Carew Castle & Tidal Mill

I have tried to find some pictures of Carew Castle I haven't shown before. Here is an excellent link which tells of the history of the castle and mill, and some of the people associated with the castle. http://www.carewcastle.com/

A view of one of the herb gardens at the entrance to the castle. I think they were divided into culinary, medicinal, scented, and strewing herbs.

The castle has had several revamps over the years.

The family coat of arms above a gateway.


Inside the inner ward.

This is the rather gloomy-looking undercroft, which was used mainly for storage.

The rather Baronial-looking great hall. Furniture was on the sparse side . . .

This must have been a wonderfully light room when it was added to the Castle in Elizabethan times.

The long view.


The Mill is one of the biggest I've seen, and beyond it a causeway crosses the river, so that, had we not been in a hurry, we could have walked a full circle.

A lovely Victorian house on the approach to the Mill.

The tide was out when we arrived.


A very unusual piece of equipment I've not seen in any other mill.


For some reason the local funeral bier ended up stored inside the Mill too . . .


When you read "stone-ground" on a bag of flour - this is what would have ground the wheat.

Fabric "funnels" channelled the wheat to a wooden container above the mill stones.

Pass!

A view of some of the cogs which ran the mill machinery. It must have been incredibly noisy and dusty in here when the mill was in operation.

The spares . . .

Another cogs/wheels view.




The machinery is massive.

Byegones in the Carreg Cennen longhouse

(Click on photos to enlarge)


Inside the 11th century longhouse was housed a collection of agricultural byegones. Some things were identifiable, some things I was familiar with. I have to admit though, I'd never heard of Cooper's Sheep Dip before . . . but obviously over 175 million sheep could once vouch for its efficatiousness (have I just invented that word?)
Odds 'n' sods. The red wheel looks like it came from a giant chaff cutter though - I used to use a smaller model when I was about 10 and used to spend the day at the riding school. How we never lost fingers I don't know . . . Health and Safety would have 40 blue fits these days!

An interesting prongy thing whose actual use is still under discussion . . .

Tip cart for dung, or mangel wurzels, or stones . . .

Of course there was a cat - who kept yelling at me!


Some old cart harness and two muzzles.

More bygone implements and machinery. I think the iron implement at the back was for treating sheep - or else for a Pushmepullyou . . . I read all the Dr Doolittle books when I was a lass . . .

Now I really DO know what this is, as I have the top half of one at home (and in very good condition too). I am working on my husband to make me up the base. It is a cream seperator, and has a star-shaped wheel. I know this as there is one in Carmarthen Museum.


A cooking pot in the old fireplace.

My daughter, the cat magnet! Puss did NOT want to move, thank you very much, he LIKED people!

An old Victorian mangle, washboards, old butter churn (I've got one of those too!) etc.


A corner with all sorts of once-useful items, now sadly rusted, broken or just plain filthy. I must confess, if I had a hand in this layout, I'd have cleaned some of the stuff up a bit - it was covered in the dirt of ages.



This is a box bed, where the parents might sleep to get some privacy. Nice and snug on cold winter nights, with a couple of the distinctive Welsh blankets and a nice wool-lined Welsh quilt on top.
On our way out - another view of the prongy thing . . .

Carreg Cennen Castle

(Click on photos to enlarge)

This is Carreg Cennen Castle, which perches high on its limestone cliff, between Black Mountain and Llandeilo, near a little village called Trap.

You really need to see it from the far side to appreciate its place in the landscape, as it is stunningly situated. The view below will have to suffice though. Here is an excellent link:
http://www.castlewales.com/carreg.html

The castle was originally built by the Princes of Deheubarth, but the present buildings date from the 13th century and Edward I's monumental castle building programme throughout Wales.


Just to the left of the main entrance, the ruined gatehouse was a good place to shelter from a brief heavy shower of rain.

This was part of an ingenious water-collection system, which collected rain water from the roof (there is nothing new under the sun) - presumably into a huge wooden water butt, no longer extant.

Looking up into a ruined stairway and corbelling at the edge of what was the roof.

A view from a window across to Black Mountain, with its Bronze Age cairns.


Heavy rain the previous night had flooded some areas, including the N-E (or was it N-W?) tower . . . My daughter and her boyfriend were intrepid, however. . .

It helps to have long legs!

A view of the inner ward.

This is a the bottom of the stairway which leads into a deep tunnel beneath the castle. Those intrepid folks with good torches (my daughter and boyfriend) could explore further. I freaked myself out last time we did this last year, as I was at the back of 5 and furthest away from the torch . . . Gosh it was black down there!

Looking down into what had been a lime kiln for the castle, essential for the building works and maintenance.

As I said, Carreg Cennen Castle is perched on a limestone cliff. This is the back of it. Pretty sheer.


Tomorrow I will post some more photos of the agricultural implements stored in the 11th century Welsh longhouse at Carreg Cennen farm (it predates the castle).

Tribute to a wonderful needlewoman

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Or perhaps two - possibly mother and daughter. Anyway, these are the contents of the box of linen I bought at auction yesterday. They have inspired me to make an heirloom item for each of my daughters (fortunately I only have two and not half a dozen, or it would take me forever!)

Close-up of drawn thread work and white work tablecloth. Stunning work.


Another view, which gives you an idea of the border work too.

This pretty tablecloth has four panels of embroidery.

Here's another big cloth, the smaller circles forming a large square design.

This is exquisite and I wonder if it was a wedding present?



Poor close-up of the x-stitch and crocheted cutwork design .

Beautiful crocheted pieces at the corners too and inset.

The quality of this crochet makes me despair.

And again - I think these pieces may have been made around the late Victorian/Early Edwardian period.

And again . . .

This is a very big design for a round table. Stunning.

Crinoline ladies from the 30s?

Close-up of one of the motifs - one in each corner of the tablecloth.

Another wedding present? It is superb workmanship. I wish I had a fraction of this craftswoman's skills.

Above and below - close-ups.

This blue design tablecloth was from the wicker basket of table linen I bought.

A close-up. Would you believe, even the ripple-edging was edged with hand-sewn bias binding?



A colour variation on the other rings pattern tablecloth.

Back in Circulation

View from Dryslwyn Castle

HOORAY! After 10 days with no phone and 11 with no internet, and much tearing out of hair, we are finally back in the land of communication, with a working phone line and a better broadband connection. Our phone line (and everyone else in our hamlet) was taken out in a terrific lightening strike nearly 2 weeks back. We have a temporary line put in but that will be put up properly when BT are able.

I have missed my on-line friends so much, and having to communicate by Snail Mail really isn't quite the same thing at all (though it's lovely to receive letters!) I shall carry on with the castles week next week, and tomorrow hope to show you some photos of some beautifully embroidered tablecloths and linen I bought in a box at auction today. The craftsmanship is truly exquisite.