John de Braose (c.1198 – 18 July 1232) known as Tadody to the Welsh, was the Lord of Bramber and Gower and son in law of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. 

John's father William de Braose 4th Lord of Bramber was a court favourite of King John of England and a major landowner in Wales. At one time, he was Lord of Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth, Radnor, Kington,and Glamorgan. After having invited local Welsh leaders to a Christmas feast at Abergavenny Castle, William had them murdered, which resulted in great hostility against him among the Welsh, who there after called him the "Ogre of Abergavenny"

However William had fallen out of favour with King John after forging an alliance with Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and had all his lands siezed by the king. John's mother, Maud de St. Valery and brother (also William) were then walled alive and starved to death in Corfe Castle in Dorset, on the king's orders.  John, after initially hiding on the Gower with his younger brother Phillip, was imprisoned in 1214, but was released in 1218, following the death of John in 1216. 

In 1219 he married Margaret Ferch Llywelyn, daughter of Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and on the death of his uncle Reginald de Braose, inherited the lordship of Gower. Sometime in the 1220s, he established the deer park, Parc le Breos in the Gower Peninsula. In 1232 John was killed in a fall from his horse on his land in Bramber, Sussex aged 34.

Welsh Heraldry   

At the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the knights carried shields, but there appears to have been no system of hereditary coats of arms.  During the twelfth century family crests started to be worn on shields and tabards (short coat, giving rise to the name ‘coat of arms’), as a form of identification in battle.  Then in the 13th century, coats of arms using heraldic symbols became established as a kind of flag or logo for higher class families in Europe, from which the Welsh princes of Wales took their example but after 1282 and Edward I's subjugation of Wales, control of these came under the control of the Englsh King.

 The High Court of Chivalry came into existence in about 1350 and in 1484, the College of Arms was incorporated to administer the system and flourished during the rule of Henry VIII and on 18th July 1555under a new charter, Queen Mary I granted the College a new house called Derby Place which had thirty-two rooms.  This College, however, recognised the special character of Welsh heraldry by appointing local men as deputy heralds, such as Gruffydd Hiraethog and Lewis Dwnn in the sixteenth century, and David Edwardes, Griffith Hughes and Hugh Thomas in the seventeenth.

Few families can establish their descent through more numerous stocks of historic distinction, than the Hughes of Gwerclas (pictured), which gives us a broad overview of Welsh heraldry and shows allegiances to both people and to Kingdoms within Wales.  The coats of arms shown from top left are, Kingdom of Powys Fadog, Cilin ap y Blaidd Rhudd (Lord of Gest), Kingdom of Powys, Cadwgan ap Elystan Glodrydd, Elystan Glodrydd, Tudor Trevor (Lord of Hereford), the Kingdom of Powys Fadog, Howel ap Meurig (Lord of Nannau), Roger of Bryntangor, Tudor ap Griffith Vychan (Lord of Gwyddelwern), Kingdom of Deheubarth, Philip ap Ivor (Lord of Iscord), Kingdom of Gwynedd, Owain I ap Gruffydd, Gruffydd ap Cynan, Edwin of Tegeingl

Some of the symbols used and their significance;

*  Dragon - Alchemy, the elements, eternal change, discovery of hidden treasures and the protector of all you possess.

*  Crescent moon - Said to signify one who has been enlightened and honoured by the gracious aspect of his sovereign; also a symbol of 'hope and greater glory'. 

*  Lion - Emblem of majesty, strength, and justice, military might and courage

*  Fox - Signifies one who will use all that he may possess of wisdom and wit in his own defence, and denotes one of strategic talents and fertility of resources.

*  Eagle - Signifies a person of action, occupied in high and weighty affairs; one of lofty spirit; also symbolizes courage, freedom, and immortality

*  Boars Head - Strength, courage, and ferocity

*  Raven - Symbol of initiation, protection, and prophecy.

Some of the colours used and their significance;

*  Or (Gold) - Generosity and elevation of the mind

*  Argent (White/Silver) - Peace and sincerity

*  Gules (Red) - Warrior or martyr; Military strength and magnanimity

*  Azure (Blue) - Truth and loyalty

*  Vert (Green) - Hope, joy, and loyalty in love

*  Sable (Black) - Constancy or grief

*  Purpure (Purple) - Royal majesty, and justice

*  Tenne (Orange) - Worthy ambition

Some of the consequences for Wales, of Henry VIII's split with Rome; 

On this day in 1536 Henry VIII declared papal authority void in England and elevated himself as king, to the status of supreme head of the Church of England. He took this unprecedented step so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Ann Boleyn, a decision that would culminate in England and Wales leaving the Catholic Church.

*  The dispute took place during the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Although Henry did not become a Protestant, his actions and policies facilitated the establishment of the Protestant religion.

*  The Monasteries that Henry was to close were already in decline. By 1536, the 13 Cistercian houses of Wales had only 85 monks in total, with some of the establishments having a very dubious reputation, so their closure caused very little protest. 

*  Most of the monasteries fell into ruin, while the Benedictine abbey churches survived as parish churches.

* Welsh gentry bought up the old lands of the monasteries after the Dissolution; for example the Mansel family, who gained possession of Margam Abbey and the Somerset family of Raglan who gained property at Tintern . However, they felt restricted by Welsh property law, which dated back to the tenth century. Consequently they petitioned for the right to literally become 'English' and be governed by English law. This eventually led to the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542, where Wales was incorporated into England.

*  As the Protestant Reformation progressed in Wales and England under the Tudor dynasty, one poet's response was to label the new order 'ffydd Saeson' - 'faith of Saxons', and there was a strong feeling that the Welsh were being forced to abandon the old religion due to English demands.

*  A number of Welsh Catholics were martyred, although many embraced their fate with equanimity. The Welsh priest Edward Morgan was reproached by a minister on the scaffold at Tyburn for being too optimistic of his prospective glory in heaven.

*  There were Catholics who passively resisted the changes by staying away from the new church services, and legislation was passed which punished these non-attenders or 'Recusants' as they were called.  They faced fines for non-attendance at church services as well as incurring suspicion.

*  Most Welsh people seemed to have accepted these changes, although they probably mourned the banning of colourful religious events like pilgrimages under the new regime.

*  Henry's successor was the young King Edward VI, who was a zealous Protestant and occupied the throne from 1547 to 1553. During his reign, the mass was replaced with the communion service, a firm rejection of Catholicism. The marriage of clerics was now permitted.  In 1549, the Book of Common Prayer was published and an even more Protestant version was adopted in 1553.  In 1551, the scholar William Salesbury published a Welsh translation of the main texts of the Prayer Book.

*  Mary I occupied the throne from 1553 to 1558. She was a fervent Catholic and returned her kingdom to the papacy. She sent 300 citizens to the stake to be burnt as heretics. Among these were several from Wales, including the Bishop of St. Davids.

*  It was the translating of the Bible into Welsh during Elizabeth I's reign which resulted in the eventual transformation of the Welsh into a Protestant people.  

The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition held throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951.  It was a government instigated event intended to give the people of Britain a feeling of uplift after the Second World War with its heavy toll of bombings and rationing. The Festival showcased the best that the nation had to offer, from art and science exhibitions to new architectural concepts and designs. 

Some of the events organised in Wales;
*  The Festival of Britain Welsh Industrial Fair, which ran from 4th July to 18th July 1951
*  Wales submitted  Paul Dickson's film David as its screen representative for the Festival. 
*  Pageant of Wales, Cardiff
*  St Fagan's Folk Festival, Cardiff
*  Welsh Hillside Farm Scheme, Dolhendre
*  The Swansea Festival of  Music
*  The St David's Festival of Music and Worship
*  The international Eisteddfod at Llangollen
* The Royal National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst

Born this day 1970 in Haverfordwest

Gruff Rhys  musician and vocalist with the band Super Furry Animals.

18th July  1889 - Opening of the first dock basin at Barry.

By 1871 the population of Barry was approximately 100, with only 21 buildings. It was largely an agricultural community. Its rapid growth was the result of it being developed as a coal port in the 1880s. The coal trade was growing so rapidly that the facilities at Cardiff's Tiger Bay could not cope, so a coalition  of mine owners formed the Barry Railway Company and elected to build a new dockyard at Barry.

Work began in 1884, and the initial dock basin was operational in 1889, soon followed by two other docks and port infrastructure. The Barry Railway transported coal from the western South Wales Valleys to the new docks, where trade flourished. A million tons were shipped in the first year, and in excess of nine million tons by 1903. The port was packed with ships and supported ship repair yards, flour mills, cold stores, and an ice factory. By 1913, Barry was the world's largest coal exporting town. Alongside the docks, the terraced houses of Barry were built, which, with Cadoxton, formed a substantial town. The railways, which had played a major part in the development of the dock,  also did a great deal to make Barry Island a popular resort.

The Cardiff Riots of 1911.

July 18th 1911 saw rioting and strikes in Cardiff, as the Great Unrest swept across South Wales.

The disturbances were the results initally of the shipowners failure to recognise the Seamen's union but soon spread among dockers and other workers.  On the 19th July a warehouse on the docks was set alight and when fire workers turned the hoses on the strikers, they retaliated by pelting stones at the firemen.  Elsewhere Chinese laundries were targeted, with all 30 within the city wrecked.  Five hundred Lancashire Fusiliers and 350 Metropolitan constabulary were deployed to assist in maintaining order and during repeated baton charges, 30 people including several police were seriously injured.

During the summer, the discontent spread, culminating with copper workers in Swansea by October, but it also took in railway workers in Llanelli and colliers in the Valleys.  Virtually no sector of Welsh society was untouched.