The infamous ‘Monk’s Blood’ manuscript 

On 24th July 2010 there was a special opening of  the exhibition "Thomas Phillips and the Greatest Little Library in Wales." at the University of Wales, Lampeter, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of its benefactor, Thomas Phillips.  

The exhibition included the many books and manuscripts which Phillips donated to St David’s College between 1834 and 1852; in excess of 30,000 volumes, all printed between 1470 and 1850.  The focal point of the collection is the 'The Monk’s Blood manuscript', which is reputed to have been spattered with the blood of one of the twelve hundred monks massacred at Bangor-Is-Coed in around the year 616 before the Battle of Chester. There, Aetelfrith, the King of Northumbria, conquered the Kingdom of Powys.  The manuscript was described in 1862 as  “The grand curiosity is a manuscript which once belonged to the monks of Bangor Is Coed.  It bears the marks of blood with which it was sprinkled when the monks were massacred by the heathen Saxons…”

The Window tax was abolished in England and Wales on 24th July 1851

"Daylight robbery"

The Window Tax was introduced in 1696, during the reign of William III, when Britain was burdened with expenses from The Glorious Revolution of 1868 and the costs of re-coinage necessitated by the "miserable state" of existing coins, which had been reduced by clipping small portions of the high-grade silver coins.  It was levied at two shilling on properties with up to ten windows, rising to four shillings for houses with between ten and twenty windows.  It was extremely unpopular and to avoid paying the tax some houses from the period can be seen to have windows bricked-up

The term "daylight robbery" is thought to have originated from the window tax as it was described by some as a "tax on light".

Born this day 1975 in Mufulira, Zambia

Dafydd James  - former Wales and Lions rugby international.  James won an ERC Elite Award for becoming the first player ever in Heineken Cup history to score twenty-five tries in the tournament. 

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On 24th July 1816, the Old Wye Bridge, Chepstow (rebuilt in cast iron) was opened across the River Wye.

The Old Wye Bridge at Chepstow crosses the River Wye between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. There had been wooden bridges in the same location below the castle since Norman times, but the present cast iron road bridge was built in 1816 to an initial design by John Rennie, which was subsequently modified by John Rastrick who actually constructed it.

The river Wye has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, and the bridge across it considerably shortened the journey distance between Newport and Gloucester. A new road bridge was opened alongside the railway bridge in 1988, with the old road bridge, which is a Grade l Listed Building, now carrying local traffic.

Born this day 1876 in Varteg Hill, near Pontypool

Viv Huzzey - former Wales rugby and baseball international. Huzzey left Wales to play rugby league for Oldham in 1900 after he had controversially been denied the captaincy of Cardiff.

Born this day 1913 in Plymouth

Michael Foot -  “grandfather of devolution”  and MP for Ebbw Vale from 1960 to 1992.

A deep thinker and prolific writer; he had a glittering career in journalism before becoming an MP; Foot was as far from the modern image-obsessed politician as it is possible to imagine.  He first became an MP in Plymouth and in 1960  took over the constituency of Ebbw Vale from his hero, Aneurin Bevan, later writing a two-volume biography of  him and with James Callaghan and Neil Kinnock. He was one of a group of Welsh MPs who dominated Labour’s senior ranks in the 1970s and 1980s.  He led Labour from 1980 to 1983, a period marked by internal party rows and a failure to counter the Conservative populism of Margaret Thatcher. After his death in 2010, tributes were paid to him by politicians from all parties.

*  Former First Minister Rhodri Morgan saluted Mr Foot as the man who “set Labour on course for devolution. While people might not have necessarily expected it from somebody from Plymouth, he was a passionate supporter of devolving power who pushed for the 1979 vote in the face of the internal opposition".

*  First Minister Carwyn Jones said: “We have lost a real political giant.  Michael Foot was a great thinker, a fine orator and superb writer. He crammed a huge amount into his long life and he led the Labour Party during one of the most difficult periods in its history. Above all , he remained a fierce advocate for equality and social justice throughout his life and it is that passion for which he will always be fondly remembered.”

*  Former Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy said: “He was a true socialist, never wavering in his views, and he had a particular affection for Gwent, representing Ebbw Vale after the death of Nye Bevan.  I knew Michael as a friend and as a neighbouring constituency colleague, and as Gwent MPs we campaigned on many issues together. He had a real understanding of the people of the Welsh Valleys and was proud to be an adopted Welshman."

*  Chris Roberts, Welsh Labour’s general secretary, said: “I had the great privilege of driving Michael around North Wales in 1989.  I was in awe of a lovely man who switched effortlessly from personal reminiscences of George Orwell and the leaders of the Spanish Republic to a chat over a cup of tea with two delighted elderly ladies in Porthmadog Milk Bar. We have lost a great socialist and a splendid human being.”

*  Plaid Cymru leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said: “Michael Foot was a man of principle and a great Parliamentarian who commanded respect across the political divide. It was my privilege and pleasure to have known him and to have served in Westminster at the same time as him where I learnt much from his wealth of knowledge and commitment to social justice."  “Michael Foot was also a great devolutionist and I know that he was delighted when the people of Wales said yes to the creation of a National Assembly in 1997, despite wanting a more powerful parliament for Wales. His passing is a loss to the political culture of Wales.”

A staunch republican (though actually well liked by the Royal Family on a personal level), Foot rejected honours from the Queen and the government, including a knighthood and a peerage, on more than one occasion.

July 1861, the Welsh newspaper 'Baner ac Amserau Cymru' began twice-weekly publication.

In the mid 19th century, a newspaper was beginning to be considered as one of the essentials of life. The first successful Welsh newspaper was Yr Amserau [The Times] which was established in Liverpool in 1843 and dealt with contemporary issues, such as landlords and tithes, the Corn Laws, politics and education.

Yr Amserau was bought by Thomas Gee in 1859 and joined with Baner Cymru [The Banner of Wales]. Baner ac Amserau Cymru [The Banner and Times of Wales] became significantly influential. It was generally Liberal in outlook, supporting Radical causes and taking every opportunity to defend and promote nonconformity. The paper succeeded in attracting many able journalists, such as John Griffith, who was the London correspondent of the Baner, reporting parliamentary debates and attending political meetings throughout Wales.    

Sir Roger Mostyn (1625-1690) was a royalist during and after the English Civil War, whose subsequent fortune established the Mostyn Baronets, who in the following generations founded the town of Llandudno.

1625   Born near Holywell, Flintshire,

1642    Outbreak of The English Civil War.The Mostyn family supported King Charles I, with Sir Roger probably instigating the 'loyal address of the people of Flintshire', presented to Charles at York.

1642   Mostyn and Captain Salesbury provided Welsh troops when Charles visited Chester after his formal declaration of war. After the king's departure, the soldiers pillaged the houses of suspected parliamentarians.

1643    Mostyn was made a colonel and led a force of Welshmen into Chester, who expressed their loyalty by ransacking the town-house of Parliamentarian Sir William Brereton.

1643    Mostyn was appointed as the governor of Flint Castle, but following a long autumn siege, during which the garrison was reduced to eating their horses, he surrendered it to Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddelton.

1643(18 Nov)    Mostyn headed a combined troop of Irish soldiers and Welsh recruits, forcing the parliamentarians to abandon Flint. They also captured Hawarden Castle.

1646  Mostyn visited Ireland to muster recruits for the relief of Chester, returning with 160 men. The planned march to Chester was thwarted, however, when Brereton intercepted them and forced them to retreat to Conwy and to Denbigh. Mostyn himself escaped and managed to elude his enemies for 12 years.

1658   Mostyn was captured by Colonel Carter at Conwy but was soon released. However, he had bankrupted his estate in the service of the crown and had to live in impoverished seclusion for many years at a farmhouse called Plasucha.

1660   After The Restoration of the English monarchy, Charles ll made Mostyn a Baronet, his finances improving through profits derived from lead and coal mines.

1684  (23rd July) His situation became so secure that he was able to provide a 'very great and noble entertainment' for the Duke of Beaufort and his entourage on their official progress through Wales  before securing Bristol for King Charles II.

The Battle of Woodbury Hill - the battle that never was.

In July 1405, a French force arrived in Wales to assist the Owain Glyndwr Rebellion.

1405 was the "Year of the French" in Wales. Their force left Brest with more than twenty-eight hundred knights and men-at-arms led by Jean de Rieux, Marshal of France. However by the time they landed in Milford Haven they had lost many warhorses who had died through lack of fresh water. They marched inland alongside Owain's army and took the town of Haverfordwest but not the castle. They retook Carmarthen and laid siege to Tenby, then inexplicably, marched right across South Wales and into England. Force-marching through Herefordshire and Worcestershire, they met Henry lV's army at Great Witley, ten miles from Worcester itself. Henry's army stood on Abberley Hill facing south towards Owain's army, which took up position a mile away on the hill fort of Woodbury Hill. The armies surveyed each other, without any action, for eight days. No battle was initiated and eventually both sides withdrew, the Franco-Welsh force returning to Wales.

The reasons for the impasse and subsequent withdrawal are unclear, although it is generally believed that Henry's army had the advantage of being well supplied on home soil whereas the Franco-Welsh force was isolated deep in enemy territory and at risk of being surrounded. Also, Owain had suffered a devastating loss earlier that year at The Battle of Pwll Melyn (Battle of Usk) losing 1500 men according to some sources, including his brother Tudur and he was maybe reluctant to initiate an attack.

Saint Phillip Evans and Saint John Lloyd were executed for their beliefs on this day in 1679.

Philip Evans was born in Monmouth in 1645 and joined the Society of Jesus in Watten on 7 September 1665, he was ordained at Liege and sent back to South Wales as a missionary in 1675. After working as a Jesuit priest in Wales for nearly four years, a local priest hunter, John Arnold of Abergavenny offered the then enormous sum of £200 for his arrest. Despite the danger, Father Evans continued to minister to his flock. He was eventually arrested inDecember 1678.

John Lloyd, from Breconshire was a secular priest who was educated first in Ghent and then in Spain.  He took the 'missionary oath'  and was sent back to Wales in 1654 to minister and to encourage conversion to Catholicism. He fulfilled his vocation despite being on the run for almost 24 years. He was arrested in November 1678, and imprisoned in Cardiff Gaol where he was joined by the Jesuit, Philip Evans.

Both Lloyd and Evans had been caught up in the anti-catholic hysteria that had swept the country in the aftermath of  Titus Oates' fictitious "Popish Plot"  to kill King Charles II. 

Their executions took place in Cardiff on 22 July 1679. 

On 25 October 1970, both John Lloyd and Philip Evans  were canonised by Pope Paul VI.  Although they died on 22 July, this is the day of St Mary Magdalen, so their joint feast day has been designated as 23 July. 

On this day in 1933, Britain's most famous woman pilot, Amy Johnson and her husband Jim Mollison ( the “Flying Sweethearts”), took off from Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire, in their attempt to fly across the Atlantic non-stop.

Huge crowds congregated in Pendine during the three weeks of preparations for the flight. Amy and her husband intended to fly to New York, but they were blown off course. The plane crash-landed at Bridgeport, Connecticut after flying for 39 hours. They covered a distance of 3,300 miles at an average speed of 85 mph. They were both injured in the crash, but after a period of recuperation, the pair were feted with a ticker- tape parade through Wall Street and lunched with President Roosevelt.

Born this day 1967 in Haverfordwest (raised in Ruthin)

Rhys Ifans is an actor and musician, best known for his roles in films such as "Notting Hill" and "Twin Town". He also appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man", "Hannibal Rising", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and "Mr Nice", based on the life of Howard Marks. Ifans also won a BAFTA for his portrayal of comedian Peter Cook in the TV film Not Only But Always. 

Since 2012 Ifans has been involved with the 'Living Paths Society', which aims to further and develop the Welsh language Wikipedia: Wikipedia Cymraeg.

 In July 1403, Owain Glyndŵr, together with 800 men, laid siege to Carreg Cennen Castle.

A history of Carreg Cennen Castle (located within the Brecon Beacons National Park, four miles south of Llandeilo):

* The first masonry castle was probably built by The Lord Rhys, who died in 1197, and it remained a possession of the Deheubarth dynasty for the next 50 years.

* Lord Rhys's grandson, Rhys Fychan, eventually inherited the castle but was betrayed by his mother (the Norman Matilda de Braeos) who turned over the stronghold to the English. Rhys retook in 1248 only for it to be confiscated by Maredudd ap Rhys Gryg, his uncle and then claimed by King Edward I in 1277.

*  Edward I granted the castle to John Giffard in 1283. He had been commander of the English troops at Cilmeri where Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (The Last) was killed. Giffard had the castle significantly remodelled.

* In early July 1403 Owain Glyndŵr attacked Carreg Cennen with a force of 800 men but failed to take it despite inflicting damage to the castle's defences. It was held against Glyndwr, who laid siege to it for several months, by the man who, a few years later, was to marry one of Glyndwr's daughters. He was Sir John Scudamore of Herefordshire.

* in 1461, during the Wars of the Roses, Carreg Cennen was held by Lancastrian forces, though the Yorkists eventually captured the castle and set about demolishing it with a team of 500 men.

 * The Vaughan and Cawdor families took ownership, and from the 18th century, it started to attract artists (Turner sketched the castle in 1798).

* The second Earl of Cawdor began an extensive renovation in the 19th century, and in 1932 Carreg Cennen was given to the guardianship of the Office of Works.

* In the 1960s Carreg Cennen Castle was acquired by the Morris family of Castell Farm when Lord Cawdor's legal team inadvertently made a mistake in the wording of the deeds and included the castle as part of the farm.

* Today the castle is still in private ownership, although it is maintained by Cadw.

On 22nd July 1817, Windham Sadler became the first person to succeed in crossing the Irish Sea by hot air balloon, landing near Holyhead. 

Sadler lifted off from the Portobello barracks at Dublin and ascended to a good height to catch a suitable westerly current which enabled him fly the balloon across the Irish Sea.  In mid-channel he wrote, ‘I enjoyed at a glance the opposite shores of Ireland and Wales, and the entire circumference of Man.’ 

On 22nd July 1966 fifteen people, among them four children, were killed in a ferry boat accident in the Mawddach Estuary near Dolgellau. 

Thirty-nine people were on board the Prince Of Wales ferry as it was nearing the end of its pleasure trip from Barmouth to the George III hotel when the tragedy happened. The skipper was manoeuvring  the boat towards the jetty when the vessel was washed into the wooden toll bridge at Penmaenpool and the passengers were thrown into the fast-running incoming tide. 

The Cardiff City stadium, in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, was opened on 22nd July 2009.

It replaces Ninian Park as the home ground of Cardiff City Football Club. With a capacity of 26,828, it is the second largest stadium in Wales.

The Battle of Shrewsbury July 21st 1403. 

While Owain Glyndwr was making inroads in Deheubarth, his allies were less successful in the North.  Having forged a strong alliance with the Mortimer family through marriage, in 1403 Owain joined his son-in-law in supporting the powerful Earls of Northumberland and Worcester in their bid to overthrow Henry IV.  Henry 'Hotspur' Percy of Northumberland raised a force and in early July 1403 marched south to meet with his uncle Worcester and Owain Glyndwr.  By 19th July, he had recruited an army of 1400.  Unfortunately for Percy, news of the rebellion had reached The king, and by the time Percy had reached Shrewsbury, the King's army, led by Henry himself and his son 'Hal' (later to become Henry V) was waiting for them. 

The army of Owain Glyndwr was at this time still engaged in Carmarthen, but rather than retreat to fight another day, the notoriously impetuous Hotspur decided to engage his enemy without reinforcements.  Much of Saturday 21st July was taken up with negotiations between the two armies, but these talks broke down and the battle commenced near Battlefield Church.  The sky turned black with opposing archers firing at the opposition. It is believed that this was the first battle where the longbow was used by both sides. Initially, it was Percy who held the upper hand with many of his archers killing most of the royal vanguard while other fled in terror.  A Percy cavalry charge killed the royal standard-bearer, endangering the king. During the battle the Prince of Wales was wounded but still managed to lead his forces to support his father. Sir Henry Percy was killed and, leaderless, the rebel army fled. The Earl of Worcester was captured and was subsequently tried for treason, convicted and executed.  It is reported that the entire field was hidden by the bodies of the dead. Thousands died in only a few hours.  However the victors lost many more knights than the rebels and their total losses may have equalled those of the rebels in the two or three hours that the battle lasted. 

It is clear that with a stronger force, the outcome could have been very different for the rebels, and it is interesting to speculate how the History of Wales could have taken a different course had Glyndwr and his followers been present at this battle.

On 21st July 2010, the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David was formed by merging two of the oldest higher education institutions in Wales, the University of Wales, Lampeter with Trinity University College, Carmarthen. 

The University of Wales, Lampeter was founded in 1822 by royal charter and was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales and was the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge.  Trinity College began life in 1848 as the South Wales and Monmouthshire Training College and was the oldest teacher training college in Wales. 

Born this day 1945 in Watford

"the greatest conversion since Saint Paul"

John Taylor - former Wales and Lions rugby international, best remembered for his match-winning conversion against Scotland in 1971.  Taylor stepped in, when the usual kicker, Barry John was unable to take the kick and clinched a 19 - 18 victory with the remarkable touchline score.  Taylor played for the British and Irish Lions on the 1971 tour to New Zealand but was was notable for the stand he took against apartheid by turning down the opportunity to tour with the 1974 Lions to south Africa. 

The first recorded person to surf the Severn Bore was Col J Churchill on 21 July 1955

The Severn Bore

A tidal bore  is a surge wave in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travels up a river against the normal direction of flow.  As the bore is formed, the decreasing width and depth of the river form a funnel shape which draws the wave along.

The Severn Bore is one of the biggest in the world and is one of Britain's few truly spectacular natural phenomena. The shape of the Severn estuary is such that the water is funnelled into an increasingly narrow channel as the tide rises, thus forming the large wave that can travel up to 13 miles per hour.   

*  The largest recorded Severn Bore was on 15 October 1966 when it reached a height of 9.2 feet (2.8 m)

Dylan Thomas in Space! 

On 20th July 1967 Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. Watching avidly from earth was George Abbey, Assistant Director of the Johnson Space Centre, whose mother was from Laugharne, Carmarthenshire.  George, now in his 80s retains close connections with Wales and with Laugharne in particular.  In April 2013 in the Richard Burton lecture at  Swansea University, he recalls "There was a very strong Welsh feeling in our home because my mother spoke Welsh."  Abbey’s desire to remain loyal to his Welsh roots encouraged him to read and appreciate Dylan Thomas’ work.  “Dylan’s works have always had great meaning to me and I’ve always felt a close relationship with Laugharne and the cottage. My mother played in the area around the cottage growing up and a cousin, Dick Lewis, the milkman in Laugharne, was a very close friend of Dylan’s and (wife) Caitlin’s. They used to drink together every afternoon at Brown’s Hotel in Laugharne and Dick was a pallbearer at the funeral. He is mentioned in Dylan’s works as ‘Dick the Milk’, so the ties are really close and lasting.” Abbey was determined to ensure that there was a Welsh dimension to the space flights.  “On a visit to Wales, I told the people in Laugharne at Dylan Thomas’ cottage that I would arrange to fly a memento of Dylan’s in space aboard the Space Shuttle. They gave me a very treasured photograph, probably fully expecting to never see it again. I arranged to have it flown and returned it to them with the authentication of its flight to space. The return of the photo was covered by the newspapers – I would expect it’s on display at the cottage in Laugharnetoday.  If the weather was good, I also usually tried to get the astronauts as they flew to get a picture of Wales because of my Welsh roots. 

In 1983 George became Director of flight operations, putting America's first woman into space.  By 1996, he had become overall Director of the Johnson Space Centre, and the man most responsible for the International Space Station.

Iris Davies (1935 – 20 July 2010), pen name Iris Gower, was a Swansea-born novelist, noted for her many historical romances, most of which are set in the seaport of Swansea and the nearby Gower Peninsula, which was the inspiration for her nom-de-plume.  

As a young woman, she worked as a nursery teacher and took other part-time jobs, but began writing in her twenties and had several stories published in popular magazines, such as 'Jackie and 'Woman's Own'. Her debut novel, Tudor Tapestry, was published in 1974, but it was the success of her novel 'Copper Kingdom' in 1983, that gave her a worldwide audience. This was one of many of her novels set in the copper and other industries of Swansea or in the rural life of its hinterland.

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Dr Thomas Wynne was born on 20th July 1627 in Bron Fadog,Ysceifiog, Flintshire. He was a significant figure in the early history of the United States and acted as personal physician to William Penn. He was among the original settlers of Philadephia in the Province of Pennsylvania. 

As a young man, Dr. Wynne had became increasingly dissatisfied with the poor quality of religious teaching in Wales. He felt that those responsible for his spiritual welfare were “of low degree” and had let him down. He was, as he later wrote, spiritually “at the mercy of the wolf”. He became a Quaker as the result of a profound spiritual experience; "the heavenly power wounded as a sword, it smote like a hammer at the whole body of sin, and my bowels it burned like fire”. He was one of the earliest and most loyal members of the Welsh Society of Friends, and was later imprisoned for his Quaker beliefs.

Wynne trained as a surgeon and was regarded as an expert “in the use of the Plaister Box and Salvatory, the Trafine and Head Saw, the Amputation Saw, and the Catling, the Cautery, Sirring and Catheter”

The persecution of the Quakers in seventeenth-century Britain  led to their search for a new land,  and when William Penn was given a grant of land in Philadelphia by Charles II in 1681, Thomas Wynne travelled as Penn's personal surgeon.  He took up a patent for 5000 acres of land in Pennsylvania, for which he paid £100.  His was one of the first brick houses in the new settlement. He took several office-holding positions including speaker of the first two Pennsylvania Assemblies and was a Justice of the Peace.

20th July 1899 — A rabid dog attacked a group of children in Pontarddulais.

The stray setter dog visited the neighbourhood of Pontardulais and bit a number of children, two on the face.  The dog was  reported to the Board of Agriculture, whose inspector on the following day visited Pontardulais and ordered the animal to be immediately shot and strongly recommended treatment at the Pasteur Institute for eight of the children.  This resulted in the respective boards of guardians of Swansea and Llanelli paying for the trip and 21 days treatment, which thankfully was successful with all the children returning fit and well.  

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The world's first passenger and mail hovercraft service commenced on 20th July 1962 between Rhyl and Moreton, Wirral.

Rhyl and Moreton were chosen because of their flat beaches; the service was scheduled to run up to 12 trips a day. However they achieved this on 6 days only. In total, the service ran on only 19 days out of 54, mainly because of strong winds, high seas and the continual failure of the rear lift engine. The service was discontinued 14th September 1962.  

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On July 20th 1969, at 20:18, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon's surface making the comment  "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." However according to Max Boyce, a Welshman, namely Morgan the Moon, may well have beaten him to it.    

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On 20th July 1874, in a mining accident at Charles Colliery, Llansamlet, nineteen men were killed.

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Chepstow Railway Bridge was used for the first time on 19 July 1852, allowing the Great Western Railway to open its line from London to Swansea.

The "Great Tubular Bridge" by Isambard Kingdom Brunel is considered to be one of his greatest engineering achievements, as the span of 300 feet needed to be self supporting. This is because on the Monmouthshire side there is sedimentary deposit subject to daily flooding, and the height requirement of 84 feet above high water required by the Admiralty to allow free passage of vessels ruled out an arched bridge. As a result, Brunel designed the bridge to be suspended by chains from two 9 foot diameter cast iron tubes.

Born this day 1958 in Bangor

Angharad Tomos - prominent author and a relentless Welsh language activist, Tomos has made a substantial contribution to Welsh language children's literature,  including her popular Rwdlan series.  She is a former chairwoman of Cymdeithas yr Iaith.

Swansea University researchers have reconstructed the face of a Welsh archer who drowned on the Mary Rose in 1545.

The Mary Rose, a warship of King Henry VIII, last saw action on 19 July 1545, leading an attack on a French invasion fleet. She sank shortly afterward off Portsmouth, but in 1982 she was raised from the seabed and the skull of one the drowned men was taken taken to Swansea university for analysis. There, University researchers and a Swedish police expert in facial reconstruction reconstructed the skull, muscle by muscle, and created a 3D computer-generated image. They identified him as an elite archer and as it is known that many of Henry's archers came from Wales, it is very likely that this is the face of a Welsh archer.  The artefact is on display in the Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth.  

On 19 July 1984 an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale (the largest recorded onshore quake in the UK) struck the Llyn Peninsula.  The effects were felt throughout Wales and most of England, the biggest concentration of damage being in Liverpool, with the aftershocks felt as far away as Dublin.

The Llyn peninsula is known locally as the "Dragon's Tail" as it is so prone to earth tremors. It forms part of a band of seismic activity that spans the north west of England, north Wales and Scotland.  This could be the result of plate-tectonic activity under the Atlantic Ocean and could also reflect the fact that this area was covered in thick ice 20 millennia ago. Although the ice has melted, the release of its weight is still causing contractions in the earth's crust.  

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.

On this day 1764 the immigrant ship "Vine" carrying Welsh Quakers from Merionethshire and bound for the Welsh Tract arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

The Welsh Tract of Pensylvania;

The period following the restoration of Charles II  to the English throne in 1660 saw the implementation  of religious intolerances which inhibited the rights of several groups, including Quakers, to worship in their chosen fashion. Large numbers of people, in some cases whole communities, elected to leave Wales in order to avoid persecution. In the Court of Great Sessions in Bala, North Wales, threats were made against the lives of Quakers, impelling the society of Welsh Quakers to acquire land from William Penn. This was known as The Welsh Tract, comprising an area of approximately 40,000 acres in and around what is now known as Pennsylvania.  

They began emigrating there in 1682. The first Welsh colony, Cambria, was in western Pennsylvania, and became an area in which the Welsh language, Welsh culture and Welsh religion was conducted in a community with a distinct Welsh identity. It was first established by Morgan John Rhys from Glamorgan, who was a Baptist minister. Many towns in the area still carry Welsh names; places such as Radnor, Haverford Township, Lower Merion, Upper Merion and Bala Cynwyd. Despite the disappointment of the settlers, the original name of the colony was changed. Penn tried to explain the change by writing the following;

"This day, my country was confirmed to me under the great seal of England, with privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania, a name the King would give it in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, being as this, a pretty, hilly country, but Penn being Welsh for head as in Penmanmoire (sic), in Wales, and Penrith, in Cumberland, and Penn, in Buckinghamshire . . . called this Pennsylvania, which is the high or head woodlands; for I proposed, when the secretary, a Welshman, refused to have it called New Wales, Sylvania and they added Penn to it, and though I opposed it and went to the King to have it struck out and altered he said it was past . . nor could twenty guineas move the under-secretary to vary the name"

Thus Pennsylvania was named after the Welsh word for head and not, as is usually supposed, after William Penn himself, although Penn in this regard could be accused of duplicity.The Welsh Society of Philadelphia, which was begun in 1729, is the oldest society of its kind in the United States and it is still very active. Pennsylvania has  provided many people of distinction who have made their influence felt in politics, in the justice system, and in agriculture, as well as in the manufacture of iron and steel.  

17th July 1936 saw the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, an event which stirred emotion throughout Europe, no more so than in the village of Abercrave in the Swansea valley.  Abercrave was home to a community of Basques, who had fled the mining districts around Bilbao in Northern Spain in 1907 to look for work and to escape tyranny and persecution.  Over three decades they retained their national identity, language and customs, building permanent homes which to this day are known locally as Spanish Row. They had nevertheless assimilated with the Welsh community and were highly respected as craftsmen in the mining and steel works in the area.  At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the men of the entire  Basque community of Abercrave volunteered to join the International Brigade opposing the fascism of Franco, with many Welsh miners following suit.  Despite the British Government enforcing a complete ban on enlistment in Spain, the flow of volunteers continued.  It is estimated that up to 200 volunteers were from Wales; most from the mining areas and coal ports of the South. 

The song entitled 'If you tolerate this, your children will be next' by Welsh band  The Manic Street Preachers was inspired by the events of the Spanish Civil War.  The song is a tribute to the Welsh volunteers who joined the International Brigades to combat Francisco Franco's rebellion against the Spanish Republic. The song title echoes a Republican poster of the time, which depicts  a young child killed by the Nationalists under a sky filled with bombers. The poster carries the haunting  warning "If you tolerate this, your children will be next"   

Born on 17th July  1939 in Bon Y Maen, Swansea.

Spencer Davies - musician and founder of the 1960s rock band, The Spencer Davis Group.  Their best known songs include  "Somebody Help Me", "Keep on Running", "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin"

  On this day, 2003 weapons expert David Kelly died at  Harrowdown Hill, Longworth, Oxfordshire.

 He appears to have gone directly to an area of woodlands known as Harrowdown Hill about a mile away from his home where he ingested up to 29 tablets of painkillers and to have then cut his left wrist with a knife he had owned since his youth.  His wife reported him missing shortly after midnight that night, and he was found early the next morning.

David Kelly was born in the Rhondda on 14 May 1944. He was a scientist and an acknowledged expert on biological warfare. He had been employed by the British Ministry of Defence and was a former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq. He drew attention in July 2003 when he engaged in an unauthorised discussion  with BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan about the British government's information regarding 'weapons of mass destruction in Iraq' The conversation was revealed by Gilligan and led to a much-publicised controversy. Kelly's name was cited in the media as Gilligan's source, and on July 15th, he consequently appeared  before the parliamentary foreign affairs select committee investigating the issues outlined in Gilligan's report and was questioned  about his actions. His body was discovered two days later.

The Hutton Inquiry was set up, a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death, which concluded that Kelly had committed suicide, a verdict that was challenged by many doctors, encouraging a conspiracy theory which implied that Dr Kelly had been silenced before further revelations on his behalf could embarrass the Government.  

On 17th July 2010, the Welsh language was used for the first time in a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral to honour the martyred saint John Roberts.

Dr Rowan Williams, who was Archbishop of Canterbury at that time, addressed the assembly in both Welsh and English.  The ceremony was part of a cluster of events to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Roberts' martyrdom.  Roberts was a monk from Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd who was hanged, drawn and quartered in 1610 for being a Catholic dissenter, but was later canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970.  The service in Westminster Cathedral was multi-faith and was attended by the leaders of all churches in Wales, along with the archbishops and bishops of Wales. There were also representatives from Douai in France where St John Roberts founded the monastery of St Gregory.   

On 17th July 1951 the Abbey Works steel plant at Margam, Port Talbot was opened. It is named after theCistercian Margam Abbey that used to be on the site - a small amount of the original building still stands (protected) within the site that survived the dissolution of the monasteries. Steelmaking at the Port Talbot complex began with the Margam Iron and Steel Works, completed between 1923 and 1926 and closed in 1953. After the Second World War, a group of south Wales steelmakers formed the Steel Company of Wales to erect a modern integrated steelmaking site using and subsequently the new Abbey Works was planned in 1947, was open in 1951 and was operating at full strength by 1953.

By the 1960s, the steelworks were the largest in Europe and the largest single employer in Wales, with a labour force of 18,000. In 1967, the company was nationalised and became a part of British Steel. By 2000, following privatisation, the works was part of Corus and then in 2010 it was announced that Corus was to be rebranded to the group name of Tata Steel.