DID the poet William Wordsworth visit Llantwit Major? That is the intriguing sub-title of the next talk to the Llantwit Major Local History Society on Wednesday, 14th February at 7.30pm in Llantonian Hall, and then repeated on Thursday, 22nd February, at 11am in CF61.
Image courtesy of AbeBook.
Our speaker Philip Morris discovered a copy of A Walk Through Wales by Richard Warner among Wordsworth’s books in the archives at Dove Cottage, Grasmere, Lake District.
Richard Warner was a friend of Wordsworth, persuading him to visit the Wye Valley, which he did in 1798. In 1801, Warner presented Wordsworth with a copy of A Walk through Wales, encouraging him to visit south Wales. Did Wordsworth take up Warner’s offer?
A Walk through Wales is a fascinating description of the countryside, towns and villages and buildings that Warner saw on two visits. on August 10, 1798, Warner finds himself in Cowbridge, but doesn’t linger there because the town ‘afforded nothing of particularly worth attention.’
Warner is persuaded by two brothers he meets in the Bear Hotel to visit Llantwit Major as being far more interesting. So he does, and becomes the first tourist (as opposed to historian) to write a description of the village and its people, St Illtud’s Church, the ‘Hall of Justice’, Boverton Plas and St Donats Castle.
As a result of Warner’s book, which was widely read, tourists began coming to Llantwit Major as ‘a town of great consequence’. Was William Wordsworth one of those tourists? Come to the talk to find out – all are welcome.
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