Welsh Journals

and deal with topics ranging from Early Men, Roman Britain, the English and the Vikings, on to The Parish Church, Monasteries, Cathedrals, The English House, and The Story of Castles, followed by some rather superfluous jottings in conclusion. The author succeeds in transmitting to his readers his own evidently deeply-rooted enthusiasm for the historical remains visible in the countryside, and in conveying a vivid appreciation of the living past. But the topics commented upon are large and their scope wide, with the result that none of them receives very adequate treatment in these 200 pages. One cannot, for example, very usefully tell 'The Story of Castles' in thirteen pages. On the other hand, good and valuable book lists for further reading are supplied for each main chapter. The new title, 'England and Wales', however, turns out to be rather misleading. Despite the impressive array of Welsh scholars mentioned in the preface, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Wales comes off badly in this part of the book. Wales as such does not ever appear at all in the index, and, alas! in one of the very few references to Wales in the text, Newport, Mon., is accorded a bishopric and a cathedral which it has never possessed. It is perhaps odd that Monmouthshire is treated as Wales in this section, but is reckoned as England in the second part of the book. But it is this second part of the book, The Appendix (as long as the first part), entitled 'Places of Interest', which gives the volume its great merit, its scholarly value, and brings Wales fully into the picture. Here we are given, county by county, of England and Wales, exhaustive classified lists of historical survivals of every sort. This is an invaluable work of reference, and for the labour which the author undertook to compile it we owe him a heavy debt. One could wish that it had been printed separately so that as the Traveller's Companion part of the volume it could conveniently be carried in the pocket. The volume is enriched by a number of excellent photographs, all taken by the author himself, and by several maps and plans. The book is indeed very good value for the price. S. B. CHRIMES. Cardiff. INDEX to ARCHAEOLOGIA CAMBRENSIS 1846-1900. Compiled by Lily F. Chitty. Revised and abridged by Elizabeth H. Edwards. Cardiff, Cambrian Archaeological Association, 1964. Pp. xiii + 402. 20s. The first fifty-five volumes of Archaeologia Cambrensis form a valuable compendium of fact and opinion ranging over a wide field of knowledge. Some of the opinion reflects the quirks, prejudices, and weaknesses of nineteenth-century Welsh scholarship and is valuable evidence for the historian of the period.