Keith E. Morgan - Böcker

Jersey is the largest of the British Channel Islands and is just 14 miles away from the French coast. Once part of the Duchy of Normandy, it became independent from France in 1204 and has governed itself ever since. St Helier is the historic capital of Jersey and the centre of its government. Named after its Patron Saint, Helier, the town has grown from a small fishing and agricultural hamlet hugging the seashore, to a bustling port and holiday resort.St Helier has a rich heritage and can even boast in having a battle fought in its town square. Royal Square, as it is now called, is where the States Chamber and ancient Royal Court House are to be found. Once a walled town, the area has expanded into a modern metropolis, but still retains a charm all of its own. This development through time has been traced and captured in this fascinating and unique book.

Jersey, Britain's 'jewel in the crown', is the largest of the Channel Islands and sits just over 14 miles from the west Normandy coastline. Once part of the Duchy of Normandy, it chose to become loyal to the British Crown in 1204 and broke its links with France at that time. Despite repeated attempts by France in the past to regain possession, Jersey has maintained its independence ever since. Just 9 miles long and 5 miles wide, Jersey is famous for its finance industry and tourism. Despite its small size, it has a population of approximately 90,000, and yet there is still much of the lush countryside left untouched. The reader is taken on a visual tour of Jersey's famous rugged north coastline, with its picturesque little bays and harbours tucked in close to the imposing cliffs.

The largest town in the county of Carmarthenshire, Llanelli has a long and illustrious history. This book draws on an assortment of some 200 old maps, prints and photographs to illustrate the transformation of Llanelli from a small medieval hamlet and fishing village on the sea shore of the Burry Estuary, through a period of renown as the centre of the world’s tinplate industry, to its present-day importance as a thriving commercial and industrial town.Coal mining, smelting and shipping established the town’s industrial heritage before it became known as ‘Tinopolis’. Today, tinplate is still manufactured at Trostre Works, one of the most modern plants in Europe, while Llanelli also has claim to fame as the home of the famous Scarlets rugby club. Llanelli Through Time is an essential volume for anyone who knows and loves this proud Welsh town.

The roots of Carmarthen, claimed to be the oldest town in Wales, go back to the time of the Roman occupation founded around AD 75 when it was called Moridunum, the civitas capital of the Celtic Demetae (Britons) tribe. It can also claim to have one of the oldest theatres in country with one of only three surviving Roman amphitheatres in Wales. There are strong Arthurian legends connecting Merlin the Wizard to Carmarthen, but it was the Normans who recognised the town’s strategic location and built the first castle here in around 1094. Destroyed by the Welsh, defences were constructed in 1223 making Carmarthen the first walled town in Wales, but not sufficiently strong enough to prevent Owain Glyndwr sacking both town and castle in 1405. The final defences, the Bulwarks, were built to defend the town by the Royalist during the Civil War of the 1640s.Carmarthen Through Time offers the reader a real insight into the ways in which the town subsequently grew to prominence during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as a business centre for agriculture and associated trades, including that of woollen manufacture. Follow well-known historian Keith Morgan as he guides us through the eighteenth century, which saw Carmarthen enter the industrialised age and became an important port exporting coal, iron and tinplate throughout the world, right up to date when following regeneration, Carmarthen has become a large business and shopping centre for the county.

Chepstow (Welsh: Cas-gwent) is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England on a bend of the River Wye. The region has been occupied since Neolithic times, and the Romans built a settlement close to the town when they arrived in AD 48. Chepstow itself was founded by the Normans, who built the castle in about 1067. In the Middle Ages, Chepstow developed as a port noted for its imports of wine and exports of timber and bark.In the late eighteenth century, the town was a focus of early tourism as part of the ‘Wye Tour’. The tourist industry still plays a major part in the economy of Chepstow, but in the past fishing and small-scale shipbuilding had been carried on in the town for centuries. Chepstow Through Time offers the reader a real insight into the life and times of the town and of the many changes that have taken place over the years to enable it to grow to the prominence it enjoys today.

Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy – ‘town on the Monnow’), is a traditional county town in Monmouthshire, Wales, and is located on the confluence of the River Monnow and River Wye. On the site of a Roman fort, Blestium, it became established as a town when the Normans built a castle here after 1067. In 1387, Monmouth was the birthplace of Henry V, later the hero of the Battle of Agincourt – a legacy that has been reflected in the name given the town square.In 1536, Monmouth became the county town of Monmouthshire and, three years later, troops were mustered here, the foundation of the Monmouth Militia making the regiment one of the oldest in the country. Monmouth became a market town and a tourist centre at the heart of the Wye Valley. Today, it acts as a shopping and service centre and focus for educational and cultural activities. Through the media of engravings and photographs, the fascinating history of Monmouth is traced over 2,000 years from pre-Roman times to the present day.