Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales – serie

Clwyd, covering the former counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire, is exceptionally rewarding in architecture. the medieval period has left a fine legacy, including castles of the time of Edward I as sophisticated as any in Europe, the monastic ruins of Basingwerk and Valle Crucis, and the distinctive local 'double-nave' type of Perpendicular church. Country houses range in size and ambition from Erddig, Kinmel and Chirk Castle to a host of lesser buildings, humbler but still of quality. Towns such as Denbigh and Ruthin, village groups and Victorian seaside resorts all add to the pattern of styles and materials, a pattern further enriched by relics of the Industrial revolution and the striking diversity of vernacular styles.

Glamorgan's long and varied history has left layer upon layer of visible remains. Castles range from remarkable earthworks to magnificent structures such as Cardiff and Caerphilly. Impressive remains of three little known abbeys, at Ewenny, Margam and Neath, together with Llandaff Cathedral, testify to the wealth of the church in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The landscaped setting of Penrice Castle preserves a complete Georgian arcadia while Cardiff Castle is the supreme example of an exotic Victorian fantasy. Other major country houses, such as Ruperra and Wenvoe are now evocative ruins. In dramatic contrast are the chapels and workmen's institutes of the Valleys settlements and the landscape of heavy industry. Pride of place is given to Swansea, once a Regency resort, and Cardiff, coal metropolis. Their many fine public buildings are covered, as are their array of churches, chapels, arcades and solid suburban streets. A comprehensive gazetteer of places, in which buildings are described with lively and informed comment, is complemented by a detailed introduction which explains the broader context and builds a complete picture of the area's architectural identity. Glamorgan is the third volume in the Pevsner Buildings of Wales series. Each work is illustrated with numerous maps, plans and photographs, and concludes with Welsh language and architectural glossaries and indexes of artists and places.

This authoritative guide to the southwest corner of Wales by three local experts encompasses a wide sweep of history, from the rugged prehistoric remains that stud the distinctive windswept landscape overlooking the Atlantic to distinguished recent buildings that respond imaginatively to their natural setting. The comprehensive gazetteer encompasses the great cathedral of St David’s and its Bishop’s Palace, the numerous churches, and the magnificent Norman castles that reflect the turbulent medieval past. It gives attention also to the lesser-known delights of Welsh chapels—both simple rural and sophisticated Victorian examples—in all their wayward variety and provides detailed accounts of a rewarding range of towns, including the county town, Haverfordwest, the attractively unspoilt Regency resort of Tenby, and Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock, with their important naval history. An introduction with valuable specialist contributions sets the buildings in context.

This sixth volume of the Buildings of Wales series covers two counties, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion (formerly Cardiganshire) in the South-west of Wales. Like the same authors' Pembrokeshire, the volume covers an architecture still little known, but encompassing a sweep from prehistoric chambered tombs to the high technology of the world's largest single-span glasshouse. The two counties have deeply rural hinterlands shading into wild and empty upland, bare of settlements but rich in the relics of lost industry. The isolated churches and nonconformist chapels are given knowledgeable attention in the comprehensive gazetteer, which gives full coverage to the magnificent castles of Carmarthenshire. There are detailed accounts of the varied small towns of the two counties, from formal late-Georgian Aberaeron to the quiet charm of Laugharne, winding down to its estuary. Aberystwyth with its promenade, university and National Library, joins industrial Llanelli and county-town Carmarthen in the wealth and variety of its late Victorian chapels. An introduction with valuable specialist contributions sets the buildings in context.

No area of Wales is more rewarding to the architectural traveler than Gwynedd—the historic counties of Anglesey, Caernarfon and Merioneth, which are the setting for many of Wales’s greatest buildings. This book examines the buildings of the region, from Beaumaris, Caernafon, Conwy, and Harlech castles and atmospheric medieval churches to Nonconformist chapels and houses in distinctive vernacular traditions.