Tintagel Castle: guidebooks

Tintagel © David Gill

Tintagel Castle was placed in State Guardianship by the Duchy of Cornwall in 1930. C.A. Ralegh Radford prepared the first guide 1935, with a second edition in 1939. It is introduced with a summary, followed by a history, periods of construction of the castle, and then the description. A foldout plan is placed inside the back cover. The later MPBW guidebook had an additional plan of the island inside the back cover.

1939 (2nd ed., 10th impress. 1962)

1939 (2nd ed., 14th impress. 1969)

The English Heritage guidebook was written by Brian K. Davison. It contains three sections: Tour and Description; History of Tintagel; the Legend of King Arthur. A plan of the island is placed inside the back cover.

1999 (repr. 2002)

St Davids Bishop’s Palace: guidebooks

The Cathedral from the Bishop’s Palace, St Davids © David Gill

The Bishop’s Palace at St Davids was placed in State Guardianship in 1932. The official guidebook was prepared by C.A. Ralegh Radford. The first edition appeared in 1934, and the second edition in 1953. This starts with the history of the palace followed by a description of the remains. There is a foldout plan inside the back cover.

1953 (2nd ed.)

The blue guide continued into the 1970s as a DOE guide, published on behalf of the Welsh Office. On the title page (but not the cover) the Welsh title is provided: Llys  yr Esgob Tyddewi. It included a reconstruction by Alan Sorrell. A summary in Welsh is provided at the back of the guide.

1953 (2nd ed.; 11th impress. with amendments, 1971)

The Cadw guide changed the title with the emphasis on St Davids (and note the dropping of the apostrophe). The author was by J. Wyn Evans, Dean of the neighbouring cathedral. It starts with ‘A Palace for Prelates: Historical Background’, and is followed by ‘A Tour of the Bishop’s Palace’. At the back is a section on ‘Bishops as Builders: a Summary of the Building History’ by Rick Turner. There is a plan of the palace inside the card rear cover. One page summarises the guide in Welsh.

The guide includes a section on St Non’s Chapel.

1991

A revised version of the Wyn Evans and Turner guide was reissued in the larger Cadw format.

1991 (rev. 1999)

 

St Andrews cathedral: guidebooks

1950 (8th impress. 1966)

The remains of the cathedral at St Andrews were placed in State Guardisanship in 1946. Stewart Cruden prepared the first guidebook for The Cathedral of St. Andrews and St. Regulus Church (1950) (although the cover only shows the shorter form).

It starts with an extensive glossary, The guide is divided into two sections, each divided into history and description: first on St Regulus church, second on the cathedral.  A plan of the cathedral is placed in the centre pages, and a fold-put plan of the precinct appears inside the back cover.

1993 (revised 2003; repr. 2007)

The Historic Scotland official souvenir guide was prepared by Richard Fawcett, and was subsequently revised by Sally Foster and Chris Tabraham. This has a guided tour followed by the story of the cathedral.

Dryburgh Abbey: guidebooks

Dryburgh Abbey © David Gill

Dryburgh Abbey was placed in State Guardianship in 1919. It had been founded by the Premonstratensians from Alnwick in Northumberland in 1150. The first guidebook was published in 1937: the description by J.S. Richardson, and the history by Marguerite Wood. This was a pairing also found in the guidebooks for Melrose Abbey and Edinburgh Castle.

The guidebook contained a reconstruction by Alan Sorrell. A foldout plan was placed inside the back cover.

1937 (2nd ed. 1948; 7th impress. 1967)

The Richardson-Wood guidebook (‘official guide’) continued into the 1970s (9th impression, 1973).

Second edition 1948 (9th impression 1973)

An official guide to the Scottish Border Abbeys was published in 1964. It includes a small plan along with the Sorrell reconstruction.

1964 (1973)

The Historic Scotland ‘Official Souvenir Guide’ is based on the 1937 Richardson-Wood guide, revised in 1996, and then revised again in 2012. It is in full colour with a tour followed by a history.

2012

 

Ministry signs on St Mary’s

Porth Hellick Down © Patrick Taylor

The ancient monuments on St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly received Ministry signs. The chambered tomb on Porth Hellick Down is described as ‘the best preserved tomb of all those in the islands’, echoing O’Neil’s guidebook, ‘perhaps the best preserved of all those in the islands’. Again, ‘a few potsherds have been found in the chamber’, follows, ‘a few potsherds have been found in this tomb’.

Innisidgen © Patrick Taylor

At Innisidgen the sign starts with the same description as Porth Hellick. The description in the guidebook, ‘Nothing is known to have been found in the chamber’, follows the sign, ‘the chamber has long since been rifled of its contents’.

Lower Innisidgen © Patrick Taylor

The sign at Lower Innisidgen echoes the others.

Bants Carn © Patrick Taylor

The sign notes, ‘Cremated bones and pieces of pottery were found in the chamber many years ago’, whereas the guidebook states, ‘Four piles of cremated bones were found at the inner end of the chamber many years ago, as well as some pieces of pottery in the passage just outside the entrance to the chamber’.

Bants Carn Ancient Village © Patrick Taylor

Near to Bants Carn Burial Chamber is a village. The sign and guidebook place it to the 2nd–3rd centuries AD, describing it as ‘Roman period’ or even ‘Romano-British’. The sign and guidebook talks of ’round or oval huts … built of large, well-laid granite blocks’. The guidebook continues ‘Paths and garden plots or small fields may also be detected’.

Harry’s Walls © Patrick Taylor

A later monument is the artillery fort known as Harry’s Walls.

We are grateful to Patrick Taylor for digitising the images.

Whithorn: guidebooks

1953 (5th impress. 1968)

C.A. Ralegh Radford and Gordon Donaldson prepared an official guidebook for Whithorn and Kirkmadrine in 1953. This covers the monastery and later priory at Whithorn; St Ninian’s Chapel at the Isle of Whithorn; St Ninian’s Cave at Glasserton; the museum at Whithorn that contains material from surrounding locations; and the Kirkmadrine stones displayed in the old church. There is a fold-out plan of the priory at Whithorn. The guide contains an extensive history of the region (pp. 3–27).

The present History Scotland guide is by Adrian Cox with Sally Gall and Peter Yeoman. The focus is on Whithorn but there are sections on St Ninian’s Chapel and Cave, as well as a double page spread on Kirkmadrine.

Llawhaden Castle: guidebook

Repr. 1969

Llawhaden Castle was constructed in the 12th century to protect the lands owned by the bishops of St Davids in Pembrokeshire. The castle was destroyed in 1192, but rebuilt in the late 13th century.

The guidebook by C.A. Ralegh Radford contains a standard history, followed by a description divided into sub-sections. A plan of the castle was placed on the centre pages.