Autum 2012

Court newsMonday June 4th dawned dry and sunny, lady luck was looking down on us on this special day. All the worries of the last few months (rain, rain and more rain) were forgotten and we were able to relax and look forward to a fantastic, memorable event for the local community.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration’s

All the hard work organising and planning every last detail with members of St Illtyd’s Church and Pembrey Football club to en-sure that this was going to be an evening that everyone would talk about for years to come.

The Beacon was prepared and built on the Sunday, final clear-ing and tidying up squeezed in on Monday, the marquee and gazebo erected, flags and bal-loons gently swaying in the warm evening breeze.

The rolls sliced, barbeque lit, the Gypsy Jazz Band warming up, the Belly Dancers and Football Play-ers ready and waiting, now all we needed were the locals.

They did not disappoint and turned up in their droves, picnic tables, chairs, candles and Jubilee bunting suddenly appearing, the sound of the pork, sausages and burgers sizzling on the barbeque enticing everyone to queue and

sample the food. Everyone talking and commenting on the “house” not seen for many years; marvelling at the amount of work undertaken to uncover the walls from the ivy and growth of the last 40 years or so.

The Band played and sang a variety of songs followed by the Belly Dancers who kept everyone enthralled with their stunning costumes and dance routines.

The run had begun at the Dhaka2bombay Restaurant (formerly the Butchers Arms), with all seven runners head-ing eastwards along the main road. A number of villagers showed their support near the turn off to the Country Park.

Griffith MP with a Guard of Honour provided by the Sea Cadets, Nia lit the Beacon, accompa-nied by the theme ‘ Sing’ written especially for the jubilee by Gary Barlow .

The fire took hold quickly and the 6.5m high beacon burned brightly over the village linking Pembrey with the thousands of Beacons lit nationwide to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The gasps and cheers from the ever increasing crowd filling the air and the Jubilee Anthem playing in the background rounded off a success-ful and enjoyable evening.

Court Farm looked absolutely spectacular lit up by the flames of the beacon and with the many tea light candles that we had placed around , twinkling throughout the grounds it was a magical and majestic view.

The Jubilee Cake was cut and handed out — it was good and many folks had second helpings!!

The ambience of the beacon, company and surroundings left every-one loathe to be the first to depart.

The Fire Brigade popped along to check that all was well and we fin-ished the night sat on log seats around the beacon reflecting on the evening, the success, fantastic turnout and basking in the praise and congratulatory comments from the local community.

The first pause came at the Red Lion, where more photographs were taken.

We were aware that the football boys had left and had started

the torch procession through the village, giving the whole com-munity a chance to join in and celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a touch of the Olym-pics! But we don’t think the boys ran that quickly .....

The runners were soon off again and many villagers came out in our support - the next stop was the Ship Aground and it must be said that the runners received a huge welcome here and more photographs were taken.

From here, the football team ran up the “Embankment” towards the “Top Road” and then up Heol Y Mynydd, passing the Commu-nity Centre and arrived at Court Farm at the pre-planned time

As the time drew close to 10.26,the designated time as instructed by the Pageant Master, the torch came up the hill and was handed over to Nia

We want to thank the members of St Illtyd’s Church , especially Wendy and Elisabeth, the Sea Scouts , Pembrey Football Club for their help and participation. Many

thanks to the Gypsy Jazz and the Belly dancers without whom the evening would have been less exciting.

Also the firms who supported us,- Bookers , Felin Foel Brewery, M and S, ,Tesco ,Morrison’s & Asda.

We are especially grateful for the support of the Pembrey and Burry Port Town Council for their spon-sorship without which we would not have been able to put this event on.

Many letters and messages of appreciation have been since received – one little boy told us ‘I will remember this all my life , even when I am at least 30’.......

New Discoveries at the CourtOver the last couple of years the Friends and numerous helpers have been clearing away the brambles and the ivy which obscured most of the buildings and made access very diffi cult. The preliminary survey undertaken by Richard Suggett of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in 2010 was done under these conditions, and since then we have uncovered several previously hidden features.

Looking at the south elevation of the Great Hall there is a distinct change in the construction of the wall which may signify the raising in height of an earlier structure. Also one can just make out the possible outline of a rectangular window above and to the right of the ground fl oor stone mullioned window.

On the rear of the Great Hall we can now see that the lat-eral chimney is built in front of the arch above the blocked up mullioned window and that the wall runs behind the chimney. Does this indicate that the chimney, which serves the Tudor fi replaces, was inserted into an earlier struc-ture? Intriguingly at our most recent clearance we found the end of the massive beam fl ush with the outside of this wall suggesting that the beam was inserted to provide the upper chamber, rather than part of the structure we now see.

L. chimney and mullioned window R. right hand side of chimney and main beam fl ush with outside of wall.

front elevation

New Discoveries at the Court

New Discoveries at the CourtOver the last couple of years the Friends and numerous helpers have been clearing away the brambles and the ivy which obscured most of the buildings and made access very diffi cult. The preliminary survey undertaken by Richard Suggett of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in 2010 was done under these conditions, and since then we have uncovered several previously hidden features.

Looking at the south elevation of the Great Hall there is a distinct change in the construction of the wall which may signify the raising in height of an earlier structure. Also one can just make out the possible outline of a rectangular window above and to the right of the ground fl oor stone mullioned window.

On the rear of the Great Hall we can now see that the lat-eral chimney is built in front of the arch above the blocked up mullioned window and that the wall runs behind the chimney. Does this indicate that the chimney, which serves the Tudor fi replaces, was inserted into an earlier struc-ture? Intriguingly at our most recent clearance we found the end of the massive beam fl ush with the outside of this wall suggesting that the beam was inserted to provide the upper chamber, rather than part of the structure we now see.

L. chimney and mullioned window R. right hand side of chimney and main beam fl ush with outside of wall.

front elevation

New Discoveries at the CourtThis rear elevation of the Great Hall is most complex and has been subject to many alterations or perhaps even rebuilding as it is noticeably thinner than the front elevation. One anomaly which can be cleared up is the origins of the external steps which once led to some to believe that this part was once a tower house. The rear wall clearly runs behind the steps, as where they have broken away, the old limewash is still visible behind. The steps themselves have been constructed of local rubble stone but also from cut stone with window bar holes. These may have come from the large blocked up windows on the west elevation.

steps breaking away from the main wall and close up of the cut stone within the steps

On the so called porch we already knew of the corbels at a high level, but stripping back the ivy we have also discovered two embrasures (arrow slits) which serve no obvious defensive purpose. Also we found a blocked up window on the east elevation; this is a small arched widow which is unlike any other found at the Court.

Interestingly we also found simply lying on the fl oor of the ‘porch’ some stone roof tiles which at indicates an earlier form of roof covering before the re-roofi ng with Welsh slate in the nine-teenth century. Where the rest have gone is a mystery; they may be buried under the rickyard area or possibly taken to another house.

These discoveries give rise to more questions than answers about the complex building chronology of the Court and we have not even started on the ‘barn’ which is an even greater mystery. Perhaps this is the charm of the place but what is clear is that much more detailed study and analysis will be needed if we are to ever fully appreciate what has been bequeathed to us.

arrow slit and little blocked up window. (inside (R) and outside (L)

stone roof tiles

Interestingly we also found simply lying on the fl oor of the ‘porch’ some stone roof tiles which at indicates an earlier form of roof covering before the re-roofi ng with Welsh slate in the nine-teenth century. Where the rest have gone is a mystery; they may be buried under the rickyard area or possibly taken to another house.

These discoveries give rise to more questions than answers about the complex building chronology of the Court and we have not even started on the ‘barn’ which is an even greater mystery. Perhaps this is the charm of the place but what is clear is that much more detailed study and analysis will be needed if we are to ever fully appreciate what has been bequeathed to us.

arrow slit and little blocked up window. (inside (R) and outside (L)

stone roof tiles

Pembrey School Dig! — local school get to know Court In June , the Pembrey School children visited Court—they came to experience an Archaeological dig .

Duly fitted out in their hard hats , they were initially shown around the building by their teacher, Mr. Conway [who just happens to be our chairman] They found the building very interesting and as ever , really enjoyed the stories of Wil Many and his untimely and horrific demise.

They dug three test pits in the walled garden— it was a shame that nothing very exciting was found , a glass bottle from many years ago [ do you remember those stoppers with metal clips!!] a few pieces of china —these will be kept and shown to an archaeologist soon.

After their busy afternoon , it was a very lovely day [one of the few this year ] they sat on the log seats , in the sunshine

Eating the home made cakes and as it had been thirsty work , many glasses of squash — an enjoyable afternoon for all.

The Carmarthenshire Antiquarians visit to the Court!On a fine, sunny evening in late July, the members of the Car-marthenshire Antiquarian So-ciety paid a visit to the Court. The society is Carmarthenshire’s leading historical society and one of the oldest and most prestigious in Wales, founded in 1905. The society has always recognised the

importance of the Court since its foundation.

Dominic Conway, our chairman, is also the chairman of the Car-marthenshire Antiquarians and he invited the society’s members, for his annual ‘Chairman’s Evening , to see the Court as it is a building

of such great historical and anti-quarian interest. Information and details about the building have appeared several times in the Anti-quary, the society’s journal and most notably in 1983, when Major Francis Jones wrote a long article on the Court.

New Patrons for the Friends of Court Farm

The Friends of Court, Pembrey are fortunate to have two new patrons, Nia Griffith and Thomas Lloyd.

Nia Griffith MP

Court is within the constituency of Nia Griffith, the Member of Parlia-ment for Llanelli since 2005. Nia is a very strong supporter of Court and has helped us in a number of ways.

She was instrumental in arranging for the Minister of Culture for the Welsh Government, Mr Huw Lewis, to pay a visit to Court last year. This helped to raise our profile and we were grateful for his support in grant aiding the tree and ivy removal carried out this year.

Nia attends all of our events; she lit our Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacon and has often helped out on our clearance days.. She is extremely supportive and we are thrilled she has become one of our Patrons

Thomas Lloyd, OBE DL

Thomas Lloyd is well known as an architectural historian, he is also Wales Herald Extraordinary, former High Sheriff and Deputy Lieutenant of the county. Tom is a member of the Architectural Heritage Fund and is often seen in television programmes such as Hidden Houses of Wales, giving his sound advice.

Court has featured in two of his books, ‘The Lost Houses of Wales’ and ‘The Buildings of Carmarthenshire’. Tom recognises that Court is a building of great architectural distinction; he is a frequent visi-tor to Court and is intrigued by this complex building and is keen to know more about it. He enjoys his visits to us.

He is delighted to be our patron as much we are as delighted that he has agreed to become one; Tom has given us a great deal of help and advice in our attempts to save the Court.

Nia Griffith MP

Tom, far right , with Trustee David Priest and Ian Rice from the AHF.

What We Do

Fundraising — concerts, community events - all your ideas are more than welcome

Newsletters — keeping the friends informed - if you would like to write an article about Court, memories of it , please let us know

Civic Trust for Wales - Open Doors — we par-ticipate annually in the European Heritage Scheme- tell your friends about these days , always held during September

Llanelli festival — to ensure court maintains links with other local groups– come and see us at this busy and interesting festival in August at the Selwyn Samuel Centre

Talks — to local groups and societies ; are you a member of a group , we will come and talk to them.

Tours – guided tours by experts followed by delicious Lunch or Tea for ten to fifteen persons -please contact the secretary for more information

Visits — to like minded places to spread the word.

What We Have Done

BBC — Restoration Village 2006, programme series

R.A.I.S.E. — Welsh Government initiative — cre-ated a DVD for school use on the history of Court families; written, filmed and directed by the Friends. Period costumes made by group members.

Awards for All Wales — equipment to record the memories of the folks that worked, lived & played at Court

Voluntary work at Court

Over the past 2 years the friends have cleared 40 years of brambles, farm debris, over 200 tyres and many self seeded trees from the grounds in order that experts, previously unable to access the build-ing can now do so. With the ivy removed from the walls, more and more detail can be seen of the architecture. Details that have not been seen for so many years , may give clues to many un-answered questions; so far they have revealed more ques-tions!

The Friends have regular volunteer days and all are welcome to join in. Refreshments are provided for all our helpers.

Please contact the secretary if you would like to join us in our activities

The Friends of Court Farm

A clearance day in March 2012

Three reports In 1970,

Peter Smith of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments [RC-AHMW] in Wales and author of ‘Houses of the Welsh Countryside’ under took the first detailed survey, full descrip-tion and analysis. A further analysis was undertaken by the RCAHMW in 1975 by Tony Parkinson. Finally a third report was undertaken for the Commission in 2010 by Richard Suggett who described the Court as

These three reports provide a valuable archive which the Friends of Court Farm have been using to provide a detailed his-tory of the physical development of the Court.

However, the three reports differ on whether there is a mediaeval

element still visible. We know that there was a house here in the mid 14th Century, but there is doubt whether any of it survives. One report refers to such mediaeval remains and one or possibly two ‘tower houses’.

None of the three reports can be definitive on the origins of the castellated structure, called the ‘barn’, (above) which lies to the south of the manor house.

Landscape Archaeology at Court

‘one of the

most significant unrestored

multi-period mansions in

Wales’.

Elizabethan Garden?

Cadw’s expert on historic gardens, Liz Whittle has visited the site and suggested that there are elements of an Elizabethan garden.. This adds a further intriguing un-known element to the history and develop-ment of the Court.

Whilst these historians have looked at the Court and failed to agree totally, what is certain is that no archaeological investiga-tions have ever been undertaken of the site and its surroundings. It has been suggested that we undertake a more in depth inves-tigation to resolve the differences in the different reports.

Over the past few months we have been talking to Landscape Archaeologist, Professor David Austin from Trinity St David’s University, Lampeter.

This type of research involves specialist archaeological knowledge, specialised equipment and specialised technology. Having said that – as you might expect – this costs a great deal of money.

Knowledge base

If we increase our knowledge and under-standing of the building and its environ-ment, from a recognised source , the Friends will have confidence in passing that information. It will also enable them to complete the archive, the book and update the website in order to disseminate the in-formation to the widest possible audience.

Heritage Lottery Fund

With that in mind we have been working towards making an application to the Herit-age Lottery Fund for a grant to carry out such a project. This had kept us very busy over the past few weeks.

We have now submitted that application and we will know later in the year how we fared.

Joining in

This an ideal and exciting opportunity , if we are successful, to involve the local schools to participate in this project; pupils will be working with the experts to learn about their heritage and take part in the digs and technical surveys

We are hoping that local societies and groups will join us on the volunteer days.

Everyone will be welcome to join us on these investigations and if we are success-ful in gaining the funding, we let you all know and you can join us – to help in any way you feel appropriate.

So please keep your fingers crossed for us , as soon as we hear – we will let you know.

Pembrey Pottery

Graham Newing is Pembrey’s resident potter. He studied at Wimbledon School of Art, he worked for the Denby Pottery as a thrower, the the Guernsey Pottery & then at Longleat House Lord Weymouth & the Bull Mill Group.

In 1969 he opened his own studio in Westbury, Wiltshire.

Graham works in stoneware & porcelain thrown on the wheel. The organic shapes are individually decorated by scraffito through coloured glazes.

An influence of classical Greek, African art, with elements of art nouveau can be seen.

He has had exhibitions both in Britain & Europe and his work has been described as

colourful, european, elegant & sophisticated. The pottery relocated to Pembrey in 2006.

Graham is a member of the Friends of Court Farm and an ardent supporter.

He has made these mugs to commemorate the Queens Diamond Jubilee and is donating the proceeds to help the fund raising of the Friends of Court Farm.

Mugs, (cost £5 + delivery) are now available by contacting :-

secretary@cwrtfarm.org, or by telephoning 07913297853

www.pembreypottery.co.uk