Tag: Wales

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Dear Reader #100

Dear Reader,

Some chart news. Operation Zigzag is #1, my thirtieth #1. Also, Operation Sherlock is a top thirty hot new release. And one for the album, Stormy Weather is a hot new release alongside Raymond Chandler and Lee Child. Many thanks to everyone who made this possible.

My article about SOE heroine Virginia Hall appears on page 36 of the Seaside News 🙂

My latest translation, Operation Broadsword in German. Sandra has translated nine of my books. It’s wonderful to work with someone so talented.

Wales and England in 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Source: Find My Past.

The Noulton branch of my family were season ticket holders at the Old Bailey with several generations of the family in trouble with the law.

I’ve just discovered that my 5 x great grandfather James Noulton, aged twelve, was sent to the Royal Philanthropic Society’s School in 1801. Established by gentlemen in London in 1788, the Philanthropic Society was concerned with the caring of homeless children left to fend for themselves by begging or thieving. Those admitted were children of criminals or those who had been convicted of crimes themselves. The school, pictured, moved to Redhill in 1849.

Many of the children were encouraged to emigrate to Australia, Canada or South Africa, or to join the army or navy. This ties in perfectly with my ancestor James because he joined the navy and served in the Napoleonic wars. More details in a future post.

My store, freshly updated. Bestselling psychological and historical mysteries from £0.99. Paperbacks, brand new in mint condition 🙂
https://hannah-howe.com/store/

Meet my ancestors, my 15 x great grandfather, Sir Rhys ap Thomas (1449 – 1525), the chief Welsh supporter of Henry VII.

Sir Rhys was the third son of Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas and Elizabeth Gruffydd. Through marriage to Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir John Gruffydd of Abermarlais, Thomas ap Gruffudd ap Nicolas linked his family and thus this branch of my tree to the Welsh princes. 

Sir Rhys ap Thomas

With the Yorkists in the ascendant, as a child Sir Rhys joined his father at the court of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Father and son returned to Wales in 1467. On the death of his father, who had been predeceased by his two elder sons, Sir Rhys succeeded to the family estate. 

Lancastrian by tradition, Sir Rhys’ family opposed Richard III and made overtures to Henry Tudor while the latter was in exile in Brittany. 

Sir Rhys welcomed Henry Tudor when the latter landed at Milford Haven and used his considerable influence to rally support for the future king, recruiting 500 men. Henry and Rhys’ forces marched separately through Wales before meeting at Welshpool and crossing into England. Chroniclers described Rhys’ Welsh force as by far the most powerful being ‘large enough to annihilate the rest of Henry’s army.’

Source: Wikipedia

On 22 August 1485, Henry’s army supported by Rhys’ followers met Richard III’s army at the Battle of Bosworth. Richard launched an attack, which Rhys’ men repelled. In desperation, Richard and his knights charged at Henry. The king was unhorsed, surrounded and killed. Some sources claim that Sir Rhys personally delivered the death blow to Richard III with his poleaxe. Whatever the truth, Henry knighted Rhys on the battlefield.

Grateful for his support, Henry Tudor bestowed more honours on Sir Rhys, including the offices of constable and steward of the lordship of Brecknock, chamberlain of the counties of Carmarthen and Cardigan, and steward of the lordship of Builth. Through these posts Sir Rhys held all the chief appointments that were in the king’s gift in South Wales. 

Henry Tudor

In support of the new king, Sir Rhys commanded of a troop of horse at the battle of Stoke (16 June 1487), capturing the pretender, Lambert Simnel, and he participated in the expedition against Boulogne in October 1492. 

At the battle of Blackheath (17 June 1497), Sir Rhys took the rebel leader, Lord Audeley, prisoner and was created a knight-banneret. Also, he was present at the surrender of Perkin Warbeck at Beaulieu Abbey in September 1497. For services to the king, he was was made Knight of the Garter on 22 April 1505. 

Carew Castle

Sir Rhys spent his latter years at Carew Castle. There, he held a great tournament to celebrate his admission to the Order of the Garter, inviting all the leading families of Wales. He also updated the castle, adding a gatehouse and windows.

Sir Rhys ap Thomas married twice, first to Eva, daughter of Henri ap Gwilym of Cwrt Henri, and second to Janet, daughter of Thomas Mathew of Radyr and widow of Thomas Stradling of St Donats. He died in 1525 and was buried at Greyfriars church, Carmarthen. 

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #97

Dear Reader,

My home overlooks Margam Park and I just discovered that my 15 x great grandfather Sir Rice (Rhys) Mansell bought the park, and Margam Abbey, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1536. Sir Rice demolished the monastery and built Margam House, pictured. 

This line dates back to Philip Mansell, born 1040 in Normandy. Philip was cup bearer to William the Conqueror, a highly responsible position. Philip served William his wine and made sure it wasn’t poisoned.

View of Margam House, Glamorgan, Looking North, c.1700 Attributed to Thomas Smith (fl.1680s-1719)

Oil on canvas

A baptismal record for my 4 x great grandmother Ann Locock has led to sixteen new branches on my family tree. My DNA revealed Dutch ancestors and one of these branches is Dutch, a family from Amsterdam. My 8 x great grandfather, Melgior Rosewel, worked for the Dutch East India Company, which offers scope for a lot more research.

My direct ancestor Sir John Mansell, 1188 – 1264, was a busy man.

  • Privy Counsellor 
  • Constable of Dover Castle, pictured (Wikipedia)
  • Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
  • Lord of the manor in Berkshire, Suffolk, Sussex, Lancashire, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Kent
  • Cup Bearer to Henry III
  • Founder of a priory in Bilsington
  • Provost of Beverley
  • Treasurer of York
  • Lord Justiciary of England
  • Member of the Council of Fifteen
  • Constable of the Tower of London
  • Chancellor to Henry III
  • England’s first Secretary of State

I think I inherited my multi-tasking from him 😉

An article about Sir John Mansell will follow in a future post.

From my research, a lobby card for The City That Never Sleeps, a 1924 silent movie directed by James Cruze.

Many thanks to everyone who has placed my forthcoming Eve’s War story, Operation Sherlock, at #32 on the Hot New Releases chart.

One of modern life’s great imponderables…

I never expected to discover ancestors in Kiev, so I double-checked this line and established that it is correct. 

This is an image of my direct ancestor Olga ‘the beauty’ a Pskov woman of Varangian extraction who married Igor of Kiev. After Igor’s death, she ruled Kievan Rus as regent, c945-963, for their son, Svyatoslav.

Only joking 😉

I’ve traced the Preston branch of my family tree back to Leolphus de Preston, who lived during the reign of William the Lion of Scotland, floruit 1165 – 1214. 

Leolphus’ son, also Leolphus, made donations to Newbattle Abbey while his grandson, William de Preston, was one of the twenty-four Scottish nobles chosen by Edward I of England to arbitrate between John Balliol and Robert the Bruce, the main disputants for the crown of Scotland after the death of Margaret Maid of Norway, Queen of Scots.

The nobles met on 3 June 1291 to debate the succession. Debates and adjournments continued until 14 October 1292 when William de Preston and his fellow nobles decided that ‘succession by one degree from the eldest sister was preferable to succession nearer in degree from the second.’

Thus informed, on 17 November 1292 Edward I decided in favour of Balliol who ruled for four years, mainly as Edward I puppet. In 1296 the Scottish nobility deposed Balliol and appointed a Council of Twelve to rule instead. In retaliation, Edward I invaded Scotland, triggering the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Meanwhile, William de Preston’s role of arbiter set a family trend, which resulted in later generations of arbiters and judges.

John Balliol, his crown and sceptre symbolically broken, as depicted in the 1562 Forman Armorial, produced for Mary Queen of Scots.

Sir William’s son, Nichol de Preston, was one of the Scottish barons who signed the Ragman Roll in 1296, swearing his allegiance to Edward I.

The Preston line continued with Laurence and his son, Richard. With these generations the Prestons moved south, into Northern England where they owned vast estates in Westmorland, founding the towns of Preston Richard and Preston Patrick.

More Richards followed: Sir Richard Preston, his son Richard, and his son Sir Richard. The latter was called as one of the jurors to settle a dispute between the King of England and the Abbot of St Mary convent, Yorkshire. The dispute centred on the rights to make appointments to the two churches at Appleby. 

Yet another Richard followed and he married Annabella. They produced a son – you’ve guessed it – Richard, later knighted. Sir Richard represented Westmorland in Edward III’s parliament in the mid-1300s, the height of chivalry.

During Edward III’s reign membership of the English baronage was restricted to those who received a personal summons to parliament. At this point parliament developed into a House of Lords and a House of Commons, with the Commons gaining the ascendancy, thus marking a watershed in English political history.

Parliament, 13th century.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #91

Dear Reader,

My Top Ten Sales Countries in February.

In total, my eBooks were downloaded in 29 countries during February. Very exciting to see such diversity and grateful that I decided to publish wide and not limit myself to Amazon.

Through Smashwords

America 🇺🇸 Canada 🇨🇦 Australia 🇦🇺 Bulgaria 🇧🇬 Britain 🇬🇧 Japan 🇯🇵 Spain 🇪🇸 New Zealand 🇳🇿 Germany 🇩🇪 Italy 🇮🇹

Through Gardners

America 🇺🇸 Canada 🇨🇦 South Africa 🇿🇦 India 🇮🇳 Britain 🇬🇧 Netherlands 🇳🇱 Indonesia 🇮🇩 Malaysia 🇲🇾 Vietnam 🇻🇳 Venezuela 🇻🇪

Through Amazon

America 🇺🇸 Britain 🇬🇧 Canada 🇨🇦 Australia 🇦🇺 Germany 🇩🇪 Mexico 🇲🇽 Spain 🇪🇸 Brazil 🇧🇷 France 🇫🇷 India 🇮🇳

My latest translation, the Spanish version of The Olive Tree: Branches. Leaves, book three in my Spanish Civil War saga will be available in numerous languages in the summer.

Kenfig Pool sand dunes this week. And Mawdlam church, which overlooks the dunes, the final resting place for many of my ancestors.

Included in this month’s Seaside News, my article about SOE heroine Peggy Knight. In her 100th year, this remarkable woman now lives in New Zealand.

Mom’s Favorite Reads eMagazine March 2021. Our spring issue.

In this issue…

A seasonal blend of articles including Mad as a March Hare, Dr Seuss, Reiki, World Wildlife Day, International Day of Forests, plus short stories, recipes, puzzles, humour, photographs and so much more!

Sheep took over the sand dunes this week 🐑 🐑 🐑

My 4 x great grandfather, Richard Morgan, was baptised on 2 December 1792 in Llantrisant, Glamorgan. The ninth of twelve children born to James Morgan and Hannah David, Richard established himself as an ostler tending the coaching horses that travelled through Glamorgan, transporting people and goods from Ireland to London, and vice-versa.

‘Ostler at Margam 1818’ by George Orleans Delamotte

At the relatively advanced age of 43, Richard married Margaret Jones in St James’ Church, Pyle. Born in 1811 to John and Mary, Margaret hailed from Pyle, a rural village that contained the main highway in Glamorgan.

During my research, I wondered what persuaded Richard to travel twenty miles west to settle in Pyle. Then, I hit upon a theory. As an ostler, he moved there to work at Pyle Coaching Inn, the main Inn on the main highway. Then, while researching the births of Richard and Margaret’s children, I discovered that Richard was listed as a horse keeper at Pyle Coaching Inn, and living in nearby Cefn Cribwr, or Tythegston Higher as it was also called. It’s lovely when your theories are confirmed in that fashion.

Mail deliveries had become available to the public in 1635 and the introduction of national mail coaches in 1785 further increased the traffic travelling along the highways. The ongoing war with France meant that the gentry could no longer take the ‘grand tour’ of Europe and so they looked around for alternatives, their eyes and minds soon focusing on Wales with its romantic landscapes and medieval ruins. All of this led to the building of Pyle Coaching Inn during the 1780s by Thomas Mansel Talbot of Margam.

Thomas Mansel Talbot took a private apartment at the Inn and he would stay there while indulging in his passion for hunting and fishing. He had built the Inn in the fashionable Georgian style with three floors and rooms of various sizes. The largest room was five metres by four and a half metres, and the building contained forty beds and twelve double-bedded rooms. Moreover, the Inn also boasted a spacious dining room and stables for eight coaching horses.

Many 18th and 19th century antiquarians who travelled through South Wales would visit the buried medieval town at nearby Kenfig and invariably they would stay at the Inn. Also, it is rumoured that Admiral Lord Nelson resided there on one occasion. 

Pyle Coaching Inn, c1950

Isambard Kingdom Brunel did stay at the Inn in 1849 – 50 to oversee the construction of the South Wales leg of the Great Western Railway. Another distinguished guest was Josiah Wedgwood and it is said that he gained inspiration for some of his pottery from the colour of the rocks and pebbles on the beach at Pink Bay.

Richard and Margaret produced five children: Catherine, Thomas, Mary Ann, Richard and my direct ancestor, Hannah. With secure employment in a job that he clearly loved and in the green pastures and open spaces of Cefn Cribwr, life must have been good. Then, in the late 1840s, the railways arrived.

The railways took passenger and commercial trade away from the horse carriages and Richard lost his job at Pyle Coaching Inn. However, the family adapted. Richard became a colt breaker then a horse keeper. With his love and knowledge of horses, he worked with the animals for the rest of his life. 

Meanwhile, Margaret established her own ‘Inn’ boarding navigators who had travelled from their homes in Ireland to help construct the railways.

Residents of Pyle Coaching Inn in the early 1900s

Richard died in 1865 after a life well lived. By this time his children had married. After Richard’s death, Margaret moved to Mountain Ash to live with her son-in-law, John Davies, and help raise his children. Sadly, Margaret’s daughter, Mary Ann, had died and John was a widower.

I cannot leave this branch of my family without mentioning Margaret’s mother, Mary Jones. Born in 1765 in Carmarthen, she’d moved east with her husband, John, to work on the land. Mary lived with Richard and Margaret in later life. She had a strong constitution, which only failed on 19 January 1864 when she was ninety-nine years of age.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #90

Dear Reader,

Ideas for my Sam Smith mysteries usually appear a year or more before I write the stories. My latest idea in development, for book nineteen in the series, has an international flavour with characters from America, and France as the main setting. More news and pre-order details in future weeks.

My latest translation, Operation Zigzag in Portuguese. Available soon 🙂

A lovely find from 1839. Hannah Thorp, my 5 x great grandmother, in Pigot’s Directory as a straw hat maker 🙂

This picture, one of a series by George Orleans Delamotte, is titled ‘Ostler at Margam, 1818’. By coincidence, my 4 x great grandfather, Richard Morgan, was an ostler at Margam in 1818 🙂

An intriguing find, the union of my 8 x great grandparents, James Cottrell and Elizabeth Vincent, recorded in the Clandestine Marriage Register.

Another intriguing find from the Cottrell branch of my family, a Marriage Allegation and Bond signed by my 7 x great grandparents Daniel Cottrell and Mary Troutbeck on 9 October 1767.

Marriage Allegations and Bonds were signed by couples in a hurry or requiring privacy. Reasons included:

1. The bride was pregnant (in this case she wasn’t) or the groom was on leave from the Army or Navy.

2. The parties differed greatly in age, such as a widow marrying a much younger man or an old man marrying a young woman (not applicable here).

3. The parties differed in social standing, such as a master marrying a servant.

4. The parties differed in religion or did not attend the parish church because they were Nonconformists or Roman Catholics (this is the most likely reason for Daniel and Mary marrying in this fashion because the Cottrells were renowned nonconformists).

5. The parties were of full age but still faced family opposition to their marriage.

The Birth Certificate and the Blank Space

The youngest of seven children, my 2 x great grandmother, Margaret Jones, was born on 15 October 1871 in the village of Laleston, Glamorgan. Her parents, James and Margaret, had moved east from Carmarthen to Laleston to work on the land.

Initially, Margaret found employment as a maid. Then she married coal miner Thomas Jones (in Wales it’s very common for a number of intertwining branches to carry the surname Jones). The couple moved to North Corneli where Thomas worked in the nearby newly opened Newlands Colliery. The couple had ten children and family legend states that each week when the working members of her family returned home from the coal mines Margaret told them to place their wages on the living room table so that she could control the finances.

In many respects, Thomas and Margaret were a typical working class couple. However, Margaret harboured a secret. When she left Laleston to begin her family with Thomas, she left behind a son, Edward Robert Jones.

Throughout his childhood, Edward Robert Jones lived in Laleston with his aunt and uncle. Born before Thomas and Margaret married, it’s clear that Edward Robert was not Thomas’ son. So, who was his father? The mystery deepens because the space on Edward Robert’s birth certificate for his father’s name was left blank.

Margaret gave birth to Edward Robert out of wedlock, a scandalous thing for a woman to do in the Victorian era. Throughout my ancestry, I’ve discovered many pregnant brides and ‘shotgun weddings’. On every occasion, apart from this one, the father married the illegitimate child’s mother or at least acknowledged the child. 

As well as the psychological factor, it was important for the mother to identify the father so that she could receive maintenance for her child. The blank space on this birth certificate suggests that the father refused to acknowledge the child. That happened on occasion, but the mother could always challenge him. In Edward Robert’s case, the father remained anonymous. For what reason? Did he have something to hide?

The story, repeated throughout the generations, is that Margaret worked as a maid for John Picton Warlow in Laleston House, the ‘Big House’ in the village. That seems logical because in 1891 John Picton Warlow employed two housemaids along with a cook and a nurse. Furthermore, when Margaret moved to Corneli she named her home ‘Laleston House’.

Laleston House, Laleston

Everything points to the family stories being true – Margaret worked for John Picton Warlow as a maid in Laleston House. But who was John Picton Warlow?

The son of Captain Thomas Warlow of the Bengal Engineers and Mary Prudence Ord, John Picton Warlow was born on 6 November 1837 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, British India. When John was two years old his father died and the family returned to Britain. 

As a teenager, in 1854 John joined the East India Company in Madras, India. A successful career involving regular international travel followed. This included spells in India, South Africa and Turkey. 

John married three times and fathered at least twelve children. In 1865, a year after the death of his first wife, Josephine, John suffered a breakdown while in India and returned to Britain where he stayed with his cousin, Miss Turbervill, at Ewenny Priory. The Turbervill’s have a long lineage in Glamorgan dating back to medieval times and they are, incidentally, my direct ancestors. 

Ewenny Priory, from ewennypriory.co.uk

In 1891, John inherited the Turbervill Estate of Ewenny Priory and changed his name to Picton-Turbervill. He served as High Sheriff of Glamorgan and as a Justice of the Peace. It’s often been recorded that privileged Victorians took advantage of their servants. Did John take advantage of Margaret?

During the time Margaret worked for John, he lost his second wife, Eleanor. However, by the time Margaret gave birth to Edward Robert, John had married his third wife, Caroline. Would a husband cheat on his new wife?

Margaret died in 1945 and the gossip within my family, amongst ancestors who knew her, suggests that Edward Robert’s father resided at Laleston House in Laleston. If John was not the father, is there another candidate? All the servants at the ‘Big House’ in Laleston were female, so that leaves John’s three of age sons, one of whom was named Robert…

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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Dear Reader

Dear Reader #89

Dear Reader,

Next week, I will complete the writing of Stormy Weather, Sam Smith Mystery Series book eighteen. I write my Sam Smith mysteries in ‘real time’ so the main decision was whether to include the pandemic. I realised early on that the nature of the pandemic and the government’s negligent response meant that the problem would remain with us for some time. Therefore, I decided to include the pandemic. The main theme of the story is the climate crisis so the pandemic and the way we abuse nature tied in with that theme. Stormy Weather is available for pre-order from all major Internet outlets.

Available soon, my latest translation, Escape in Afrikaans. We now have four books in this series published in Afrikaans while Nelmari is currently working on Victory, book five. It’s wonderful to see my books available in a number of languages, twelve at the latest count.

This week, I created the characters for Operation Sherlock, book five in my Eve’s War Heroines of SOE Series. This story is set in Paris and like all the stories in the series it’s based on true events. Character creation is my favourite part of the writing process. Once I’ve created the characters, I sit back and allow them to tell the stories. Operation Sherlock will be available for pre-order soon.

Meet the ancestors, my 29th great grandfather, Saunder de Sancto Alberico also know as Awbrey. He arrived with William the Conquerer (also a direct ancestor) in 1066. His son Sir Reginald Awbrey established a manor house and estate in Abercynrig, Brecon in 1093. The property, pictured, remained in the family until 1630.


One of my favourite pictures. This is a colourised image of Lamb Row, South Corneli. The original dates from 1905. During the Victorian era, Lamb Row was home to the Howe branch of my family. You can see their house on the top left of the picture. It’s possible that some of my ancestors are in this picture. The image is deceptive because every time you look at it you see a new person. How many people can you identify?

Property Developing, Freedom of the City and Carnal Knowledge 

Samuel Axe, my 5 x great grandfather, was born in Greenwich in April 1771, the son of William Axe and Ann. He was baptised on 14 April 1771 at St Alfege Church, Greenwich.

Samuel married Grace Austin (1786–1823) on 22 September 1803 at St Luke Old Street, Finsbury, London and the couple lived in Hoxton, Middlesex where they produced eight children, including my direct ancestor, Jane Esther Axe.

As a property owner, Samuel was eligible to vote and therefore appeared on the electoral registers, which confirm his address. 

Various documents describe Samuel’s occupation as ‘bricklayer’. In the first half of the nineteenth century a bricklayer was a builder, someone who designed and constructed houses. These houses could range from humble dwellings to huge city projects.

Colourised, Pitfield Street, Hoxton, London, 1896 – buildings built by Samuel? I love this image, it’s so full of life.

It would appear that all was not well with Samuel and Grace’s marriage because on 21 June 1816 Maria Hammont, single woman, petitioned the parish with the claim that ‘Samuel Axe, bricklayer of Hoxton Town gained carnal knowledge of her body.’ Maria gave birth to a bastard female on 12 May 1815 at her mother’s house in Hoxton Fields. The outcome of her petition was not recorded. However, Samuel was a wealthy man so hopefully he supported his child.

Samuel died on 26 November 1838 in Shoreditch, London and was buried on 2 December 1838. 

My direct ancestor, Jane Esther Axe, who lived in the same street as Samuel and Grace, was the sole executrix of Samuel’s will. Samuel left £600, approximately £40,000 in today’s money, which suggests he was successful in his trade.

On 17 January 1845 Samuel’s youngest son, John, paid £5 to acquire the ‘Benefits of a Fellowship Porter’. In other words, he could trade in ‘measurable goods’ such as coal, grain, flour and salt, overseeing their transportation from trading ships to dockside warehouses. This was a good position with the opportunity to make considerable sums of money.

The above records suggest that the Axe family lived in comfort during the first half of the nineteenth century. However, only five of Samuel’s eight children survived into adulthood.

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx