Showing 37 results

Journal of an unidentified writer from Edmonton, North London, recording several cycling tours in south-east England and north Wales, 1916-1918 (ff. 1-27), in particular a tour, entitled 'A Sentimental Journey... to Wales... 1918. The Diary of the Pilgrim of Love', 6-20 July 1918 (ff. 10-27), in which he retraced the route of a tour the previous year (see also ff. 3 verso-4 verso), in the unrealised hope of seeing again his first love Hilda. The journals were written retrospectively based on contemporaneous notes.
Commencing from London and travelling via Shrewsbury (ff. 12 verso-13), the Welsh itinerary included Pentrefoelas, Denbighshire (f. 14 recto-verso), Harlech (ff. 15 verso-19), Betws-y-Coed (f. 21 recto-verso), Conwy (f. 22), Caernarfon (ff. 22 verso-23), Betws-y-Coed again (f. 24 recto-verso), Rhyl (f. 25 recto-verso) and Chester (ff. 25 verso-26). Also included in the volume are accounts of earlier excursions, including tours of East Anglia, 1917 (f. 2 recto-verso, beginning lacking), and Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey, Easter 1918 (ff. 6-7), and journeys to Reading, Berkshire, [11]-[12] May 1918 (ff. 7 verso-8 verso), and Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, [18-20 May] 1918 (f. 9 recto-verso). A few sketches and fragments of prose are to be found at the end of the volume (ff. 108 verso (inverted text), 109 verso). The volume also contains transcripts of poetry, some by the author (ff. 4 verso-5, 10, 13, 17-18, 109 verso). The text is supplemented by fifty-two of the author's own photographs (ff. 3, 7-27 passim), cuttings of twenty-four Frank Patterson illustrations for the magazine Cycling (ff. 1 verso-7 passim, 10 verso-11 verso, 20-25 verso passim) and other cuttings. The writer was born in 1898 (f. 7 verso) and was of conscription age but had received temporary exemption from enlistment (see f. 3).

A journal of 'A Picturesque Trip', 1850, to Aberystwyth, Oswestry, Llangollen, Bangor, Caernarfon, Beddgelert, Tremadog and Dolgellau.

A journal of a tour through the counties of Denbigh, Merioneth, Cardigan, and Caernarvon, and the island of Anglesea in 1793. The author lived in Bridgnorth, Salop.

An account of a tour of North Wales, August-September 1860, by John [ ] of Bath, in the form of letters to his parents, together with a pencil sketch of 'My Villa [Snowdon House] at Llanberis' (f. 1).

Travel journal, [late 1790s] (watermark 1796), of Richard Cust [stationer and gentleman naturalist, of Westminster and Carlisle], containing his 'Observations on the Picturesque Scenery of North Wales in the Autumn of the year 1783' (ff. 7-73 passim), together with thirteen monochrome wash watercolours of landscapes viewed (ff. 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 28, 35, 41, 42, 46, 47, 49, 50). The journal primarily describes Cust's impressions of the scenery in terms of the ideals of the picturesque and the sublime; the entries are undated.
As explained in the introductory section (ff. 2-5) the Observations were transcribed by Cust from his original 1783 travel journal, with the illustrations being based on brief sketches. Cust and his unnamed companion(s) travelled by coach from London (f.7) to Llangollen (ff. 8 verso-9), then via Conwy (f. 10) and Bangor (f. 13) to Anglesey (ff. 13 verso-17 verso) and Caernarfon (ff. 19 recto-verso, 22 recto-verso). From there they went on excursions up Snowdon (ff. 24-34 passim) and to [Aberglaslyn] (ff. 34 recto-verso, 37-38) and Llanbenys [Llanberis] (ff. 39-40 verso, 43 recto-verso, 44 verso-51 passim, 54-55 verso), before returning to Conwy (ff. 57 recto-verso, 59-61 verso) and Llangollen (ff. 64-65 verso, 68-69, 70 verso, 72-73). There are descriptions of the castles at Caernarfon (ff. 19 recto-verso, 22 recto-verso), Dolbadarn (ff. 40 verso, 43, 55) and Conwy (ff. 57 recto-verso, 59-60); four of the watercolours also depict Dolbadarn Castle (ff. 41, 42, 46, 47), the others are mostly views of mountains and rocky outcrops. The narrative is incomplete and breaks off after a description of the River Dee at Llangollen (f. 73); additionally, eleven pages have been left blank to provide space for further illustrations (ff. 20, 21, 29, 32, 36, 53, 56, 58, 66, 67, 71, usually with indicative captions written in pencil on the otherwise blank versos).

A volume, 1863, entitled Letters from Llangollen and based on a series of nineteen letters describing a tour in North Wales and which were published in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph in September 1863. Cuttings from the paper are interspersed with illustrative prints (mainly of churches, castles and other edifices in Wales and England), a few cuttings from other sources, and additional manuscript notes apparently by the author, John Holland.
There are references to the 'Ladies of Llangollen' (ff. 19-22), Dinas Brân (ff. 23-25 verso) and other local features of Llangollen. Pasted onto f. 38 is an envelope, postmarked at Sheffield, 12 September 1863, and addressed to John Holland at Upper Bangor, together with a photograph presumably originally enclosed in the envelope and which probably depicts Holland's correspondent.

Journal of a tour of North Wales and the North of England, 11 July-8 August 1848, by the sisters E[lizabeth] and Jane Weston of Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and their nephew R[obert] Henry Hewitt of Dodford, Northamptonshire (ff. 1-22 verso). The volume is mostly in the hand of Elizabeth, except for a single entry by Henry (ff. 16 verso-17 verso) and possibly Jane (ff. 4 verso-5).
The Welsh itinerary included Conwy (ff. 1-2), Caernarfon (ff. 4-8), [Llan] Ffestiniog (ff. 9-12 verso), Llanberis (ff. 13-14 verso) and Caernarfon (ff. 14 verso-15). The group's excursions included visits to Anglesey (f. 2 verso), Llanddwyn Island (ff. 5-6), a Nantlle slate quarry (ff. 6 verso-7 verso), and Blaenau Ffestiniog (ff. 11-12) as well as to the various castles (ff. 1 verso-2, 2 verso, 5, 14 verso), waterfalls (ff. 9-10, 12) and other sights. In Llanberis they visited the grave of the Rev. Henry Wellington Starr of Northampton, who died on Snowdon in 1846 (f. 14). They subsequently went by ship to Liverpool (ff. 15-16 verso), and by train to Scarborough (ff. 16 verso-21), finally returning, via York (ff. 21-22), home to Northamptonshire. Items loose within the volume have been tipped in; these comprise a transcript, by Elizabeth Weston, of the inscription on the gravestone of the Rev. Starr (f. 24), a printed obituary relating to Daventry, 1863 (f. 25), and a printed hymn, 1864 (f. 26).

A journal [in the hand of Sir Robert Ker Porter, painter and traveller], of a tour of parts of North Wales, Cheshire, and Derbyshire, undertaken by the writer and his companion, Thomas Underwood, July - August 1799. The travellers, commencing their journey at Shrewsbury, visited or passed through Welsh Pool, Cans Office, Mallwyd, Dinas Mowddy, Dolgelly, Barmouth, Harlech, Manturogg, Bethkelert (with an ascent of Snowdon), Cearnarfon, Llanberris, Capel kerrig, Aber, Conway, Llanrwst, Denbigh, Northorpe, Haywarden, Chester, Northwich, Macclesfield, Buxton, Tiddswell, Castleton, Matlock, and Derby, whence the writer returned to London. En route, between Castleton and Derby, the travellers visited Chatsworth, Haddon Hall, and Kiddstone House. At the end of the account of the tour is a character sketch of the Welsh people, and, at the reverse end of the volume, observations on the various inns at which the travellers stayed. The volume contains some four pencil sketches of unnamed persons.

An account of three tours from Hereford (1) through Shrewsbury, Ellesmere, Wrexham, Ruthin, Denbigh, Abergele, Llanrwst, Conway, Bangor, Caernarvon, Beddgelert, Tan-y-bwlch, Dolgelley, Bala, Llangollen, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, and Ludlow; (2) through Monmouth, Usk, Newport, Cardiff, Caerphilly, Pont- y-pridd (sketch), Cowbridge, Neath, Llanelly, Carmarthen, Tenby, Manorbier, Pembroke, Narberth, Haverfordwest, St Davids, Llandilo, Llandovery, and Brecon (1787, with notes on a similar tour in 1796); (3) to Teignmouth (1791).

A transcript of two letters written by Lord George Lyttelton (1709-1773) from Brynkir, 6 July 1755, and from Shrewsbury, 14 July 1755, describing a tour in North Wales.

Estate records, including deeds and documents, 1304-1887, relating to the estates of the Glynnes in Flintshire and elsewhere. The first three centuries covered by the deeds relate largely to the Ravenscroft family, their property, and their legal transactions. A large body of the documents relate to the period when Sir John Glynne, 6th bart., was the occupier of the estate. Other estate records include accounts, rentals, estate, household, and personal accounts, inventories, election expenses, colliery accounts, lists of charities distributed, estate maps, plans, surveys, bills, vouchers, etc., 1690-1872, including rentals of the lordship of Hawarden, 1686-1886. -- Amongst the personal papers are the diaries and account books of Sir John Glynne, 1753-1757, the diaries of the Rev. Stephen Glynne, 1798-1824, Mary Glynne, afterwards Lady Lyttelton, 1824-1831, Stephen Richard Glynne, 1825-1874, and W. H. Gladstone whilst at Eton College, 1856-1857; travel journals through North Wales, 1824, South Wales, 1824, Scotland, 1839, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Belguim, Greece and Austria, 1834-1866, Turkey, 1848, Egypt, 1850, and Palestine, 1850. -- The archive also includes election papers such as lists of voters, canvass returns, accounts, relating to Flintshire elections, 1727-1837, letters written by and to members of the Glynne family and to Gladstone; notes on history, genealogy and ecclesiology; ships' log-books, 1727-1730 and 1734-1739. -- A separate group of legal papers which belonged to a lawyer named Dovey, relate mainly to bankrupts, and their immediate relevance to the Glynne family is not very obvious.

A manuscript copy, [1820s]-[1830s] (watermark 1814), of tours of North Wales undertaken in the Autumn of 1817 (pp. 1-30) and October 1819 (pp. 31-90) by Captain Henry Hanmer and his wife Sarah, including descriptions of visits to Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, the Ladies of Llangollen (pp. 10-11, 14-19, 45).
The itinerary includes Llangollen, Wrexham, Beddgelert, Caernarfon, Bangor, Llanberis, Holyhead, Conway and St Asaph, and includes descriptions of Dolbadarn Castle (pp. 55-58), the Penrhyn slate quarries (pp. 65-66) and Parys and Mona copper mines (pp. 69-73). A number of related poems and tales are interspersed throughout the text (pp. 4-101), including verses by Anne Grant (p. 19), Anna Seward (pp. 22-29), Sir Walter Scott (pp. 31-33), W. Sotheby (pp. 37-45), W. R. Spencer (pp. 48-53), Dr [William] Dodd (pp. 61-62), and Amelia Alderson Opie (pp. 88-89). They are followed by further transcripts in the same hand (pp. 107-120), including verses by Thomas Noel (pp. 112-118) and Sir Walter Scott (pp. 119-120), and, in a different hand (pp. 121-139), verses by Byron (pp. 121, 125), R. B. Sheridan (p. 121) and Robert Southey (p. 123). The volume contains numerous cuttings from engravings, either pasted or tipped in (pp. 1-103 passim); several of these are by Henry Gastineau and are taken from Wales Illustrated: In a Series of Views... (London, 1830), as is the printed description of Llangollen on pp. 101-102. Inserted at the end (pp. 187-198) is a pamphlet by S. G. Perceval, The Ladies of Llangollen: New and interesting facts ([?1909]), transcribing extracts from the present manuscript. A press cutting, [1829], concerning the Ladies of Llangollen is pasted inside the front cover. Pressed flowers are pasted in on pp. 57, 64-65, and the remains of a leaf has been placed in an archival envelope.

Original typescript, 1971-1978, with manuscript additions, of 'The English Curiosity Man in North Wales', an historical and topographical account of North Wales by Peter Alford, illustrated with photographs, based on the author's field trips in the area, 1966-1975. Fifteen articles based on the work were published in Country Quest, May 1976-November 1978.

A journal of a tour of parts of England and North and West Wales, July-August 1791, containing descriptions of towns, castles, inns and scenery and of incidents along the way.
The unnamed author, possibly a member of the Wilson family of Broomhead, Sheffield (based on contextual materials filed seperately), travelled with two companions, starting from Cambridge on 11 July 1791. The English itinerary included Oxford, Birmingham, Coalbrookdale and Shrewsbury (ff. 1-8, rectos only). In Wales they visited Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Llangollen, Bala, Conwy, Bangor, Caernarfon, Beddgelert, Dolgellau, Machynlleth, Aberystwyth, Devil's Bridge, Cardigan and Carmarthen (ff. 9-25, rectos only, 24 verso). The journal includes an eyewitness account of the Priestley Riots in Birmingham on 14 July (ff. 6-7), and of an altercation between [?Richard Tavistock] Price and three apothecaries in Bala, 21 July (f. 12). A recurring theme is their difficulty in hiring appropriate transport from various landlords (ff. 19, 20, 25). The volume includes three pencil sketches of scenery (ff. 26 verso, 27 verso, 28 verso) and rough accounts (f. 29 verso, inside back cover, front and back covers). The bill, [16] July 1791, for their stay at the Tontine Inn, opposite the Iron Bridge, Coalbrookdale, has been tipped in on f. 26.

A journal describing a tour in North Wales, preceded by a visit to London and Oxford, 18 August - 30 September 1860, by an unidentified lady, a resident of Boughspring, Tidenham, co. Gloucester; the journal is illustrated with engravings and pressed plants.

A journal, with sketches, of a walking tour from Kington to Aberystwyth and through parts of North Wales, 1828.