WHGT AGM 2013 will be held on 8th June at Llanover, near Abergavenny

hosted by Elizabeth Murray

WHGT is delighted to announce that the speaker will be Sir Roy Strong who will give a talk on 'The Laskett Gardens'

There will be an afternoon visit to the restored Bedwellty Park, once the home of the ironmasters of Tredegar led by Liz Whittle, expert on Welsh Parks and Gardens.
There are 26 acres of parkland and gardens with fountains, cascades and ponds, a walled kitchen garden, ice-house, a Chinese-style limestone grotto and the long shelter - built in 1908 used as shade while watching croquet and tennis.

Friday June 7th Evening drinks will be hosted by Helena Gerrish and the Monmouthshire and Gwent branch at High Glanau Manor.

WHGT President Robin Herbert will have his garden Y Neuaddon open on Sunday June 9th under the NGS scheme.

AGM papers will be sent to all members:

• WHGT 2012 Annual report
• AGM 2013 Agenda
• AGM 2013 reply slip Word PDF

SIGN UP FOR THE AGT BLOG TO FIND OUT ABOUT AGT EVENTS AND LOTS MORE…… SIGNING UP IS EASY……

It would be wonderful if your members could be encouraged to sign up for the AGT Blog. We've been experimenting with it for a while and it has developed a good following outside the Gardens Trusts.  It's proving to be a good way to share news, not only about events that AGT Trustees attend on the CGTs' behalf, but also about happenings in the world of gardens and garden history. We would like it to be just as popular with CGT members - the audience for whom it is intended!
 
Signing up is easy.  All CGT members need to do is to click on the Blog link, either on this email, or on the AGT website.  Scroll down to the bottom of the blog entries and then type their email address in the box 'Follow by email' and then click on 'Submit'.
 
http://associationofgardenstrusts.blogspot.co.uk/
 
Blogs are posted monthly, so members' inboxes will not be flooded with masses of material. Let's try to get as many people signed up as we can! It could prove to be a very useful way to communicate as we head towards Capability Brown 300 in 2016.
 
Liz Ware
AGT Trustee
 
Member of The Garden Media Guild and
Professional Garden Photographers' Association

New Resource for Garden History

It's a pleasure for the National Library of Wales to announce, after a successful launch in the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay last month, that the Welsh Newspaper Online website is now live.
**1,000,000 pages of Welsh history to 1910 online, free of charge**
 
welshnewspapers.llgc.org.uk

A Physic Garden designed for  Tintern Abbey

A proposal is being made to Cadw for the creation of a physic garden at Tintern Abbey. 

It will cover some 160 square metres and be laid out on a design influenced by the plans of c. 900 CE for the Abbey of St. Gall and by the archaeological remains at Haverford West Cistercian Abbey.
Dr. Caroline Howard Twenty herbs have been to be planted have been selected for the scheme based not only on archival information concerning early mediaeval medicinal or leech practices but also on a detailed knowledge of herbs still growing in the vicinity of the Abbey.  
Information about the plants and their uses will be available for visitors. 
The project is being overseen by a committee led by the Rev. John Dearnley and local residents have already volunteered to assist once the project is under way.

CGT MEMBERS: Join the discussions and exchange ideas at the Historic Landscape Project CGT Web Forum

Open to all CGT members through a simple registration process: http://www.gardenstrusts.org.uk/hlp.html

New heritage body needed to promote Wales’s rich history

6 March 2013

A new national heritage organisation should be established to help protect and promote Welsh castles, monuments and other historical sites, according to a National Assembly for Wales Committee.

In its Report on the historical environment in Wales, the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee concludes that currently, opportunities to promote Welsh history aren’t being capitalised on as there isn’t a co-ordinated approach drawing together public sector organisations, third sector institutions such the National Trust and private sector companies. The Committee recommends that the Welsh Government examines the possibility of establishing an umbrella organisation, similar to bodies already established in England and Scotland.

The Committee raised concerns about the Welsh Government’s proposal to merge the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) and Cadw  the Welsh Government’s historic environment service.

During evidence-gathering sessions, witnesses questioned whether the distinct roles of the two organisations could be reconciled and whether the skills and expertise of the RCAHMW would be lost. There were also concerns about the timing of the proposal, which some felt was being rushed into proceeding without a full consultation.

The Committee has recommended that the Welsh Government give full consideration to these concerns before proceeding with any merger.

To help in both the promotion and protection of historic sites the Committee felt that the case for an umbrella body to represent Wales’s historical environment was persuasive. Such a body would bring together and represent the various organisations, and play a significant role in strengthening small, not-for-profit organisations that are passionate about protecting our historical sites but lack the resources and support of a national body.

“To that end we have recommended that the Welsh Government examines the possibility of establishing an organisation with a role similar to those already in place in England and Scotland.

The Committee makes 14 recommendations in its report including:

• The Welsh Government should explore the possibility of establishing a representative umbrella body, such as English Heritage, to represent non-Government organisations in the third and private sectors;

• Before proceeding with any merger involving the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, the Welsh Government should give full consideration to the concerns raised by expert witnesses during the course of our inquiry; and,

• The Welsh Government should put in place mechanisms to ensure better collaboration in promoting the historic environment.