              Copyright
Helen Forder
2004
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| Lady Llanofer is said
to have promised one of her old servants, upset
that the Welsh national dress was dying out, that
it never would while she was head of the Llanofer
estate. However, it seems that some of the young
maids, forced to wear Welsh dress while at work,
would change into more fashionable clothing at
one of the Lodges before going into Abergavenny
on their day off. The Gate-keeper's wife kept
their secret!! |
Lady
Llanofer from a sketch c. 1896 |
'The
costumes of Wales being chiefly composed of wool,
are from the nature of the material particularly
well adapted to defend the wearer against the
inclemencies of the weather, and the sudden
transitions from heat to cold to which our
climate is subject ...'
'... How frequently do we now see the hale and
robust mother of fifty, and even grandmother of
eighty, returning from church or market secure
from the storm, under the protection of the warm
woollen gown, and comfortable cloak or whittle of
Gwent or Dyfed, with a neat and serviceable
beaver hat, and black woollen stockings, pursuing
her homeward path unobstructed by the influence
of cold or wet, while the delicate and cotton
clad daughter or grand-daughter, with perhaps the
symptoms of consumption on her cheek, is
shivering in the rain, seeking the precarious
shelter of the nearest hedge, or shifting her
station from tree to tree, to avoid the soaking
of the shower, while her flimsy straw bonnet,
saturated with water, and dyed like a rainbow by
the many coloured streams descending from its
numerous and once gaudy ribbons, is presenting a
deplorable example of the sad effects resulting
from that absurd abandonment of ancient and wise
habits.'
From the Prize
Essay, Cardiff Eisteddfod 1834, by Lady
Llanofer, (Gwenynen Gwent). |
| The flock
of Black Welsh Mountain sheep seen today in
the fields near Ty Uchaf are directly descended
from those brought to Llanofer from West Wales by
Lady Llanofer in the mid nineteenth century; and
in her rather unusual cookery book she mentions
that their wool 'is of very fine quality' and
that the home-knit Welsh stockings of their wool
are 'very superior and do not need any dye'. |
Stockings
of Welsh Wool |
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