Pryce Pryce-Jones

The buildings exterior has undergone a much needed clean up  .

long gone is the bridge that connected the two buildings   known now as agricultural house.

An old photo showing the bridge between the two price Jones buildings

 Newtown businessman who introduced mail order shopping to the world

Born:

1834

Place of Birth:

Llanllwchaearn, Newtown

Trivia:

Pryce-Jones was not averse to name-dropping and would use the names of his better-known customers on his promotional leaflets and labels – among them, Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale..

Biography:

Pryce-Jones was born in Llanllwchaearn, just outside Newtown, in 1834. He became a highly successful businessman who devised a pioneering method of reaching markets far from rural Mid Wales.Pryce-Jones started his working life at the age of 12 as an apprentice at a local drapery business in Newtown’s main thoroughfare, Broad Street. He worked there until he was 21 and, having learned the tricks of the trade, he set out on his own.As with many successful businesses, Pryce-Jones started small with his own little shop selling drapery just off Broad Street. Newtown had always had a woollen industry and it was this local Welsh Flannel which formed the mainstay of Pryce-Jones’ business.It was the reform of the post office and the arrival of the railways in Newtown which helped turn a small rural concern into a global company.Pryce-Jones hit upon a unique method of selling his wares. People would choose what they wanted from leaflets he sent out and the goods would then by dispatched by post and train.

It was an ideal way of meeting the needs of customers living in isolated rural locations who were either too busy or unable to get into Newtown to shop. It was also the world’s first mail order business and it was to change the nature of retailing throughout the world.

The further expansion of the railways in the years that followed allowed Pryce Jones to take orders from further afield and his business grew rapidly. He built up an impressive list of customers – among them Florence Nightingale as well as Queen Victoria, the Princess of Wales and royal households across Europe. He also began selling Welsh Flannel from Newtown to far-flung America and even Australia

Several times, he had re-locate to bigger premises. In 1879, he built the Royal Welsh Warehouse, a tall redbrick building in the centre of Newtown which still stands today and which is still home to a mail order company, albeit not the original Pryce-Jones company.

By 1880, he had more than 100,000 customers and his success was acknowledged by Queen Victoria in 1887 with a knighthood, when he became Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones. He was also elected Member of Parliament for the area.

Pryce-Jones died in 1920 at the age of 85. The company he had built up over decades was hit badly by the depression of the 1920s and 1930s, being taken over by a Liverpool company in 1938.

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the second entrance into the main Building this  sandstone facade has a lot of detail such as the two carved murals  depicting the transport of the day.

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The rear of the building its quite clear to see there are 5 floors the basement now houses two bargain stores,

By sea

By Rail

goods from Pryce Jones Newtown went to the following cities around the world

3 carvings of Paris with different dates,

Two carved plaques of Vienna

they even sent the products to that strange land called England.

Two ports in Wales where the tall ships berthed to carry the woollen products abroad.

What is now the main entrance into the building

the whole facade has had a facelift

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Newtown Station is now set in its 3rd location the public rail service was set in this location near pryce jones warehouse, in the 1900s

The mosaic flooring to the entrance

The oak stairs on the first floor these go up three flights but not to the top floorone of the cornice mouldings on the stair well.

This window on the landing between the first and second floor, Not sure if its meant to say or mean what it says. and I am sure Queen Victoria was too busy with Albert to care.

As well as Pheonix second hand furniture there is quite a good cafe on the 3rd floor notice the beveled sliding doors across what is a 7ft wide wall. I think as there is a door to each side of the opening they could be fire prevention doors. easy to close but quite hard to open on an upward slope.

The whole of this building is in superb Victorian workmanship. and thanks to the lottery fund it will be kept for the next generations to see.

pullution of the river severn.

These photos have been taken over the past week.

and has been reported to severn trent water.

waste of public money

more rain and its going to be this

Council bosses in Powys will prepare their own strategy to prevent flooding misery in Mid Wales, it has emerged.

Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2011/11/15/powys-council-to-prepare-flood-risk-strategy/#ixzz1eMGux8fm

as I walked to the town  the heavens opened up and down came the rain  for the past few weeks all that has been coming down are the leaves  nature is at work so its natural that leaves come off the trees in Autumn.   the leaves in turn get trapped in crevaces   hedges and whatever acts as a windbreaker  such as all these new grids that have been put along paths and short cuts away from the road gutters,

For the past few months Powys council have spent thousands on making a walking area  from the Bus station  to the rail station. ok” it looks very nice and people can see where thier money has been spent. but was it practical  and was it needed? if we are going to have a new  much needed bypass.

Plans for a bypass in Newtown, Powys, will be unveiled to the public this summer following a campaign spanning more than half a century.

Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2010/08/05/newtown-powys-bypass-plans-to-be-unveiled/#ixzz1eMBilFFz

a blockage ouside the library where passing vehicles can give the pedestrians a good soaking. and I with a question   what was the point of wasting  our money on things that do not work, all i see are places to get a good soaking. and if I want that I have a shower.

oil patches near the kerb.

Even the entrance to Ladywell precict has a few puddles that can be walked through

Bear lanes precinct here we are warned that the floor is wet even though there are no puddles or passing vehicles to splash water on us, the reason for these cones is! the council are afraid of being sued by anybody slipping on this surface in a public place, so I wonder if I can claim for new clothes that have been soiled by passing vehicles with dirty water caused by public spending on unwanted and not needed footpath drains that clearly do not work.

St Davids Church Newtown Powys

St Davids from the reservoir

St David’s Church, Newtown

By 1840 Newtown had become the centre of the Mid-Wales woollen industry which brought a rapid growth in population.

The rector at that time, Rev. G. Foxton, must have felt a pressing need for a new building, necessitated by a shortage of seating and fre­quent flooding of an old badly sited church.

The site for the new church on what was to become the New Road, was given by Mr. David Pugh of Llanerchyddol, Welshpool, M.P. for Montgomery Boroughs for many years and a prominent landowner. The foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Powys on 27th October, 1843. The architect was Thomas Penson (1790-1859) who was County Surveyor of Montgomeryshire from

By 1840 Newtown had become the centre of the Mid-Wales woollen industry which brought a rapid growth in population.

The rector at that time, Rev. G. Foxton, must have felt a pressing need for a new building, necessitated by a shortage of seating and fre­quent flooding of an old badly sited church.

The site for the new church on what was to become the New Road, was given by Mr. David Pugh of Llanerchyddol, Welshpool, M.P. for Montgomery Boroughs for many years and a prominent landowner. The foundation stone was laid by the Countess of Powys on 27th October, 1843. The architect was Thomas Penson (1790-1859) who was County Surveyor of Montgomeryshire from 1818 and of Denbighshire from 1819 in succession to his father also Thomas Penson (1760- 1824). Penson chose the buff Ruabon bricks to build the church which were manufactured at the Trefynant works of J. C. Edwards. The style is Victorian Gothic.

The building, which cost about £4,600, consisted of a nave and aisles, a small apse at the East end, and a Western Tower, with entrance on the North side. Gal­leries ran around the three sides, the Western one occupied by the organ.

Four years later, on 13th September, 1847, the Bishop, Dr. T. V. Short, con­secrated the new church – but somewhat unusually without a dedication. This strange omission was to be the cause of much confusion and discussion in later years. Many parishioners referred to the building as St. Mary’s, no doubt taking the name from the old building and as recently as 1924 the new incumbent, the Rev. J. E. Morgan was inducted to “St. Mary’s”. However, in 1940 the matter was formally raised in a P.C.C. meeting. Eventually after much diligent work, Mr. F. B. Lloyd a church warden, proved that at the laying of the foundation stone, the words used were : “I lay this stone as the foundation of a church to be consecrated to Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost in the name of St. David.”

As a result, the Bishop, Dr. W. T. Havard, issued a decree in 1943 stating “that the church was to be known henceforth as the Church of St. David”.

By the early 1870′s the building was being described as “most inconvenient” and structural faults had appeared and as a result a faculty was granted in 1873 for major alterations. This entailed the removal of the galleries and the construction of a chancel with organ chamber and vestry, the removal of the reredos, which had been erected using the screen from the old church, and the replacement of the old box-pews by oak pews free to all. A new font and pulpit were also added.

The cost of this renovation was £3,000. The architect was Mr. David Walker of Liverpool, and the builder, E. Williams of Newtown.

The service of re-dedication took place in August 1874 conducted by the Bishop of Hereford.

Further alterations were made in 1909 when parts of the rood-screen were used to line the sanctuary, then in 1938 came the erection of the Lady Chapel, again parts of the old screen were used, and the re-decoration of the interior. The architect for this latter operation was H. L. North of Llanfairfechan.

Further major repairs and re-decoration were carried out from 1961-4 at a cost of £10,000.

(extracted from A brief history of the Buildings of the Church in the Parishes of Newtown & Llanlwlchaiarn by H.N. Oliver)

Sadly, because of insurmountable infrastructure problems, the church had to close in June 2006 and the Parish of Newtown merged with the Parish of Llanllwchaiarn.The real reason for its closure was money, too many bills and no people to pay them, heating a place like this costs a fortune, vandalism has also taken its toll on the building  head stones vandalized some graves  opened  no one sees or hears anything,

The church has recently been sold and is in need of restoration work. this like the Cross building and it seems all the older structures are being taken over by nature IE plants growing out of them.

the rear of the church where the vadals and thieves go unoticed

thieves have taken the copper lightning conductor and the copper earth wire,

cross building St Davids church and the rail station from Brimmon hill

one of the headstones in the graveyard.

click on the photo to enlarge to read4.

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Zion Baptist Tabernacle of 1881 was built by George Morgan of Carmarthen costing £8000. The memorial stones were laid on 17th August 1881; the Baptist choir sang, and the Minister Rev J.W. Williams of Derby gave a history of the Baptists in the county and claimed that the church had 364 communicants and 550 scholars and teachers. It is an imposing three storey building with a basement. The classical front in brick and freestone has a shaped gable above a huge Corinthian facade. In front is a portico and pediment. The interior is very lavish with a raked gallery on iron columns and a fine ironwork front. The basement was the schoolroom. It was heated by hot air and lit by gas and was designed to accommodate 1,334 people.

St Mary’s Church

. St. Mary’s was the parish church until it was abandoned due to flooding in the 1840s and replaced by St. David’s. The low western tower is possibly 13th century although with later windows. There is a timber bell-stage. The ruinous nave originally had a south aisle. There are two doors through the south wall and a piscina. Inside is a mausoleum for the Price family of Newtown Hall and outside, the grave of Robert Owen (1771-1858) the social reformer who was born in Newtown and died at the Bear Hotel. The monument is by Alfred Toft of 1902 with a portrait of Owen and labourers. It has railings in fine Art Nouveau ironwork.

St Mary’s, Newtown

 

Situated on the banks of the Severn, the old church dedicated to the Virgin Mary was built of stone from the river bed and consisted of a double aisle surmounted by a wooden belfry at the North West angle, typical of Montgomeryshire churches.  It has been dated as 13th century.

During the next century a carved wooden rood screen was erected between chancel and nave, the work of craftsmen known as the “Newtown School of carvers”. Other examples of their work exist at Llanwnog and Llananno.  When the church was finally abandoned in 1856 the screen was removed to the Rectory and stored there until it was eventually used to construct the Lady Chapel in the new parish church and dedicated by the Bishop of the Diocese in July 1938. The old font was also taken to the new building.

In the body of the church stands a mausoleum erected over the tomb of the Pryce family in 1900.

The church was subject to constant flooding from the nearby river which weakened the fabric and led to its decay and eventual abandonment; although mission services were held in the Tower during the summer months for about 10 years prior to the turn of the century.

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2011 photo

photo pre 2000,

Alongside the South wall stands the Tomb of Robert Owen (1771-1858), the social reformer and educationist, a native of the town.  In 1902 the co-operative movement erected the railings and bronze plaques around the Tomb as a memorial to him. The churchyard gates were given by his son, Mr. Dale Owen.By the 1930′s the building had become very dilapidated, the roof had collapsed and the burial ground overgrown, but around 1938 the incumbent and a number of other public spirited townsfolk set up a committee to restore the Tower and lay out  the grounds as a public garden using public subscriptions to finance the work.  On July 27th, 1978 the area was formally handed over to the Town Council on a 99 year lease who undertook to carry out regular maintenance to provide this quiet oasis in the town centre.

To the South East lies an area occupied till the late 1930′s by a row of small black and white cottages and adjacent to them stood a large tannery. This was demolished in 1983 and the site used to develop a housing complex to be named St. Mary’s Close. Architects : Mid Wales Development Corporation. Builders : Evans & Owen, Caersws.In the body of the church stands a mausoleum erected over the tomb of the Pryce family in 1900.

.one of 3 windows to the tower.

headstones placed inside what would have been the church itself thye only stones readable are the ones made from slate.

My last holiday in egypt

Whats this!

 Egypts attempt at elf and safety.from Cairo to Suez and and Siwa  see the rest of my last holiday snaps on .http://wildaboutwales.wordpress.com/.

this rare de soto in Ismalea

A dennis fire engine in Alexandria

fishermans friends, on the breakwaters in Alexandria.

in Egypt some men make mosques in the sand as a boy I made sand castles’

11.11.11.

Only had one shot at the moon before the clouds came in.Full moon or a hole in the night sky, we are well into 11.11.11 and nothing wondrouse has happened but the mooslims seem to think an eery force is going to take over the pyramids . what a strange supperstitious lot they are, and yet they will go to the black stone kill some cows then throw stones at the devil.. ah well" nowt as queer as folk " as the Yorkshire folk say,, Dim ond un ergyd ar y lleuad cyn y cymylau ddod,,Lleuad lawn neu dwll yn awyr y nos, rydym yn dda i mewn 11.11.11 a dim byd rhyfeddol sydd wedi digwydd ond y Mwslimiaid yn ymddangos i feddwl yn rym eery yn mynd i gymryd drosodd y pyramidiau. yr hyn a llawer ofergoelus rhyfedd ydynt, ac eto byddant yn mynd at y garreg du lladd rhai gwartheg yna daflu cerrig at y diafol .. AH hefyd "dim byd mor queer mor gwerin" fel y werin Swydd Efrog yn dweu

Mr T on A horse.Giza Pyramids Cairo 2002

 

 

Egyptian police officers guard the Pyramid Khafre in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo in 2010. Egypt will close the Great Pyramid of Giza on Friday to avoid any rituals by a group rumoured to have plans to mark the date of 11/11/11 at the site, an official said

Egypt will close the Great Pyramid of Giza on Friday to avoid any rituals by a group rumoured to have plans to mark the date of 11/11/11 at the site, an official said.

Well thats going to fu-ck up the economy of the muslim nation of egypt.and who is Atef Abu Zahab. did they finaly put Dr Zahi Hawass in jail where he should be.The decision came “after much pressure” from Egyptian Internet users that strange rituals were going to be held “within the walls of the pyramid on November 11, 2011,” Atef Abu Zahab, head of the Department of Pharaonic Archaeology, told AFP.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities confirmed the closure Friday of the tourist site, in a statement that only referred to the need for maintenance following a busy period during Muslim holidays.

The Pyramid of Cheops is the biggest and most famous of the three Giza pyramids. It houses the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu, and is the only surviving one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Numerologists are anxiously awaiting Friday, when the digital alignment of ones occurs at 11:11 am, which some believe will lead to unusual events.

Thousands of people plan to meet at the time around the world for ceremonial dances, and several pages devoted to the date have appeared on social networking website Facebook.

Some attribute the number 11 to paranormal powers that provide a channel of communication with the subconscious, others see a mystical connection between the number and disasters, like the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

but most of the Elite such as the officersin the police and  army, Reading between the lies of The Supreme Council of Antiquities who confirmed the closure Friday of the tourist site, in a statement that only referred to the need for maintenance following a busy period during Muslim holidays this means that the working half of the muslim nation of Egypt have gone to Saudi Arabia to kill a cow . and those who are left in Egypt do not get paid to look after thier heritage on fridays, and do not forget the whole of the supreme council are under the orders of the Head Imam of Egypt Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed El- Tyeb who will have ordered they play the Taqiyya card ― Islamic Principle of Lying for the Sake of Allah . not forgetting the calender year for the muslims is 1432 I am not sure what month or day they are in I do not think they know either. so the whole thing is a load of bull.or as the chinese say this yyear its a load of rabbit.

And here is me taking photos of the full moon . I know Egyptians have wierd notions about things especially after the imams blare it out at 11. 11.11.11 from the minerets. ooh shit i just let another 11 out. eleven minutes past eleven on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year of our lord two thousand and eleven, and its now eleven o’clock or is that twenty three hundred, boy am I glad I left that shithole Egypt.

 

Brifysgol Aberystwyth university/college

Beware of flying motorbikes

Prince of Wales looks nothing like Charlie

cliciwch ar y lluniau i’w chwyddo

what is becoming of the Welsh Language when a university of Wales cannot translate properly , Mwg is smoke , tarthau is  fumes. shame on them

A beth yn dod o fy iaith pan na all y brifysgol cymru cyfieithu yn iawn cywilydd arnynt ,

The old university building from the south prom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberystwyth_University

its not only the starlings that are using the building as a tolet

Sundown in Aberystwyth

Y haul un mynd i lawr dros Aberystwydd

Orange.Barclays profits soar to £5billion

We had a real suprise  in the post today a freebee. nice to have a freebee, but what I am supposed to do with this generous offer from a multy billion £ firm I do not know.

Scare off spooky viruses this haloween the brochure says

so do I wear it while I am on the internet or when I go and cancel my orange mobile card.

in the post there was our quarterly bank statement,  bit shitty really when the next thing

I put the internet on and one of the headlines   Barclays Quarterly Profit Soars To £2.4 billion

and they cant even afford pay to keep one of thier buildings tidy.

the following is cut  from  a post from 2 months ago

The cross building and Sarah Brisco’s Town Clock,  better known as barclays bank

Barclays bank own the cross building one of the focal points of Newtown if they leave the plants to grow in the facade it will fall down, not like they cannot afford to get builders in to clean and repoint the brick and stonework on this beautiful building, and today 31st of October 2011 We have news thatBarclays Quarterly Profit Soars To £2.4bn

 

feral pigeons get to drop droppings on the stonework the acid in the droppings corode the stonework.

almost enough grass to mow.

the odd seagull that lives in Newtown uses the bank to deposit on the weather vane.

Cross building from the water reservoir behind my home on Llanidloes rd.

 

Vale of Rheidol Railway

http://www.rheidolrailway.co.uk/

Running on time

Vale of Rheidol Railway.  The Prince of wales was running 10 minutes late but caught up time on arrival to Devils bridge.
this was my second trip up the Rheidol valley in two weeks as I wanted to take shots of the autumn colours

The old and the new,, the new is the building of the loco shed where maintainance will be carried out on the old steam engines. we hope it will sertve the purpose as well as the old sheds do.

the prince of wales is taking me up to devils bridge.

tickets please as we board the train.

the rheidol steam railway is adjacent to the british rail station sorry ariva trains this is the final stop an the london to Aberystwyth route

an old railway building

victorian water tank used for filling the steam trains.

the hedge cutting train has its own works carriage

halfway station

steam and lots of it there is no smoke as such this is an oil fired boiler that makes the steam to drive the train

one of the water falls on the devils bridge walk.

one of the stops on the way.

Arrived in devils bridge station