![]() ![]() Its decline into decay and obscurity was even quicker. Its rise to fame and power in the 1200s was probably as rapid as that in early 19th century Merthyr. ![]() Trellech, like Merthyr Tydfil 500 years later, was born for the single purpose of manufacturing iron. The moment was a key one in the demise of what is likely to have been Wales' first industrial boomtown. "In the process they created a firestorm comparable to the inferno Allied bombers produced in the German city of Dresden during World War II." They burned at least 100 houses belonging to the town's skilled workers. They murdered, they raped, they pillaged. His murderous soldiers fell on what was then perhaps the largest and most prosperous town in Wales. Here, 700 years ago, give or take a decade, an imperious, headstrong Marcher Lord, one of the most powerful magnates in Edward I's England, decided to teach his thieving neighbours a sharp lesson. Yet if archaeologist Stuart Wilson is right, this serene landscape in the heart of prosperous Monmouthshire is the site of one of the nastier atrocities of early medieval Wales. The scene is as peaceful as any in rural Wales. Bleating sheep gather expectantly at the gate punctuating the tall hedgerow.Ī quarter of a mile away in the hollow of the shallow valley, the spire of a medieval church pierces the cobalt-blue horizon brushed with white clouds. IN the crystal-sharp sunlight that follows yet another August deluge, a tractor trundles up the broad country road rising into an embrace of emerald green fields. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |