In search of Wales: Travel writing and narratives of difference, 1918-50

Journal of Historical Geography

Volumn 26, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 589-604

  Gruffudd, Pyrs ^a   Herbert, David T ^a   Piccini, Angela ^b  

^a SWANSEA UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b Crown Building   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; LANDSCAPE;

UNITED KINGDOM; WALES;

EID: 0033758795     PISSN: 03057488     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1006/jhge.2000.0246     Document Type: Article

References (120)

1. T. Pennant, A Tour in Wales (Wrexham 1991 [1778]) 1.
2. G. Borrow, Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery (Llandysul 1995 [1862]) 1.
3. See for instance Wales Tourist Board, Wales 2000 (Cardiff 1994).
4. M. Andrews, The Search for the Picturesque: Landscape Aesthetics and Tourism, 1760-1800 (Aldershot 1989); W. Gilpin, Three Essays (London 1792). See also the brief mention of Burke and Kant's theories of the Sublime in F. Jameson, Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism, New Left Review 146 (1984) 53-92.
5. M. Andrews, The Search for the Picturesque: Landscape Aesthetics and Tourism, 1760-1800 (Aldershot 1989); W. Gilpin, Three Essays (London 1792). See also the brief mention of Burke and Kant's theories of the Sublime in F. Jameson, Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism, New Left Review 146 (1984) 53-92.
6. M. Andrews, The Search for the Picturesque: Landscape Aesthetics and Tourism, 1760-1800 (Aldershot 1989); W. Gilpin, Three Essays (London 1792). See also the brief mention of Burke and Kant's theories of the Sublime in F. Jameson, Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism, New Left Review 146 (1984) 53-92.
7. P. Gruffudd, Selling the countryside: representations of rural Britain, in J.R. Gold and S.V. Ward (Eds), Place Promotion (Chichester 1994) 247-63.
8. On issues of identity and theory see, in particular, D. Miller (Ed.), Acknowledging Consumption. See also D. Gregory, Interventions in the historical geography of modernity: social theory, spatiality and the politics of representation, in J. Duncan and D. Ley (Eds), Place/Culturel Representation (London 1993) 272-313.
9. On issues of identity and theory see, in particular, D. Miller (Ed.), Acknowledging Consumption. See also D. Gregory, Interventions in the historical geography of modernity: social theory, spatiality and the politics of representation, in J. Duncan and D. Ley (Eds), Place/Culturel Representation (London 1993) 272-313.
10. The idea of a Celtic culture together with images defined as embodying that culture have been instrumental in the construction of the British 'fringes' as possessing a far richer cultural heritage than their financially and politically endowed masters. For fuller treatment of this subject from various perspectives see P.B. Ellis, Celtic Inheritance (London 1992), who expounds the belief in a strong Celtic culture set to rise from the flames of industrialization. A traditional archaeological account is provided by S. Piggott, The Druids (London 1968). M. Chapman, The Celts (London 1992) is an anthropological critique of the historical construction of Celtic culture in Britain. For an excellent historiography of the place of images of Celtic prehistory in nineteenth-century nationalism see S. Smiles, The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination (New Haven 1994). For an analysis of the televising of 'Celtic history' see A. Piccini, Filming though the mists of time: Celtic constructions and the documentary, Current Anthropology 37 (1996) S87-S111. Simon James has controversially attacked the Celtic myth as a romantic fantasy and political invention of the eighteenth century in S. James, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention (London 1999).
11. The idea of a Celtic culture together with images defined as embodying that culture have been instrumental in the construction of the British 'fringes' as possessing a far richer cultural heritage than their financially and politically endowed masters. For fuller treatment of this subject from various perspectives see P.B. Ellis, Celtic Inheritance (London 1992), who expounds the belief in a strong Celtic culture set to rise from the flames of industrialization. A traditional archaeological account is provided by S. Piggott, The Druids (London 1968). M. Chapman, The Celts (London 1992) is an anthropological critique of the historical construction of Celtic culture in Britain. For an excellent historiography of the place of images of Celtic prehistory in nineteenth-century nationalism see S. Smiles, The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination (New Haven 1994). For an analysis of the televising of 'Celtic history' see A. Piccini, Filming though the mists of time: Celtic constructions and the documentary, Current Anthropology 37 (1996) S87-S111. Simon James has controversially attacked the Celtic myth as a romantic fantasy and political invention of the eighteenth century in S. James, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention (London 1999).
12. The idea of a Celtic culture together with images defined as embodying that culture have been instrumental in the construction of the British 'fringes' as possessing a far richer cultural heritage than their financially and politically endowed masters. For fuller treatment of this subject from various perspectives see P.B. Ellis, Celtic Inheritance (London 1992), who expounds the belief in a strong Celtic culture set to rise from the flames of industrialization. A traditional archaeological account is provided by S. Piggott, The Druids (London 1968). M. Chapman, The Celts (London 1992) is an anthropological critique of the historical construction of Celtic culture in Britain. For an excellent historiography of the place of images of Celtic prehistory in nineteenth-century nationalism see S. Smiles, The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination (New Haven 1994). For an analysis of the televising of 'Celtic history' see A. Piccini, Filming though the mists of time: Celtic constructions and the documentary, Current Anthropology 37 (1996) S87-S111. Simon James has controversially attacked the Celtic myth as a romantic fantasy and political invention of the eighteenth century in S. James, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention (London 1999).
13. The idea of a Celtic culture together with images defined as embodying that culture have been instrumental in the construction of the British 'fringes' as possessing a far richer cultural heritage than their financially and politically endowed masters. For fuller treatment of this subject from various perspectives see P.B. Ellis, Celtic Inheritance (London 1992), who expounds the belief in a strong Celtic culture set to rise from the flames of industrialization. A traditional archaeological account is provided by S. Piggott, The Druids (London 1968). M. Chapman, The Celts (London 1992) is an anthropological critique of the historical construction of Celtic culture in Britain. For an excellent historiography of the place of images of Celtic prehistory in nineteenth-century nationalism see S. Smiles, The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination (New Haven 1994). For an analysis of the televising of 'Celtic history' see A. Piccini, Filming though the mists of time: Celtic constructions and the documentary, Current Anthropology 37 (1996) S87-S111. Simon James has controversially attacked the Celtic myth as a romantic fantasy and political invention of the eighteenth century in S. James, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention (London 1999).
14. The idea of a Celtic culture together with images defined as embodying that culture have been instrumental in the construction of the British 'fringes' as possessing a far richer cultural heritage than their financially and politically endowed masters. For fuller treatment of this subject from various perspectives see P.B. Ellis, Celtic Inheritance (London 1992), who expounds the belief in a strong Celtic culture set to rise from the flames of industrialization. A traditional archaeological account is provided by S. Piggott, The Druids (London 1968). M. Chapman, The Celts (London 1992) is an anthropological critique of the historical construction of Celtic culture in Britain. For an excellent historiography of the place of images of Celtic prehistory in nineteenth-century nationalism see S. Smiles, The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination (New Haven 1994). For an analysis of the televising of 'Celtic history' see A. Piccini, Filming though the mists of time: Celtic constructions and the documentary, Current Anthropology 37 (1996) S87-S111. Simon James has controversially attacked the Celtic myth as a romantic fantasy and political invention of the eighteenth century in S. James, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention (London 1999).
15. The idea of a Celtic culture together with images defined as embodying that culture have been instrumental in the construction of the British 'fringes' as possessing a far richer cultural heritage than their financially and politically endowed masters. For fuller treatment of this subject from various perspectives see P.B. Ellis, Celtic Inheritance (London 1992), who expounds the belief in a strong Celtic culture set to rise from the flames of industrialization. A traditional archaeological account is provided by S. Piggott, The Druids (London 1968). M. Chapman, The Celts (London 1992) is an anthropological critique of the historical construction of Celtic culture in Britain. For an excellent historiography of the place of images of Celtic prehistory in nineteenth-century nationalism see S. Smiles, The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination (New Haven 1994). For an analysis of the televising of 'Celtic history' see A. Piccini, Filming though the mists of time: Celtic constructions and the documentary, Current Anthropology 37 (1996) S87-S111. Simon James has controversially attacked the Celtic myth as a romantic fantasy and political invention of the eighteenth century in S. James, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention (London 1999).
16. See P. Gruffudd, Remaking Wales: nation-building and the geographical imagination, 1925-50, Political Geography 14 (1995) 219-40.
17. Guidebooks and topographic volumes were also important, e.g. Batsford's 'British Heritage' and 'The Face of Britain' series and Odham's volumes like T. Stephenson (Ed.), The Countryside Companion (London 1939).
18. P. Fussell, Abroad: British Literary Traveling Between the Wars (New York 1980) 204.
19. David Gilbert argues that guidebooks (of which travel books are effectively examples) can be seen as transcultural texts "which help to establish popular understandings of the meanings of other cultures". D. Gilbert, 'London in all its glory - or how to enjoy London': guidebook representations of imperial London, Journal of Historical Geography 25 (1999) 279-97; 283, doi:10.1006/jhge. 1999.01160
20. Information provided by Methuen publishers.
21. H.V. Morton, In Search of Wales (London 1932).
22. Ibid., vii. On Barthes's thoughts on this point see J.S. Duncan and N.G. Duncan, Ideology and bliss: Roland Barthes and the secret histories of landscape, in T.S. Barnes and J.S. Duncan (Eds), Writing Worlds: Discourse, Text and Metaphor in the Representation of Landscape (London 1992) 18-37.
23. Ibid., vii. On Barthes's thoughts on this point see J.S. Duncan and N.G. Duncan, Ideology and bliss: Roland Barthes and the secret histories of landscape, in T.S. Barnes and J.S. Duncan (Eds), Writing Worlds: Discourse, Text and Metaphor in the Representation of Landscape (London 1992) 18-37.
24. Morton, op. cit. 131.
25. See, for example, H.J. Fleure, Problems of Welsh archaeology, Archaeologia Cambrensis 3 (1923)225-42; H.J. Fleure, Wales and Her People (Wrexham 1926). One of Fleure's most lyrical pieces on the Celtic theme is H.J. Fleure, The Celtic west, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 88 (1940) 882-4. On Fleure, see P. Gruffudd, Back to the land: historiography, rurality and the nation in inter-war Wales, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 19 (1994) 61-77.
26. See, for example, H.J. Fleure, Problems of Welsh archaeology, Archaeologia Cambrensis 3 (1923)225-42; H.J. Fleure, Wales and Her People (Wrexham 1926). One of Fleure's most lyrical pieces on the Celtic theme is H.J. Fleure, The Celtic west, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 88 (1940) 882-4. On Fleure, see P. Gruffudd, Back to the land: historiography, rurality and the nation in inter-war Wales, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 19 (1994) 61-77.
27. See, for example, H.J. Fleure, Problems of Welsh archaeology, Archaeologia Cambrensis 3 (1923)225-42; H.J. Fleure, Wales and Her People (Wrexham 1926). One of Fleure's most lyrical pieces on the Celtic theme is H.J. Fleure, The Celtic west, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 88 (1940) 882-4. On Fleure, see P. Gruffudd, Back to the land: historiography, rurality and the nation in inter-war Wales, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 19 (1994) 61-77.
28. See, for example, H.J. Fleure, Problems of Welsh archaeology, Archaeologia Cambrensis 3 (1923)225-42; H.J. Fleure, Wales and Her People (Wrexham 1926). One of Fleure's most lyrical pieces on the Celtic theme is H.J. Fleure, The Celtic west, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 88 (1940) 882-4. On Fleure, see P. Gruffudd, Back to the land: historiography, rurality and the nation in inter-war Wales, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 19 (1994) 61-77.
29. Fleure, Problems of Welsh archaeology, 233.
30. Fleure, The Celtic West, 884.
31. C. Fox, The Personality of Britain: its Influence on Inhabitant and Invader in Prehistoric and Early Modern Times (Cardiff 1932).
32. See C. Thomas, Landscape with figures: in the steps of E.G. Bowen, Cambria 12 (1985) 15-32.
33. E.G. Bowen, Early Christianity in the British Isles: a study in historical geography, Geography 17 (1932) 267-76; 276.
34. E. G. Bowen, The Settlement of the Celtic Saints in Wales (Cardiff 1954).
35. E. Estyn Evans, Irish Heritage: the Landscape, the People and their Work (Dundalk 1942); E. Estyn Evans, Irish Folk Ways (London 1957).
36. E. Estyn Evans, Irish Heritage: the Landscape, the People and their Work (Dundalk 1942); E. Estyn Evans, Irish Folk Ways (London 1957).
37. This quote is taken from John Campbell's excellent appreciation of Evan's work. See J. Campbell, Ecology and culture in Ireland: Estyn Evans and 'The Trilogy of the Humanities', in E. Estyn Evans, (Ed.), Ireland and the Atlantic Heritage: Selected Writings (Dublin 1996) 225-44; 230.
38. One of the most notable of these other writers was Iorwerth Peate, a student of Fleure's and later the guiding light of the Welsh Folk Museum at St Fagan's. On this see P. Gruffudd, Heritage as national identity: histories and prospects of the national pasts, in D.T. Herbert (Ed.), Heritage, Tourism and Society (London 1995) 49-67.
39. Fleure, The Celtic West, 883.
40. H. J. Fleure, The land of Wales, in F. Muirhead (Ed.), Wales - The Blue Guides (London 1922) xi-xxvi; quote xi. See also Duncan and Duncan, op. cit. on The Blue Guides.
41. H. J. Fleure, The land of Wales, in F. Muirhead (Ed.), Wales - The Blue Guides (London 1922) xi-xxvi; quote xi. See also Duncan and Duncan, op. cit. on The Blue Guides.
42. E. Lewis and P. Lewis, The Land of Wales (London 1937) 115.
43. See, for instance, S.P.B. Mais, S.O.S. Talks on Unemployment (London 1933).
44. M. Seltzer, Bodies and Machines (London 1992) 18.
45. A. G. Bradley, In Praise of North Wales (London 1925) 3.
46. Lewis and Lewis, op. cit., 1-2.
47. Ibid., 5.
48. By 1938 there were 55 000 privately-owned cars in south Wales and 21 000 in the north, numbers which greatly exceeded the number of families earning more than ten pounds a week. This suggests that even modestly middle-class families were making allowances for car ownership and travel. See T. Herbert and G.E. Jones, Wales Between the Wars (Cardiff 1988).
49. Morton, op. cit., 16.
50. E. Vale, A Welsh walk, Blackwood's Magazine, February, 249-70; 258.
51. Bradley, op. cit., 17, 134-5.
52. D. Matless, Landscape and Englishness (London 1998). See also P. Wright, On Living in an Old Country (London 1985) - whence the title of this section is borrowed - especially 56-68 on Shell advertising.
53. D. Matless, Landscape and Englishness (London 1998). See also P. Wright, On Living in an Old Country (London 1985) - whence the title of this section is borrowed - especially 56-68 on Shell advertising.
54. Lewis and Lewis, op. cit., 3.
55. E. Vale, The World of Wales (London 1935) 147. This seems perfectly to capture what Barthes may have meant by the morality of 'effort and solitude' promoted by The Blue Guides; see Duncan and Duncan, op. cit.
56. E. Vale, The World of Wales (London 1935) 147. This seems perfectly to capture what Barthes may have meant by the morality of 'effort and solitude' promoted by The Blue Guides; see Duncan and Duncan, op. cit.
57. Matless, op. cit., 64.
58. Morton, op. cit., 123.
59. See note 7 above.
60. See J. Clifford and G.E. Marcus (Eds), Writing Culture (Berkeley 1986); and J. Fabian, Presence and representation: the other and anthropological writing, Critical Inquiry 16 (1990) 753-72.
61. See J. Clifford and G.E. Marcus (Eds), Writing Culture (Berkeley 1986); and J. Fabian, Presence and representation: the other and anthropological writing, Critical Inquiry 16 (1990) 753-72.
62. In the same way, Barthes noted that The Blue Guides effectively depopulated the landscape of real flesh-and-blood people and put in their place only ideal ethnic types; see Duncan and Duncan, op. cit. For a specific example of the application of Celticism in the manufacture of 'national' identity J. Sheehy, The Rediscovery of Ireland's Past: the Celtic Revival 1830-1930 (London 1980).
63. In the same way, Barthes noted that The Blue Guides effectively depopulated the landscape of real flesh-and-blood people and put in their place only ideal ethnic types; see Duncan and Duncan, op. cit. For a specific example of the application of Celticism in the manufacture of 'national' identity J. Sheehy, The Rediscovery of Ireland's Past: the Celtic Revival 1830-1930 (London 1980).
64. A.D. Smith, Ethnic myths and ethnic revivals, European Journal of Sociology 25 (1984) 283-305.
65. Morton, op. cit., 8.
66. Ibid., 268.
67. Ibid., 105.
68. Ibid., 268.
69. Fleure, Problems of Welsh archaeology, 233.
70. Vale, op. cit., 160-1.
71. Gruffudd, Back to the land.
72. Morton, op. cit., 21.
73. Vale, op. cit., 168.
74. Lewis and Lewis, op. cit., 70.
75. See, for instance, Fleure, The land of Wales.
76. S.P.B. Mais, I Return to Wales (London 1947) 17.
77. R. Davies, The Story of Wales (London 1943) 7.
78. Lewis and Lewis, op. cit., 112-3.
79. It should certainly not be conflated with the eugenic fixation with pure race that typified Far Right politics, a fixation frequently criticised by Fleure. See Gruffudd, Back to the land.
80. See D. Lowenthal, British national identity and the English landscape, Rural History 2 (1991) 205-30; B. Trigger, A History of Archaeological Thought (Cambridge 1989) especially 167-8.
81. See D. Lowenthal, British national identity and the English landscape, Rural History 2 (1991) 205-30; B. Trigger, A History of Archaeological Thought (Cambridge 1989) especially 167-8.
82. P. Sims-Williams, The visionary Celt: the construction of an ethnic preconception, Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 11 (1986) 71-96, quotation 72. Also D. Cairns and S. Richards, Writing Ireland: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Culture (Manchester 1988).
83. P. Sims-Williams, The visionary Celt: the construction of an ethnic preconception, Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 11 (1986) 71-96, quotation 72. Also D. Cairns and S. Richards, Writing Ireland: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Culture (Manchester 1988).
84. Morton, op. cit., 268. For an Irish parallel see C. Nash, Remapping and renaming: new cartographies of identity, gender and landscape in Ireland, Feminist Review 44 (1993) 39-57.
85. Morton, op. cit., 268. For an Irish parallel see C. Nash, Remapping and renaming: new cartographies of identity, gender and landscape in Ireland, Feminist Review 44 (1993) 39-57.
86. M. Arnold, On the Study of Celtic Literature (London 1867).
87. Morton, op. cit., 35. Some of the Welsh characters themselves which Morton encountered spun the same narrative web. One claimed: "we are an emotional people, with all the drawbacks it implies. For instance, a movement will start with tremendous enthusiasm. We will all be talking about it. Then - suddenly - it will die. We lose interest in it. We do not carry it through. Now, you in England are more enterprising, more thorough, more consistent . . ." (page 47).
88. Mais, op. cit., 75.
89. Morton, op. cit., 121.
90. E. Thomas, Wales (Oxford 1983) 10. Originally published 1905.
91. Morton, op. cit., 268.
92. Vale, op. cit., 41.
93. Lewis and Lewis, op. cit., 7-8.
94. Davies, op. cit. 11.
95. T. Edwards, The Face of Wales (London 1950) 60.
96. Morton, op. cit., 231.
97. Morton, Ibid., 231-2.
98. Ibid., 232.
99. Lewis and Lewis, op. cit., 20.
100. Ibid., 113.
101. Ibid., It should be noted that Alfred Zimmern coined the phrase 'American Wales' to describe those other areas more deeply touched by commercialism and Anglicized culture.
102. R.W. Thompson, An Englishman Looks at Wales (Bristol 1937) 52.
103. For instance, In the Steps of the Master (London 1934), and In the Steps of St Paul (London 1936).
104. For instance, In the Steps of the Master (London 1934), and In the Steps of St Paul (London 1936).
105. Vale, op. cit., 40.
106. Morton, In Search of Wales, 115.
107. Ibid.,
108. Ibid.,
109. Ibid., 162.
110. See P. Gruffudd, D.T. Herbert and A. Piccini, Learning to the think the past: heritage, identity and state education in Wales, International Journal of Heritage Studies 4 (1998) 154-67; and idem, Good to think: social reconstructions of Celtic heritage in Wales, in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 17 (1999) 705-21.
111. See P. Gruffudd, D.T. Herbert and A. Piccini, Learning to the think the past: heritage, identity and state education in Wales, International Journal of Heritage Studies 4 (1998) 154-67; and idem, Good to think: social reconstructions of Celtic heritage in Wales, in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 17 (1999) 705-21.
112. For instance James, The Atlantic Celts, op. cit. This work was preceded by significant press coverage, e.g. Sceptic casts doubt on the Celts, The Guardian, 13 March 1998; and Is the Celtic civilisation merely a myth?, The Daily Telegraph, 12 March 1998.
113. For instance James, The Atlantic Celts, op. cit. This work was preceded by significant press coverage, e.g. Sceptic casts doubt on the Celts, The Guardian, 13 March 1998; and Is the Celtic civilisation merely a myth?, The Daily Telegraph, 12 March 1998.
114. For instance James, The Atlantic Celts, op. cit. This work was preceded by significant press coverage, e.g. Sceptic casts doubt on the Celts, The Guardian, 13 March 1998; and Is the Celtic civilisation merely a myth?, The Daily Telegraph, 12 March 1998.
115. The project is a collaboration between Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), and the Countryside Council for Wales. See for instance CADW: Welsh Historic Monuments, Register of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. Part 2.1: Landscapes of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales (Cardiff 1998). Quotation x.
116. Ibid.
117. Gilbert, op.cit., note 11.
118. Morton, op. cit., 81.
119. Review in The Daily Herald quoted on the dust jacket of the 13th edition of In Search of Wales (London 1943).
120. Review in The Daily Herald quoted on the dust jacket of the 13th edition of In Search of Wales (London 1943).