how local artists were influenced by the latest trends.

Temporary installation – Di Mainstone’s “Subterranean Elevator,” which shows continually throughout the day. On until the end of January.

Because at least half of the Williamson is dedicated to temporary collections, a lot of the paintings are in storage. None of the better known examples from the permanent collection were on display when we visited, including the glorious watercolour of Brunel’s S.S. Great Eastern beached on the Mersey for repair work by William Gawin Herdman in 1863 and the Joseph Mallord William Turner’s dramatic watercolour Vesuvius Angry, both of which I was really hoping to see. I checked with the information desk after our visit, but the consensus was that they were both in storage. The comprehensive and very nicely presented online catalogue shows what the Williamson holds, but it does not indicate what is or is not on display.
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Charles Eyes 1767 Liverpool and Birkenhead

Liverpool and Birkenhead, attributed to Charles Eyes 1767, showing Birkenhead Manor and Priory. This photo is taken from the Williamson’s online catalogue at https://williamsonartgallery.org/item/1580053/

The spacious and comfortable café, with more paintings on the walls was producing some very good-looking meals and bakes, and the coffee was excellent. One of the paintings was a very evocative one of pre-industrial Birkenhead showing the manor and the ruined priory, the sister paining of one in Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery. I couldn’t get to it without trampling some diners underfoot, so the picture to the right is taken from the online catalogue. There is also a small shop area with books against one wall, and a few postcards. The sculpture garden, which can be reached from the café, looks interesting, but it was pouring with rain, so we abstained.

The Williamson represents Birkenhead and the Mersey, both past and present. The policy of the gallery is to mix its core collection of 19th and early 20th century art and decorative arts, with temporary exhibitions, often featuring contemporary works, and it is well worth keeping an eye on what their temporary exhibitions offer, either by checking the Williamson website or signing up to the email newsletter.

Frozen Fabric: Spectrum by Anna Sutton 1983

Frozen Fabric: Spectrum 1983 by Anna Sutton OBE (b.1935), British textile artist and designer. In this example she transforms a simple weave into a sculptural object, “merging textile traditions with minimalist abstraction.”

17th century Japanese temple bell, in the Arrowe Hall room. If it ever goes missing, you will know where to look!

CSS Alabama

“Gladiators of Britain” at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, 20th September 2025- 25th January 2026

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Introduction

The new Gladiators of Britain exhibition at the Grosvenor Museum fits the archaeology of a huge story very cleverly into a relatively small space, with a great many remarkable objects that have been very well chosen to illustrate the topic.

Thanks to Chester Archaeological Society I was lucky enough to be one of a group who were invited to a guided preview of the exhibition in late September 2025, just as it was opening. Many thanks to Pauline Clarke (Excursions Officer at Chester Archaeological Society) and Elizabeth Montgomery (Grosvenor Museum) for organizing our visit. Liz took us around the exhibit in two groups, and explained how the original exhibition had been organized by Glynn Davis, Senior Collections & Learning Curator from Colchester and Ipswich Museums, who had arranged for the loan of objects from both Chester’s Grosvenor Museum and London’s British Museum, partly to contextualize the remarkable and substantially important find of the Colchester Vase, shown both in the above poster and in photographs below. When this exhibition had closed, the various parties who had contributed to the Colchester exhibition were approached with a view to loaning the same objects to enable a travelling exhibition, which is what we see at the Grosvenor today, using objects and interpretation boards to introduce gladiatorial contests in Britain.
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The Chester Amphitheatre

Before talking about the exhibition I though that it might be useful to put it into the context of the Chester amphitheatre. For those completely happy with the history of the Chester amphitheatre, what amphitheatres were for and the roles they performed, do skip ahead.

Colosseum Rome, opened AD 80; a sestertius coin, on display at the Gladiators of Britain the exhibition

Rome’s Colosseum, which opened in AD 80, shown on a sestertius coin, on display at the Gladiators of Britain exhibition

Gladiatorial conquests took place in amphitheatres. The best known amphitheatre in Europe is Rome’s own stone-built Colosseum, which remains even today a stunning piece of architectural ambition, remarkably preserved and awe-inspiringly vast. The exhibition has a video running on a small tablet that shows a super 3-D reconstruction of what the Colosseum may have looked like in the past (by Aleksander Ilic). It provides a sense not only of an amphitheatre’s structural components but also of its monumental grandeur, reflecting its importance to Roman ideas of the necessities of urban infrastructure and social identity.

Like all other Roman military centres and towns, Chester (Roman Deva), established c.AD 74/75 was provided with an amphitheatre, currently the largest known in Britain. As the museum curator, Elizabeth Montgomery, made clear when guiding us around the exhibit, that statement comes with the caveat that at the important northern centre of York (Eboracum) the amphitheatre has not yet been located, but the scale of the Chester amphitheatre is a very impressive feather in Deva’s cap. Located just beyond the southeast corner of the fortification, just beyond the city walls and the New Gate (formerly the Wolf Gate) on Little St John’s Street.

The Chester amphitheatre as it is today, showing the small room that housed the shrine to Nemesis at bottom right

Britain was attractive to Rome as a target for invasion partly because, at the edge of the known world, it was an quick win for both Julius Caesar and then Claudius. It was far more prestigious to expand the Empire to its geographical limit than to merely curate its existing holdings. It is clear too that by the first century AD the Romans stationed on the Rhine had begun to become materially aware of Britain via her trading relationship with Gaul, benefitting from her produce, raising an awareness of her resources, and providing a strong secondary reason both for the Claudian invasion and for sustained occupation. Although Britain remained a peripheral province in a world where Rome was the centre of the geographical and cultural universe, the province had successive governors who were responsible for maintaining Britain as a component part of the Empire, with most of the infrastructure to mark it out as Roman territory. Every major fortress and town boasted an amphitheatre and Chester had one from shortly after the establishment of the legionary fortress in the first century AD.

A wall map from the exhibition showing the location of 17 known amphitheatre or amphitheatre-like structures in Britain

An amphitheatre such as the one we have in Chester was multi-functional. Although usually exclusively associated in people’s mind with spectacular and often gory action, where trained gladiators fought both other humans and wild animals, it was also used to execute criminals, to host military displays, to offer less lethal forms of entertainment and to display religious ceremonies and rituals. It also doubled up as an additional training space for the military, only a very short march from the parade ground that was on today’s Frodsham Street, where training and drilling, manoeuvres and tactics, to prepare soldiers for the realities of military engagement against a potentially fractious population; and at the same time kept large numbers of men sufficiently busy to minimize the disputes that might break out.

Because many of the activities, particularly the gladiatorial events, attracted large audiences (in their 1000s), they had in common with football stadiums that they were designed to accommodate a large number of spectators, funnelling them via staircases and ramps to the raked seating, providing them with ease of access and clear visibility of the spectacle that unfolded below, a major task of civil engineering based on an understanding of crowd control. The large number of entrances at the Chester amphitheatre is indicative of this understanding of how people flowed into a central location.

Gladiatorial event shown on a 2nd century slate found in Chester, on display at the exhibition

Sadly, although the Chester amphitheatre may have been used following the abandonment of Britain in AD 410 as a local defensive enclosure, the amphitheatre’s vast walls were subsequently robbed for building materials so thoroughly that it was reduced to it to nothing more than its foundations and the arena floor. This denuded space was subsequently used as a dump, slowly filling in, and eventually becoming completely covered over and forgotten. Buildings and gardens obliterated all evidence, with only Little St John’s Street, bending in a puzzling way, following the old line of the amphitheatre walls. Perhaps the first hint that an amphitheatre may have been part of the Roman footprint of Chester was a slate plaque found in 1738 that showed a gladiatorial scene.

The Chester amphitheatre was rediscovered in 1929 when a new extension to the the Georgian and Victorian Dee House Ursuline Convent School, still sitting over the southern part of the amphitheatre, (and now known simply as Dee House), required a new basement for heating equipment, and the works that followed encountered Roman remains. These were quickly recognised by W.J. Williams of the Chester Archaeological Society, who knew of the slate plaque, and shortly afterwards trial trenches were excavated by the Grosvenor Professor Robert Newstead of the Grosvenor Museum and Professor J.P. Droop, confirming that this was indeed the Roman city’s amphitheatre.

Area of the amphitheatre in Detail of John McGahey's 1852 painting of Chester

Detail of John McGahey’s 1852 painting of Chester from an air balloon (with my rough indicator of location of amphitheatre in red show how completely the amphitheatre area was covered over). Source: Ainsworth and Wilmott 2005 / Chester City Council

The site was already under threat from a new road, preparatory work for which had already taken place to run it across the centre of what is now known to be the amphitheatre. The public and heritage organizations instantly responded, and different sources of pressure caused the plan to be cancelled. Chester Archaeological Society (C.A.S.) took the lead in raising funds to clear the site and enable access for further excavations. Although these plans were interrupted by the Second World War (during which air raid shelters were dug into the amphitheatre, destroying archaeological material), these excavations took place in the 1960s, lead by F. Hugh Thompson, who proposed a phased build for the amphitheatre. In the 1990s a proposal to develop the site as a heritage destination led to planning permission for the Grade II listed Dee House to be knocked down to enable the excavation of the land beneath, but this met with financial problems, the plans faded and the planning permission lapsed in 1995 (a real lost opportunity). In 2000 the site was again excavated, this time by Keith Matthews of Chester Archaeology, who revealed more data and came to different conclusions about the phasing the amphitheatre.

In January 2003 Chester City Council joined forces with English Heritage to initiate the Chester Amphitheatre Project, covering both the amphitheatre and flanking areas. Objectives included non-invasive survey, excavation where appropriate and publication of the findings. The work took place between 2004 and 2007, led by Dan Garner (Chester City Council) and Tony Wilmott (English Heritage). The survey and excavations between 2005-2006 led by Tony Wilmott and Dan Garner, published in 2018, were particularly informative. The presence of the listed building Dee House on the other side of the site, although derelict, has prevented any further progress being made.

Phasing of the amphitheatre shown in blue (first amphitheatre) and orange (second amphitheatre). Source: Ainsworth and Wilmott 2005, p.23

The outcome of all this work has been a narrative of the large oval (rather than elliptical) amphitheatre’s two-phase construction. The first phase was erected early in the fortress’s history probably shortly after the establishment of the legionary fortress after AD 74/75. The early date of the amphitheatre at around AD80 is not unusual, with other early examples known from, for example, Dorchester, Silchester, Cirencester and Caerleon. The second amphitheatre has destroyed some of the evidence of the first. The first amphitheatre was built in more than one phase, but it appears to have matured as a wooden scaffold holding seating, with a wall at its back, and another wall separating the seating from the arena. The access to upper levels was via an external staircase, an arrangement that is otherwise only known from Pompeii at a similar date. An interesting feature of the early amphitheatre phase is a small painted shrine dedicated to the deity Nemesis, which was retained in the second amphitheatre.

The second main phase of amphitheatre construction resulted in Britain’s biggest example of this type of building. A new outer wall was built following the line of the earlier amphitheatre, a vast 2m (6ft 7ins) thick and 1.8m (5ft 11in) outside the outer wall of the first structure. The original four entrances identified in the first amphitheatre were retained but new entrances were added that lead to the interior (vomitoria) to allow access to upper seating, suggsting that the outer wall was much higher than the earlier amphitheatre, an impression that is reinforced by the sheer size of the new outer wall. As Willmot and Garner say (2018) “its size; the number, complexity and organization of entrances and the treatment of the exterior facade all place it in an architectural class beyond that of the other amphitheatres in the province.” It is estimated that the new amphitheatre could have accommodated up to between 7500-8000 spectators. It is to this phase that the tethering stone belongs, as well as a coping stone (rounded stone topping for a wall) that contains the inscription “SERANO LOCUS” (see photo of both at the end of the post).

Julian Baum's reconstruction of Roman Chester, showing the dominance of the amphitheatre. Copyright Julian Baum, used with permission

Julian Baum’s incredibly life-like reconstruction of Roman Chester, showing the dominance of the amphitheatre, with the parade ground to its north. See more details of the amphitheatre on Julian Baum’s site at https://jbt27.artstation.com/projects/bKDayr?album_id=332464 Copyright Julian Baum, used with kind permission (click to expand)

As well as being essentially a part of the urban townscape, albeit excluded from the fortress, the tall, impressive structure that would have made an impression far beyond the immediate environs of the city. The surrounding landscape would have been in no doubt that the Romans had arrived, settled, and were here to stay, their amphitheatre not unlike a medieval cathedral in its powerful messaging. This is abundantly clear in Julian Baum’s reconstructions, such as the one here, demonstrating how the amphitheatre could act as a symbol of Roman presence, sophistication and power. Another of Julian’s reconstructions, showing the city at sunset, is on display in the exhibition, and both clearly demonstrate how dominant a feature the amphitheatre must have been and how important it was to the inhabitants of the fortress.
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The Gladiators of Britain Exhibition

As there are no written records of the events that took place in Britain’s amphitheatres, the focus of the exhibition is on archaeological data and its interpretation. There are some very short inscriptions in stone that hint at the importance of the gladiatorial events, but the bulk of the data that informs ideas of what remains are the amphitheatres of Britain themselves, and the objects that record the spectacles that people attended. The exhibition has brought together some very evocative pieces. All the photos below are from the exhibition.

The exhibition does not attempt to analyse the Chester amphitheatre and nor does it set out to answer the bigger questions about how gladiators were trained, where they came from, or how they were deployed. What it does superbly well is demonstrate how the gladiatorial spectacle was captured both in massive architectural endeavour and in material remains preserved in the archaeological record.

The Colchester Vase

The exhibition opens with some details about the amphitheatres in which gladiatorial confrontations took place. Not only is there a video by Alexander Illci showing a reconstruction of Rome’s magnificent Colosseum, but there is a fabulous, splendidly detailed coin showing the amphitheatre in raised relief, dating from AD 80. The exhibition then goes on to explore the world of gladiators via specially chosen objects that reflect the impact how amphitheatres and gladiators contributed to o Roman urban life, even far from the heartland of the Roman Empire.

The Colchester Vase, being perhaps the key object that inspired the exhibition, is worth taking time over when you visit. Apart from the fact that it is superbly well crafted, a piece of real excellence, it tells more than one story, with each component moulded in high relief. To ensure that the vessel can be appreciated in its entirety, a mirror has been placed behind it, and the lighting highlights the relief figures very clearly. It shows a gladiator versus another gladiator, a gladiator versus a beast, and beasts chasing beasts.

Gladiatorial Helmet from Hawkedon, Suffolk

Another key object in the exhibition is the helmet from Hawkedon in Suffolk, one of the most important objects to be found in connection with the history of gladiators in Britain. Unlike the Colchester Vase, or any of the other objects depicting gladiatorial action discussed below, this was design to participate in the action, worn to protect the gladiator and give him the best chance of survival. The front-piece is modern, added to give a complete impression of what the original item looked like. Analysis of the metal suggests that it was made on the continent and hints that both it and perhaps its owner may have travelled to Britain for participation in the amphitheatre.

Amongst many other discoveries during the excavations , the one that confirms that gladiatorial bouts undoubtedly took place in the Chester amphitheatre was a huge sandstone tethering stone, which tied animals and some human contestants alike to a central point to prevent them seeking refuge at the sidelines where they could not be viewed by the full circle of spectators (shown at the end of the post). This somewhat daunting object is on display in the exhibition. Although by far the crudest of the many lovely objects on view, it is the one that moves the exhibition from art-works to action, forcing the visitor to engage with the the very savage and bloody nature of the contests. It is one thing to look at a pretty scene on a vase or stone; it is quite another to be confronted with the block that physically chained the victim to its unavoidable fate.

Second century pottery lamp from Italy in the Gladiators of Britain exhibition

Although the gladiators were the stars of the events, the members of the audience were just as important for the success and ambience of the amphitheatres, and many of the other objects in the exhibition reflect the sense of involvement and enjoyment that individuals took from amphitheatre events. One item that clearly demonstrates this sense of involvement is A coping stone, inscribed SERANO LOCUS (shown at the very end of this post), may have been part of the arena wall, perhaps marking the place (“locus”) of a spectator named Seranus. Although the more remarkable of the items in the exhibition, such as the Colchester Vase, were probably specially commissioned, other items are far less prestigious. The many oil lamps in the exhibition, showing scenes of gladiators in action, were probably purchased like souvenirs when peformances were taking place. It is thought that traces of outer buildings and the remains of food items at Chester represent snack stalls, and it is entirely likely that souvenirs could also have been sold in the same vicinity, or after the event in marketplaces.

Altar dedicated to Nemesis by Sextius Marcianus, found in a shrine at the amphitheatre.

Also on display is the shrine to the goddess Nemesis, apparently retained in the second amphitheatre after being built for the first one, adds a religious dimension to proceedings, a feature known from other amphitheatres in the Empire as well. Representing fate, Nemesis was appropriate to the prospective fortunes of both winner and loser. Nemesis was particularly appropriate for a gladiatorial outlook, whether winner or loser, representing fate. It was dedicated by the centurion Sextius Marcianus who had it made after experiencing a vision.

There are a great many more objects in the exhibition. Each has been well chosen to show different aspects of the gladiatorial experience, and each is well explained in the labelling. A wide variety of materials are represented, including stone, metals, wood and pottery, and many are decorated with great imagination. Some were component parts of the amphitheatres themselves. Others were items used in the arena, whilst a wide range of items were designed for the home. Most of these were the objects that people chose to commission or purchase, took into their homes and cared for, maintaining them in beautiful condition. As the exhibition demostrates so clearly, when they were buried, broken or lost in transit, they became archaeological remnants, and in doing so became threads of several different lines of investigation that continue to feed into broader research about the Roman occupation of Britain.

As well as the objects themselves, the information labels and interpretation boards not only inform, but create an all-encompassing experience that helps visitors to get to grips with a fascinating if gory subject matter. The interpretation boards are beautifully designed, giving the exhibition a good sense of coherence. Fortunately there is no gore on show, so this is entirely child-friendly (with games and dress-up outfits available for children) and whilst the exhibition does not judge, it leaves visitors in little doubt that this was a form of entertainment that potentially had a life or death outcome, whether for human or animal.

The exhibition may be small but it makes a terrific impact, making superb use of the space available, and seeking at every turn to inform and involve. The art work on the interpretation boards is attractive, and there is a lightness of touch to the whole presentation and the delicate artwork that manages to complement rather than overwhelm the exhibits and the themes. It is really well done. Don’t miss it!

With many thanks to the Grosvenor Museum’s Liz Montgomery for a really engaging guided tour of the exhibition.

The exhibition is free of charge to enter, and the museum opening times are shown on its website: https://grosvenormuseum.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk/visit-us/. Do note, as shown above, that group tours are available on Mondays, and you can phone up to arrange them. The exhibition is on in Chester until January 25th 2026.

Enjoy!

For anyone wanting to gain an impression of what the Chester amphitheatre may have looked like, the following YouTube video by 3-D modeller Julian Baum in collaboration with archaeologist Tony Willmot may help to visualize the building:

Sources and further reading:

Books and Papers

Hunt cup from Colchester

Ainsworth, Stewart and Tony Wilmott 2005. Chester Amphitheatre. From Gladiators to Gardens. Chester City Council and English Heritage

de la Bédoyère, Guy 2001. The Buildings of Roman Britain. Tempus

de la Bédoyère, Guy 2013. Roman Britain: A New History. Thames and Hudson

Carrington, Peter1994. Chester. B.T. Batsford / English Heritage

Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Keith 2001. Chester amphitheatre excavations in 2000. Chester City Council
https://www.academia.edu/4403653/Chester_amphitheatre_excavations_in_2000 (open access but requires free log-in)

Mason, David, J.P. 2001, 2007 (2nd edition). Roman Chester. City of Eagles. Tempus

Neubauer, Wolfgang; Christian Gugl, Markus Scholz, Geert Verhoeven, Immo Trinks, Klaus Löcker, Michael Doneus, Timothy Saey and Marc Van Meirvenne 2014. The Discovery of the School of Gladiators at Carnuntum, Austria. Antiquity. Antiquity. 2014, 88 (339), p173-190. Published online 2nd January 2015
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/discovery-of-the-school-of-gladiators-at-carnuntum-austria/4ACC29C5CC928A88A8A4F5ADC3E989CB

Salway, Peter 1984. Roman Britain. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press

Thompson, F.H. 1976, The excavation of the Roman amphitheatre at Chester, Archaeologia 1976, 105, p.127–239

Wilmott, Tony; Dan Garner and Stewart Ainsworth. The Roman Amphitheatre at Chester: An Interim Account. English Heritage Historical Review, Volume 1, 2006, 7
https://moscow.sci-hub.st/4860/8932e6265dd8765296a9986ccfcd3dcd/wilmott2006.pdf

Wilmott, Tony and Dan Garner 2018. The Roman Amphitheatre of Chester. Volume 1, The Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology. Oxbow (also available on Kindle, although not all of the tables are fully legible)

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Websites

artnet
A Roman-Era Vase, Once Considered a Cremation Vessel, Turns Out to Be an Early Form of Sports Memorabilia for a Gladiator Fan. April 13th 2023
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/colchester-vase-sports-memorabilia-2270088

Based in Churton
Peter Carrington’s excellent guided walk of Roman Chester during the Festival of Ideas. Andie Byrnes, July 6th 2025
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-7OD

Colchester City Council
Historic Colchester Vase goes on tour with the British Museum. 19th November 2024
https://www.colchester.gov.uk/info/cbc-article/?id=KA-04817

Grosvenor Museum Chester
Gladiators of Britain exhibition
https://events.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk/event/gladiators-of-britain/

Julian Baum, VXF Artist and Illustrator
Chester’s Roman Amphitheatre
https://jbt27.artstation.com/projects/bKDayr?album_id=332464

Beast fighting. Found in Ephesus (British Museum).

Beast fighting. Found in Ephesus, Turkey (British Museum).

Tethering stone from Chester amphitheatre

The SERANO LOCUS coping stone

“Landscape of Neolithic Axes” – A hugely enjoyable afternoon of talks at Penmaenmawr

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Introduction

What a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon on Saturday 16th August organized by the Landscape of Neolithic Axes project, part of the Carneddau Landscape Partnership. The subject matter, “Landscape of Neolithic Axes,” focused on the production, distribution and role of axeheads made on stone sourced above Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr. These shaped and polished axeheads were distributed to locations all over Britain.

Penmaenmawr, which hosted the event, is a lively little village perched above the north Wales coast, with fabulous views out to the sea, which was particularly jewel-like on the sunny day of our visit. The sense of seascape and landscape merging almost seamlessly into one another, only faintly interrupted by the line of the village, was remarkable. Brown signposts to “Druid’s Circle” (Cefn Coch prehistoric stone circle) and the immediacy of the rocky hills just above were incredibly tempting, but we were headed for the Community Hall that was hosting a series of public lectures.

It was a very well attended event. The same three talks took place first in the morning starting at 10am, and then again in the afternoon at 2pm. That was extremely generous as it gave those of us coming from further away the chance to leave home at a reasonable time, and the afternoon talks sounded just as fresh as if they were being delivered for the first time.

Key sites in the area of Neolithic axe production around Penmaenmawr and Llainfairfechan

A map of the area, showing all the key sites. From the temporary exhibition at Penmaenmawr Museum (click to enlarge)

Although outside visitors were invited to attend, the event was clearly organized, at least in part, in recognition of the volunteers and the community for all their support. Many of the attendees had been volunteers on the extensive survey and excavation work that took place not only on Graig Lwyd itself but on nearby outcrops formed of the same intrusive rock. The talks were designed to be fully accessible to all levels of familiarity with the subject, and were based not only on the latest local research, which has been conducted to the highest standards, but also on the most up to date academic findings in the rest of Britain and in Europe. It was a genuinely impressive and thoroughly riveting trio of talks.

Apologies for the quality of the photos that I took on my smartphone at the exhibition, and which are dotted throughout this post – I have been unable to improve them much, in spite of tinkering in Photoshop.

A quick note on Neolithic axeheads

Polished Graig Lwyd Neolithic axehead. Photograph and copyright David Longley. Source: Carneddau Partnership

Just a quick note on the manufacture of axeheads for anyone reading this who is unfamiliar with the subject. The Neolithic spans the time period from around 6000-4500BC and in part of this period axeheads made of particular types of stone, found only in certain geographic areas, became an important type of commodity, traded throughout Britain. The stone axes made from the outcrops at Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan, a stone valued both for its durability and workability has been found all over Britain. The working of the stone and the networks that distributed them were complex, not only logistically but in terms of inter-community co-operation and the development of relationships. Axeheads, hafted on to wooden handles, were highly valued items, presumably not merely because of their value as utility tools, but as prestige items that were often difficult to obtain. This idea is reinforced by finds of axeheads that were never used, and by the fact that some were apparently deliberately broken to take them out of circulation.

Digitized image of a drawing of Graig Lwyd axeheads as published in RCAHMW Caernarvonshire Inventory Volume I : East, Figure 10, 1956. Source: RCAHMW

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The talks

There is, of course, no possibility of doing justice to the talks, and I have not tried to capture everything that was covered. I hope that I have managed to capture just a little flavour of some aspects of the research discussed by the three speakers in the very short sketches below. Thanks very much to the the three presenters who provided such a good summary of their work, the directions that their research is taking and how it all relates to the Penmaenmawr area.
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Jane Kenney (Landscape of Neolithic Axes Project and Heneb)
About “The Landscape of Neolithic Axes Project”

Roughouts (part-completed axeheads) from the Graig Lwyd area. Photographed in the temporary exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum

Dr Kenney, who has been running the project, explained that this is the 6th and final year of the project that is part of the part of the Carneddau Landscape Partnership Scheme, the overarching objectives of which are to protect and conserve natural and cultural heritage, engaging local people and visitors with that heritage.

The project covers the important period 4000-2500BC that sees the arrival of the earliest farmers, pottery and new funerary monuments, who began to move into the territories of Mesolithic groups who hunted, collected plant foods and fished. Polished stone axe-heads were part of the new material assemblage that was required by these innovators. Although wooden handles rarely survive, it is clear from the few that do that axe and adze heads were intended to be hafted. The example on the poster at the top of the page, and also shown further down the page, is from Cumbria and is now at the British Museum. There were a number of places from which suitable stones were sourced and worked, and Graig Lwyd behind Penmaenmawr was one of these. The wide distribution of axe heads throughout Britain and Ireland reflects not only the functional value of this type of tool, but their social significance too.

William Hazzledine Warren, who first discovered the Graig Lwyd site in 1821. Source: Peoples Collection Wales

Graig Lywyd was first discovered by Samuel Hazzledine Warren, who was both geologist and prehistorian, in 1919. He found literally tons of worked material at the outcrop known as Graig Lwyd, made on an igneous microdiorite called augite granophyre, a type of rock formed of liquid magma intrusions that has the combined virtues of being hard enough to use for chopping wood, but also has a structure suitable for knapping into the required shapes. He published his findings, starting over two centuries of archaeological research in the area.

Stone sources from around Penmaenmawr. From the temporary exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum. Click to enlarge.

The whole of Penmaenmawr is made out of this, with the rock around the exposed edges of Graig Lwyd and nearby outcrops, Dinas and Garreg Fawr, being the most suitable, precisely because they were so exposed, and after repeated freezing and thawing developed fractures that become scree that can be easily exploited. Graig Lwyd, Dinas and Garreg Fawr became a very important source with examples distributed all the across England and Wales with at least one present in Scotland too. Warren’s work was built upon by other independent local researchers, including David T. Jones with whom Kenney worked in the initial stages of the project to identify several possible sources of axe manufacturing.

As this became a wide-ranging landscape project, the team involved an army of volunteers to do the hard work, as well as children from local schools. Different approaches were taken to excavation, beginning with 1m sq test pits, with everything bagged by layer and pit. Even at this early stage trend became noticeable, with flakes dominating and roughouts being found but later stages of manufacture, including completed objects, absent. This was a pattern that was repeated at different outcrops. Bigger trenches were opened that provided more detailed information, some of it near the outcrops themselves but others further down slopes where material had travelled over the centuries. At the same time, more test pits were opened in newly identified areas. The test pits, which investigated below the surface, supplemented the surface finds and showed that there was much more to be found. As well as roughouts and waste materials, manufacturing tools like hammerstones were also found, helping to provide a more complete understanding of the manufacturing process.

Image showing the excavation of test pits forming part of the Carneddau Scheme. The workings were previously thought to be focussed only on the area of Graiglwyd axe factory but are now known to extend over a much wider area. Source: RCAHMW

Flint tool and flakes (waste materials from tool making) found at Maes-y- . Photographed at the temporary exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum

An exciting find above a a marshy area near Dinas that produced lots of axe-working debris and some finished axes may have been a settlement area, now called Maes y Bryn, where different activities took place. As well as axe debris, scattered over a wide area, there were lots of flint flakes scattered over the area, which are entirely consistent with a settlement site. The flints were mainly flakes, the waste from domestic tool manufacture, which were probably domestic.

As well as the Neolithic findings, there were Bronze Age and Iron Age discoveries as well. For example, not only has the Dinas outcrop produced plenty of Neolithic axe production data, but it has a very nice Iron Age hillfort on top, and there are plenty of Iron Age field systems in the area. The early and later medieval use of the land is also of considerable interest. The area clearly has a considerable amount of future potential, but for the immediate future the focus has to be on post-excavation work, with the challenge of dealing with the huge quantities of axe-making debris that was found: 163 buckets as of last year, and yet more of it this year!

The next talk, by PhD student Becky Vickers was a fascinating insight into how these 163+ buckets are beginning to be assessed.

Excavation of an axe production site in the Penmaenmawr-Llanfairfechan area

Investigating a test pit in the Penmaenmawr-Llanfairfechan area. Source: RCAHMW

Becky Vickers (PhD candidate, University of Sheffield)
New research on Axe-Making

Poster from the exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum showing some of the varieties of tool found on the outcrops on the Penmaenmawr mountain

The moment I saw that this talk was on the programme I was looking forward to it. There are dozens of studies looking at flint and chert tool analysis and reconstruction, including how the waste flakes inform about the manufacturing process. The essence of the approach is to look at how basic raw materials undergo a process of reduction, using stone and organic tools (wood, bone, antler etc) to strike a stone directly or indirectly (e.g. hitting an antler-made tool with a hammer stone to create a particular form). It is a lot less common for other types of stone tools to be analyzed using similar methods and perspectives, gaining an understanding of them from raw material to finished product and, beyond manufacturing, how they were used.

This was the main thrust of the first part of the presentation by Becky Vickers, and it was immensely informative. She first took us through the anatomy of a tool and flakes, identifying key factors that indicate how the tools were made and how waste flakes can be distinguished from loose scree. Three main stages of reduction were identified after the raw material had been sourced, which represent a process from rough-out (rough shaping of a piece of stone), through clearly identifiable shape, to final product. Part of the research has been to study the waste flakes from the production process and the pieces of stone that were flaked away from what would become finished (or abandoned) tools. Waste flakes can be just as informative as roughouts and finished products about the manufacturing process, an essential part of the production process, helping to answer questions about how flakes changed through various stages and where these stages took place.

Not only axes were made at the sites. From an interpretation board at the temporary exhibition.

Similarly, one of the many interesting points picked out here (amongst far too many to list in this post) is that not all of the axes produced in the Graig Lwyd and related areas were of the most traditional axe form. Others were carved into shapes that could be used as both small and large general-purpose tools, as well as scrapers and picks. These give a sense of the versatility and different scales of the production process. The hammerstones that would have assisted with the reduction of the stone to form tools are very rare, suggesting that they were valued items that were carried from the site when the work was done.

The analysis of the objects found suggests that these different processes took place at different locations. Some of the initial work to create a tool from the raw material was found at the source of the stone. Roughouts, the initial shaping of the stone into a piece that resembles the final tool, were also found at the source of the stone, but after that further refinement took place elsewhere, perhaps initially in at temporary, seasonal settlement sites that may also have been used as bases for pastoral activities, and were perhaps finished in specialized workshop areas.

A few of the 163 tubs of artefacts and waste flakes found during the project. From the temporary exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum.

Another aspect of Becky Vickers’s work is experimental archaeology. She has been working with experimental archaeologists Dr James Dilley and videographer and photographer Emma Jones, who have all worked together to carry out, record and understand the implications of end-to-end production processes. See the video at the very end of this post. Attempting to reproduce the original methodology to complete a final tool have been of real value to Becky Vickers. enabling her to to adapt her ideas. Experiments showed that 1700-3000 small flakes could be produced from one tool, depending on the reduction process chosen. Interestingly, this is not at all well represented in the archaeological assemblage. Many of the smaller flakes are now missing, either washed away by the weather or missed in the archaeological process. Although she has over 163 huge tubs of finds to wade through, the job could have been much more challenging if all the very small waste flakes that must have been produced in the Neolithic had also been found!

Detail from an interpretation panel at the temporary exhibition

Sometimes is is clear that part-made axes deliberately destroyed, intentionally putting them out of action. This aspect of the research suggests that choices were being made about the suitability of a tool during the manufacturing process and, where an item was found to be wanting, it had to be disposed of in a particular way.

The analysis is to finish in spring 2016, and it will be very interesting to see some of the results.

We broke at this point for more tea and coffee. Following both of the above lectures, a variety of questions were posed by the audience, and it was interesting to note that many of them centred on how the axeheads fitted into not only industrial and economic aspects of life, but on the wider question of how they were involved in how societies and individuals defined themselves and how such objects became culturally embedded with their own particular signficance. It was handy, then, that the afternoon was wrapped up with the Headline Talk by one of Britain’s best known Neolithic specialists, Dr Alison Sheridan, who tackled these and other wide-ranging topics about axe manufacturing and the axe trade in Europe, Britain and Ireland.

Headline Talk: Alison Sheridan (Associate Researcher, National Museums of Scotland)
About the Wider World of the Axes

The Shulishader hafted axehead (Stornoway, Lewis). Source: National Museum of Scotland

After hearing about the Penmaenmawr landscape, and its role in the axe trade, Dr Sheridan introduced the wider picture, and offering insights into the social importance of axes in Britain and Europe.

On a practical front, the axehead is an essential component of the toolkit for land clearance and for cutting and shaping wood for making houses, boats, other tools and weapons. However, they were not all put to work. Some were not destined to chop anything. Both haft and axehead of the Shulishader axe, for example,found on the Isle of Lewis and dating c.3300-3000BC were beautifully shaped and seem to have been less for everyday use and more for display. Whether valued for their utilitarian use or for the prestigious character of the item itself, they demonstrated a high level of interconnection between communities. Some types of stone were obviously preferred and even when it was logistically challenging, items made of these preferred raw materials travelled over long networks. The Irish Stone Axe Project, for example, has found at least 9000 porcellanite axes in Ireland. The networks that distributed these tools presumably also helped to maintain social ties so that communities could support each other in times of need, for finding marriage partners, for exchanging ideas and for a great many other interconnections.

The distribution of axeheads from Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan across Britain. From the temporary exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum. Apologies that it is so lop-sided!

Dr Sheridan described how since the mid 1900s thin sections taken of rocks used for tool manufacture has enabled the study of mineral composition, helping to create a picture not only where these have been sourced, but how far these tools have travelled. Although there were a number of quarries in Wales, axes were also imported from elsewhere, including one in southwest Wales from the Italian Alps. The extent and complexity of these networks suggests that this was not just a case of economic models of supply and demand and factory-type production line manufacturing. Instead, Dr Sheridan argues that something more complicated was happening, with social and ideological factors driving production and movement.

In order to contextualize the axe trade, Dr Sheridan gave an overview of the establishment of farming and its associated new traditions with the arrival from Europe of livestock and crops. Much of her work has been informed by DNA analysis of human remains, which suggests several periods of migration, resulting in the widespread adoption of pioneering new methods of farming by indigenous hunting populations. Two strands in particular impacted Wales, one responsible for the types of megalithic tombs found on the west coasts of England, Wales and Scotland, and in Ireland and another responsible for the those who introduced the Carinated Bowl tradition. They brought with them not only new economic activities, pottery and funerary traditions, but new domestic architecture based on farmsteads and new tool types.

Jadeitite axe, Kincraigy (Raymoghy) found in Co. Donegal, Ireland. Source: National Museum of Ireland

One of the remarkable aspects of the network of European trade, exchange and communication that grew up around axeheads is the arrival of polished green Jadeitite axeheads from high in the Italian Alps, which have been found as far away as the Scottish borders, County Mayo in Ireland, the Black Sea and Morocco. These were special purpose objects that were never intended to be used. The edges can be translucent when ground thin, so that when held up to the light the edges display a halo, and they can be polished to an almost mirror-like surface. They were the subject of the pan-European Projet JADE headed by Professor Pierre Pétrequin, a three year project from 2007-2010 that has produced four volumes of findings. Dr Sheridan described how a strand of interesting ethnoarchaeological work has been carried out in Papua New Guinea to gain insights into axe productions, where the highest mountains, being closest to the Gods, were seen as the ideal source of rocks for tool manufacture. As Dr Sheridan said, every single axehead had an amazing biographical tale to tell, based on its perceived value as a prestige item.

Ehenside Tarn haft and axehead, Cumbria. Source: British Museum (POA.190.6)

One of the best-known sites for accessing the raw material for axeheads in Britain is Great Langdale in Cumbria, where a greenish rock was sought out. Dr Sheridan suggested that both the choice of stone and its treatment were influenced by Alpine axeheads in terms of colour, shape, aesthetic beauty as well as its ability to take polish. These were circulated long distance Britain and Ireland, with some performing a functional role whilst others seem to have performed a more ceremonial role. The Great Langdale quarries were very heard to reach. As with the Papua New Guinea example, the social value lies in the difficulty of obtaining stone in first place.

Dr Sheridan went on to describe other examples of British axehead finds, including the working of blue-green igneous riebeckite-felsite axeheads on Shetland, where people were making more axeheads than they could possibly use. One site alone, a Neolithic house, produced a very unusual find of 12 axeheads, perhaps amassed as wealth to be exchanged with other communities.

The obvious question in discussion of exchange networks, is what Neolithic axeheads were exchanged for. Dr Sheridan suggested that on the basis of evidence of extensive saltern production (salt made by evaporating sea water or brine from inland springs) axeheads could have been exchanged for salt. Salt has always been a trade commodity, and although it can be difficult to detect archaeologically, it is a very intriguing line of potential research.

Seen in the context of Dr Sheridan’s talk, the Penmaenmawr axeheads are part of a much wider series of Neolithic networks that produced and distributed not only utilitarian tools, but items of status and prestige that could be preserved and curated to become components of more esoteric value systems.

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The Exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum

Geology of the Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan outcrops

An incredibly helpful portion of an interpretation panel at the temporary exhibition in the museum explaining the geology of the Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan outcrops. Click to enlarge.

We had intended to arrive early enough to see the small exhibition on the same theme in the Penmaenmawr Museum, but the A55 crawled along at 30mph nearly the entire way, so we had arrived just in time to sit down with a complementary coffee and utterly delicious chocolate Hobnob. Fortunately we were fabulously lucky that some of the museum personnel were packing up at the end of the day, and one of their number generously allowed us in to see the exhibition after they should have closed for the day. Thank you Suryiah for letting us in! The exhibition was beautifully done. Seven interpretation boards covered the geology, the process of axe production on Graig Lwyd and other outcrops, the types of tool found, and provided a cabinet full of axes in various stages of construction, waste flakes and some flint implements to provide an excellent idea of the range of items that were being found on the mountain. Photographs of the interpretation boards and their beautiful photographs and illustrations have been used throughout this post. It will be good to go back and see the entire museum on another day.
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Final Comments

The Graig Lwyd stone quarry as it looks today. Source: RCAHMW

It was a splendid afternoon of talks. If you have the chance to hear any of the researchers speak in the future, do take advantage of the opportunity! The lectures were being filmed, so hopefully they will become available online at some stage.

The sheer number of logos referencing so many organizations on the poster and on presentations says an awful lot about the complexities of funding and organizing something this complex, particularly in the long-term. Thanks so much not only to the funders, organizers and speakers, but to the volunteers who provided cups of tea and coffee (life-saving), glasses of water and luxury biscuits, and to all the people who enabled the exhibition to happen, including the museum staff. It was so well done. The long round of applause at the end of the event said it all, but it was also great to see people queuing up to thank the organisers on the way out.

My thanks also to Helen Anderson not only for driving us, but for letting me know that the event was taking place.

A few selected pieces of further reading

These are bits and pieces from my own reading, not anything recommended by the organizers of the event.

Books and papers

A short list of general introductory reading

Polished axehead from Graig Lwyd stone found on Anglesey. Source: Peoples Collection Wales

Burrow, Steve 2006. The Tomb Builders in Wales 4000-3000BC. National Museum of Wales

Edmonds, Mark 1995. Stone Tools and Society. Working Stone in Neolithic and Bronze Age Britain. Routledge

Malone, Caroline 2001. Neolithic Britain and Ireland. Tempus

Ray, Keith and Julian Thomas. Neolithic Britain. The Transformation of Social Worlds. Oxford University Press

Specific to Axehead Production (all available to view online)

Ennos, Roland and João Oliveira 2020. The mechanical properties of wood and the design of Neolithic stone axes. Journal of Lithic Studies. 8. p.11-24
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359751898_The_mechanical_properties_of_wood_and_the_design_of_Neolithic_stone_axes

Pétrequin, Pierre and Alison Sheridan, Estelle Gauthier, Serge Cassen, Michel Errera,
Lutz Klassen 2015. Projet JADE 2. ‘Object-signs’ and social interpretations of Alpine jade axeheads in the European Neolithic: theory and methodology. In : T. Kerig and S. Shennan (eds.), Connecting networks . Oxford, Archaeopress, p.83-102
(Free to access, but you need a free Academia account):
https://www.academia.edu/13644414/PETREQUIN_P_SHERIDAN_et_al_2015_Projet_JADE_2_Object_signs_and_social_interpretations_of_Alpine_jade_axeheads_in_the_European_Neolithic_theory_and_methodology_in_T_Kerig_et_S_Shennan_ed_Connecting_networks_Oxford_Archaeopress_83_102

Sheridan, Alison and Gabriel Cooney, Eoin Grogan 1992. Stone Axe Studies in Ireland. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 58, 1992, p.389-416
https://core.ac.uk/reader/325992590

Topping, Peter 2010. 3 Neolithic Axe Quarries and Flint Mines: Towards an Ethnography of Prehistoric Extraction. In (eds.) Margaret Brewer-LaPorta, Adrian Burke and David Field. Ancient Mines and Quarries. A Trans-Atlantic Perspective. Oxbow Books, chapter 3.
(Free to access, but you need a free Academia account):
https://www.academia.edu/17310103/_2010_Neolithic_Axe_Quarries_and_Flint_Mines_Towards_an_Ethnography_of_Prehistoric_Extraction

Walker, Katherine 2015. Axe-heads and Identity: an investigation into the roles of imported
axe-heads in identity formation in Neolithic Britain. Unpublished PhD. University of Southampton, Faculty of Humanities (Archaeology), Volume 1 of 2
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/383149/1/K.Walker%2520-%2520PhD%2520thesis.pdf

Williams, J.Ll.W. and Jane Kenney 2009. Graig Lwyd (Group VII) Lithic Assemblages from the Excavations at Parc Bryn Cegin, Llandygai, Gwynedd, Wales – Analysis and Interpretation. Internet Archaeology 26
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue26/williams_index.html

Websites and YouTube videos

Gwynedd Archaeological Trust
Group VII Axe-working Sites and Stone Sources, Llanfairfechan, Conwy. Report and gazetteer. Project No. G2495. Cadw Report No. 1416. December 2017. By Jane Kenney
https://www.walesher1974.org/her/groups/GAT/media/GAT_Reports/GAT_report_1416_compressed.pdf
Landscape of Neolithic Axes: Report on fieldwork in 2021 at Llanfairfechan. Project No. G2495. Prepared for: Cadw. Report No. 1623. March 2022. By Jane Kenney and George Smith
walesher1974.org/her/groups/GAT/media/GAT_Reports/GATreport_1623_compressed_revised.pdf
Landscape of Neolithic Axes. Report on fieldwork in 2022 at Llanfairfechan. Project G2495. Prepared for: Cadw. Report No.1698. March 2023. By Jane Kenney and George Smith
https://walesher1974.org/her/groups/GAT/media/GAT_Reports/GATreport_1698_compressed.pdf

Heneb
Landscape of Neolithic Axes Project: Year 1 Test Pitting, Ty’n y Llwyfan, Llanfairfechan.
https://heneb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/fieldwork2019.pdf
Group VII Axe-working Sites and Stone Sources, Llanfairfechan, Conwy. Report and gazetteer. Project No. G2495. Prepared for: Cadw. Report No. 1416. December 2017. By
Jane Kenney
https://heneb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/initialsurvey.pdf

A Research Framework for the Archaeology of Wales
Neolithic and Earlier Bronze Age. Version 03; Final Refresh Document February 2017
www.archaeoleg.org.uk/pdf/review2017/neolithicreview2017.pdf

Carneddau Landscape Partnership
Conserving and celebrating the landscape of the Carneddau
(The Carneddau landscape is an area stretching across almost 220 square kilometres in Northen Snowdonia. Its mountain uplands are dominated by Carnedd Llywelyn and Carnedd Dafydd – two of Wales’ five 1,000m peaks)
https://carneddaupartnership.wales/
Landscape of Neolithic Axes
https://carneddaupartnership.wales/project/landscape-of-neolithic-axes/

Penmaenmawr Historical Society and Museum
https://www.penmaenmawrmuseum.co.uk/

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See the website at www.ancientcraft.co.uk

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Day 1 – The Roman Research Framework for Wales and a tour of the re-opened Museum

Day 1 (p.m. – keynote), Day 2 (all day) and Day 3 (a.m.) A programme of lectures at the University of Wrexham

Day 3 p.m. – Organized visits

Final Comments

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Visiting

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Introduction

Background: Historic carved wood and the grotesque

The Plas Newydd Carvings

Installation of the Plas Newydd Carvings

What motivated the collection of woodwork chosen for Plas Newydd?

Themes in the Plas Newydd carvings

The quality of the carvings

Sources for the Plas Newydd carvings

Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby

General Yorke

Future research

Final comments

With thanks

Sources

Online catalogues, National Library of Wales archives and Plas Newydd on-site information

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

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Introduction

The Chester Amphitheatre

The Gladiators of Britain Exhibition

Sources and further reading:

Books and Papers

xxx Websites

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Introduction

A quick note on Neolithic axeheads

The talks

Jane Kenney (Landscape of Neolithic Axes Project and Heneb) About “The Landscape of Neolithic Axes Project”

Becky Vickers (PhD candidate, University of Sheffield) New research on Axe-Making

Headline Talk: Alison Sheridan (Associate Researcher, National Museums of Scotland) About the Wider World of the Axes

The Exhibition at the Penmaenmawr Museum

Final Comments

A few selected pieces of further reading

Books and papers

A short list of general introductory reading

Specific to Axehead Production (all available to view online)

Websites and YouTube videos

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Day 1 (p.m. – keynote), Day 2 (all day) and Day 3 (a.m.)
A programme of lectures at the University of Wrexham

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Websites

Jane Kenney (Landscape of Neolithic Axes Project and Heneb)
About “The Landscape of Neolithic Axes Project”

Becky Vickers (PhD candidate, University of Sheffield)
New research on Axe-Making

Headline Talk: Alison Sheridan (Associate Researcher, National Museums of Scotland)
About the Wider World of the Axes