Walking in Seventy-year Footsteps - Hando's Monmouthshire Sketch Book
I’m new to Fred J. Hando’s books, but I instantly loved his interesting prose and writing style. Fred J. Hando (23rd March 1888- 17th February 1970) was from Newport, Wales, and a head teacher, artist and writer on the Monmouthshire and Gwent area. The main aim of his numerous books and newspaper articles was to “persuade readers to see the little places of a shy county.”
A prolific writer of the local area, I would now follow him anywhere given a chance, even if just around the corner, because he would make it interesting, weaving a story from the history of the area that would make me see the view in a completely different way.
So I did - I went on a walk, several in fact, with Hando, or more accurately followed in his footsteps and explored some of his walks taken from the ‘Monmouthshire Sketch Book’.
Walk 1. Langstone to Twyn Barllwm
In June 1953 Hando walked through Beechwood Park near Langstone and admired the red, white and blue planting in the flower beds which had been grown for the Queen’s coronation. Seventy years later I walked the same path on King Charles III coronation weekend and, while the flower beds were not quite as patriotic, there was no shortage of union jacks and bunting! I felt a wonderful kind of symmetry walking this walk that both of us had walked on a Coronation day, and later, as I watched the TV coverage that included the retrospective photos and video of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, it felt like the times were linked.
After viewing the thatched house Hando mentioned, which remains thatched to this day, I moved on to the Twyn Barllwm walk. Here, much has changed since Hando’s day, with a housing estate that has sprung up at the start of his walk but, once through the new houses, I picked up Hando’s trail and reached the ancient tump and enjoyed the fabulous views of South Wales which opened up before me.
Walk 2. Black Rock and Heston Brake
This walk led me down to the edge of the Severn Estuary with a thick fog rolling in. I fancy Hando stood in the same place as me when he wrote “On that calm, damp November morning I stood on the sward at Black Rock and watched the receding tide laying bare the rocks and sandbanks. Through the smoke of my pipe I saw in fancy the old-time ferryboats crossing to and from Gloucestershire.” As the mist thinned out I fancied I could see the old ferry boat coming into dock in this harbour as well. I could also imagine the conversation Hando had with the landlady of the old Black Rock Hotel, as I stood where the Hotel had been and looked at the renovated remains of the Harbour Master’s house, now a private home. I feel Hando would have approved of the statues now standing there and the picnic area that has been created which was well used while I was there.
Walk 3. Llandegfedd and its Water-splash
Hando liked this walk as it was in an ‘un-regarded’ village, hidden away, without even signs and I must confess I had never heard of it at all. By searching OS maps and following Hando’s bread crumb trail, I found the village and embarked on the walk. Once I had found the overgrown wooden bridge, I crossed over into a hidden valley with steep wooded sides and grassy fields. Following the base of the valley alongside the stream, the walk wound around the valley until I crossed another wooden bridge and curved back through woods. It was clear this was not a well-trodden route and I thanked Hando for pointing the way.
I passed a mighty old oak tree on the route which I like to imagine Hando would have also passed and maybe even contemplated as I did. He never felt far from me as I climbed to Llandegfedd Church which Hando extols as one of the most precious church relics in the area. Hando considered the porch black with age and, within, its two stone faces to prevent the entry of evil. As I climbed towards the church, I anticipated the Tudor East window Hando spoke of and the mural tablets inside along with the table-tomb dated 1589. As I got nearer I began to realise the church was now a private house, with washing on a line in the graveyard and letter box on the porch gate. As I walked away disappointed, my spirits were lifted when I saw the first of the swallows returning, swooping and swirling in the afternoon air. Some things never change.
On the back of the ‘Monmouthshire Sketch Book’ dustjacket there are a list of other books by Hando with a summary of their contents to tempt me, ‘The Chartists at “The Welsh Oak”’; ‘Ty’r Gwent and the Welsh Pig-sties’; ‘The Stone of Revenge’. I may have started out as a stranger to Hando but I feel this is the beginning of a lovely exploration of Hando and this green and pleasant land. It’s only fitting that Hando should finish describing the places he writes about: “no place for sightseers, go-getters or roisterers, but a heavenly retreat for simple folk like you and me.”
Contributed by Alison
(Published 10th Aug 2023)
