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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Herefordshire => Topic started by: Keith Sherwood on Friday 22 July 05 12:54 BST (UK)
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Hi Everyone,
I was wondering, as I am contemplating a visit to the Hay-on-Wye area some time in the near future, whether there are copies published of KILVERT's Diaries that this vicar of nearby Clyro wrote in the 1870's before his premature death in 1879. Apparently they contain excellent descriptions of the area...
Very best wishes,
Keith
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Hi Kieth,
You should be able to get a modern copy in any good bookshop. Better still have a look in the secondhand and charity shops, that is where mine came from,
Good luck
Jakky
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Of course if you can wait til you get there, Hay is the second hand book capital!
You will love it there Keith! Recommend canoeing down the Wye from Glasbury (not as strenuous as it sounds). The restaurant in the old granary opposite the town clock is VG.
Have a look at Powys online if you haven't already: a great resource.
And if you come across hubby's gt gt grands James and Mary Ann WILLIAMS in Clyro, give me a shout!
kind regards, Arranroots ;)
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Hi Jakky and Arranroots,
Isn't it funny how one sometimes forgets to make the most obvious of connections! My original idea with the trip to Hay was to spend hours browsing through the bookshops there; then I go and pose a question about a book written about the area 130-odd years ago.
Right, having established that my grey matter is receding, thanks for the virtual tour of the place, and I presume you mean a bit of a leisurely search in the Clyro graveyard, do you Arranroots, for your husbands ancestors. If that is so, give me a few more date details, and I'll definitely have a look. Not exactly sure when I'm going, but probably before the end of the school summer holidays...
Keith
p.s. but I think I'll leave my paddle behind, if that's O.K...
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Hi Keith, I was in Hay last easter and i shall be going back in October. You will have no problem picking up a copy. A rellie of mine was married at St Mary's Hay on wye by a kilvert in 1867 ........... father? I stay just above Clyro and only on my return I found a Gx4 of mine was baptised there in 1798......isn't it typical? Enjoy your visit a great place!! Kevin. Co Cork Ireland
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Thanks for that, Kevin,
Another excellent recommendation for Hay. I'm definitely going sometime in August, and look forward to a leisurely browse through those bookshops - might find some interesting genealogy books, too...
Keith
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Keith,
Dont forget to stop at Kilvert's Pub and while yer at it drop in and see my sister for a cup of tea! Also stop by the Fish and Chip shop and say hello to Gareth. I'm his Auntie!
Really, Hay is a lovely place and the bookshops are amazing. You will find plenty of stuff re: the Reverend Kilvert...including his diaries.
Cheers,
Indi
p.s. Wished I was going to Hay too!! :'( :'( :'(
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Right, Indi,
Where's my notebook? Fish and Chip Shop, talk to nephew Gareth...Kilvert's Pub for a pint or two...and where exactly do I say hello to your sister for a cup of tea...?
And that reminds me, I'm supposed to be looking for James and Mary Ann Williams in Clyro Churchyard, Arranroots, am I not...?
Keith
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Hi again, Indi,
I've just returned from a lightning visit to Hay, and did pop into the Kilvert Arms for something to eat - the food, especially the puddings, is great! There seemed to be 2 fish and chip shops, so I didn't enquire about your nephew Gareth, and I had a cup of tea in The Granary, which was near the Clock Tower, and might have been near your sister's house...
However, I had a lovely time blowing far too much money on books I'd struggled to track down without success elsewhere.
And Arranroots, you've probably already got all this, but I did find your husband's gt-gt-grandparents' gravestone in Clyro churchyard (we're talking Wales now, of course, not Herefordshire). Here is the inscription:
In loving memory of James Williams who died at Llanerch-Y-Coed in the parish of Clifford October 16th 1903 aged 80 years.
Also of Mary Ann his wife who died June 11th 1897 aged 67 years.
"There remaineth a rest to the people of God"
The gravestone is tilting forward at an angle of about 10-15 degrees, and the stone in front of it has fallen completely flat. Just behind it are the graves of the local gentry, the Baskervilles, with whom Conan Doyle apparently once stayed and perhaps were the inspiration for his famous story.
I also went to the farm at Llanerch-Y-Coed and spoke to the present owner, and will PM you with more details if you would like.
I had a wonderful time with my books and my little bit of family history...
Very best wishes,
Keith
p.s. also took some snaps of the grave and the farmhouse, but not with my digital camera which I'd forgotten to bring with me...
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Keith
Thanks s much for your trouble!
Will Pm you!
Arranroots ;)
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Hi Keith,
So glad you enjoyed the grub at Kilverts.....my favourite meal is Profiterolls washed down with a pint of beer!! My sister used to own Tinto House, a lovely B&B opposite the Town Clock and I can't tell you how many times I cussed at the clock at 2 in the morning! Bong!
I forgot to tell you that Gareth, the fish and chip!, is also the Mayor of Hay. So next time you go just ask for His Highness!!
Cheers,
Indi
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Indi,
And apparently there's the self-appointed King of Hay, Richard Booth, to contend with. The other thing is that they always photograph the Clock Tower to show just the top part, so as not to reveal the rather unpleasant-looking public loos just behind.
I thought Clyro was a special little village, too..
Keith
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Keith,
Richard Booth is a lovely man who really put Hay on Wye on the map. Prior to his arrival it really was a "Dead and Alive Hole" I was in Hay in the summer of...... hmmmm... 1978 I think it was, when Richard proclaimed himself King. Of course, by this time, he had bought the Castle and several shops. He threw a wonderful street party outside the Castle on a warm July evening. There was a live band and the fun lasted well into the night. Everyone of "his subjects" was presented with a Hay Passport and a wad of Hay money which I still have! I remember that many of the locals thought he was stark raving bonkers! But as they got to know him, they realised how much he cared for Hay.
Richard would hang out in the Blue Boar Inn, another of my favs...and he was so interesting to talk to. He travelled all over the world buying old books, maps and such.
Unfortunately, he suffered a terrible stroke about 10 years ago or so and was not expected to survive...but he made it! He doesn't get out in the town much anymore and I miss him when I go home. Hay should be forever grateful to Richard.
I'm not going to mention the unpleasantness of the loos!! ;D
And....I am getting homesick as I write this!!
Oh well, must pack now...a trip to San Diego this weekend!
Cheers,
Indi
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Indi,
The people who owned the bookshops in Hay spoke very favourably of Richard Booth when I asked about him, however much of an eccentric he has been in the past. They owed their livelihood to him, especially after Beeching decided to remove the railway from the town in 1963 and upset the whole balance of how one made a living.
I shall certainly soon return to Hay in search of more books, and any family history that anyone wants looking into. But have a lovely time in San Diego, and don't get too homesick for Hay...
Keith
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Is the Rev Francis Kilvert's family history anywhere in Hay-on-Wye by any chance?
And do I get a free beer in the Kilvert pub if I show them my name is Matt Kilvert?!?!? hmmm, I hope so!
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Hi Mike,
If I was at home in Hay on Wye...I would say...yesssireee!...re the beers...but I can't vouch for the current owner of Kilverts. ......where I have spent a few happy hours....mulling history, you understand.
Rev Kilvert actually lived in Clyro ...just up the road from Hay and the bookshops in Hay are full of Kilvert stuff. I read your other message on the Shropshire board and I would say that the odds are in your favour that there is a Herefordshire/Shropshire connection.
If you do go to Hay....please say hello to my sisters!
Best of luck with your hunt,
Indi in California
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Duh...after all that ..I called you Mike....my son's name instead of Matt...my grandson's name...!!!!
So sorry
Indi :-[
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It all seems such a long time ago now since I was in Hay in August (when England were counterattacking against the Aussies on the first day of that Second Test at Edgbaston, and the booksellers were keeping me up to date with the latest score...)
It was harder than I thought to get hold of a copy of Kilvert's diary, but I finally got the Penguin 1987 edition. The extraordinary thing about him was that he had so much energy, walking for miles and miles to visit someone, then maybe jumping on a train in Hay to travel down to London.
And he had a real eye for the women, too...
Keith
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Thre is a Kilvert Society in Herefordshire.
Kilvert himself came from WIltshire to the Welsh Borders, but the Kilvert Society have lots of info about him, his family and know nearly everything he was doing through his rather short life.
There is also a book called Kilvert the Victorian by Lockwood
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Excellent, EBN,
I think I may well make contact with that Society, and also look up that book by Lockwood. My summer was somehow lit up by my brief stay in Hay/Clyro on the Kilvert trail.
Thanks so much for that...
Keith
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Try also Kilvert the Homeless HEart published by Logston press , there are lots of books about Kilvert
try www.castlehillbooks.co.uk and search their books on Kilvert
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More sources of information, EBN!
Many thanks for those again,
keith