Showing 64 results

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.

Notes by Thomas Pennant on a tour in Lancashire, 1772, a list of drawings made by Moses Griffith, his Welsh artist, during their tour to Scotland, 1772, and of others presented to Pennant on that journey, and notes made by David Pennant, junior, grandson of Thomas Pennant, during a tour through parts of North Wales.

Notes by Thomas Pennant concerning a tour in North Wales, with additions and corrections by him and by John Lloyd, Caerwys.

A booklet containing transcripts, [18 cent, last ¼], of two letters, dated 6 July 1755 [sic] at Bryn Kyr [Brynkir], Caernarvonshire (ff. 1-10), and 14 July 1755 [sic] at Shrewsury (ff. 10 verso-16), from George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, ostensibly to his brother [Charles], describing a tour through parts of Shropshire and North Wales.
The text, with some differences, was published in The Works of George Lord Lyttelton…, pub. by George Edward Ayscough, Esq. (London: printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, 1774, ESTC T79264), pp. 736-751; in print, however, the letters are addressed to 'Mr [Archibald] Bower' and are dated 1756.

A volume containing an account of a tour in North Wales in the form of transcripts, [18 cent., last ¼], of four letters, dated 20-28 September 1776, sent from Caernarfon (pp. 1-25), Tan-y-Bwlch, Merioneth (pp. 27-49), Denbigh (pp. 50-74) and 'Rhyd Dyn' [Rhyddyn], Flintshire (pp. 75-95), commenting mainly on Welsh history and castles.
The transcripts have been heavily corrected and emended in a different hand. The author, who appears to have resided at Rhyddyn, is not named but may be the Rev. William Warrington. His correspondents are identified as a Mr Eyton (p. 1) and a Dr Jeffries (p. 49). Also included are a preface (ff. v-vii) and several versions of a passage, in the same hand as the emendations, relating an encounter with some Irishmen (f. i verso).

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 list, [September] 1795, by the artist John Malchair of Oxford, of drawings made by him on a tour of north Wales, 22 July-21 August 1785, written on returning to Oxford.
The drawings are described in chronological order, with some additional details and comments on the surroundings, people and weather. The itinerary includes Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire (f. 1), Dinas Mawddwy (f. 2 recto-verso), Barmouth (f. 3) and Harlech (f. 3 recto-verso), Merionethshire, and Beddgelert, Caernarvonshire (f. 3 verso). For a transcript of the list see Colin Harrison, John Malchair of Oxford: Artist and Musician (Oxford, 1998), pp. 150-152.

Notes on a short tour in North Wales.

A volume containing a copy, [c. 1803] (watermark 1801), of a sketch of a tour of north Wales, as well as parts of England, undertaken on 7-30 July 1791, containing descriptions of places visited with particular emphasis on the state of the inns and the roads.
The sketch was written by an individual identified only as 'A.B.', travelling on horseback with his companion 'W.D.' (p. 1). Beginning in London, the journey to Wales took in Worcester, Bridgnorth, Coalbrookdale and Shrewsbury (pp. 2-24). In Wales their itinerary included Welshpool, Llangollen, Llanrwst, Conwy, Caernarfon, Beddgelert, Harlech, Barmouth, Dolgellau, Tywyn, Aberystwyth, Machynlleth, Newtown and Montgomery (pp. 24-76). They returned to London via Ludlow, Hereford and Gloucester (pp. 76-90). The volume includes accounts of the industrial works at Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge (pp. 13-18), the House of Industry [workhouse] at Shrewsbury (pp. 20-24), Castell Dinas Bran, Llangollen (pp. 30-31), Cernioge Mawr, Denbighshire (pp. 32-34), Aber[gwyngregyn], Caernarfonshire (pp. 39-45), the dilapidated state of Harlech and its castle (pp. 56-60), and Tal-y-llyn, Merioneth (pp. 67-69).

Journal, 1815-1821, written in equal parts French and English, by Philip Davies Cooke of Gwysaney, Flintshire, of tours through North Wales and France in the company of David Pennant of Downing, Flintshire.
The entries comprise a tour of North Wales from Downing to Chirk, Denbighshire, July-[August] 1815 (English, pp. 341-368); a tour through France via Orleans, the Loire Valley, Brittany, Aunis and Saintonge, Aquitaine, Pyrenees, Languedoc, Provence, Dauphine and Lyon, May-July 1818 (English, pp.1-156); from Sheffield to Holywell, October 1819 (English, pp. 335-340); and from Paris to Champagne, Piedmont, Genoa, Provence and Nice, Monaco and Burgundy, travelling mainly by boat, October 1820-January 1821 (French, pp. 158-335). The entries emphasise the history, antiquities and culture of the places visited. The main entries are written on the versos with addenda on the rectos opposite.

The original manuscript of 'Letters from North Wales, Written by Catherine Hutton To Thomas Hutton, her Brother, from 1796 to 1800, And printed in the Monthly Magazine by Sir Richard Phillips 1816'. The title- page is signed 'Catherine Hutton, Jan. 4th. 1842' and the writer may have intended to publish the letters in book form.
Loose in the volume are the following items: an appreciation of 'The Late Miss Hutton. From the Birmingham Journal of March 21, 1846'; the words of a song; and reviews of three printed works by Catherine Hutton, viz. Oakwood Hall, The Tour of Africa and The Welsh Mountaineer (pages numbered 17-32, beginning and end wanting), in the autograph of Catherine Hutton.

Journal of a tour, July-November 1819, by a Mr and Mrs Woolrych, commencing in Redhill, [?Surrey], and proceeding into Wales where they visited parts of Denbighshire, Merioneth, Caernarvonshire, Anglesey, Cardiganshire, Radnorshire and (briefly) Monmouthshire.
Included in the itinerary were Worcester and Great Malvern (pp. 2-23), Shrewsbury (pp. 25-43), Snowdonia (pp. 47-112 passim), Bangor (pp. 50-53, 57-60), Anglesey (pp. 64-72, 79), Caernarfon (pp. 82-89), Dolgellau (pp. 120-151), Barmouth (pp. 151-160), Aberystwyth (pp. 165-174), and Hereford (pp. 178-187). The writers of the journal are possibly Humphry William and Penelope Woolrych of Hertfordshire.

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.

A volume, [?1824], containing a fair copy of a journal of a tour of North Wales, 1 July-11 August 1824, by John George Lockett, describing the scenery and other points of interest, the weather, people, and the state of the inns and roads.
Lockett travelled by carriage in the company of his wife [Eleanor] and son [John George] Edmund Lockett. Departing from London on 1 July, they travelled via Warwick, Birmingham, Shrewsbury and Oswestry, reaching Wales on 11 July (ff. 2-8). In Wales the itinerary included Chirk, Llangollen, Wrexham, Denbigh, Ruthin, Llanrwst, Conwy, Bangor, Holyhead, Beaumaris, Capel Curig, Beddgelert, Caernarfon, Tremadog, Ffestiniog, Bala, Dolgellau, Barmouth, Machynlleth, Llanbrynmair, Newtown and Leominster (ff. 8-42 verso). The volume contains descriptions of the castles at Warwick (ff. 3 verso-5), Conwy (ff. 18-19), Beaumaris (f. 23 recto-verso) and Caernarfon (ff. 27 verso-28); the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (ff. 9 recto-verso, 11); the partially constructed suspension bridges at Conwy (f. 19) and on the Menai Straits (f. 21 recto-verso); and the [Cob] embankment at Traeth Mawr (ff. 29-30 verso). Also included is a partial transcript, [?1852], in a different hand, of an account of a serious illness suffered by J[ohn] T[owne] Danson in July 1852 (ff. 73 verso-79 verso (versos only), 80, 81, inverted text); Danson had married Ann Eleanor, daughter of J. G. Edmund Lockett, in April 1852.

Journal of a tour in North Wales, August-September 1832, by Thomas Letts, with his companion Thomas Boyce, including sixty-nine full-page illustrations in pencil, watercolour and wash, some original and some derivative.
The journal commences with a description of the journey by coach, train and ship from London to Bangor, via Manchester and Liverpool, 23-25 August (ff. 2-20). Starting in Bangor the North Wales tour included visits to Conway, Capel Curig, Llanberis Pass, Snowdon, Beddgelert, Tanybwlch, Maentwrog, Trawsfynydd, Dolgellau, Cader Idris, Bala, Corwen and Llangollen, 25 August-1 September (ff. 20-142). The travellers then returned to London via Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Oxford (ff. 142-152). A 'Synopsis of Expenses, &c.' is on ff. 153 verso-154.

Journal of Thomas Letts, September 1833, describing a tour in North Wales and the area around Bristol, Ross, Chepstow and Gloucester, with illustrations in pencil, watercolour and wash.
The tour included Bath (ff. 3 verso-4, 11-13), Bristol (ff. 4 verso-19 verso passim), Monmouthshire (ff. 19 verso-28 verso passim), Ross-on-Wye (ff. 28 verso-29 verso, 31 verso-32 verso, 34 recto-verso), Gloucester (ff. 36 verso-39), Cheltenham (ff. 39-41), Worcester (ff. 42 verso-44 verso), Dinas Mawddwy (f. 56 recto-verso), Cader Idris (ff. 66-68 verso), Dolgellau (ff. 78 verso-84 passim), the Vale of Ffestiniog (ff. 88 verso-123 verso passim), Rhuddlan (ff. 149 verso, 153), St Asaph (f. 153 recto-verso), Denbigh (ff. 153 verso-154 verso, 156), Betws-y-Coed (f. 160 recto-verso), Menai Bridge (f. 161 verso), and Llanddeiniolen (ff. 163 recto-verso, 165).

Journal of Thomas Letts, August-September 1834, describing a tour mostly in Caernarvonshire and Merioneth, with sixty-three illustrations in pencil, watercolour and wash.
The tour included Dinas Mawddwy (f. 6 verso), Dolwyddelan (ff. 23 verso, 46 recto-verso, 48 recto-verso, 52 verso-53, 112 verso-114 verso), Penmachno (ff. 31 recto-verso, 36, 71 verso, 73), Caernarfon Castle (ff. 81 verso, 83 recto-verso) and Tremadog (ff. 85 recto-verso, 88). Many of the sketches relate to the Conwy valley (ff. 7 verso-76 passim) and the Vale of Ffestiniog (ff. 59-108 verso passim).

The first of two volumes of a journal of a tour in North Wales made in August and September 1837 by an unidentified traveller from Harrogate, Yorkshire, the second volume not being present but the itinerary summarised on pp. 64-65.

Journal of Rev. Henry Richard concerning a tour in North Wales, October [1847] (watermark 1842).
The volume comprises a diary kept during a week of sightseeing and preaching, travelling from Bala, Merioneth, to Llandudno, Caernarvonshire (ff. 4-9 verso), and including a copy of an englyn by an unknown author (possibly Richard himself) (f. 8), together with notes for sermons on Biblical texts which were probably delivered during the tour (ff. 10-26 verso, inverted text).

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).