The inspiration for the primetime ITV series on Great Britain, this is a spellbinding journey around Wales by bestselling author Christopher Winn. Packed full of legends, firsts, birthplaces, inventions and adventures, I Never Knew That About Wales visits the thirteen traditional Welsh counties and unearths the hidden gems that they each hold. Discover where history and legends happened; where people, ideas and inventions began; where dreams took flight; where famous figures were born and now rest. A glittering pantheon of writers and artists, thinkers and inventors, heroes and villains have lived and toiled in this small country. Remarkable events, noble (and dastardly) deeds and exciting adventures have all taken place with Wales as their backdrop. This book seeks out their heritage, their monuments, their memories and their secrets. You'll be able to visit Britain's smallest city, St David's with its glorious 12th-century cathedral slumbering in a sleepy hollow near the sea. Explore Britain's greatest collection of castles from the first stone fortress at Chepstow to Britain's finest concentric castle at Beaumaris and the magnificent Caernarvon, birthplace of the first Prince of Wales. Browse through the second hand book capital of the world, Hay-on-Wye, wander the glorious Gower peninsula, Britain's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Take a trip to Fishguard, where the last invasion of Britain took place in 1797. Marvel at Thomas Telford's Menai Bridge, the world's first iron suspension bridge or Pontcysyllte, the longest bridged aqueduct in Britain. This irresistible compendium of interesting facts and good stories will give you a captivating insight into the people, ideas and events that have shaped the individual identity of every place you visit, and will have you exclaiming again and again: 'Well, I never knew that!'

This Inventory forms Part ii of Volume IV of the series planned for the county of Glamorgan. Volume III is intended to survey the secular monuments of the Middle Ages: Part i, defensive, and Part ii, nondefensive. Volume IV is intended to survey the secular monuments of the period between the Reformation and the Industrial Revolution: Part i The Greater Houses, and Part ii The Farmhouses and Cottages. When complete, the series should provide a comprehensive description of the surviving dwellings of the people of Glamorgan, both fortified and unfortified, from the time of the Norman invasion until the accession of George III, together with a few selected monuments of later date. In Part i of the present volume were described the principal residences of the major land-owning families built between ca. 1540 and 1760. In all, 42 houses were fully illustrated and described. In Part ii will be found some of the secondary residences of those families, as well as houses of lesser landowners, but chiefly recorded here are the houses of minor gentry and the tenant farmers, yeomen, and husbandmen, effectively the 'middle class' of rural society. In all, 1,136 houses have been noted. In addition a selection of farmbuildings has been included, a total of 342 being noted. Contents Map of Ecclesiastical Parishes List of Maps Chairman's Preface Report, with List of Monuments selected by the Commissioners as especially worthy of preservation List of Commissioners and Staff Presentation of Material Abbreviated Titles of References Historical Survey Architectural Survey Maps illustrating Building Features Illustrated Inventory arranged by Plan Types MED Medieval Houses AL Sub-medieval, 'Direct-Entry' Houses with Lateral Chimney A Sub-medieval, 'Direct-Entry' Houses with Chimneys on the End Gable or on the Cross Wall away from the Entry B Sub-medieval, 'Hearth-passage', End-entry and Chimney-backing-onto-the-entry Houses BL Sub-medieval, 'Hearth-passage' Houses: Long-houses C Sub-medieval, 'Lobby-entry' Houses E Sub-medieval, 'Offset-entry' Houses H Sub-medieval, 'Gable-end-entry' Houses U Sub-medieval, 'Unit-system' Houses R Renaissance 'Central-planned,' Symmetrical Houses MISC Miscellaneous Domestic Remains L Llantwit Major CB Cowbridge F Farm Buildings List of Sites List of Ecclesiastical Parishes, with incidence of monuments List of Civil Parishes with incidence of monuments Glossary Index Map of Civil Parishes