WSHI_Carmarthen_Memorials_SpecialEdition

Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative

Special Edition Friday 29th April 2016

Please click here to view the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative Website.

Please click here to view video.

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Useful Heritage Website Links

Crimean War Monument- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/crimea_01.shtml

Boer War Monument- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/bttritish/victorians/boer_wars_01.shtml

Picton Frieze-www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/MfFeF_zeSryAqEWqvdJcAw

Picton Monument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Picton

Notts Monument- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Nott/Statue_of_General_Nott_in_Carmarthen

Johnstown pupils Matthew Beresford, Dan Bond, Andrei Ilinca, Lydia Pearson, Mia Hartley and Dalia Baker are taking part in the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative. This is our sixth year in entering the competition. Its aim is to encourage young people in schools in Wales to take a greater interest in their heritage and the contribution made by their families and communities.

This project will help us to improve our literacy, numeracy and ICT skills through the study of the history and culture of Wales, and will enable them to value their heritage and help in its preservation.

Last year, Johnstown School were invited to the centenary celebrations of 100 years of the Welsh Guards in Carmarthen. This resulted in us becoming interested in how the past is represented in our local area.

We decided to investigate the history of very important memorials and monuments in our area.

We have been able to link our leaning with a National Monument project which is aimed at finding out about the condition of memorials in our local area. We needed to take photographs of the monuments, decide what shape the monuments were, the style of lettering, the condition of the surrounding area and very importantly the condition of the monuments.

Dyma'r chweched flwyddyn i ni gymeryd rhan yn Menter Treftadaeth Cymru. Y flwyddyn yma rydym wedi bod yn astudio cofebion rhyfel yn ein tref - Caerfyrddin.Buom yn ymweld a cofeb Picton ger Neuadd y dref a cofeb Nott ar y sgwar. Hefyd gwelsom cofebion i gofio Rhyfel y Crimea yn ogystal a'r Rhyfel Byd Cynta a'r Ail Rhyfel Byd

In 1828 a monument was erected at the west end of town to honour Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton, from Haverfordwest, who died in the battle of Waterloo in 1815 after being struck in the head by a musket ball. His last words were "Charge! Charge! Hurrah! Hurrah!" The monument, which was about 75 ft (23m) tall,was designed to echo Trajan's column in Rome. Today's monument is an obelisk shape which was built after the original collapsed in 1980.

Picton Monument

Did you know?

Did you know that there was also a large Picton Frieze that was near to Woodbine Cottages in Johnstown. The remains of the Frieze is now shown in the museum which includes the battle and General Picton himself.

Boer War Monument

Click below to watch a short clip of Rorke's Drift which was in the Boer war.

Nott's Monument

The statue of Major-General Sir William Nott was erected after his death in 1845. It was in memory of his colonial military exploits in India in the 1840s including the first Anglo-Afghan War. Queen Victoria was among the people who contributed money to the erection of the statue, which was sculpted by Carmarthen-born artist Edward Davies, and was cast from some of the guns captured by British soldiers in 1843 in the Battle of Maharajpur. Nott Square was formerly Carmarthen’s marketplace. A medieval town cross stood until it was demolished to make space for the statue.

The Carmarthenshire Boer War Memorial commemorates the men of the County who fell during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902, and is located at Guildhall Square, Carmarthen. The Memorial takes the form of an Officer in uniform, proudly standing on top of a pillar. The statue had a sword in his hand but it went missing (possible theft). For some years, a captured Boer cannon was displayed in front of the memorial. W. Arthur, Private, 1st Battalion, Welsh Regiment James S. Bagnall Gething, Lieutenant, 3rd Battalion, South Wales Borderers. H. Baskerville, Sapper, Royal Engineers. F.J. Brown, Lance Corporal, 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers are just a few of the names on the monument.

The Victorian former infirmary in Carmarthen, built in 1858 – described as one of the few remaining examples in existence – has fallen into disrepair since it was last used by the NHS in 1996.The Grade II listed building was purpose-built in 1858 and paid for by public subscription. It was designed by William Wesley Jenkins, an architect whose family were well connected with the town.William Wesley Jenkins is considered to be a son of Carmarthen. He was very active in the town from the 1840s to 1850s and the development of a hospital put it ahead of other towns in South Wales and showed how advanced its society was.

The war memorials website help us to record, conserve and remember the important memorials in our area. We have joined the War Memorials project online which means we have photographed and recorded the condition of the monumens in Carmarthen. We have uploaded them to the website and reported on their condition. We are supporting: War Memorials Trust, Historic England, Civic Voice, Department for Culture Media & Sport and First World War Centenary. Here is the website https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/

Erected in 1858 in Lammas Street to the memory of the soldiers of 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers who fell in the Crimean War. The monument was designed by the sculptor Edward Richardson of London, but built by a local builder Mr Weekes of Carmarthen. A Russian gun from the war was placed in front of the Monument in 1859, but was later removed. The 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers were the first British force to land on Crimean soil, and the regiment served at the Battles of Alma and Inkerman and the siege of Sebastopol.

The Crimean Monument

Infirmary

Click on the question mark to find out more facts about the about the Great War, World War 2 and Korean Monument, situated outside the old Infirmary building on Priory Street.

We visited Abergwilli Mueseum last term. We found information about lots of things from the past and saw lots of different artefacts! We found lots of information about Picton Frieze like: it was designed by John Nash with the decoration by E.H. Bailey. The frieze shows Picton's death at Waterloo. On the Frieze General Picton is shown falling into battle, while the Duke of Wellington looks on. We also got the chance to look around the museum we saw a Victorian style kitchen, lots of different costumes, medals and artefacts and much more! We all really enjoyed this experience at the museum!

Trip to Abergwili Museum

War Memorials Online

Picton Frieze at the museum