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It's a sad fact that upwards of 30 public houses are closing down every week in Britain.

Other countries might have their taverns, beer halls or bars but the humble British pub has always been something of an institution, an establishment unique to this country.

Every town or village once had one and the public house was, for many years, the social centre of community life. All that, however, is changing as people now buy cheaper alcohol in supermarkets and are more than happy to sit and drink at home. The cosy chat around the pub fire or bar counter are rapidly becoming things of the past.

It might seem as if the pub has been around for thousands of years but, in fact, the public house as we know it is not as ancient as we sometimes think. As far as Wales is concerned purpose-built pubs only came into being in the last 300 or so years.

Inns, for the comfort of needy travellers, had been around for some time - Chaucer's pilgrims in began their journey from just such an establishment and there were many examples in Wales. But pubs? These were a different species.

The public house, a place just to drink and talk, arrived in Wales in the early 1700s. To begin with they were beer houses, the name summing up their origins.

Quite simply people opened up their houses and sold beer in their front rooms or parlours. In rural areas these beer houses might be located in farm houses - in towns they were just as likely to be terraced properties, surrounded on both sides by the dwellings of ordinary men and women.

To begin with these places had no bar counter - such refinements did not come into being until the middle of the 19th century.

The beer (and it was, normally, just beer that was sold) was stored in the pantry and was fetched to your seat or, if you were lucky, to your table by the landlady or landlord, being poured from a jug directly into your glass. Most of these early pubs or beer dens had only one room, with chairs typically set around an inglenook fire or lined along the walls.

These early pubs were well used and provided valuable income for the owners. In many cases they were run by women, the men continuing to work on the farm or foundry during the day and either lending a hand at night or simply sitting and partaking in the entertainment.

It was very much a working class clientèle as the upper echelons of society would either use well-established inns or drink in the comfort of their own homes. But for men coming home from the pit, quarry or steel works these public houses provided much-needed refreshment after a working day that would probably kill or maim most people in this day and age.

Beer was also safe to drink. It was, for the most part, relatively clean and unlikely to carry disease. And that was more than could be said about the water in Welsh towns or villages until well into the 20th century.

By the middle years of the 19th century towns in Wales boasted huge numbers of public houses. By 1840, even a relatively small place like Caernarfon had no fewer than two inns, two hotels, five spirit dealers and 27 taverns or beer houses.

The town of Monmouth had the staggering (perhaps literally!) ratio of one pub for every 85 people while in the ship building community of Pembroke Dock there were over 200 drinking dens.

Newport had an amazing 390 pubs, inns and beer houses - at a time when the town's population was less than a third of today's.

Just like the long-established inns, after a while the pubs began to acquire names for themselves. In many cases these names were linked to the signs that hung outside their doors.

To display a sign advertising their wares had been a legal requirement for anyone who sold alcohol since Roman days - names such as the Bush or Ivy Bush can certainly be traced back to this era.

Places like The Royal Oak or the King's Arms soon became commonplace while after the Crimean War, as soldiers began to return home, pubs began to adopt names such as The Alma or Odessa. Other names, such as the famous Cow and Snuffers in Cardiff, elude explanation.

The story of the public house - particularly in Wales - cannot be separated from the Temperance Movement. Despite the fact that, in the early days, many religious groups used the pubs and taverns as meeting houses, during the Victorian age the supporters of "temperance" gained ground, railing about drunkenness and portraying the pubs as "gateways to Hell."

Women's Temperance Union (courtesy of Conwy Archive Service)

Perhaps the crowning glory of the Temperance Movement came in 1881 when the Sunday Closing Act was passed. It might have seemed to be a victory for the supporters of Temperance but, in fact, the Act led to a century or more of ingenious law breaking as would-be Sunday drinkers continuously found loopholes in the law.

The simplest way of getting around the Act was to leave the back door open but there were also more sophisticated ways of buying a drink on Sundays. For a long while, for example, anyone travelling seven miles or more could claim a drink in another town - although quite how people were able to prove or disprove that fact remains a little unclear.

Late Victorian and Edwardian Wales produced some staggeringly beautiful pub buildings. And many of them still remain. The Golden Cross in Cardiff, the Waterloo in Newport and The Ivy Bush in Pontardawe are just three superb examples, survivors of an institution once found in many working class communities.

However, with pub closures taking place right across the country, the future of all our public houses has to be in question. The pub remains part of our heritage, envied by visitors and tourists the world over. As someone once said about the local corner shop - use it or lose it.

Phil Carradice explores the hidden history of Wales' ancient beer houses, inns and taverns in this week's episode of Past Master on Sunday 30 January, 5.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Wales.

Eddie Butler and Heledd Fychan continue to explore Welsh history in the company of reseachers from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

Eddie Butler at a handball court in Wales

In tonight's Hidden Histories, Eddie learns to play handball at Nelson's unique handball court - the only one in the UK.

Interior View of St Nicholas Church, Grosmont ©

Professor Ralph Griffiths, Richard Suggett, and Rev. Jean Prosser talk with Eddie about the significance of of upper Gwent.

Pantyrhwch cottage after restoration ©

The team take a look around a farmhouse in Ceredigion where the owner's contemporary lifestyle happily coexists with the craftsmanship and planning of the old house.

They teams also meet 3D artist Iwan Peverett who developed a series of computer-generated reconstruction animations about , which allows people to see how the "island of 20,000 saints" has changed over time.

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales have created excellent, in-depth guides to each subject featured in tonight's programme. and view images relating to Hidden Histories .

Hidden Histories, Thursday 27 January, at 7.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two Wales.

Ten years ago, 27 January was designated . The date was chosen because on 27 January 1945 Soviet soldiers liberated the Auschwitz concentration camps.

More recent genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur are also remembered on this date.

Last Sunday, Peter Baker talked with Dr Martin Stern, a holocaust survivor on All Things Considered on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Wales. In this short audio clip, Martin Stern tells how the story of how, as a young boy of five living in Amsterdam, he was taken out of school and taken to an interrogation centre.

You can read more about Dr Martin Stern on the All Things Considered website and listen to the full programme on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer.

An event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will be held at 7.30pm at the , Lloyd Street, Llandudno, tonight (January 27). The speaker will be Holocaust survivor Dr Martin Stern.

Visitors to the will from today have an opportunity to see a unique exhibition of ancient rock carvings from China - sculptures never before been seen outside China.

will be open from Wednesday 26 January to Sunday 3 April 2011, with free entry. National Museum Cardiff is the only venue for the exhibition before it returns to Dazu.

Sakyamuni Buddha, Xiaofowan(AD1174-1252). © Dazu Rock Carvings Museum, Chongqing, China

The steep hillsides of the Dazu World Heritage site near contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the middle of the seventh century and developed between the ninth and the 13th centuries.

Head of Sakyamuni Buddha (AD1127-1279). © Dazu Rock Carvings Museum, Chongqing, China

The carvings comprise 50,000 figures in total, and are remarkable for their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period.

It contains superb examples that have become detached from their original setting, along with accurate replicas of some of the most important sculptures still in situ and dramatic large-scale images, to give some idea of what it is like to visit these spectacular places.

Stone carving being delivered to the museum

Speaking about the carivings, David Anderson, director general of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales Director said: "Dazu rock carvings are some of China's greatest cultural treasures from a golden period of Chinese art.

"Hosting their first appearance outside of China is a privilege not just for the Museum but for Wales. I am confident this will be a popular exhibition and hope this is the beginning of a successful relationship between us and the Chongqing Culture Bureau."

Stone carving being delivered into museum building

Li Fangyin, curator of Art Museum of Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing, commenting on the exhibition in Cardiff, said: "Wales is such a place that is steeped in history and cultures, and the rich historical and cultural deposits embedded with her are exactly why we choose National Museum Wales, Cardiff to host the first appearance of Dazu Rock Carvings Art outside of China.

"As a world cultural heritage, Dazu Rock Carvings should not only be taken as a treasure for local people of Dazu, but should also be recognized as a cultural property of the whole world, and both the artistic and historical value should be shared and appreciated by world people".

The museum has made a film about the exhibition that you can .

You can also keep up to date with and follow the .

Wales has produced many great boxers over the years but none was more respected and loved than Peerless , the Cardiff featherweight who once gave up the chance of winning the world title because he had made a promise to take part in a charity show for his local orphanage.

Jim Driscoll died on 25 January 1925, aged just 44 years old, and as his funeral cortège wound its way towards over 100,000 people stood silently on the streets of Cardiff to pay their last respects to a man who had captured their hearts.

Jim Driscoll was born in Cardiff on 15 December 1880. His father was Cornelius Driscoll, his mother Elizabeth, and like many children of the time Jim's early life was one of deprivation and more than a little hardship.

Jim used his skill as a boxer - despite his frail appearance and diminutive size - as a way out of the 'poverty trap'.

From an early age he fought in the boxing booths that most fairgrounds ran in those days, knowing that the only way to make a little money was to stay out of the way of the big "haymaking" punches of his opponents and therefore win in the ring. His reputation began to grow and spread.

He fought his first professional fight in 1901 and, despite his reputation as a superb defensive fighter, he actually won his first 10 fights by knockout. Standing at just five feet four inches, Jim Driscoll knew that, even as a featherweight, it was speed and consistency of punching, rather than the weight of his blows, that were going to win him fights. And win he did.

Out of a total of 77 fights in a career that lasted 18 years, he won 58 and lost only three. This was in the days when the "no contest" rule was in place - in other words, no knockout, no result.

In 1910 Jim Driscoll became the first featherweight to win a Lonsdale Belt and then decided to try his luck in America.

Despite the scepticism of the American sporting press, most reporters considering him too slight and frail to succeed, Driscoll had nine fights in the USA and won seven of them. The other two were no contests. The Americans took him to their hearts.

In 1910 he fought Abe Attell for the World Featherweight Title. With the "no contest" rule in place it was always going to be a difficult ask for the 28 year old Welshman, whose style was based on skill and speed rather than the brawling and heavy punching that were commonplace in American professional boxing at the time. And so it proved.

He totally outclassed Attell but despite winning seven of the scheduled 10 rounds (two of the remaining three being judged draws) he could not knock out his opponent and the match was ruled a no contest.

The day after the fight Jim Driscoll took a boat for home. He had been offered a re-match with Attell but, having already pledged to make an appearance at the Charity Day in his home town of Cardiff, Driscoll knew he could not let the youngsters down. "I never break a promise," he declared. The chance to fight for the World Championship never came again.

Jim Driscoll, having come out of poverty, loved the party lifestyle. He enjoyed the trappings of fame, although he never allowed his success to turn his head.

There are those, however, who say that the partying and good times were contributory factors in his early death but this has never been proved, one way or the other.

Driscoll's boxing career was exemplary - apart from one occasion. This was when he was matched against Freddie Welsh. The spoiling tactics of Welsh so infuriated Driscoll that by the tenth round he had totally lost his composure and headbutted his opponent. Quite rightly, Jim Driscoll was disqualified.

The advent of World War One interrupted Driscoll's boxing career. Like thousands of others he joined up and was employed as a PTI during the war years.

After the war he attempted to re-start his career but ill health was already dogging him. He fought only three more times, finally retiring in 1919.

Driscoll never forgot his roots and remained inordinately fond of his home town. He used to train at the Cardiff Boys Club at the bottom of St Mary's Street - for many years there was a statue of him on the site - and was a great supporter of the Nazareth House Orphanage.

In the years after the war he contracted consumption and his final days were a desperate battle against this dreaded disease. It was a fight he was to eventually lose, dying on 25 January 1925.

Peerless Jim Driscoll, as he was known throughout the boxing world, remains one of the great Welsh sporting heroes.

In the year 1847 the British government commissioned a report into the state of education in Wales.

Not, in itself, such a momentous event, but when the remit of the report was widened to include a study of the morals of the Welsh people it resulted in a furore that still rumbles on to this very day.

Never can a civil service document have excited such passion as the (780kb pdf file).

Blue books

The report, known throughout Wales as the Treason of the Blue Books (all government reports being bound in blue covers), was the result of a motion put forward a year earlier by , the Welsh MP for Coventry.

He was particularly concerned about the lack of opportunity for poor children in his homeland to gain knowledge of the English language.

Kay-Shuttleworth, secretary to the Council on Education, wrote the terms of reference for the Enquiry in October 1846 and it is clear, right from the beginning, that education was only one of the government's concerns. From the 1820s to the late 1840s Wales had appeared to be the centre of major discontentment.

In the 1820s there had been serious disturbances in Tredegar and Merthyr while in Ceridigion there had been a virtual war over the issue of land enclosures.

From 1839 to the mid 1840s the the Rebecca Riots caused mayhem across mid and south Wales while in 1939 the Chartist march on Newport provoked huge worry and concerns in government circles. Clearly Wales needed to be looked at in some detail and to English officials and civil servants it seemed highly likely that, in the far west, sedition was being planned - in the Welsh language.

There is no doubt that education for poor children in Wales was inadequate - it was also inadequate in England!

There was desperate requirement for quality education for all, education that would, the government felt - long before the commissioners reported back - be predominantly in the English language. And central to this was the need to provide trained teachers.

The trouble came when the extra clause was slipped into the terms of reference, to look at the morals and behaviour of the Welsh people. Quite why this was inserted is not clear - certainly it could have little impact on the educational element of the report who could and would educate their charges efficiently.

Since the predominance of Welsh was one of the main reasons for the report it would have been reasonable to expect the commissioners appointed to oversee the inspections to have a knowledge of the Welsh tongue. Not so. Commissioners Lingen, Simons and Vaughan Johnson spoke no Welsh, were not even educationalists and, importantly, had no experience of the type of fervent non-conformity to be found in Wales.

A number of assistant commissioners were appointed and, by and large, these were the men who toured the schools, towns and villages. The questions they asked, the passages of literature (usually the Bible) they required children to read and the problems that were meant to worked out in the head of each child were framed in English - many of the school teachers had difficulty understanding them, let alone their pupils.

While the non-conformist Sunday Schools - where education was offered in Welsh - were, in the main, praised in the report, the ordinary day schools were certainly not. It was hardly surprising when pupils were expected to work out subtraction problems such as "Take 1799 from 2471," in their heads, with an answer expected within a few seconds. And the condition of the schools themselves was under equal scrutiny:

"The school is held in the mistresses house. I shall never forget the hot sickening smell which struck me on opening the door of that low, dark room in which 30 girls and 20 boys were huddled together."

But there were other issues of concern for the commissioners. They had also been charged with making a study of the moral state of the country and it was a task they were happy to carry out.

When looking at the morals of the nation the Anglican vicars, many of whom felt isolated and apart from the parish in which they lived, were quite content to help out with comments that were little more than a little condemnatory:

It is difficult... to describe in proper terms the state of the common people of Wales in the intercourse of the sexes. I believe the proportion of illegitimate children to the population in Anglesey, with only one exception, and that is also in Wales, exceeds that in any other county in the kingdom."

When the report was published it was scathing and sweeping in its findings. Welsh children were poorly educated, poorly taught and had little or no understanding of the English language. They were ignorant, dirty and badly motivated.

Welsh women were not just lax in their morals - many of them being late home from chapel meetings! - they were also non-conformist lax. To reinforce the power of the established church and to make English the required mode of teaching and expression in schools is the main thrust of the report.

Howls of protest were to be expected - and they duly came. Yet the sobriquet "Treason of the Blue Books" did not come into popular usage until seven years later when Robert Jones Derfel wrote a play called Brad y Llyfrau Gleision, or, in English, The Treason of the Blue Books. Derfel's play opens in Hell where the Devil decides that the Welsh people are too good and are becoming more godly by the hour thanks to the influence of non-conformity. He promptly hatches a plan to bring down this pure and godly people.

The play has shaped the opinions of many, even at this late stage. Many people believe the findings of the enquiry had been more or less decided before the commissioners even began their work. One thing is clear, however. The report gives us a fascinating snapshot of life in the 1840s and for a brief while, at least, it did manage to put education high on the political agenda.

Ultimately, however, the Treason of the Blue Books helped to create a view, a rather smirking and disrespectful view, of Welsh morals that has lasted until the 21st century. Publication of The Report of the Commissioners of Enquiry remains one of the most important moments in Welsh history, and it is questionable whether or not the Welsh language has yet managed to break free from the disapproval of the commissioners.

Phil Carradice investigates how Victorian Wales was scandalised by a government report into its schools and sexual morals in Blue Books and Red Faces on this week's episode of Past Master on Sunday 23 January at 5.30pm.

is now something of a forgotten figure. Yet this far-sighted visionary, a man who was arguably born before his time, was one of the most original thinkers ever to come out of Wales.

He was a socialist long before the term "socialism" had ever been invented. He was also an educationalist par excellence and the man who laid the foundations for the later co-operative movement.

Portrait of Robert Owen ©

Owen was born in the mid Wales town of on 14 May 1771. He was the sixth of seven children, his father being an ironmonger and saddler, and his mother coming from a long line of well-to-do farmers.

A bright and capable child, Robert was schooled at Newtown and then, at the age of 10, was articled to a draper in the town. In due course he moved to London to continue his trade and establish himself in the world.

This he managed to do with some alacrity. A move to the sprawling, manufacturing metropolis of Manchester saw Robert Owen installed as manager of in the town.

There were greater things to come and on a visit to Scotland he met and fell in love with Caroline Dew, the daughter of David Dale, owner of the New Lanark cotton mill on the Falls of Clyde.

Painting of New Lanark ©

Owen married Caroline in 1799 and with four partners managed to raise enough capital to buy the New Lanark mills off Dale. He was not interested in simply making money, however: Owen wanted to run an enlightened regime at New Lanark.

He had over 2,000 people working for him - not just working, many of them lived in the tenement blocks set around the mill. And 500 of these were young children, most of them small enough to crawl under the looms and spinning jennies to clean the machinery and gather in stray cotton or wool.

Although his father-in-law David Dale had run a reasonably humane ship, drunkenness, absenteeism and theft, amongst other social problems, were rife.

Most of the work force came from the poorer elements of society, from the squalid slums of Glasgow or Edinburgh, and managers expected little else from them. Owen believed he could change this. He wanted to help people but he also knew that better living conditions could only help to make better profits.

Soon his aims had become reality. Improved housing conditions - prizes were awarded for things like the best kept room on the block - and a unique system of quality control that let all employees know exactly how they were doing, led to a highly motivated work force. And that was only the start of what he had in mind.

Owen soon became a pioneer of nursery or early years education, setting up a schoolroom on the site where children would be educated before they began work in the mill - this, 70 years before formal and compulsory education for all was introduced in Britain.

Such a system also provided an early form of child care while the mothers and fathers were working the looms. Visitors to New Lanark today can and see for themselves the alphabet of animals that Robert Owen had painted on the walls of the building.

Most mills and mines had, for years, employed the truck system where workers were not paid in cash but in tokens that could only be redeemed at the company shop. Consequently, prices were exorbitant and many workers lived below the breadline. Not in Robert Owen's New Lanark.

Owen's shop sold goods at little more than their wholesale cost, thus ensuring that families had more than enough to live on. The goods on sale were top quality, unlike the poor pickings offered in many truck shops.

By buying in bulk what Owen was able to do was pass on the savings to the customers, his work force. In effect, this was the basis and the beginning of the co-operative movement, something that still works and functions today.

Robert Owen wrote extensively about his ideas. He believed, for example, that an ideal community should consist of just over 1,000 people, living in apartments grouped around an open square and with central kitchen and dining facilities. Children, he felt, were best brought up with their families until the age of three and then became the responsibility of the whole community.

This was an idea he tried to put into practice at his "ideal" community, , in Indiana in the USA. For two years Owen lived in America, trying desperately to make his dream reality. It didn't work, being a concept that was very much before its time. Eventually Owen was forced to return to Britain where other difficulties faced him.

After many disputes with his partners, who were always more interested in profits than in Owen's version of ideal living, he resigned from New Lanark in 1828. He moved to London but the glory days were gone and he was no longer the wealthy capitalist - albeit an enlightened one - that he had been when his work at the mills first began.

On a visit to his place of birth and childhood, he was suddenly taken ill and died on 17 November 1858. His dreams of a socialist nirvana never really came to anything; he was clearly before his time. But his legacy, his true legacy, lies in his system of child care and education. And, of course, the concept of a co-operative society where everyone would benefit, not just the men at the top of the tree.

Alun Burge has written two articles on the co-operative movement in Wales to coincide with a new ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Cymru Wales three-part drama called Baker Boys, which begins at 9.30pm, Sunday 23 January on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One.

Read about the co-operative movement in Wales and the co-operative economy on the Wales History website.

Inscriptions relating to the great flood of 1607 which devastated much of the Severn estuary, home-made-homes, and a Welsh bridge drawn by a French industrial spy all feature in the new series of Hidden Histories, which returns to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two Wales tonight (Thursday 20 January).

Aerial view of Goldcliff Point © Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical monuments of Wales

The series follows researchers from the who are joined by a new presenting team - Wales and the History of the World presenter Eddie Butler, and Heledd Fychan.

In tonight's programme Commission reserachers visit three locations in Wales. in Monmouthshire, , a derelict cottage in Cardiganshire, and the .

Wig-wen-fach cottage in Cardiganshire © Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical monuments of Wales

The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales have created excellent, in-depth guides to each subject featured in tonight's programme. and view images relating to Hidden Histories .

Hidden Histories begins tonight, Thursday 20 January, at 7.30pm on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two Wales.

in Bangor are appealing for families with naval connections to help provide memorabilia for an exhibition currently being curated on .

Bangor Training Ship "Clio"

The HMS Clio is a former naval gunship that was moored off Bangor pier in Gwynedd for over 40 years from 1877. The wooden vessel was then used as a training ship for boys who were orphans or had been in trouble.

The boys would learn how to make their own clothes and shoes, as well as finding out about going to sea. The ship was scrapped in the 1920s.

Assistant curator at the Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Alun Thomas said: "We would be very pleased to hear from members of the public if they have items which could be used for the exhibition.

"The jewel in the crown would be to get one of the uniforms the boys would have worn. They were dark blue, like naval uniforms."

If you have any items relating to HMS Clio, you can contact Alun Thomas at the museum, on 01248 353368 or email Alun at alunthomas@gwynedd.gov.uk.

The exhibition about life on the HMS Clio will run from 12 March until 17 September.

Related links

• .
• Phil Carradice's blog article on training ships.

There has always been something of a debate about the Anglo-Zulu Wars of 1879, particularly with regard to the numbers of Welsh soldiers involved in the Battle of Isandlwana and at the defense of Rorke's Drift.

Battlefield at Isandlwana. Photo by Trudy Carradice.

Often legend and romance have taken over from reality. If you have ever watched the film , for example, you could be excused for thinking that the action at Rorke's Drift was carried out by a Welsh male voice choir led by Stanley Baker, Michael Caine and Ivor Emmanuel!

Arguments have ranged widely across the spectrum - there were few Welsh soldiers present; the British regiments were predominantly Welsh based. And so on.

From looking at the regimental rolls it is clear that a Welsh-based regiment bore the brunt of the fighting, particularly at Rorke's Drift, and from the letters and statements of many of the soldiers themselves it is equally apparent that the events on the in 1879 would come back to haunt the men for many years to come.

It was a war that should never have been fought. The British government had little stomach for a fight with the Zulu tribes. Britain was already engaged in costly campaigns in Afghanistan and the thought of further expense in South Africa was not one to be taken lightly.

However, administrators out in South Africa, particularly the new British High Commissioner , saw the Zulus as a threat to British control and determined on war in order to create a federation of states rather like the one in Canada.

For their part, the Zulus had no reason to allow their traditional homelands - areas rich in coal and other minerals - to be taken from them.

The Zulu king, , was presented with a deliberately harsh ultimatum - lay down your arms by 12 January 1879 or face invasion. The concept of "the warrior" was central to Zulu culture and Bartle Frere knew that the ultimatum could only be ignored.

On 12 January, the very day it expired, Lord Chelmsford took his column across the Buffalo River into Zululand. Prominent in the column of marching men was the 24th Regiment of Foot.

At the time of the Anglo-Zulu War, the 24th Regiment was known as the Warwickshires, the area from which they had originated, but by 1879 their home base was at Brecon and within a few years the regiment would change its name to The South Wales Borderers.

About 30% of the regiment was Welsh, the 24th regularly recruiting in Breconshire, Radnorshire and Monmouthshire. Soldiers were even recruited from places like Caernarfon.

Using his native Welsh tongue, Private Owen Ellis wrote to his parents in North Wales on the eve of the campaign:

"The 2nd Battalion of the 24th arrived here about 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon and the 1st Battalion welcomed them by treating them to bread, tea and meat - - - If Cetshwayo does not come to terms we will demand his lands, kill his people as they cross our path and burn all his kraals or villages."

A few weeks later Owen was to write his last ever letter, on 19 January 1879:

"It is now Sunday afternoon, just after dinner, and I am sitting on a small box to write you these few lines. We are moving off at 6am tomorrow. I only wishes [sic] they would finish this row so that I might go to some town and see something else besides grassland. Dear father, perhaps I shall have to go a long time after this without writing, so don't be worried if you don't hear from me."

Owen Ellis was one of over 1,300 soldiers massacred by the Zulu impi at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January.

There were many reasons for the defeat - Chelmsford had split his force, taking half of them away to search for the Zulu army; nobody knew where the Zulus actually were; no effective defensive line had been created; the front line of soldiers was too extended and too far away from ammunition.

Whatever the reasons it was one of the worst defeats ever suffered by British colonial troops and many of the dead were young Welshmen. And we should never forget, of course, that close on 4,000 Zulus also died in the battle.

When Lord Chelmsford and his half of the invasion force returned to Isandlwana they were met by an horrific sight, as Private William Meredith of Pontypool noted in a letter to his brother:

"I could describe the battlefield to you - the sooner I get it off my mind the better. Over a thousand white men lying on the field, cut to pieces and stripped naked. Even the little boys that we had in the band, they were hung up and opened like sheep. These are the Pontypool boys that got killed in battle: Alf Farr, Dick Treverton and Charley Long."

For some of the men the sight was just too horrible. Some, like Henry Moses, also of Pontypool, began to reflect on their future and on what had brought them to this:

"I know what soldiering is now. We are in fear every night and have had to fight the Zulus. Dear father and sisters and brothers, goodbye. We may never meet again. I repent the day that I took the shilling."

Hospital at Rorke's Drift. Photo by Trudy Carradice.

The Zulus next target was the hospital base at Rorke's Drift. The story of the heroic defence is too well known to require re-telling here. The action took place over the night of 22/23 January, approximately 4,000 Zulu warriors attacking the hospital and mission station that was defended by just over 100 men. And it is clear that a large number of these defenders were Welshmen.

It was a desperate struggle that saw nearly 500 Zulu casualties for the loss of just 17 soldiers of the 24th Foot.

As was to later write to his mother in Monmouth:

"Every man fought dearly for his life. We were all determined to sell our lives like soldiers and to keep up the credit of our regiment."

The result of the battle was a victory for the 24th and several of the Welsh soldiers, men who survived the action, now lie buried in their native soil.

, who won the Victoria Cross for his bravery that night (one of 11 won during the battle), is buried at Llantarnam. He had enlisted under the name John Williams as he was technically under age and his parents did not approve of him taking the Queen's shilling.

John Fielding lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1932, but others, like , another VC winner, suffered from headaches and nightmares for the rest of his life:

"I found a crowd (of Zulus) in front of the hospital and coming into our doorway. We crossed our bayonets and as fast as they came up to the doorway we bayoneted them until the doorway was nearly filled with dead and wounded Zulus. I had three assegi wounds."

Unable to cope with the stresses and strains of life after Rorke's Drift, at the age of 41 Robert Jones gave up the struggle and killed himself.

and Rorke's Drift are a story of carnage and bravery - on both sides. If you want to hear more about the events listen to Past Master on Sunday 16 January at 5.30pm.

Most people have, at some stage in their lives, listened to the song . It was one of the most popular tunes in the trenches during World War One and still has the ability to bring a pang to the throat or a tear to the eye.

Ivor Novello

Yet how many people realise that this sentimental ditty was just one of dozens produced by a remarkable young Welshman who, at the time, was serving in the Royal Naval Air Service?

Ivor Novello was born in Cowbridge Road East in Cardiff on 15 January 1893. The house, just to the west of the River Taf, was called Llwyn Yr Eos (Grove of the Nightingales) and can be identified by a plaque on the front wall.

Ivor Novello's real name was David Ivor Davies; he was the son of Clara Novello Davies, a noted and renowned singer and teacher who had also founded the Welsh Ladies Choir. His father, David Davies, was by comparison a fairly staid and ordinary man - he was a tax collector.

Under his mother's influence the young Ivor Novello was performing at Eisteddfodiau across the country from an early age and, in due course, went on to Magdalene College, Oxford, to study for a degree.

However, the outbreak of war brought a sudden and dramatic change to his lifestyle. In 1916 Ivor joined the RNAS and began training as a pilot. It has to be admitted that he was not a very good airman. He completed his training on dual control aircraft but proceeded to crash during his very first solo flight. Given a second chance he did exactly the same again and, as a result, the RNAS grounded him for the duration of the war.

Ivor Novello's real contribution to the war effort, however, was not as a pilot but as a song writer. He was composing songs such as Keep The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Fires Burning and We'll Gather Lilacs on a regular basis and, in 1917, while still serving with the RNAS, his show was produced on the West End. It was the hit of the year. He went on to write, produce and act in many more stage shows over the coming decades.

Ivor Novello wrote all of the music for his shows and, as an accomplished dramatist in his own right, the librettos as well. By and large, however, the lyrics for his touching and catchy songs were written by his collaborator - a man who later went on to write the standard biography of the poet .

When the war ended in 1918 Novello was discharged and immediately took up a career on the stage and in the emerging film industry. This was the age of the silent movie and for a while he specialised in films with an underworld theme. The first of them was called The Rat and was a huge success. He also made two silent films for Alfred Hitchcock, the most famous being The Lodger. It was a film that Novello was to remake, this time as a talkie, in 1933.

Interestingly, Ivor Novello also wrote the dialogue and screen play for the first Tarzan Of The Apes talkie - although quite how much talking was involved is not really clear!

Despite his film work, despite several stints in Hollywood, Ivor continued to write and produce stage hits in Britain. The most notable of these is probably The Dancing Years, which was produced in the West End in 1939.

Despite his well known homosexuality - something to which the police seemed to have turned a blind eye - Novello was one of the early stage and screen idols. He was loved and idolised by people from all over the world and the depiction of him, and the way people felt about him, in the 2001 film seems to be a fairly accurate and realistic portrayal.

One of his gay relationships was with the war poet . It was not an easy or comfortable liaison and did not bring happiness to either man. Another of his relationships was with the actor Bobbie Andrews.

Novello may not have suffered from the repressive and draconian homosexuality laws of the time but he did serve an eight week prison term during the World War Two - for misuse of petrol coupons.

In 1951 Ivor Novello died suddenly, from a heart attack, at the relatively early age of just 58. He had continued to write songs and musicals almost to the moment of his death.

Cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, his ashes were, appropriately enough, scattered under a lilac bush.

Nowadays he is commemorated in the annual when the British Academy honours outstanding contributions to the performing arts. There is also a recently unveiled statue to him outside the Wales Millennium%20Centre in Cardiff, a fitting tribute from his home town to a man of great skill and talent.

In just over six weeks' time, a life-size bronze sculpture of Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley will be erected in front of the .

Stanley, who was born in Denbigh in 1841, became famous for trekking through African jungle to find Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone, and greeting the Scot with the famous words "Dr Livingstone, I presume?"

The life-size statue will be on display in six weeks' time.

The commissioning of the Henry Morton Stanley statue has proved controversial. Last year, 50 eminent people, including travel writer Jan Morris and poet , signed a letter of protest against the statue, claiming Morton's expeditions contributed to the "racist" ideas of the day.

The statue captures the moment Morton stretches out his hand to greet Dr Livingstone.

Speaking to , sculptor said: "It's at the point where he meets Livingstone and I wanted the whole interaction."

Elphick resisted elevating the figures of Stanley on a plinth to emphasise his humanity. "I wanted him down on the same level as everyone else," he said. "Instead of putting these people up on plinths I wanted to show that we're all part of humanity and can strive to achieve whatever we chose to."

Llandudno-based sculptor Nick Elphick has created the statue.

Speaking on the controversy surrounding the statue, Elphick said: "I think it's wrong to judge people by our own understanding today because they were brought up very differently."

Read Phil Carradice's blog on Henry Morton Stanley.

A new survey by Visit Britain's suggests that Welsh castles are the main draw for foreign visitors to Britain.

Caerphilly Castle. Image by Sam Pritchard.

Researchers spoke to 10,000 holidaymakers from overseas, who put a tour of Welsh castles as their "must-do" activity on any trip to the UK ahead of a visit to Buckingham Palace, Harrods shopping, a Premier League football match or whisky tour.

Commenting on the survey results, Visit Britain director, Patricia Yates said: "It is striking that touring Welsh castles was so popular - and the top four choices were right across Britain, in Wales, London, Scotland, and England."

Those surveyed were given a list of 18 activities they could undertake while in Britain, and asked to pick the ones they liked the most. Welsh castles topped the list with 34%, ahead of visiting Buckingham Palace at 32%.

Visit Britain also listed the top 10 Welsh castles:

5. Powis

If you'd like to find out more about Welsh castles view our brief guide on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales History website.

There are over 600 castles in Wales. You can read comprehensive guides and get visitor information details on Welsh castles on the websites below.

Read more on this survey on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales News.

With the prospect of the forthcoming already beginning to loom large in people's minds, many red-blooded Welsh men and women (and Irish and Scots, too, come to that) have once again become suddenly conscious of their Celtic heritage.

Celtic Cross on Anglesey

We are all of us proud of our heritage. That applies whatever nationality we are - English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh. And rightly so. But how many of us are aware of the origins of the Celtic people of Wales? It is a fascinating story.

The Celtic people first arrived on our shores and began living in Britain - across all of Britain, not just the extremities like Wales, Ireland and Scotland - in approximately 1,000BC.

Originating in the area, they gradually moved northwards, a process of migration that took many hundreds of years. They were an adventurous and curious people and it was inevitable that they should be attracted by the mysterious land they could see on the horizon.

The Celts came to Britain, first, as explorers, sailing their flimsy coracle craft across the waters of what later became known as the English Channel and landing on the southern coasts of the island. Over the next two hundred or so years they came to settle and stay. They were skilled workers in metals like bronze but they were also farmers who soon began to clear the forests and cultivate crops.

Remains of Roman forts, gold mines and roads can still be found in Wales.

By the time the Romans arrived, between 43 and 85AD, the Celts were the dominant influence in Britain. These Celts were a fierce and warlike people, Julius Caesar himself commenting on the blue painted warriors who attacked without fear, time after time, not knowing when they were beaten.

However, faced by superior fire power in the shape of the Roman Legions, the Celts were gradually pushed back, out of the rich farmlands of central and southern England, to find refuge in the wild and rugged mountains of the west and north.

Ireland, Scotland and Wales were never fully integrated into the Roman Empire and Wales, in particular, was seen as something of a frontier zone. At one time over 30,000 legionary and auxiliary troops were stationed around the edges of the country, in bases like Caerleon and Chester.

There were many bloody campaigns and battles, events like the killing and destruction of the Druids by Suetonius Paulinus on Anglesey in 61AD, but in general, the Roman occupation of Britain had little lasting effect on Celtic art, language and culture.

When the Romans left in the years after AD410 Celtic culture was strong enough to resist that of the in-coming Saxons. By now the Celts spoke a language now known as Common Celtic, a language that was divided into two strands - Goedelic which was spoken in northern Scotland and Ireland, and Brythonic which was the language of Wales and Cornwall. Brythonic was also spoken by the people in the areas around modern day Carlisle, Edinburgh and in Strathclyde.

While there were, to begin with, strong links between the Celts in Wales and those in the north of Britain, Saxon advances into the west were soon causing problems. Saxon victories at Dyrham in Gloucestershire and at Chester (AD577 and 615 respectively) isolated the Welsh from other Celtic peoples. And when King Offa of Mercia built his dyke in the middle years of the 8th century - an attempt to define the frontier of Mercia, not Wales, as many believe - it gave Wales, for the first time, an eastern frontier.

Secure behind this 150 mile ditch and palisade, the Celtic people of Wales were free to continue their lives, untroubled by what was going on over the border.

Iron Age Celts lived in round houses that were grouped together inside a series of circular ramparts. There was also a protective ditch, far more effective at keeping out wild animals than any attacking enemy force.

They also had hillforts - over 500 of them having been discovered in Wales - but these were places of refuge, used only when a community was in danger or under direct attack.

It has been claimed that the Celts had over 4,000 different gods and deities. Usually these gods represented crucially important elements such as the sun, sea, stars and wind. The only people who could talk to the gods were the Druids, the Celtic priests, who had immense power in Celtic society.

As there was no written language at this time, their knowledge and ritual was remembered in verse form and as a consequence the Druids were part of the privileged circle of poets, storytellers and musicians who surrounded the tribal chiefs. After AD61 their power declined until the modern incarnation - the Gorsedd - was created in the nineteenth century.

However, the Celts of the west and north have retained their love of poetry and music, celebrating victory and lamenting defeat down the years. They have remained fiercely proud, independent peoples who are conscious of their heritage and their past history.

Small wonder, then, that battles - on the sports field these days, not in war - bring back feelings of belonging. Small wonder that they stir the pride of nationhood.

The summer of 1715. is about to land with his army in Scotland, rallying supporters of the cause to his flag. and the whole dynasty appear to be resting on the edge of disaster. Discontent is rife everywhere and in the north Wales town of Wrexham, as the summer progresses, more and more signs of anti-Hanoverian anger are to be seen.

Rioters break windows in the 'dissenting chapels' (dissenters being fervent supporters of the new regime) and crack open more than a few heads as they roam, unchecked and unhindered, through the streets of the town. songs are roared out and for several weeks the place is almost besieged by mob violence.

For most of us, when we think about the Jacobite rebellions we think of that 1715 landing of James and, usually, of the more famous rebellion of 1745 when, for several months, James' son, , held the whole country in the palm of his hand. However, thanks to the romantic novels of people like we tend to associate Jacobitism only with Scotland. Not so. In these difficult and dangerous years, Wales, too, was a hotbed of Jacobite fever.

Jacobitism had its origins in the of 1688 when the Catholic King fled before an invasion by . Desperately unpopular, James had seemed secure enough while he had no heir but after a visit to the Catholic shrine at Holywell in north Wales, where he supposedly prayed for a son, his wife suddenly conceived. The thought of another Catholic monarch was too much for a now staunchly protestant Britain and James had to go.

James had his supporters, however, and once the last of the Stuart monarchs, , died in 1714 many expected there to be something of a restoration with Anne's half brother James, the , returning to take the throne. Instead, his claims were ignored and George, the German speaking Elector of Hanover, became king. Jacobite supporters immediately began to plot, plan and prey for a restoration of the Stuart monarchy.

The riots in Wrexham were probably orchestrated by , the most powerful and prestigious of all Welsh landowners and squires. He was a member of a secret political club known as the Cycle of the White Rose, an organisation that had been founded on the birthday of the Old Pretender in 1710.

It was called The Cycle Club because, quite simply, its members met in turn at each others houses. They would dine, sing Jacobite songs, toast 'The King Across the Water' and probably engage in secret rituals that, ultimately, meant very little - just a group of 'boys' having a good time.

The amazing thing about the members of Cycle Club is that, despite its potentially treasonable purpose, they kept minutes of their meetings and even had special glasses made from which they would drink their toasts - the National Museum in Cardiff actually owns several examples!

The club might sound like a vehicle or an excuse for romantic, landowning gentry to eat, drink and be safely treasonable but, potentially at least, it was a very powerful base for men such as Sir Watkin Williams Wynn. Every significant landowner within a ten mile radius of Wrexham was a member of the Cycle Club.

The difference between the Jacobites of Wales and Scotland, however, was that when the Old Pretender did finally arrive, those north of the border quickly took up arms in support. Welsh Jacobites sat silently by, meeting to drink and talk treason but not to actually to perform it - which was probably just as well, for them, as both rebellions ended in utter disaster.

Outbreaks of violence like the Wrexham riots were a rare occurrence. Despite the fact that the disturbances went on well into 1716, Sir Watkin never revealed his hand and, as a result, he was never caught up in the aftermath of the failed rebellion. And the Cycle Club? It continued to meet, usually in the Eagles Hotel in the middle of Wrexham, for the next 150 years, a more than merry dining club - but one spiced with a fair degree of treason.

The Cycle Club was not the only secret Jacobite organisation to exist in Wales. In Montgomeryshire there was a group known as 'The 27' while at Talgarth in 1727 a meeting of local Jacobite sympathisers actually ended up with members having to appear before a local magistrate to explain their actions.

In Pembrokeshire a Jacobite group known as The Sea Sergeants continued to meet until 1762. There were 24 sergeants in this group which may well have had connections with freemasonry and with smuggling - always a popular pastime in the far west of Wales. Their symbol was a dolphin set within a star but as they advertised their meetings in the local paper their commitment to the revolutionary cause has to be questioned.

When Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender, landed in Scotland in 1745 (without the expected French army to back him up) Sir Watkin Williams Wynn and his friends were cautious not to commit themselves. They would rise, they decided, but only if there was a strong French army to ensure success. Bonnie Prince Charlie expected the Welsh Jacobites to come out in support but, in the end, Sir Watkin and his cronies did what they did best: they added another verse to their favourite drinking song.

One Welshman was made of sterner stuff. This was David Morgan from Penygraig outside Quakers Yard. Passionate about the Jacobite cause, he obtained a captain's commission in the army of the Young Pretender but was captured and executed for treason. It was a grisly death, hanging, drawing and quartering, and then his head displayed on Temple Bar in London.

Given the possibility of an end like that it's hardly surprising that most Welsh Jacobites covered their tracks most effectively. They never tired of ceremony and symbolism, as shown in their secret societies with their special rituals and toasting glasses. But solid deeds? They had only to think of the terrible end of David Morgan to put them off that. Much safer to keep their sympathies to themselves and enjoy a few glasses of wine with convivial companions.

Find out more about Welsh Jacobites on The Past Master, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales history programme, broadcast on Sunday 9 January 2011 at 5.30pm.

Wales is certainly not lacking when it comes to stories and tales of kings or great warriors. From the mythological heroes of the Mabinogion, where legend mixes easily with reality, to genuine historical figures like the Lord Rhys or , there are so many to choose from. Yet one of the greatest is remembered, not so much for his prowess as a warrior but from the laws and statutes he commissioned and put into practice in a time of peace and security.

That man was , Hywel the Good as he might be called in English. And it could be argued that his laws and reforms, laid down in the mid-10th century, have had more effect than those of any Welsh ruler, before or afterwards.

Hywel Dda was the son of , another great Welsh prince who, during his period in power at the end of the ninth century, managed to unite large parts of the country under his dynamic and thrusting leadership. As a result of this the Saxon incursions into Wales were restricted for many years. While Rhodri's efforts kept the Norsemen at bay, the modern-day country of England began to take shape as the various kingdoms across gradually developed and merged into something like a unified state.

In Wales, it was a different matter. Everything was fine while Rhodri was alive but once he died, his lands were divided amongst his six sons, as custom demanded. Unable to stand alone, most of these Welsh territories or kingdoms soon declared homage to the English kings and, theoretically at least, the Welsh people became subjects of the English monarchy.

Hywel Dda became king of - roughly speaking the modern day counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthen - in the year 900. Through a marriage alliance he quickly acquired the area known as Dyfed and this, along with his original possessions, created the kingdom of . Hywel did not stop there and, in time, seized Gwynedd and Powys so that until his death in 949 a huge portion of Wales was once more united under a single ruler.

With his kingdom secure from raiding Saxons - and from the power of England - Hywel set about reforming or at least codifying the customs and practices from the various regions of Wales and turning them into a single law. These were the famous Cyfraith Hywel Dda, the Laws of Hywel Dda.

The traditional story is that Hywel called representatives from all his cantrefs to a convention, held at one of his hunting lodges. This was Ty Gwyn in Whitland. The date of the meeting remains a little unclear although it probably took place over the Lent period sometime in the late 940s. The meeting lasted for six weeks while the laws were proposed, discussed and then set down. The old laws were studied, the useful ones retained and the inappropriate ones discarded. And, of course, new ones were written.

How true that story is, remains a matter of conjecture. The earliest existing copies of Hywel's Laws date from the twelfth century, 200 years later. They are copies of the original documents, 80 manuscripts in Latin and Welsh - and two of them, Gwentian Brut and Brut Ieuan, might even have been copied or written as late as the 18th century. Certainly all of the Laws, as they are seen today, contain additions made many years after Hywel's death.

Despite these reservations the Laws, as we know them, do contain much material that was written during Hywel's reign. And many of them are extremely enlightened. According to the Laws marriage was considered an agreement, not a holy sacrament and divorce was permitted by common consent. Precedence was to be given to a woman's claim in any case of rape.

There was to be no punishment for theft - provided the sole purpose of the offence was to stay alive. Under these Laws compensation for the victim was felt to be far more important than any possible or potential punishment of the offender. Illegitimate children received exactly the same rights as legitimate sons and daughters. There were many more, covering the whole range of Welsh life and society.

There is no doubt that the Laws of Hywel Dda were insightful and enlightened. Quite how much Hywel had to do with their compilation will never be known but he was a well-read and intelligent man and so it is quite likely that he had more than a little involvement. He was on good terms with , the king of , and inspired by Alfred's example, Hywel had undertaken a pilgrimage to Rome long before he began codifying Welsh Laws. This was no petty Prince, concerned only with his own local glory. This was a man of vision and integrity.

After Hywel's death in 949 Wales quickly fell back into being a disparate and warring state, threatened by the growing power of the Saxons on the one hand and by the gathering might of England on the other. The one thing that did remain, however, was the series of Laws that the king had brought into use.

Hywel Dda's Laws were enforced in Wales for several centuries. Not until Henry VIII passed the Acts of Union in the 16th century did they finally disappear. They are remembered, now, as a series of legal documents that provided justice and compassion for all. Modern day enthusiasts or historians can visit the Hywel Dda Heritage Centre in Whitland where extracts and examples have been mounted on slate and stone. It is a fitting tribute for one of Wales' most renowned rulers.