Today's County in the spotlight

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Brecknockshire in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

______________Banffshire Done!_____18 done 74 to go_

and the next one please. There are 92 historic counties in England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland, each will have a mere day-ish in the spotlight selected at random.
Here's the tool
https://www.random.org/
Here's the pool
Spoiler: show
aacounties.png
best to keep the thread flowing! :-D

If it hits a number already used run it again. Our 18 numbers selected so far have been

3,5,8,22,24,28,51,59,61,65,66,69,70,78,81,84,86,89.

Random Number Selection is 12

New County is Brecknockshire


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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

..and one of Brecknockshire's nice little towns is Hay-on-Wye, and it obliges with an old sign. Needs a click on the thumbnail to see it better. :-D

Clock tower, Hay on Wye
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© Copyright Stephen McKay and
licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

And, as is becoming traditional, here is the flag for Brecknockshire:
BFTW
BFTW
Full details here.
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

BFTW Llanwrtyd Wells
BFTW Llanwrtyd Wells
Llanwrtyd Wells in Brecknockshire (now part of Powys) claimed to be the smallest town in Britain. The claim is contested by Fordwich in Kent!
One claim to fame is as the host town for the Bog Snorkelling World Championships which take place every year in August.

More information here.
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Brecknockshire in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

One of the FCF 19 is at Nantyffin, Crickhowell, Brecknockshire, next to the River Usk and opposite the Nant-Y-ffin Cider Mill.


https://www.google.com/maps/@51.8716062 ... 384!8i8192

Two of our FCF members have been there with their cameras.... Kev (Red Dwarfers) and Eifion
red_dwarfers wrote: 26 Sep 2017, 22:05 I forgot to upload this when I visited Wales a few weeks back!
Box 161

Image
eifion wrote: 22 Sep 2018, 21:33 Red_dwarfers has already beaten me to this one, but I passed 161 Nantyffin today so stopped to take a pic, even though the weather was awful.

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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Despite living here in the Forest of Dean since 1965 just a short distance away I've never heard of Brecknockshire until you posted this and I've been all around the area many many times. :o
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

Just as a bit of background Gibbo, Brecknock was an old english name for Brecon and so the County of Brecon became Brecknockshire which in turn was incorporated into Powys in the reshuffle in 1974. So it was around after you headed to the Forest of Dean! :-D
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by Gibbo2286 »

Had a read up of it on Wiki Mick, when I came here the county over the border was Gwent then reverted to Monmouthshire, they can't make their minds up. :-D
Welsh law banned pubs opening on Sundays so the over the border trade for pubs on Sunday was very busy here, all changed now.
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

Most people who travel around the UK are well aware of the Dartmoor Ponies and the New Forest Ponies which are famed in their own right. Not so well publicised are the Welsh Mountain Ponies to be found in the Brecon Beacons in the heart of our county:
BFTW
BFTW
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 08 Apr 2022, 02:31 And, as is becoming traditional, here is the flag for Brecknockshire:

Image

Full details here.
I may have missed it but the most striking feature of the Blue Bat escapes explanation. Bats are common in heraldry in Spain but exceedingly uncommon, if not completely unique in GB. The article traces the origins to here
In the later Mediaeval period arms were assigned to Brychan, but why the bats?

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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

..and some more very pretty wild ponies on the Black Mountains of Brecknockshire
Wild ponies, Twyn Talycefn by Jonathan Billinger<br />For SO2232, taken 2020-08-07
Wild ponies, Twyn Talycefn by Jonathan Billinger
For SO2232, taken 2020-08-07
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

There is some information on the origin of the blue bats which appear to have been adapted from the original arms of the Marchell family's reremice:

From the civic heraldry website: http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/wales_7496.html

BRECKNOCK BOROUGH COUNCIL ~
CYNGOR BWRDEISTREF BRYCHEINIOG (POWYS)
ARMS: Or on a Saltire Sable between four Reremice affrontée Azure four Swords points outwards Argent pommels and hilts Or.
CREST: On a Wreath of the Colours a representation of the Brecon Beacons proper issuant therefrom a demi Dragon Gules holding between the claws a Mantle of Estate Gules doubled Ermine.
*BADGE: Infont of a Sword erect point upward Argent pommels and hilt Or a Mantle of Estate Gules doubled Ermine.

Motto 'UNDEB HEDD LLWYDDIANT' - Unity, peace, success.
Granted ?.

The Borough of Brecknock was largely coterminious with the former County of Brecknockshire.

Picture and information courtesy of Laurence Jones.

brecknock bc arms
brecknock bc badge
Badge
The arms are based on the insignia used by the former Brecknockshire CC, which had adopted the attributed arms of the Hiberno-Welsh Chieftain Brychan. A fifth century founder of Brycheiniog, under whose leadership the Goidels reoccupied the Usk Valley on the withdrawal of the Romans. The shield was quartered. In the first and fourth quarters were the purported arms of Brychan's father Anlach and in the second and third quarters were arms representing Brychan's mother, Marchell. The swords on black are for Prince Anlach, Brychan's father and the blue reremice or bats on gold are for Marchell, his mother. From Brychan was derived the name Brycheiniog, now Brecknock. The colours of gold and black are symbolic of agriculture and industry, especially coal-mining, which are typical of the area.
At the base of the crest are two hills for the twin Brecon Beacons, seen at the base of the Borough of Brecon arms, below the shield. The red dragon is for Wales, and is one of Brecon's supporters. It holds in the fore-claws ancient device of Brecon, this is the mediaeval "mantle of estate", which was a badge of the Staffords, Earls and Dukes of Buckingham, who held the Lordship of Brecon or Brecknock.
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

The Wild Ponies in the Black mountains also come in monochrome :-D
temp2.jpg
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by mickthemaverick »

:rofl2: I have finally found the perfect website for Brecknockshire tourist information. Have a look at this and check out some of the topics!! :rofl2:

http://www.britevents.com/whats-on/reli ... /heritage/
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Re: Today's County in the spotlight

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

mickthemaverick wrote: 08 Apr 2022, 16:51 :rofl2: I have finally found the perfect website for Brecknockshire tourist information. Have a look at this and check out some of the topics!! :rofl2:

http://www.britevents.com/whats-on/reli ... /heritage/
Nish Kumar is on at the theatre in Brecon 13th April 2022 if you put in Brecon Beacons :-D
Venue: Theatr Brycheiniog, Canal Wharf Brecon, Powys, LD3 7EW
Price
Upper Balcony Band A: GBP 23.75
Upper Balcony Band C: GBP 20.75

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Probably not as good and Danny Baker and Bob Harris who are also touring a "show". They were doing a promo on Radio Newcastle this afternoon and sounded like it would be good.
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