Last updated: 4th September 2025
Web addresses all checked: 3rd August 2025

Introduction

This bibliography brings together all the sources used in the Plas Newydd posts in this blog. The format is the same as for posts: Books, Papers and Booklets (with web addresses if there is an online location) followed by Websites. I have only listed sources that I have actually used. I have noted in red-purple if there is anything helpful to say about a particular source.

The dates at the top of the page show a) when I last added new material to the bibliography and b) when I last checked all the links. If you find that an online resource is of particular use, I suggest you download it or print to PDF, because web resources can vanish overnight. All were checked on the date shown at the top of the page.

Unfortunately the WordPress template that I use for this site does not support internal anchors and hyperlinks, which means that I cannot link from the Page Contents to the point on the page where each heading is to be found. Instead, I suggest you use your browser’s Search facility (usually available by pressing CTRL and F) to go to the correct point on the page. I have also added images to help when scrolling down the page to find a specific topic.

This is a very long page (26 sides of A4 when printed with images), partly because some references are duplicated under a number of headings, but it is also because each different decorative art is very specialized and requires a bibliography of its own. To make life easier, the entire document can be downloaded as a PDF here.

Page Contents

Introductory material about Plas Newydd and its owners
The Decorative Arts – General
Wood Carvings
Stained Glass
Delftware
Leather Wall Hangings
Lincrusta Wall Paper
Moulded Ceiling Decoration
Stone Fireplace Surrounds
Gardens and The Dell
Gorsedd Stone Circle

Introductory material about Plas Newydd and its owners

Books, booklets and Papers

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

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

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

Mavor, Elizabeth 1971, 2011 (2nd edition). The Ladies of Llangollen. A Study in Romantic Friendship. Moonrise Press. Does not always cite her sources for specific quotations and references.

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 information is listed first by month and then by year, so that all the journal entries for January in every given year are listed in the first chapter, and then all for February and so on. I would have found it more informative if it had listed by year, from earliest to latest. I suppose it gives a sense of how each month in all years may have passed, but it gives no sense of the cumulative passing of time over the lives of the ladies and how their lives changed over their time at Plas Newydd.

Veysey, A. Geoffrey and Freeman, David 1980. Plas Newydd and the Ladies of Llangollen. Glyndwr District Council. (16-page visitor guide based on the booklet by Veysey, County Archivist for Clwyd County Council, published in 1988. Two sections were substantially updated by Freeman – the Oak Room and the Ladies’ Bedchamber).
—

Websites

British Listed Buildings
Plas Newydd. A Grade II* Listed Building in Llangollen, Denbighshire
https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300001127-plas-newydd-llangollen

Bygone Liverpool
Liverpool’s Slave Gate
https://bygoneliverpool.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/liverpools-slave-gate-copyright-bygone-liverpool-1st-january-2023-2.pdf

Cadw
The Ladies of Llangollen
https://cadw.gov.wales/ladies-llangollen

Coflein
PGW (C) 48
coflein.gov.uk/media/16/343/cpg069.pdf
Plas Newydd, Llangollen. Site Record
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/27760/
Plas Newydd, Upper Garden
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/266455/

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

Denbighshire County Council
Plas Newydd, Llangollen
https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/leisure-and-tourism/museums-and-historic-houses/plas-newydd-llangollen.aspx

Early Tourists in Wales (N.B. an invaluable resource for Plas Newydd, of which the links below are just a small sample – click on the first link to see all the available pages)
By Michael David Freeman
Home page for Plas Newydd and the Ladies of Llangollen
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/
Descriptions of Plas Newydd and the Ladies of Llangollen
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/descriptions-of-plas-newydd-and-the-ladies-of-llangollen/
Plas Newydd Kitchen Garden
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/the-grounds/kitchen-garden/
Ladies of Llangollen Portraits
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/descriptions-of-eleanor-butler-and-sarah-ponsonby/ladies-of-llangollen-portraits/
Ownership
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/ownership/
Visits to neighbours and elsewhere
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/visitors-to-plas-newydd/plas-newydd-neighbours/

English Heritage
Lasting Impressions: The Ladies of Llangollen Portraits at Audley End (Members’ Area)
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/audley-end-house-and-gardens/history-and-stories/ladies-of-llangollen-portraits/?utm_source=The%20English%20Heritage%20Trust&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=14877625_Members%27%20newsletter%20-%2013th%20February%2025&utm_content=ladies%20of%20llangollen

Geocaching.com
Plas Newydd and the Eisteddfod Stones
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC6P1CZ

Geograph.org.uk
Water Tower, Plas Newydd, Langollen
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3583171

The Guardian
Celebrated Virgins. By Gareth Llŷr Evans, Thursday 26th May 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/may/26/celebrated-virgins-review-ladies-of-llangollen
The week in theatre: The Father and the Assassin; Celebrated Virgins; Legally Blonde. By Susannah Clapp, Sunday 19th May 2022
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/may/29/the-father-and-the-assassin-national-theatre-olivier-review-celebrated-virgins-theatre-clwyd-mold-legally-blonde-regents-park-open-air
‘Darling of my heart’: the irresistible love story of the Ladies of Llangollen. By Emma Beddington, Tuesday 31st January 2023
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/31/sarah-ponsonby-eleanor-butler-love-story-ladies-of-llangollen-wales

History Points
Trevor Church
https://historypoints.org/index.php?page=trevor-church

House and Heritage
Plas Newydd, 16th March 2018
https://houseandheritage.org/2018/03/16/plas-newydd/

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

Ladies of Llangollen blog
By Kelly M. McDonald
https://ladiesofllangollen.wordpress.com/

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

Peoples Collection Wales
Plas Newydd, Llangollen
https://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/37618#?xywh=0%2C-74%2C1476%2C1186
https://www.peoplescollection.wales/discover/query/plas%20newydd%20llangollen
Nicely detailed photograph of Plas Newydd exterior
https://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/41074#?xywh=97%2C317%2C982%2C789

Winckley Square Gardens
Ladies of Llangollen
https://www.winckleysquarepreston.org/heritage/ladies-of-llangollen/

The Decorative Arts – General reference texts

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

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

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

Hoplins, 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

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

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

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

Websites

British Listed Buildings
Lleweni Hall, including Stables to the NE. A Grade II* Listed Building in Denbigh, Denbighshire
https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300001060-lleweni-hall-including-stables-to-the-ne-denbigh

Brynkinalt Estate
https://www.brynkinalt.co.uk/

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/

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

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

Wood Carvings

I have not included general references to “grotesques” (dragons, wyvern, amphs, winged serpents etc) except where a particular source is mentioned directly in connection with wood carvings, but you can find a bibliography of grotesques at the end of the misericord series here. Misericords show a variety of topics, but grotesques are often a major component of the motifs shown.

Books, booklets and papers

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 1994. Welsh Country Furniture. Shire Publications

Bebb, Richard 2007. Welsh Furniture 1240-1950. Volume 1. Saer Books
Bebb, Richard 2007. Welsh Furniture 1240-1950. Volume 2. Saer Books

Bostwick, David 2001. Report on the Woodcarvings at Plas Newydd, Llangollen. Unpublished but comprehensive, detailed and essential descriptive survey of interior and exterior carvings, 19 pages, June 2001, which is available for perusal at Plas Newydd in the Library.

Brazil, Helena 2018. Lincrusta 1877-1887: The development, designs and character of Lincrusta-Walton. Unpublished M.A. thesis. University of Lincoln for the degree of MA by Research, September 2018
https://repository.lincoln.ac.uk/articles/thesis/Lincrusta-Walton_1877_-1887_The_Development_Design_and_Character_of_Lincrusta-Walton/24325975/1

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

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

Morrison, Elizabeth (ed.) with Larisa Grollemond 2019. Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World. Getty Publications

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

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

The Civic Trust – Bishop Lloyd’s Palace
HISTORY MONOGRAPH No 3 – BISHOP LLOYD’S PALACE STREET FRONTAGE. By Karen McKay, 2017
https://chestercivictrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BLP-History-Monograph-No-3-Street-Frontage.pdf

Early Tourists in Wales
N.B. Excellent resource for documentary data relating to the wood carvings at Plas Newydd as well as a superb resource for other aspects of Plas Newydd
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/

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/.

Stained Glass

Books, booklets and papers

Butler, L.A.S. 1976. Valle Crucis Abbey: An Excavation in 1970. Archaeologia Cambrensis 125 (1976), p.80-116

Greene, J. Patrick. 1992. Medieval Monasteries. Leicester University Press

Harries, John 1968, 1980 (2nd edition). Discovering Stained Glass. Shire Publications Ltd.

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

Hicklin, John 1847. The “Ladies of Llangollen,”
as sketched by many hands; with notices of
other objects of interest in “That Sweetest of Vales.”
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20810/20810-h/20810-h.htm

Hughes, Harold 1894. Valle Crucis Abbey. Archaeologia Cambrensis, 5th Series, Vol.XI, No.XLIII, July 1894, p.169-185

Hughes, Harold 1894. Valle Crucis Abbey. Archaeologia Cambrensis, 5th Series, Vol.XI, No.XLIV, October 1894, p.257-275

Hughes, Harold 1895. Valle Crucis Abbey. Archaeologia Cambrensis, 5th Series, Vol.XII, No.XLV, January 1895, p.5-17

Lewis, Mostyn 1970. Stained Glass in North Wales up to 1850. John Sherratt and Son Ltd.

Mavor, Elizabeth 1984. Life with the Ladies of Llangollen. Viking (hardback). (Published by Penguin in 1986 in paperback as A Year with the Ladies of Llangollen)

McRae Thomson, Aidan 2018. Stained Glass. Amberley Publishing

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

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

Rosewell, Roger 2012. Stained Glass. Shire Library

Yorke, Trevor 2022. Victorian Stained Glass. Shire

Websites

Brynkinalt Estate
https://www.brynkinalt.co.uk/

Early Tourists in Wales
Plas Newydd Home Page
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/
Descriptions of Plas Newydd and the Ladies of Llangollen
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/descriptions-of-plas-newydd-and-the-ladies-of-llangollen/

The Leiden Collection
Young woman in a niche with parrot and cage
https://www.theleidencollection.com/archives/artwork/GD-105_young-woman-in-a-niche-with-a-parrot-and-cage_2023.pdf

Roaringwater Journal
Netherlandish Glass in Ireland
https://roaringwaterjournal.com/2023/09/24/netherlandish-glass-in-ireland/

The Stained Glass Museum
Glossary
The Development of Stained Glass in England
https://stainedglassmuseum.com/glossary

West Midlands History
Francis Egington. Designer and Glasspainter. By Martin Ellis, Curator of Applied Art, Birmingham Museums Trust (no date)
https://historywm.com/file/historywm/e04-a15-francis-eginton-89236.pdf

Delftware

Books, booklets and papers

Kamermans, John 2014. Developments in Research on Dutch Tiles. In Susanna Varela Flor (ed.) A Herança de Santos Simōes Nova Perspectivas para o Estudo da Azuleraria e da Cerâmica.

van Dam, Jan Daniel and Pieter Jan Tichelaar 1984. Dutch Tiles in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia Museum of Art
https://ia800201.us.archive.org/18/items/dutchtilesinphil00phil/dutchtilesinphil00phil.pdf

Durbin, Lesley 2005. Architectural Tiles. Conservation and Restoration. From the Medieval Period to the Twentieth Century. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann
https://www.academia.edu/34465762/Architectural_Tiles_Conservation_and_Restoration

van Lemmen, Hans. 2005. Delftware Tiles. Shire Album

Websites

Delfts Aardewerk (trans. Delft pottery – articles in English)
https://delftsaardewerk.nl/en
The city of Delft in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. By Céline Ariaans, 17th March 2020
https://delftsaardewerk.nl/en/learn/6691-the-city-of-delft-in-the-seventeenth-and-eighteenth-centuries

Homes&Antiques
Tiles of style: why both antique and new Delftware will always be in fashion
https://www.homesandantiques.com/antiques/collecting-guides-antiques/delftware-tiles-collecting-guide

Regts Delft Tiles
FAQ
https://www.regtsdelfttiles.com/faq#delfttiles
Where do you still find those antique Dutch Delft tiles?
https://www.regtsdelfttiles.com/blog/where-do-you-still-find-those-antique-dutch-delft-tiles.html

V&A
‘Delftware’: tin-glazed earthenware tiles
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/delftware-tiles?srsltid=AfmBOoqHATTpRhhTIlBSCGJT3g2_qS8-qt5mh3L7xanNqOlu-Pmp2FG4

Leather Wall Hangings

Books, booklets and papers

Posthuma de Boer, Martine, Eloy Koldeweij, Roger M. Groves 2016. Gilt Leather Artefacts: White Paper on Material Characterization and Improved Conservation Strategies within NICAS, Delft. Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Arts and Science (NICAS)
https://www.academia.edu/32424868/Gilt_Leather_Artefacts_White_Paper_on_Material_Characterization_and_Improved_Conservation_Strategies_within_NICAS_Delft_2016

Websites

Adorares
The History and Modern Revival of Spanish Leather Wallpapers
https://www.adorares.com/exploring-european-crafts/the-history-and-modern-revival-of-spanish-leather-wallpapers

Driehaus Museum
“The Most Perfect and Beautiful of All Wall Decorations” October 16th, 2016
https://driehausmuseum.org/blog/view/the-most-perfect-and-beautiful-of-all-wall-decorations

Gilt Leather Society
What is gilt leather?
https://giltleathersociety.org/gilt-leather/what-is-gilt-leather/
Gallery
https://giltleathersociety.org/gilt-leather/gallery/

Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Art and Science
Project: Gilt Leather Artefacts
https://www.nicas-research.nl/projects/gilt-leather-artefacts/

V&A
Gilt-leather Panel ca. 1650-1670
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O370332/panel-martinus-van-den/

Lincrusta Wallpaper

Books, booklets and papers

Fleming, J and Honour. H. 1977, 1989 (2nd edition). “Lincrusta” in The Penguin dictionary of the Decorative Arts. Viking.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Websites

Building Conservation
Lincrusta-Walton and Other 19th-century Raised Relief Wall Coverings, Building Conservation. By Helena Brazil and Paul Croft
https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/lincrusta-walton/lincrusta-walton.html

Internet Archive
Catalogue of designs of Lincrusta-Walton manufactured by Fr. Beck & Co., branch of National Wall Paper Co. 1900
https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000661575/mode/2up

The Leiden Collection
Young woman in a niche with parrot and cage
https://www.theleidencollection.com/archives/artwork/GD-105_young-woman-in-a-niche-with-a-parrot-and-cage_2023.pdf

Lincrusta
Home page
https://lincrusta.com/
Brand Story
https://lincrusta.com/about-us/#brand-story

Lincrusta Heritage
Lincrusta-Walton
https://www.lincrustaheritage.co.uk/lincrusta-walton

Moulded Ceiling Decoration

Books, booklets and papers

Bostwick, David 1993. Decorative Plasterwork of the Yorkshire Region 1570-1670. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Sheffield
https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/1895/

Gapper, Claire, Karen Parker and Edward Roberts 2002. Elizabethan and Jacobean Decorative Features at Hyde, Winchester. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society (Hampshire Studies), 57, 2002, p.59-80
https://www.hantsfieldclub.org.uk/publications/hampshirestudies/digital/2000s/vol57/Gapper%26others.pdf

Pratt, Nigel 2020. Decorative Plasterwork in South-West England, c. 1550-1640, Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Exeter
https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/121309
Volume 1 https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/121309/PrattN%20Vol%201.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Volume 2 https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/121309/PrattN%20Vol%202_TPC.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y

Websites

British Renaissance Plasterwork – The web site of Dr Claire Gapper, based on her PhD research
British Renaissance Plasterwork
https://clairegapper.info/

Building Conservation
Repairing Lime Plaster Ceilings. By Sean Wheatley
https://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/lime-plaster-ceilings/lime-plaster-ceilings.htm

Heritage Plaster Services
Architecture & Plaster Design in the Victorian Period
https://www.heritageplasterservices.co.uk/blog/architecture-plaster-design-in-the-victorian-period

Historic England
Historic Fibrous Plaster in the UK Guidance on its Care and Management
https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/technical-advice/buildings/inspection-and-maintenance-of-fibrous-plaster-ceilings/
Or – https://cadw.gov.wales/sites/default/files/2019-07/Historic%20Fibrous%20Plaster%20Eng_0.pdf

The Victorian Emporium
The Origin of Mouldings, August 4th 2011
https://www.thevictorianemporium.com/publications/history/article/the_origin_of_mouldings?srsltid=AfmBOoqiYBY6zNGjHqpghfsYyUY_xhR4TvZfS4t6S4GfZPrud4jOU-Sf

Stone Fireplace Surrounds

Books, booklets and papers

WORK IN PROGRESS

Websites

WORK IN PROGRESS

Gardens and The Dell

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Early Tourists in Wales By Michael David Freeman
Plas Newydd – The Grounds
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/the-grounds/
Plas Newydd Kitchen Garden
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/the-grounds/kitchen-garden/

Gorsedd Stone Circle

Books, booklets and papers

Arnold, Matthew 1867. On the Study of Celtic Literature. London
https://archive.org/details/onstudyofceltic00arno/page/n5/mode/2up

Bender, Barbara 1998. Stonehenge. Making Space. Berg

Cresswell, Tim 2015 (2nd edition). Place. An Introduction. Wiley Blackwell.

Davies, John 2007 (3rd edition). A History of Wales. Penguin.

Edwards, Hywel Teifi 1990, 2016. The Eisteddfod. University of Wales Press

Fagan, Garrett G. 2006. Diagnosing Pseudoarchaeology. The attraction of non-rational in archaeological hypotheses. In Fagan (ed.). Archaeological Fantasies. Routledge, p.47-70

Farley, Julia and Fraser Hunter 2015. Celts: art and identity. The British Museum and National Museums of Scotland

Flemming, N.C. 2006. The attraction of non-rational archaeological hypotheses. The individual and sociological factors. In (ed.) Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies, Routledge, p.47-70

Fowle, Francis 2015. Chapter 10. The Celtic Revival in Britain and Ireland. Reconstructing the Past c.AD1600-1920. In Farley, Julia and Fraser Hunter 2015 (eds.), Celts: art and identity. The British Museum and National Museums of Scotland, p.236-259.

Green, Miranda J. 1997. Exploring the World of the Druids. Thames and Hudson

Hewison, R. 1987. The Heritage Industry. Methuen

Hobsbawm, Eric 1983. Introduction: Inventing Traditions. In Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (eds.). The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge University Press, p.16-43

Hobsbawm, Eric and T. Ranger 1983. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge University Press

Holtorf, Cornelius 2005. From Stonehenge to Las Vegas. Archaeology as Popular Culture. Altamira Press

Hughes, Bettina 2006. Pseudoarchaeology and nationalism. Essentializing the Difference. In (ed.) Garrett G. Fagan. Archaeological Fantasies, Routledge

Jenkins, Geraint H. 2007. A Concise History of Wales. Cambridge University Press

Kemp, Barry 2010. Druids. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press

Kightly, Charles 2003. Castell Dinas Brân Llangollen. Denbighshire County Council (bilingual booklet with excellent illustrations, artist reconstructions, photographs and information)

Lovata, Troy 2007. Inauthentic Archaeologies. Public Uses and Abuses of the Past. Left Coast Press

Lynch, Frances, 2000. The Later Neolithic and Earlier Bronze Age. In (eds.) Frances Lynch, Stephen Aldhouse-Green and Jeffrewy L. Davies. Sutton, p.79-138.

Morgan, Prys 1983. From a Death to a View: The Hunt for the Welsh Past in the Romantic Period. In Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (eds.). The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge University Press, p.16-43

Morris, Jan 1984. The Matter of Wales: Epic Views of a Small Country. Oxford University Press

Piggott, Stuart 1950. William Stukeley. An Eighteenth Century Antiquary. Oxford Clarendon Press
https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.27266/page/n5/mode/2up

Roberts, Alice 2015. The Celts. Search for a Civilization. Heron Books

Rowlands, Henry. Mona Antiqua Restaurata.
https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_mona-antiqua-restaurata_rowlands-henry_1723

Stukeley, William 1740. A Temple Restor’d to the British Druids. London

Tanner, Marcus 2004. The Last of the Celts. Yale University Press

Tilley, Christopher 2004. The Materiality of Stone. Explorations in Phenomenology. Berg

Tregellas, Walter 1864. Castell Dinas Bran Near Llangollen, Denbighshire. The Archaeological Journal, 21, p.114–120
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-1132-1/dissemination/pdf/021/021_114_120.pdf

Trigger, Bruce G. 1996, 2nd edition. A History of Archaeological Thought. Cambridge University Press

Websites

Amgueddfa Cymru / National Museum of Wales
History of the Welsh Eisteddfodau
https://museum.wales/curatorial/social-cultural-history/online-collections/what-is-the-eisteddfod/
‘Our own pageantry and peacockry‘: the Gorsedd of the Bards
https://museum.wales/articles/1139/Our-own-pageantry-and-peacockry-the-Gorsedd-of-the-Bards/
Gorsedd Symbols and Regalia
https://museum.wales/articles/1136/Scrolls-swords-and-mystic-marks/

Titus Omega via Art Nouveau Style
Arts and crafts/Art nouveau crown given to the winner of the free verse competition at the National Eisteddfod of Wales by Philip & Thomas Vaughton 1908
https://artnouveaustyle.tumblr.com/page/94

Based In Churton
Plas Newydd #4 – The Gorsedd Stone Circle for the Eisteddfod of 1907-8
https://basedinchurton.co.uk/2025/07/21/plas-newydd-llangollen-4-the-gorsedd-stone-circle-for-the-eisteddfod-of-1907-8/
Plas Newydd (4-part series)
https://basedinchurton.co.uk/category/llangollen/plas-newydd-llangollen/

BBC News
The Treason of the Blue Books. By Phil Carradice, 21st January 2011
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2011/01/treason_of_the_blue_books.html
Iolo Morganwg: Scholar, antiquarian and forger. By Phil Carradice, 9th March 2011
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2011/03/iolo_morganwg_scholar_antiquarian_forger.html

Camden New Journal
Park objectors say Welsh hero was a criminal. By Tom Foot, 1st October 2009
https://www.thecnj.com/camden/2009/100109/news100109_03.html

Coflein
Gorsedd Circle, Plas Newydd grounds, Llangollen
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/800631/

Dictionary of Welsh Biography
Edward Williams (Iolo Morganw, 1747-1826), poet and antiquary (by Griffith John Williams and revised by the editorial team 2024)
https://biography.wales/article/s-WILL-EDW-1747#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&manifest=https%3A%2F%2Fdamsssl.llgc.org.uk%2Fiiif%2F2.0%2F4672175%2Fmanifest.json&xywh=1184%2C787%2C1567%2C1265
WILLIAMS, JOHN JAMES (1869 – 1954), minister (Congl.) and poet (by Evan David Jones)
https://biography.wales/article/s2-WILL-JAM-1869
DAVIES, HUGH EMYR (1878 – 1950), minister (Presb.) and poet (by Reverend Gomer Morgan Roberts)
https://biography.wales/article/s2-DAVI-EMY-1878
REES, EVAN (Dyfed; 1850 – 1923), Calvinistic Methodist minister, poet, and archdruid of Wales
https://biography.wales/article/s-REES-EVA-1850?&query=archdruid%20evan%20rees&lang%5B%5D=en&sort=score&order=desc&rows=12&page=1

Early Tourists in Wales
18th and 19th Century Stone Circles
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/18th-and-19th-century-stone-circles/
Gorsedd stone circles / Cylchoedd Cerrig yr Orsedd
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/18th-and-19th-century-stone-circles/gorsedd-circles/
Early Plans of Gorsedd Circles
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/18th-and-19th-century-stone-circles/gorsedd-circles/early-plans-of-gorsedd-circles/
Lists of Gorsedd Circles (including full details of the Llangollen 1908 circle)
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/18th-and-19th-century-stone-circles/gorsedd-circles/list-of-gorsedd-circles/
Plas Newydd – Gorsedd Circle (short note)
https://sublimewales.wordpress.com/attractions/mansions-and-grounds/ladies-of-llangollen/plas-newydd-gorsedd-circle/

Eisteddfod Wales
Gorsedd Cymru
https://eisteddfod.wales/gorsedd-cymru
Chair Winners
https://eisteddfod.wales/chair-winners
Crown Winners
https://web.archive.org/web/20191107194429/https://eisteddfod.wales/archive/eisteddfod-winners/crown-winners

The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
https://www.cymmrodorion.org/

The Iolo Morganwg Project
https://iolomorganwg.wales.ac.uk/index.php

Llangollen
Eisteddfod Fawr Llangollen
https://www.llangollen.org.uk/index.php/things-to-do/history/eisteddfod-bards/item/57-isteddfod-fawr-llangollen

The National Library of Wales
The Blue Books of 1847
https://www.library.wales/discover-learn/digital-exhibitions/printed-material/the-blue-books-of-1847

People’s Collection Wales
Iolo Morganwg
https://www.peoplescollection.wales/content/iolo-morganwg-1747-1826
Augusta Hall (‘Lady Llanover’) (1802-1896)
https://www.peoplescollection.wales/content/bee-gwent
Doubters and critics
https://www.peoplescollection.wales/content/eisteddfod-and-gorsedd-join-forces

RCAHMW
The Intrigue of the National Eisteddfod Gorsedd Stone Circle. By Bethan Hopkins-Williams, 31st July 2024
https://rcahmw.gov.uk/the-intrigue-of-the-national-eisteddfod-gorsedd-stone-circle/

Based in Churton

A Londoner living in West Cheshire

Thematic Bibliography for Plas Newydd, Llangollen

Introduction

Page Contents

Introductory material about Plas Newydd and its owners

Books, booklets and Papers

Websites

The Decorative Arts – General reference texts

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Wood Carvings

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Stained Glass

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Delftware

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Leather Wall Hangings

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Lincrusta Wallpaper

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Moulded Ceiling Decoration

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Stone Fireplace Surrounds

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Gardens and The Dell

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Gorsedd Stone Circle

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Introduction

Page Contents

Introductory material about Plas Newydd and its owners

Books, booklets and Papers

Websites

The Decorative Arts – General reference texts

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Wood Carvings

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Stained Glass

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Delftware

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Leather Wall Hangings

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Lincrusta Wallpaper

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Moulded Ceiling Decoration

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Stone Fireplace Surrounds

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Gardens and The Dell

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

Gorsedd Stone Circle

Books, booklets and papers

Websites

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