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Abergavenny
Abergavenny photos
Displaying the first of 74 old photos of Abergavenny. View all Abergavenny photos
Abergavenny maps
Historic maps of Abergavenny and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Abergavenny maps
Abergavenny area books
Displaying 1 of 3 books about Abergavenny and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Abergavenny
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memories of Abergavenny.
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Mayor of Abergavenny 1907
Interesting to read about William Williams who was Mayor three times, lately in 1908. My great grandfather Samuel Deverall was Mayor in 1907 and owned a greengrocery in 44 Cross Street. He was married to Georgina and had two sons, Edmund and Albert. Sadly he was found hanged in 1910 at a farm in Pontypool. I have been told it wasn't suicide but don't really know.
Favourite Outing
My family and I often walked to the River Usk, going down Pentre Road and crossing the Brecon Road. We used to have picnics on the side nearest St. Mary's church in Llanwenarth, and look in the water for tiny fish and insects. I particularly liked the flowers I found in the meadows nearby and picked large bunches to take back to my grandparents' house. On the banks grew quantities of a flower I now know to be called "Jumping Jack, "Touch-me-not" or "policeman's helmet", but which I called a "netflower". At one point there was a chain ferry, with a sort of flat punt-like boat, and it was fun crossing the river in it.
Abergavenny "Mountains"
The Deri, Rholben, Llanwenarth Breast, Big Skirrid, Little Skirrid etc. would be regarded as hills when compared to the mountains in Germany and Switzerland, but for us children they were real mountains, and we loved climbing them. This view of the Deri was practically the same as the one we had from our grandmother's garden in Albany Road, and in the foreground the cricket ground can be seen.
Churchgoing in The 40's
My grandparents lived in Abergavenny since 1934 in a beautiful dressed stone house called Maisemore in Albany Road, and every summer after the war my family and I went to stay with them for a month, that is, until my grandfather died in March 1950, when this happy time came to an end. During the war my mother, brother and I were evacuated there, as our home was in Sunderland, which was a target for bombs, and if my grandparents hadn't taken us in, they would have had to put up evacuees from Cardiff. We used to go to this church in Llanwenarth on Sundays, and I can remember having to be taken out during the service one Sunday in 1949 because I wasn't feeling well.
Ascent of The Blorenge 1949
This picture reminds me of a photo my father took from the top of the Blorenge when we climbed it in August 1949. To start, we had to take the railway (closed in the 50's) to Gilwern or Govilon (I can't remember which!) and then begin our climb from there. When they reached the top, my father and brother built a cairn from the stones lying around - I wonder whether it's still there? I have a photo of my brother standing next to it. Unfortunately I didn't climb to the top on that occasion as I wasn't feeling well, so I stayed with my mother, who wasn't so keen on mountain climbing, in a field on the way up.
Cattle Market
As far as I can remember, my brother and I were taken to this market only once, in August 1949, and we were most interested in the cattle. I have lovely photo of us stroking a calf there.
Town Hall
I think this a picture of Abergavenny Town Hall, but am not sure. When we were staying in Abergavenny we lived outside, in Albany Road, on the way to the Rholben and the Deri, which we often climbed and as we didn't go into the town awfully much, only when my mother needed something, I have only vague memories of it. My great-grandfather Williams was Mayor of Abergavenny in 1905, and he wrote an autograph in my grandmother's album, which I still have. My mother's mother's family originally came from Abergavenny, which is why my grandparents went to live there after my mother married in 1934.
Frogmore Cafe
My parents Monica and Jack Garrett ran the Frogmore Cafe from 1954 until 1978 when it became a dry cleaners when they then sold it to Sketchleys in 1980. I was their only son Richard.
